Year 2 Week #11 Whale Fall (The Whale Carcass) - Comic

This is one I've actually worked on a little.

Here's the original post: http://gotprojects.blogspot.com/2009/04/week-13-i-gotta-little-off-because-i.html

Since then I've decided I'll call the comic "Whale Fall" which is the name that oceanologists call a dead whale that's fallen to the deep sea and become it's own ecosystem

Below is the layout I started for the first issue. Most of the dialogue is really just there as a placeholder none of it's really done.

Page 1
A five panel page. Each panel a is of equal size stretching horizontally across the with of the page.

This page is our only glimpse of the whale’s life before it dies and becomes a setting for our story. I’d like to give the whale some distinct personality. I’m somewhat apposed to thought bubbles so I think what we’ll use is captions as if the whale is narrating the story from beyond the grave. Maybe even we’ll continue this into the rest of the story with the whale having some commentary on it’s own decomposition. Or maybe this is too far out. Also there will be some dialogue between the whale and the others of his/her pod.

Panel 1
An Idyllic scene of the ocean. Far from land with nothing but blue water and a burning yellow sun. In the center of the panel we see a whale tale breaching the water.

Other Whale 1: I was in the south sea yesterday.

Other Whale 2: Oh yeah.

Other Whale 1: Yeah it was nice.

Caption: Something doesn’t feel right.

Panel 2
Below the water we see a small pod of three or four whales swimming together. The two other whales exchange light conversation. Our whale is silent.

Caption: Is the water suddenly getting colder?

Panel 3
Closer now to the whale as it’s fallen a little behind. Most of the frame is filled up with our main whale. Possible the tail of another whale can be seen all the way to the left.

Caption: Perhaps I just need to sleep a little.

Panel 4
Our whale is alone in the frame. It fills most of it, but there’s enough space on either side of it to suggest it is now entirely alone.

Panel 5
A close up on the whale so it fills the entire frame. Far to the right we see it’s gigantic eye is closing.

Page 2
Pretty much the same layout as page one except this one has only four horizontal panels of equal size.

Panel 1
The whale now dead slowly dropping through the water. Possibly he’s twisting around. Behind him we see the flora and fauna of the area just below the sea. I’m going to do some research on what grows at what depths.

Caption:
100 feet below the ocean’s surface.


Panel 2
Somewhere else in the ocean the sleeper sharks are hanging out. Talking about investments and good places to eat lesser species. Maybe some motivational speaker they saw recently. I really like the idea of them being sort of corporate predators.

Sleeper Shark 1: On my own I projected 150, 200 a week but together we ate the whole school. True synergy.

Sleeper Shark 2: Yeah but now your tied into this relationship. It’s going to drastically lower your market share

Panel 3
The Whale floating dead through the water. Again the surrounding suggests the depth.

Caption
800 feet below the ocean’s surface.

Panel 4
The crabs or crustaceans hanging out. I still haven’t picked which crustacean I want to go with or there personality. Still working on it.

Although check this guy out: http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/giant-isopod.html

Page 3
Same exact layout as two.

Panel 1
Once again the whale is seen floating down through the water.

Caption
1300 feet below the oceans surface.

Panel 2
The Osedax worms. I think these are going to be out mystical type creatures.

Some things about Osedax worms:

They exist only on whale falls. This begs the question how do they get from one whale fall to another?

The answer to this question came when scientists realized that all the full grown worms where female. They then discovered that each female has 50 to 100 microscopic larval males living inside it.

So now they think that when all the resources run out on one dead whale the females just die and release all there eggs and all there little males into the current where they drift until they find another dead whale.

In an effort to humanize these creatures I’d like to give there eventual demise a sort of religious mass suicide thing.

Like they somehow know when it’s time to go and how to find the next whale.

Not sure what they’ll be doing in this panel exactly but probably something to suggest there running out of resources on there current whale fall. There preparing to let go.

Panel 3
The whale is almost a the bottom of the sea. The ocean is cloudy with micro-organisms and sea cucumbers.

Caption
2014 feet below sea level

Panel 4
A close up of two sea cucumbers talking. These creatures make up 90% of the macro-fauna in the deep sea. I’m thinking this means that there our sort of proletariat. The working stiffs of deep sea life. I figure in this panel there just sorta bullshitting, talking about hot female sea cucumbers or how much they hate some other species.

Page 4
This is a big splash style page with four small panels in each of the corners.

Splash Page
The Whale seen from above. Where looking straight down at it as it’s corpse hits the ocean floor. There is a sort of blast radius of debris and water currents flying out from where it’s landed. It looks similar to when a meteor hits the earth.

In large lettering we see the title: Whale Fall!

Panel 1 (Up Left)
The sharks are seen reacting to the vibrations. One of them makes a snide comment about it.

Panel 2 (Up Right)
The Crabs have there reaction. Not sure what it will be since I don’t know much about the crabs yet.

Panel 3 (Down Left)
The Sea Cucumbers react. “Hmm... Time to go to work” or something like that.

