Hourman - By Any Other Name - Grant McLaughlin

1 - Golden-Age style panel of Rex Tyler in his lab working with chemicals and the like.

REX (1): Gee whiz!  I really want my date with Wendi to go well, but I get so tongue-tied around her.

REX (2): Maybe there's some way to focus my brain's control of language...

2 - Present day.  A grandfatherly Rex Tyler sits on an easy chair in his living room, regaling two grandkids with his fantastic tale.  Rick Tyler sits on a couch in the background, smiling.  Wendi looks in at the living room doorway, smiling.  The grandkids look over to her interjection.

REX: And so I--

WENDI (interrupting): Are you telling that Lyriclo story again?

3 - Wendi walks in and kisses the top of Rex's head.  Rex is somewhat embarrassed.

WENDI: I seem to remember you admitting you were actually hoping to create Desirablo.

4 - Wendi walks back towards the doorway, smiling to herself.  Rex covers his face a bit to try to hide his blush / embarrassment.  Rick and the grandkids laugh heartily.

WENDI: You're lucky you have such a winning personality...

Hourman--“Hourmen vs the Hour-Killer” --David Press

PAGE ONE.

1.1: RICK TYLER and his partner MATTHEW TYLER, the android Hourman, step out of their beater police car into a deserted Grain silos plant on the edge of the docks in HAPPY HARBOR. They’re walking towards a crime scene.

            What I mean by mill-worker’s dock is similar to what is a deserted part of downtown Buffalo—here’s what I mean.

            It’s mostly a tourist spot for geo-cachers and is almost always deserted. In the far bottom corner of the panel there is a taped off-area.

1. CAPTION [TIME/LOCATION]:    Happy Harbor, NY. 08:32am.

1.2: RICK and TYLER step through the police tape and regard the body of a young woman. There’s a PATROL OFFICER next to the Android Tyler, scratching the back of her head.

2. OFFICER:          Third one in as many days. With the same tag--

1.3: The officer points up towards the cement wall of a grain silo right next to the crime scene. Rick is in the panel making an uncomfortable face. I think we should have the Hourmen in plain-clothes. Android Tyler is more formal—in a suit, and Rick is the less-straight guy, the sarcastic, constantly hungover, perhaps substance-abusing sidekick.

3. DISPLAY LETT [Graffiti]:    Time is running out, Hourmen. 

1.4: Android Tyler crouches down to look at the body. He’s scanning it.

4. TYLER:            Perished little more than an hour ago; strangled. Name is Bethany Navarro. 22 White Oak Lane. DOB: 9.19.85.

1.5: Android Tyler looks up at Rick who checks his watch. It’s a funky large format watch, think of a slightly souped-up Apple Watch but this one injects Miraclo into his veins and gives Rick his hour of power. Rick’s tapped it and it displays the time as 07:22am in digital format.

5. RICK:             Scumbag is killing morning joggers.

Why Hourman?

 by J.H. Williams III

There are so many variations of the character and I love variety. In my previous attempts on why posts I’ve always liked legacy characters because they breathe new light into heroes who have been around for a while. I love the fact that Jane Foster is Thor now, and Miles Morales is Spider-Man, and generally feel sad when we go back to the same-old same-old characters like Barry Allen and Hal Jordan. Part of it is I didn’t grow up with those Silver-Age iterations of the characters, and I like new takes and new characters occupying a similar look.  

            Here’s some background for those of you not familiar with Hourman: The original Hourman was Rex Tyler, a pharmaceutical executive who developed the drug Miraclo, the drug gives Tyler an hour of strength, speed, and invulnerability. Sound familiar? For those of us who are baseball fans, this character presents a unique opportunity to talk about doping.

            Then there’s Rex’s son Rick, who—well—he’s had a pretty complicated history. And I’ll just leave hisWikipedia entry here to give you the scope of it.

            Probably the most significant take on the character for me was the Hourman of the 81^st century. Created by Grant Morrison during the DC One Million event of the early 2000s this Hourman has the ability to manipulate time itself. But that’s not why he’s interesting. He got his own series—the only one that ever happened for the character—written by Tom Peyer and drawn by Rags Morales. The series only lasted about a year, and it was about the near-omnipotent android reducing his power just so he could try to connect to his human side. It was a beautiful, weird, series that is hard to find. I still have the original issues and I treasure them. Mostly because between that and Transmetropolitan—they were the only comics I had access to in college.

            As always, feel free to leave your scripts in the comments below and I look forward to reading your take on the character. There’s a lot of fun to be had.  

The Good Brothers - The Rabbit - P. A. Nolte

1/ Close-up on a scruffy man in his early 30's taking a big hit off a joint.  He's sitting in the passenger seat of a 1972 Gremlin, but there shouldn't be enough background visible to tell that just yet.

Chaz (OP): Is it any good?

