Boxy!

1 - Full page splash.  It's a cardboard box sitting on the floor of a house.  It's the kitchen, but there's no furnishings or hints of people living there to speak of.  It's literally just a cardboard box on the floor, the upper flaps open.  First caption is towards the top of the page; the second is nearer to the middle.

CAPTION (1): Behold Boxy the Box!

CAPTION (2): He is admittedly not terribly interesting.

2 - Inset panel.  Towards the bottom right of the page.  Pretty much the same image of the box, but the shadowing looks pretty

CAPTION: Or is he?!?!

Frbll

1 - Frbll is a small alien who looks surprisingly like a a cute and cuddly ball of fur.  He's got some eyes, a hilarious-looking nose appendage (possibly a trumpet-esque prtoducence), as well as some cute little arms and legs.  Let's say he also has some antenna on top of his head, but it's nothing terribly obtrusive.  Anyways.  He is in a city park.  His small ship is off to the side.  He has disembarked to perform some exploration.  He's currently exploring some garbage that has fallen out of a nearby trash receptacle.

CAPTION (FRBLL) (1): Mission log: Stranded on this laughingly-designated as "Earth", I have commenced explorations of my immediate environs.

CAPTION (FRBLL) (2): Progress is agonizingly slow.  The local technologies are primitive to the point where it is difficult to ascertain the meanings / functions of my various discoveries.

2 - Ffbll's eyes bulge as someone off panel yells.  He drops the piece of garbage he was examining.

CAPTION (FRBLL): I've reached but one conclusion thus far --

WOMAN (off-panel): Omigawd!  What is that?!

3 - Frbll turns to see a woman jogger standing off to his side.  She looks surprised and confused.  Frbll pulls out a futuristic-looking raygun and points it at her menacingly, which still looks pretty darn cute.

FRBLL: Stay back!  My explod-o-canon can disintegrex you in less than three zeptoseconds!  You probably wouldn't like that very much!

4 - The woman jogger has picked up Frbll and hugs him in a vice-like grip to her chest.  He's undergoing asphyxiating type pressure here.  His eyes bulge even more than in the second panel.

WOMAN: You are sooo cute!

FRBLL: Unhand me, vile creature!

CAPTION (FRBLL): The planet's inhabitants appear to be quite hostile.

A bit of a break between posts due to traveling, but I won't let that perturb me.  Today we have Frbll, whose name is admittedly a bit lacking in the excitement department, but I like him anyways.  I'm not entirely certain of his physical appearance, but I do know his ship is along the same designs as Skottie Young's Bernard.

I've always been a fan of the tiny, fishbowl spaceship design, so that's definitely what Frbll would be rocking.  It's only a scout ship, which both explains its tiny size and how he is stranded.  I imagine that his continued adventures would involve some highjinx as he learns more about Earth, some misunderstandings between he and his people once they arrive, and everyone learning some valuable lessons by story's end.

Lanny and Lonny Lundmark

1 - Lanny and Lonny Lundmark, twin brothers, have been walking through the untame wilderness of the Old West for longer than they would care to remember.  They're tired and hungry.  Their clothing is dirty and torn.  They've seen better days.  Behind them, the hot dessert spans out farther than the eye can see.  There is a sign in front of the brothers.  Whatever it says it not yet visible to the reader.  The panel is positioned so it is looking out from just below said sign; its posts on the panel's right and left borders and its bottom just visible from the panel's top border.  Lanny looks towards the sign with a mischievous grin on his face.  Lonny is lying face down on the ground, clearly out of gas.

LANNY: We're here, Lonny.

LONNY: I didn't think we had a destination, Lanny.

2 - Same panel layout.  Lanny has moved to his brother's side.  He grabs Lonny's head with one arm and angles his face to see the sign.  He points at the sign with his other hand.  Lonny wears a mischievous grin that matches his brother's.

LANNY: We didn't.  Until just now.

LONNY: How do you think they'll feel about our regular customs and habitudes?

3 - Switch angles.  The brothers are in the same position.  The sign takes up the majority of the panel.  It reads: "Faith" with "Welcoming all, because all are welcome" written underneath.  A little, idyllic western town is visible in the background.

LANNY: Lonny, I do believe that our unique talents shall serve us quite well among these fine folk.

Lanny and Lonny have been kicking around for a good long while up in the ol' noggin.  I don't have much beyond "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-esque con men living in the Old West", but I feel like that could take a man places.  We'll just have to find out what those places are some day.