Panel 4 (Down Right)
The Osedax worms react by celebrating and dying.

Year 2 Week #10 or whatever. Arthur Bell - Play, Movie, Comic

First off. If anyones reading this thing. I've decided to only post to one of my blogs a week. Either this one or the food one:

http://theeatingproject.blogspot.com/

I just don't have time with sleepwalkers, School and Cultures of Wonder to do both so I'll only post to this one once every two weeks.

But I'm going to still try and keep up with the idea of working on the projects I posted during the first year in the same order.

So without further ado... the progress I've made on The Arthur Bell project.

First off I came up with the rather bazaar idea a while back that I would incorperate all the real people throughout time who are named Arthur Bell these are the ones I found

The Dancer

The Whiskey Maker

The Botanist

The Radio Personality

The Saint

The Gay Rights Activist

Along these lines I also wrote the following scene about a guy names Arthur Bell (who may be a reincarnation of his namesake) meeting with a sort of immortal mystical hollywood character named "Johnny"

A cafe somewhere on the sunset strip

Arthur sits with a Johnny, a mysterious sort of Showbiz character.

Johnny: Oh this fucking life. How do you live this life? (to the waiter) Scotch please and water. Nothing to eat. Not now maybe later. (back to Arthur) god it’s like all anyone wants to talk about these days is marriage. Brad and Angela “TomKat” and the fucking alien baby of there’s what’s it’s name Sufi or something? No I don’t think Brad and Angela are going to get married I mean their going to marry but their not going to be married you know what I mean. There will be a wedding that’s for sure. I know these people. Brand and Angela and Vince and Jen and whoever else. There all fucking each other. Hell I’ve fucked each one of them and I’m not even good looking. That’s like all these people do. They fuck more than they act. They are fuckers. Anyways… marriage who has time for it? All those shots in the magazine are staged. I know I’ve been there when they shoot them. Those ones with Brad and the little mohawk kid I was there when they shot those. They got that kid from a casting agency that specializes in orphans. Actually the agency adopts orphans but…

Anyways… Arthur Bell that’s what you where asking about yeah haven’t heard that name in a while. Fucking marriage again. His marriage made him. He married well as they say. That’s where he got his initial round of funding if you know what I mean.

(The Waitress arrives with his drinks)

Johnny: Thanks honey. (to arthur) you want any food? Booze?

Arthur: I’m fine. Maybe coffee.

Waitress: Coffee. Sure. (to Johnny) How about you? You want any food now?

Johnny: Sure I’ll have a salad with bacon.

Waitress: We have a few salads that have bacon.

Johnny: You choose. Whatever just a salad with bacon on it. A bacon salad.

Waitress: How about a warm spinach salad?

Johnny: Whatever.

(Waitress leaves)

Johnny: (without missing a beat) Arthur Bell had a huge following here in LA and up north. He claimed it was like 500,000 people but it was more like two, but still 200,000 people is a shit load of people.

Arthur: How do you know how many people he had…

Johnny: I don’t really it’s just an estimate. A guesstimate as they say. I looked more like 200,000 than five. I knew Arthur Bell. I knew a lot of those guys.

Arthur: Wait that’s… how old…?

Johnny: I knew Jim Jones too. He was a fucking asshole. Total speed freak and sexual deviant. When the whole Kool Aid thing happened I didn’t even bat an eye. I was like “that’s what you get for taking your orders from a guy like that. You go to South America with to build a workers paradise based on Benzedrine and Sodomy and what do you expect to happen?”

But I digress… Arthur Bell was not an asshole or a sodomite or a drug addict he was a believer. People say he did it for the money that he was stealing from these people but I say he did it out of fear. He truly believed there where 10,000 families that have, throughout history conspired to rule the world and that he was part of a sacred secret order that has been working in secret to keep them in check. He also believed that there where little metal men beneath the earth but you know…

Why did you want to hear about Arthur again. I don’t remember if Eric said.

Arthur: Well see, my name is Arthur Bell, I mean...

Johnny: Oh okay. I guess that’s as good a reason as any. You where curious about your name sake.

(The waitress arrives with salad and coffee)

Johnny: Thanks sweetie. Bacon looks delicious. (to Arthur) You sure you don’t want anything else? It’s on the studio.

Arthur: No thanks. Hey can I ask you something?

Johnny: Sure that’s what I’m here for I guess.

Arthur: How do you know all this stuff. I mean, I’m sorry but who are you?

Johnny: What did Eric tell you?

Arthur: Uh… he just said he knew someone, Johnny, he said he knew a guy named Johnny who could help. He didn’t really tell me much.

Johnny: Isn’t that just like Eric! So mysterious. So aloof. Only as much information as you need to know right? I bailed him out of jail once. Did you know that? He used to think he was some sort of Gangster. Fuck one night in city jail cured him of that right?