2/ The Gremlin tools down a quiet country road.  There's farmland and pastures on either side, punctuated with trees.  Up on the left is a larger plot of untouched land.  That's where the car and its passengers are headed.

Jesse (OP): I dunno.  You're smoking some of it now.  Is it?

Chaz (OP): Guess so.

3/ The first man, Jesse, is joined by a second, Chaz, in his walk down to a particularly secluded field.  They've parked the car by the side of the road and followed a worn dirt path down the hill and almost out of sight.

Chaz: Whose land is this?

Jesse: Dunno.  Couple plots down from my aunt's.

4/ They stop walking.  Jesse has his hands on a large clump of tall grass, like he's about to pull a curtain.  He's excited to show his friend the fruits of his labor.

Jesse:  Wait for it, ...

5/ An inset of a small, grey rabbit perking up.

6/ Jesse and Chaz stumble into an open patch of field expecting a large crop of marijuana, but a significant number of stalks have been stripped a few feet off the ground.  Small woodland creatures, primarily rabbits, but also a raccoon, a few squirrels, and maybe some birds, scatter in every direction.  They drop tiny pipes carved from mushrooms and corncobs and whatever else.  Rolling papers go flying.  The scene is a drug bust where Beatrix Potter characters meet Cheech and Chong and everything is charmingly chaotic.

Jesse: AGAIN?!

Jesse: I HATE THAT RABBIT!!!

The Good Brothers--David Press.

PAGE EIGHT.

8.1: The brothers climb out of the car and start advancing towards the building. Brian has a mic stand, Bruce has his acoustic guitar, and Larry has a banjo. The queued up crowd have their hands raised cheering the brothers on.  

1. CROWD:            Woooo!

8.2: The main lobby to the building is filled with PEOPLE all wearing Good Brothers t-shirts and hats and selling merchandise.

NO DIALOGUE.

8.3: They make their way through the crowd; people are reaching out to touch them.

NO DIALOGUE.

8.4: The brothers enter the THEATER. It’s picturesque—it’s an old OPERA HOUSE they’re in. There is an announcer on the main stage.

1. ANNOUNCER:        Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the GOOD BROTHERS!

8.5: The brothers are on the stage now and BRIAN is speaking into the microphone.

BRIAN:               Why thank you for having us. It took a lot for all three of us to get here, and there are some party crashers—

8.6: The cops try to get into the building but the people in the line are blocking the door and it’s hard for cops to push through the crowd.

CAPTION [BRIAN]:     --So it would be great if you could prevent them from entering the building and disturbing us!

The Good Brothers - Tracking Him Down - Perry Kent

Panel 1

Exterior, day. A beat-up old camaro pulls into the gravel parking lot of a rough looking road-side diner.

Panel 2

Interior, day, diner. Two brothers around the same age, one wearing denim and the other flannel and a cowboy hat, walk quietly through the double doors of the diner. The manager, a middle-aged man wearing a short sleeve button-up and a tie, walks towards the brothers. The diner is a giant mess with waitresses cleaning broken dishes and food off the ground, though it doesn't look like it's helping.

1. MANAGER: Sorry, no service right now.

Panel 3

The brothers talk with the manager as the denim-brother holds out a photo to the manager.

2. DENIM-BROTHER: You seen this man?

3. MANAGER: Yeah, that's the bastard who did all this then ran the hell outta here.

Panel 4

The brothers turn to leave as the one in flannel shoots another question at the manager.

4. FLANNEL-BROTHER: Which way did he go?

5. MANAGER: East. Wait--

Panel 5

The two brothers respond at the same time as they walk out the double doors of the diner.

6. MANAGER (OP): Who are you?

7. BROTHERS: His brothers.

-END-

The Good Brothers – It’s All Relative – MK Stangeland Jr.

(7 Panels)

Panel 1: Dramatic panel as THE GOOD BROTHERS enter a large studio.

TEXT (1): A battle of MUSIC! And FAMILY!

TEXT (2): The Good Brothers!

Panel 2: A group that looks much like the GOOD BROTHERS, but if they were an emo hip-hop rap group.

TEXT: The Bad Brothers!

Panel 3: A group that looks like a bunch of nuns trying to be a country music group.

TEXT: The Good Sisters!

Panel 4: The CHEMICAL BROTHERS.

TEXT: The Chemical Brothers!

Panel 5: The JONAS BROTHERS.

TEXT: The Jonas Brothers!

Panel 6: The BLUES BROTHERS.

TEXT: The Blues Brothers!

Panel 7: Wide shot, showing a number of other similar groups that have filled the room as they prepare for a musical showdown.

(END PAGE)

The Good Brothers - Keeper - Grant McLaughlin

1 - Cain and Abel are walking together, coming down from a mountain (maybe have a little burning bush up there in the background).  Abel wears a big ol' smile - like, to the degree where you might wonder if he isn't a little simple.  Cain is furious, arms crossed and brow furrowed.

