Page 1 – (6 Panels)
1.1: Interior, the shattered brick ruins of a
building, day. There is a crumbling wall
on one side of the open air second floor, a staircase going down cuts into the
floor against the wall. Sitting in a metal
folding chair at the edge of the staircase, facing down, is Man 1. He can look however you want him to. He is you.
He’s all of us. Standing behind
him is Man 2. Again, his appearance can
be interpreted any way you want – he’s the tormentor. Man 2 is holding an old 1970’s era snub-nosed
revolver to Man 1’s head.
Man 1 (caption): This is the way things are.
Man 1 (caption): A purgatory of karmic blood debts being
fueled incessantly.
1.2: Man 2 shooting Man 1, propelling him forward,
out of the chair and toward the down staircase.
Man 1 (caption): For every action there is an instant and
opposite reaction.
1.3: Man 1 falling down the staircase, now the
center of three stairwells, like escalators at a shopping mall. Man 1 is falling down the center one, the
only person on that track, while the staircases to his right and left are
thronged with people going up.
Man 1 (caption): When one ascends, one descends.
Man 1 (caption): Heading to the same outcome, no matter how
pure or filthy our souls.
1.4: Man 1 landing at the bottom of the staircase,
which opens onto the interior of a gothic cathedral, light pouring in through
broken stained glass windows, and an enormous, Colossus of Rhodes-scale statue of
the Virgin Mark, weeping.
Man 1 (caption): The beginning and the ending are the same.
Man 1 (caption): Ashes to ashes, back to dust and back to the
way things are.
1.5: Interior, the shattered brick ruins of a
building, day. Man 1 walking into the
exact set-up from Panel 1.1, except
the staircase is going up. In front of
the staircase sits a metal folding chair.
Man 2 is standing there, looking through the trigger-guard of his 1970’s
era snub-nosed revolver. He is visibly
upset, like he’s been crying and is attempting to “man-up” for what he is about
to do again, and again, and again.
Man 2: Why?
Man 2: Why do you keep doing this?
1.6: Man 1 sitting down in the chair, prepared for
Panel 1.2 and resigned to his
infinite fate. Getting into position behind
the chair is Man 2.
Man 1: Doing what?
Wow. This is a crazy, haunting, and surreal ouroboros of a story you have here. The captions ratchet the tension right up and then the final bits of dialogue as the pieces are re-assembled push things right over the edge. Well done.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Groundhog Day, but seriously cool.
ReplyDelete