There’s really not all that much mystery to what I do. I’ve just lived in L.A. all my life so I know it really well. You know I was born here and I never left. I’ve never been anywhere else. I mean I’ve been to Pacedena a couple of times but besides that I’ve never even left the county. So now I know things about the city and people come to me and ask me questions and I answer them and they give me things or do things for me. Pretty simple stuff. No big mystery.

Arthur: I don’t know about that.

Johnny: Yeah well, enough about me. We’re here to talk about Arthur Bell and I guess we’ve discovered that you, in fact, are Arthur Bell.

Arthur: Well I’m a Arthur Bell.

Johnny: Right. Good point! There must be hundreds of you out there. I knew one I think that made Scotch.

Arthur: Scotch?

Johnny: Well yeah I didn’t know him but I knew of him. Bell & Sons whiskey. First blended scotch to really get any attention. It’s okay I guess. I don’t know I’m fine with Dewer’s. It has a comforting watery taste.

Arthur: I’m not much of a drinker.

Johnny: Yeah well who is? (he toasts to Arthur then finishes his drink) Arthur Lowler Osborn Fosntain Bell. Let’s see. He was born somewhere in the midwest, sometime in the 1910’s I imagine, I don’t know much about that stuff. If it doesn’t happen in LA well… you know. Anyways he came here in 1934 and founded Mankind United and The Church of Jesus Christ and the Golden Rule. I can’t remember which came first or whatever but they where really the same thing. A cult dedicated to the overthrow of the worlds “hidden rulers”. It seems that since time immemorial there’s been 10,000 families who’ve controlled everything, big surprise there huh? Well Arthur Bell, the other Arthur Bell, was working for the other side, the good guys, he was working for these people called the “Patrons” and these guys have been around as long as the Hidden Rulers have, they’ve been keeping them in check. Standard good and evil shit, real epic stuff. According the Arthur they’ve been fighting this spiritual war in secret for the past few centuries and maybe even longer. He even claimed every so often that America’s Founding Fathers and even the Apostles where actually “Patrons”. However Arthur himself was not a Patron. He was something else. He was “The Voice”.

Arthur: The Voice?

Johnny: (very serious) The Voice. (laughs) No but seriously why do you want to know all this shit? Are you working on a script. I could get you a meeting. You know who would be great? The Coen Brothers. I’m going hunting with them this Friday. Want to come?

Arthur: I don’t really hunt.

Johnny: Neither do they. That’s why it would be fun. It’s fun to do things you don’t really do. Do you want some of my bacon? (Not allowing Arthur to respond) No seriously what are you talking to me for? I mean let’s take this to the studio. Get a real expert on it. Some asshole who’s entire job is to know shit like this.

Arthur: Isn’t that what you do?

Johnny: Fuck no!

Year 2 Week #8 Struggle - Comic Book

The corresponding project from for this week from last year is too dorky and unfeasible for me to even approach right now. I mean I still think it's a pretty good idea but I don't think I'll be writing for Marvel any time soon.

So instead I'm going to post the "pitch" for a comic I've been working on as an editor with James Call. It's story of politics and intrigue in an afterworld peopled by famous movers and shakers from all through history.

Here's James' pitch:

Struggle [working title] is the story of politicing, deal-making, war, business, espionage, and ideological battles, in the afterlife. Set at first in the Sixth Circle of Hell, where heretics go,Struggle begins as three great departed figures of history - President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Huey "the Kingfish" Long of Louisiana, and Julian, apostate Emperor of Rome - rëenter political life in the land of the dead. These figures may not have eternal rest, but they have all the wiles and saavy that they did while alive, not to mention the same impulses that drove them - both the noble and the impure.

Witness the fiery dueling campaigns of the Kingfish and a certain frustrated painter from Munich as they compete for the Governorship of the Sixth Circle! Watch LBJ give "the treatment" to every last legislator in who stands in his way to bring civil rights to the despised Bashanites! See oil reporter Wanda Jablonsky have cocktails with the Mongols and survive! WAR! DEAL-MAKING! SCANDAL! This one has it all, folks!

Week #41 Larry’s Idea for a Comic - Web Comic

Originally when I started this blog I wanted to feature some projects by other people. Alas this never really worked out.

However last week I received the following email from my good friend and fellow comic book geek Larry Luna.

I decided to make it this weeks project:

“I was thinking a good idea for a comic strip would be for any group of us to all tell the same true story but all from our own perspective. For example, with out seeing or being influenced by each others strips we would each write/draw a strip telling a funny or interesting story we all experienced. So if there were four of us at said "story" we would end up with four different versions/strips of that story. I got the idea when I talked to james about the time I punched him in the balls. Hearing his perspective was hilarious, so I think that should be our first strip, The mishap prom where the prom king got socked in the balls mid performance by a drunk mexican and a dog ferociously barked from the audience. I think this should be one of many random web comics on a webcomic blog we need to finally start.”

It’s a good idea and one everyone involved in is really excited about. What I need to do my part of this comic is find someone to draw it. Preferably someone who wasn’t there and doesn’t know the people involved. That way we can add a whole new element the Rashomon angle of this project.