NO COPY

2 - Cain and Abel have arrived at their little homestead.  Abel sees his sheep and waves at them enthusiastically, as thrilled with them as he seems to be with everything else.  Cain continues to glower and arm cross, something down on the ground (and off-panel) catching his upset eye.

ABEL: God's pretty great, eh?

CAIN (1): Yeah.

CAIN (2): Sure.

3 - Abel bends down and gives a big hug to one of his sheep, as happy as ever.  Cain leans over to pick something up.

CAIN: Hey, Abel...

4 - On Cain's hand, which holds a big ol' rock.

CAIN (tailless): Let's go out to the field.

The Good Brothers - Good Advice - Liam Meagher

Single Panel: The brothers are cowboys in the wild west standing in a jail. Two brothers are standing outside a cell, while the third brother is inside the cell in handcuffs.

Brother Outside Cell: You've got to stop just shooting everyone who walks off in a different direction on your lunch break.

Why The Good Brothers? - Liam Meagher

We had just arrived in Toronto after a tight ride with a car full of gear on one of the coldest nights of the year.

Two of the bandmates had to head back to the capital before returning to Toronto the next night for the show so the posse was down to three. After braving it back out into the city night to grab some booze and snacks groceries, we settled in. It's always odd being in someone else's apartment when they aren't home - peeking around, trying to get a feel for what their life might be like - so I headed for the record collection and pulled this one out.

The cover seemed to be an apt description of the three of us and looked as though it might be a snapshot of the night ahead.

We didn't listen to it.  

St. Valentine - Date Night - Liam Meagher

Panel 1: A bored couple sit on a couch.

Man: Another Valentine's Day gone. Are we lame?

Panel 2: Woman takes out her cellphone

Woman: Not anymore! I went on a dating app and ordered us dessert. His name is Valentino.

Panel 3: Cut to sideview of fist knock on the door.

NO COPY

Panel 4: Woman and man looking at eachother surprised on couch

Woman: Nevermind! I don't think I can do this! Tell him to go!

Man: Let's just be quiet!

Panel 5: Man is peeking out blinds through window.

Man: I think he's walking away!

Woman: That's enough excitement for one night. Let's go to bed.

Panel 6: Shot of back of Valentino walking away. His leather jacket has an embroidered image of a heart with an arrow going through it.

Valentino: Works everytime.

Liam Meagher - Writer-in-Residence

After some internal membership shuffling and a week to help celebrate Deadpool's big return to the big screen, we're back on track with our very own Writer-in-Residence program, bringing you Liam Meagher in as our latest guest.

Liam is a good friend of mine and is a rather talented musician who plays with the slick group, Harea Band. We were talking storytelling a few weeks back and seeing as he mentioned wanting to check out a new outlet, I tricked suggested he come and join us for a few. He graciously agreed, and I am extremely eager to see how his guitar chops translate into our own comic book sphere. It's always about experimentation and I'm honoured Liam is coming to experiment with us for a while.

Please join me in welcoming him to our fine lab.

ST. VALENTINE--"The Feast of Lupercalia"--David Press

Not exactly Saint Valentine but I read a great story (linked below), and got inspired.

PAGE ONE.

1.1: THREE super-happy and hilarious ROMAN FARMERS trudge through the dark woods. I was thinking that this might be a wide panel, because the key to the proceedings here is that these Farmers are drunk. Like wasted, and they’ll need to be because of what’s upcoming: the feast of Lupercalia. If you don’t what that is, check this out: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day

            Our three heroes are named FLAZ, KRANZ, and FIFEL. They love to drink and are single, happy farmers, and they are ready to party and meet their mates. Let’s make Fifel the shorter one of the two, and Franz is rather burly. No distinction on race or style or anything—these three farmers are just happy drunken humans about to take part in something that is NOT OKAY.

1. FRANZ:            Ohhhhh! We’re off to LUPER-CAL-IA

2. KRANZ:            LUPER-CALI-A!

3. FIFEL:               It’s “Loo-per-kale-a.”

1.2: FRANZ slaps Fifel over the head.

4. FRANZ:            You franfel it’s “LOOPER-CAL-A.”

5. FIFEL:            Oi!

1.3: They stop at a patch in the woods.

6. KRANZ:            Everyone drink!

1.4: Same as the previous, but this time they all take a swig of their wine casks.

NO DIALOGUE.

1.5: An angle from the back of their heads into an open field where we can see a giant CLEARING and many more drunken Romans prancing around the field. In the center is a MAN dressed in red robes and on a pedestal wearing a GOAT’S HEAD for a hat. This man is the GREAT DRAGON, gathering common folk for the February celebration of Lupercalia—a mating ritual from ancient Roman times.

7. DRAGON:           Come! Be merry and drink Dionysius’s wine! It is time for…

7B:                            The feast of LUPERCALIA!