Week #36 The Apartment - Comic

Way back in the early days of 2001, shortly before 9/11, I was living in New York City with Adam Beebe, James Call and James’ then girlfriend Barbara P. King. Three very creative people.

One night, right after we’d finished showing Barbara the last episode of Twin Peaks, we all got inspired and huddled together in front of my computer to create a surrealist story of our own.

We had all recently become very interested in comic books so we decided our story would be a comic. Although James and Adam we’re very good artists neither of them had the patients to draw and entire realistic comic book so we decided we’d create a photo comic. A comic book made up entirely of posed photographs and word bubbles.

The comic we developed was pretty awesome. It starred the four of us as roommates who wake up every morning in our apartment with no memory of how they got there or exactly who they where.

We did a couple of shoots for it but never got very far. I’ve included the whole script we came up with for the first issue below. It’s pretty awesome stuff.

Considering that we all live in different cities now (except me and Adam) there’s little chance we’ll ever finish it the way we wanted to. Still if we got some interest or inspiration we could always “recast” or have someone draw it as a normal comic.

“HOUSE” or “APARTMENT”

NO THOUGHT BUBBLES, NO NARRATIVE

We are stuck inside house : we never know what is going on and we always forget things.

There is something very bad outside, keeping us in!!!

Every morning, a different character is reading the newspaperr about a terrorist attack, India-Pakistan War, etc. This ALWAYS IS NEW to the characters, and the reactions of the characters to the news is revealing about their character, but always an “initial shock”

Perhaps there is a House of Consciousness to match the House of Ignorance?

Hearing screaming, but never recognizing it; as if screaming is alien to the charac ters, as infants

Characters are terrorized by outside weather

Barbara realizes hunger, and enters outside, sees an evil small girl. Upon returning, there is food in the house; Barbara begins to realize something about outside world, but the other characters deny it, and even to Barbara it is a mystery. For example, when she returns, the others say, “But, you were just in the bathroom,” and then she begins to doubt herself. Thus she is left with a sense that something is wrong (e.g., spidey sense), but cannot quite place it...

Children are evil. Animals are good.

Other characters enter and exit the household

plate breaking randomly in four pieces

CHARACTERS

Characters often use nicknames: “Dad,” “The Girl,” “That Asshole,” and “Junkie”

James (Enron)
- level headed, silent, strong
- Christian (moderate); strong moral system
- right wing; prepared for whatever happens
- Speaks many languages and knows literature; reads a lot

Damian (Ratso)
- drug addict; genuinely unhealthy
- feels dread when not on drugs

Barbara (Miss)
- high alert; curious; alarmed; “danger sense”; haunted by demons; ESP; i.e., archetype of “aware” hero (Dale Cooper, the Matrix guy, Peter Parker, etc.)
- visions

Adam (Sim)
- aloof jerk; cynical and bitter (like Jason Hogg or Albert)
- Manipulative. It is a habit and he manipulates without reason.
- Spontaneous, irrational
- Adam arranges chairs and other objects. Perhaps reflective of personality?

Relationships:

NO ONE EVER KNOWS why they relate to each other as they do, and the actions stemming from their relationships often come as surprises

Barbara and James are in a romantic / sexual relationship; adolescent
Barbara once had romance with Damian; Barbara (unconsciously) wants to maintain friendship but Damian (also unconsciously) wants to put the past behind.
Barbara and Adam = Brother and Sister
James is caring towards Adam, who tries to manipulate him but cannot, because of feelings of latent guilt
James and Damian disapprove of each other’s character.
Adam is slowly ruining Damian’s life, but Damian thinks he’s a great guy

When certain things are said (in presence of all characters), every character leaves the room and forgets what has just happened. Perhaps this reminds them of past disturbing incident?

Someone finds toilent clogged; all go into bathroom to stare. Someone then says, “Can you please leave? I’m trying to take a shower.” They’ve all forgotten what happens

Regional slang distinct to house

People occasionally raise memories, which scares them all who stop

It does not occur to the characters that they were children! The demons are all children... if childhood memories emerge, they upset all the characters

Talking dogs?

James turns into bowling ball?

Barbara sees face in window

People who come over are treated innoculously
They live outside “the city”; which city is never noted

As story continues, Barbara gains more consciousness, the story heats up... as it does, James, Damian and Adam vanish or go away.

One recurring character continues to check for Barbara’s pregnancy. These shots are MINIMAL, OFFSCREEN and MYSTERIOUS (completely to audience and even to most of the characters!)

Bill Clinton as potted plant?

Ana? as recurring character who brings basket of drugs. Relationship with Damian? (he would be ignorant, but not her)

Adam is always alone.

Tore as James’ incredibly right wing friend? dressed in fatigues.. SCRIPT - Story breakdown

1. Adam by himself, waking
2. Damian by himself, waking
3. James and Barbara by themselves, waking
4. Adam gets newspaper, sits in kitchen
5. Damian enters, and Adam says “blah di blah” (about the news event)
6. Damian says, “What’s news?” and looks inside empty cabinet (back of head shot)
7. Adam reacts “blah di blah” while Damian opens refrigerator; we see it is empty
8. Shot of Adam opening empty milk carton, while Damian responds dully from off-panel
9. Barbara’s hand
10. Barbara and James, silent; hand in same position. Barbara is contemplating hand.
11. Barbara’s face, confused (wondering if she is married)
12. James and Barbara, looking at each other, confused, feared. Barbara states “We’re not married.”
13. Another silent panel. SAME SHOT as last panel, as both characters contemplate situation.
14. Same shot. James says, “There’s a pain in my stomach,” and gets up out of bed.
15. James enters kitchen, and greets the others. All four characters are seen (Barbara seen through door). I.e, this shot is from hallway outside of bathroom. James says “Hello,” and the other two respond.
16. James tells others, “The young lady is in my bed.” The others respond. The dialogue should show that this event was unexpected and a revelation.
17. Barbara enters kitchen. She is surprised to see Adam and Damian. Adam, Damian and James are having a conversation about what they are going to do today (although they have no idea, and no idea what there is to do)
J: “So, what are you gentlemen going to do today?”
A: “Same thing I always do: Nothing!”
D: “There’s something I have to do today.”
18. Barbara walks into Adam’ room, looking for the bathroom.
A: “Do you have work?”
D: “I don’t think so, not today.”
A: “I’m not going to work today either. My stomach hurts.”
19. Barbara exiting Adam’s room.
B: (outloud, but not to others) “I thought this was the bathroom!”
20. Barbara walks to real bathroom.
D: “Way to go, Einstein!”
J: (laughing) “I can’t remember the last time either of you went to work!”
21. Three guys, uncomfortably laughing. (Barbara in bathroom)
J: “Or myself for that matter.”
A: “Where do you work?”
J: “The city.”
22. Barbara exits bathroom.
B: “I tried to vomit, but nothing came out of my mouth.”
A: “Do you have a problem with vomiting?”
J: “Mind your manners.” (to A)
D: (jokingly) “Yeah, shut up punk.”
23. All of them in the kitchen.
D: “I feel like I haven’t eaten in three days.”
B: “You haven’t eaten for three days. None of us have.”
24. All walk silently into living room.
25. All have sat down, and all are quite serious.
J: “None of us have eaten in three days.”
A: “Yep.”
B: “Well, shouldn’t we do something about it?”
A: (condescending) “We should eat.”
26. Same shot. Barbara alarmed.
B: “Wait. Where is the food?”
A: “The food’s outside, lady.”
J: “Some respect.”
D: “Someone has to go get food.”
27. Adam’s face. Angry, shocked.
28. James’ face. Concerned.
29. Damian’s face. Worried, queasy.
30. Barbara’s face. Alarmed.
B: “Well I am not going outside!”
31. James’ face.
J: “I don’t think it prudent for any of us to leave.”
32. Damian’s face.
D: “Fuck no.”
33. Adam’s face.
A: “Why don’t you guys go. I’ve got something to do.”
34. Same shot as 25-26.
D: “You don’t even know what you have to do!”
J: “Be considerate. We all have things to do.”
A: “Listen General, you don’t even know what ‘doing something’ is!”
B: “Be quiet be quiet be quiet!”
35. Same shot. Silence.
36. Same shot.
J: “Miss, are you alright?”
D: “Yeah, what is it?”
A: “That time of month again, or just crack?”
37. Damian gets up and goes to bathroom. James gets up and heads towards kitchen (Barbara looks at him). Adam goes as well, to finish reading newspaper.
D: “I’ve got to take my medication.”
A: “Maybe I should take your medication too.”
38. Barbara and James.
B: “Enron, where are you going?”
J: “Just... to...”
39. Damian emerges from bathroom with pills in hand
D: “Where is my tequila?”
B: (Holding bottle, very confused.) “Right here...”
40. Kitchen. Adam reading newspaper with James looking over shoulder.
J: “Say friend, what’s in the news today?”
A: “Nothing you’d like, understand or be interested in.”
J: “What is of interest to one man is of interest to all men. No value can be assigned to knowledge.”
A: “Totally. Write a book.”
41. Damian takes pill with liquor, as he walks back into living room. Barbara watching intently. Damian does not look at her.
42. Damian and Barbara in living room. Damian is irritated that she is watching him.
D: “I do this everyday, you know.”
B: “You do?”
D: “Oh.”
43. Barbara thinking.
44. Damian and Barbara, still in living room. Damian is leaving to another room.
D: “Where are my cigarettes?”
45. Barbara thinking.
46. Shot of the door.
47. Closer shot of door.
48. Still closer shot of door.
49. Damian re-entering living room.
D: “It’s time for you to go get the food. And get me some cigarettes while you’re out there.”
50. Barbara enters kitchen and begins putting on coat, etc.. James is still looking over Adam’s shoulder.
J: “Will you be doing the crossword?”
51. Barbara has put on coat and the others notice her. Damian enters from living room.
J: “That coat looks very becoming on you.”
A: “If I was on you, I’d be coming too.”
52. Different angle shot. Adam, Damian and Barbara laughing hysterically. James with arms crossed.
J: (under his breath) “Honestly.”
53. Laughing ends. Barbara nervous.
54. Barbara and door. Barbara looks at it.
55. Barbara’s face.
B: “Well, I’m going now.”
56. Shot of the others. All are nervous.
D: “It’s for the best.”
J: “Yes, that’s true.”
57. Shot of the handle of the door.
B: “Goodbye.”
58. ALL BLACK.
B: “See you later.”
59. Diagonal shot of hallway. Barbara is walking through it.
60. Same shot. Barbara is getting closer.
61. Same shot. Barbara is incredible close; perhaps so close that not her entire body appears in the shot (i.e., just her arm, face, etc.)
62. Shot of front door, from inside perspective. Perhaps with back of Barbara’s head?
63. Barbara’s hand on front door doorknob
64. Adam, Damian and James are standing and looking at each other. Their look should suggest that they are either concerned and worried, or perhaps conspiring!
65. Outside shot of front door. Barbara is sticking her head out, looking around.
66. Shot of Barbara’s face. She is stunned; she is looking up at other floors of building.
67. Shot of upper floors. Shot from Barbara’s perspective (i.e., person standing outside of front door looking immeadiately up)
68. Shot of Barbara’s eyes. (concerned; she senses something)
69. Same shot; Barbara’s eyes now blink, or seem weary.
70. Blurry shot of Barbara’s eyes, closing.
71. Shot of Barbara passed out on porch from little girl’s perspective. A small tuft of hair - the top of the girl’s head - can be seen at bottom of shot to establish her presence.
72. Upwards shot of little girl from from ground. Perhaps Barbara’s body can be seen on the ground from this perspective.
73. Close up on Barbara, waking up dizzily. Body or upper body.
74. Same shot. Barbara is horrified.
75. Straight-on shot of little girl. Now she holds a birthday cake.
76. Shot of Barbara with hand on the door.
77. Shot of hallway. Barbara entering door in haste.
78. Shot of Barbara stumbling to the ground.
79. Barbara crawls forward along ground. (upsetting angle perhaps)
80. Barbara reaches up to open apartment door.
81. The door is wide open. Barbara can be seen on the ground. The others are there in the kitchen. They are sitting around a table laden with good food. They look overjoyed.
J: “Just in time for dinner!”
A: “Manga manga!”
82. Shot of turkey carving or salad being tossed. Wine glasses are being toasted.
83. Shot of Barbara standing. She picks up a glass of wine but looks confused.
84. Same shot. Barbara is standing with a grin on her face and her glass of wine.
85. Toast? The toast should either be an old corny toast or perhaps foreshadowing.

The girl skips away. then she will re-enter to find her happy roommates with a huge dinner. She will suddenly be fine again, without knowing why, and remembering little.

Week #34 - Zombie Comic - Comic Book

This ones kinda cheating since it’s actually pretty much finished so it’s not a project I want to do, it’s a project I’ve done.

Still I’m excited about it because, short as it is, it’s the first time I’ve had anything I’ve written turned into a comic (Drawn by the exemplary Larry Luna).

It was also made to promote a Sleepwalker’s play I’m in that I’m super excited about:

Zombie Town: A documentary play about Zombies! Running at the Exit Stage Left,156 Eddy St. San Francisco Fridays & Saturdays Oct. 9th - Nov. 7th

Here’s the comic:

Week #16 Crippled by Depression- Comics Anthology

Crippled by Depression was originally a comics anthology me and Adam Beebe wanted to do for years. The idea was to have a cover like an EC comic but instead of saying “Tales from the CRYPT”, It would be “Crippled by DEPRESSION”, and all the stories would be about people unable to live up to there potential. We even toyed with the idea of having like a slob guy as the host in the place of the Crypt Keeper.

A few years after we came up with the idea we actually sort of used the title to cross-promote our one-off zines, crippled by depression #1 was 22 Poems about Girls I saw on the Subway and #2 was Adam’s documented foray into online dating “Why Don’t Nobody Love Me?”.

Still I’d like to do the actual comic some day. I know Adam drew a three page thing for the inside, James Call has been writing a sort of monthly thing and Larry Luna drew a cover a while back which was pretty awesome. I guess it’s mostly up to me to take the reigns and do this if it’s gonna get done but if there’s anyone out there making comics let me know, if we get enough content I could put it together pretty easily.

Week #15 The Devil You Know (Maybe not the Title)- TV Show or Comic Book

This is an idea I came up with over ten years ago while I when I was just out of High School. I’ve given it a lot of thought over the years but I can’t seem to find the right approach to it.

This is a story about the Judeo-Christian-Islamic devil. There’s been a lot of versions of the Devil over the years but this one is the one that does god’s bidding, traveling around in human disguise testing people by tempting them towards a life of sin.

The concept behind this story is that the apocalypse is coming and the devil, as an agent of god, knows this. He comes to god and asks for a reward for his service. He wants to live the last ten years of creation as a human. He’s spent so long wearing human forms and pretending to be human he wants to know what all the effort was for before it’s over. God sees no reason not to grant his wish.

We’d start with the Devil in human form suddenly taken with fear and uncertainty, having suddenly lost his connection to god, for the first time in his existence not knowing what’s coming next.

As we follow this newly humanized devil through his exploits, discovering what it is to be human, we also see his memories, in flashback, all the adventures he’s had tempting mankind throughout history.

The way I see it this thing would work best of either a TV show or a comic book, that way there could be an ongoing story taking place in the present as well as a self contained story each episode or issue taking place in the past.

I don’t really know where to start on this project. I guess if I just started writing some of the short stories from the past that would be a good start. If anyone out there likes the idea I’d love to hear from them, I’m pretty much open to anything.

Week #13? (I gotta little off because I had to go to NYC and put on a benefit) The Wale Carcass- Animated Feature or Comic Book

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. There was a dark room near the front where they played a series of short little 15 minute films about deep sea life. One of the features was about the whole ecosystem of life the develops over decades on a sunken whale carcass at the bottom of the sea.

The night before I’d watched the Pixar movie Ratatouille and although I found it perfectly charming I found myself wondering why it really needed to be animated. It seemed to me that, with the obvious exception of the anthropomorphic rats, the story and it’s narrative devices seemed pretty conventional. I thought it would be much more impressive to see animation move in new directions, not just get better at looking like other cinema, but to do new, substantially different things.

The next morning I saw the whale carcass video and it clicked. This could be a perfect project for animation. Imagine a movie or a maybe even a mini-series that told the tale of the rise and fall of this whole society that exists on the decomposing body of a whales’ body. In my mind this would be a story that starts with the death of the whale and ends with the last organisms either dying or having to migrate because there resources (The whale carcass) have run out.

I do think it the creatures in it should be slightly anthropomorphized but it should in no way be a kids story. More like a rise and fall of the Roman Empire but with different classes and races being portrayed by different species. There’s a lot of opportunity there to explore how close society and politics relate to the simple natural order of things.

I’m obviously not an animator or even much of a visual artist at all. I have no idea where you’d start with a project like this. I just thought of this and it seemed like a pretty cool idea so I decided to put it out there. If anyone knows an animator or anyone close to that feel free to send this to them. I suppose it could also be done as a comic book but this sort of thing is more common in that medium, it seems it would be a whole new thing for the world of animated features.

Week #12 Arthur Bell,Movie, Play or Comic Book

A couple of Thanksgivings ago I was staying at a cabin in Tahoe with my family. In the room I was staying in there was a Time/Life book about cults in america, I think it was from the “Mystery’s of the Unknown” series. Everyone went to sleep before me so I ended up reading the whole thing. 


What I discovered reading this book was that there was a major breakout of occultism centered in LA during the 1920’s. There where a few well known modern established religions that had there birth here such as the Nation of Islam and the Jehovah Witnesses but what really captured my attention was the more marginalized utopian cult’s that seemed to be popping up everywhere like “I AM” and the one I’m particularly fascinated with “Mankind United”.

What I found particularly interesting about these cults was there apparent sincerity. Money was taken and not accounted for, utopias where promised in return for long hours and never achieved, but through all this there was a distinct absence of the sexual exploitation and violence the seemed so tied up with the cult’s of the 60’s and 70’s. These Utopiasts of the 1920’s seemed to really believe in what they where doing, even if it was insane and inevitably lead to bankruptcy hearings.

As I noted before the one I’m really interested in doing some sort of story about is Mankind United (Later Christ’s Church of the Golden Rule) and particularly it’s founder and leader Arthur Bell. Arthur Bell appeared on the cult scene in the mid twenties with the release of his paperback pamphlet “Mankind United”. According to Mr. Bell there was a group of 10,000 families who have been conspiring since very early times to consolidate all the wealth in the wold and enslave the rest of us. In the envisioned future of these families, a group who the book called the Hidden Rulers, everyone would live in giant skyscrapers with the rulers living on the top floors and the rest living below.

The only reason the Hidden Rulers haven’t achieved there dystopian goals is that there is an equally old opposition, a group called only “the Sponsors” (Aparently short hand for there full name “Sponsors of The International Institute of Universal Research and Administration”). Through out history the Sponsors have operated entirely in secret foiling the Hidden Rulers from plans at every turn. There membership, although highly secret, is rumored to have included a couple of presidents and maybe even a few apostles. The Sponsors achieve there work in the world with the help of individual agents as well as there organization “The Universal Service Corporation”.

The Sponsors also have a plan for this world. A future classless Utopia where everyone works for four hours a day, four days a week, for four months a year. They have a forty day plan on how to achieve this heaven but it can only be announced to the world when Mankind United's membership reaches 200,000,000.

The public face of all of this. The man who spoke for the Sponsors as well as the Universal Service Corporation was the author of the book’ Arthur Bell. He served as there priest, recruiter and for all intensive porpoises avatar. He referred to himself as “the Voice”.

Besides his comparatively low level of sleaziness what really lit up my imagination about Arthur Bell and his cult was how close his ideas came to seeming right. Besides his childish proclivity for round numbers (10,000 families, 200,000,000 members, 4 hours, 4 days ect.) there’s no denying that over time money and power has been consolidating into the hands of fewer and fewer people. Plus with mechanization it’s appearing that shorter and shorter work hours may be the only way to go.

On top of these sort of generally accurate anxieties there was also the case of the Universal Service Corps.’ only publicized field activity; one where they destroyed a prototype of a device the hidden rulers wanted to place in everyones house, a screen, very much like a television, that would vibrate your eyeballs out of your head. Then in the beginning of WWII Arthur Bell was finally arrested by the infamous house on un-American activities for sedition. His crime was spreading literature that said that the war was a conspiracy to consolidate the world’s resources into the hands of a few countries. Which of coarse, with histories perspective, is what the war ended up doing.

Arthur Bell was completely insane of coarse. He believed there where tiny metal men who lived underground and did the bidding of the hidden rulers, he also claimed he could be in multiple physical places at the same time. Still I believe the best approach to a story about him would be to take it all as the truth even the things I just mentioned. I good story would start with the things we all see to be almost reasonable and then lead into the less easy to swallow ones.

Of coarse I’m not sure exactly what the story is I’d like to tell or even what medium is best for it. I’ve sat down and tried to write a few times but I don’t know where to start. I’ve done tons of research but I can’s seem to find a format for it. I do think it should be a film or a comic book since I think the visual aspect of the era would add a lot to it. If anyone else seems this is as ripe for exploration as I do I’d love to hear any ideas anyone has.

Week #8 Hero Story-Wolverine Comic

As anyone reading this probably already knows I’m a total dork. This idea really does point that out better than most things. This ones more for the uber-geeks out there, if you’re not into comics it will probably be partially incoherent.

It’s an idea for a Wolverine comic that I’ve had in my head for a while. It’s not something I could really execute since it kinda’ needs star Wolverine who is a property of Marvel Comics but it would satisfy me just to get the idea out there.

The basic concept is that Wolverine is sent on a mission by a collection of Marvel’s magical experts, Dr. Strange, Dr. Doom maybe even Brother Voodoo. They send him to China to a sacred monastery hidden in an Oasis in the heart of the Gobi desert. He is told to assassinate the Monk who runs the monastery.

Once in china he meets up his enemy from Japan the Silver Samaria who tells him that the mystics sent him to aid Wolverine on his mission. Probably we’ll meet the Silver Samaria when he saves Wolverine form some Hand assassins or something. Wolverine reluctantly travels with him across china.

I haven’t really come up with any details here in the middle there probably needs to be a couple more events.

In a forest on there way to the Gobi Logan and The Samaria find a small village of elf like people. These peoples entire life span is only one year each. Allowing them to breed and adapt faster than humans and giving them a totally different outlook on life and death.

When we meet this village they are being threatened by a terrible creature that devours life force. It eats away peoples life a year at a time. The Silver Samaria ends up giving his life to satiate the creature, knowing that one of him will save forty of the villagers. In thanks for saving there village the elf like people send there warrior princess, who lives for much longer than the others, to travel with Logan.

Once they get to the edge of the desert they are led to the monastery by some sort of wacky guide I haven’t thought of yet.

As they get closer to the Oasis they start to notice strange things. The Hand Ninja’s that attack them don’t dissolve like they usually do, Logan’s wounds aren’t healing quite as quick and the blossoms that usually close at night remain open.

Once at the monastery Logan finally learns the reason he’s been sent to kill this monk. The monk has been engaging in rituals to stop the cycle of life and death. Nothing will die and nothing will be born, people will stop aging, cells will stop splitting. His rituals have already begun and there effects can be seen emanating from the location of the monastery.

After a brief fight with the Monk, and a bunch of expository dialogue where we learn what his plans are, the monk uses his magic to fatally wound the elf princess. She lies broken nearly dead but unable to die due to the monk's magics. Wolverine is thrown into a blind fury slashing away at the monk with abandon. When he comes back to his senses he’s surprised to find that the monk stays dead and the elf is allowed to die as well.

As wolverine is about to head out, carrying the body of his friend back to her people, Dr. Strange shows up. He explains to Wolverine that it had to be him who went of this mission because he is himself a dichotomy of life and death. A man who can never die but is responsible for taking and saving the lives of so many others.

Not much anyone can help me with on this one. Unless someone wants to draw it with me and send it Marvel as a submission. I suppose if someone really liked it we could just change the characters and make it our own.