Please note that the main difference between Lanny and Lonny is their choice of facial hair.  Lanny is mustachioed while Lonny wears a fuller beard.  Important facts, these.

A bear

1 - A crowded bar.  People are talking to each other loudly.  To demonstrate that, you could have lots of tail-less word balloons representing parts of conversations.

2 - The same bar, but a bear is now walking across the room towards the bar itself (note: the bear is walking on his hind legs, like a person).  All the conversations have stopped.  People stare in terror at this woodland creature as it crosses the room.  No dialogue.

3 - The bear is up at the bar.  The barkeep is paralyzed with fear.  The bear puts up a paw to indicate that he would like one drink.  No one else has moved.  No dialogue.

4 - The bear turns and leans up against the bar.  His arms out, he lounges lazily, a content expression on his face.  No dialogue.

5 - The bear holds the same position, but his expression changes to one of annoyance and confusion.

BEAR: What?

Today's character: a bear who wants a beer.

I believe this is what they call genius.

Larry Leapman

Panel layout isn't super important here.  Let's say the first 2 panels are on the first row, with panel 1 taking up 1/3 of the row and panel 2 taking up the remaining 2/3s.  Row two is made up of panels 3 and 4, which can be more or less of equal size.  Row three is made up solely of panel 5, which spans the page.

1 - A female figure closes a door behind her.  She wears a heavy hood and cloak to conceal her identity, but brightly coloured clothing is visible below it.  In fact, even though the hood is made of dark material, it's oddly bright..  The whole room / world seems to be that way.  She looks up in fright at the voice addressing her.

LARRY (off-panel): Who goes there?!

2 - The figure removes the hood and cloak to reveal that she is Princess Pamela!  She wears a blank expression.  Larry Leapman sits on the ground nearby, looking up with a mixture of relief, surprise, and happiness.  Both Larry and Pamela are as brightly coloured as the nondescript room around them, like the whole world is being seen through a filter of nostalgia.

PAMELA: It's me, my love.

LARRY: Princess!  How did you escape from Oswald's clutches?!

3 - Princess Pamela walks towards Larry.  She now wears a sad face, tears welling in her eyes.  Larry looks concerned, but does not move.

LARRY: What's wrong, Pam?

4 - Larry continues to sit, unmoving.  Pamela has gone over to him and kneels next to him, hugging his head to her body in a manner meant to soothe him.

LARRY: Did that horrible brute harm you?

PAMELA (1): Shh.  You know he didn't.

PAMELA (2): You saved me long ago, honey.

5 - Same positioning, but pull back to get a better look at the surrounding room.  Have Pamela and Larry be placed towards the right side of the panel.  That nostalgic filter is gone, the colour drained of its brightness, leaving a darker, bleaker world (think a lot of blues and the like).  Both Princess Pamela and Larry look older than previously.  Larry in particular looks quite gaunt and bedraggled. His hair is unkempt, his eyes lack focus, and he wears a straight-jacket.  Pamela cries openly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

PAMELA: You saved me long ago.

Did that make sense?

I watched Indie Game: The Movie yesterday with a friend of mine, and go my brain going about potential video game / video game character ideas.  Larry Leapman and Princess Pamela are the fruits of that labour.  You may recognize them as loose Mario / Peach clones, but the main difference for our erstwhile hero is that his fight ended long ago.  As I tried to imply through Pamela's dialogue, Oswald hasn't given the kingdom trouble in years, but Larry can't seem to process that fact.  He literally can't get past the past, stuck in the time when he jumped all over the kingdom to save the Princess from Oswald's vile hand.  He's unable to recognize that that is no longer the status quo and hasn't been for some time.  Instead, Pamela has him locked up in a tower, hoping that he will one day snap out of it.  Things don't look good.

While their story would definitely build quite strongly on Mario's mythos, I think the tale of a hero who can't process that the time for heroism is past would make for both a great comic or a great video game.  Or at least interesting ones.

Maybe I'll get to explore the idea in more depth on day.

Le Boxeur casqué

One row of four panels across the top of the page, followed by a single panel that takes up the rest of the page.

1 - Two guys sit across from each other in a dinner-type restaurant.  From the lack of light outside, it's clear that it's late night (or early morning).  Also, it's raining.  The guys both look pretty rundown.  They're tired and worn, but it feels like they've been this way for a long time.  One guy is tall and lean.  The other is short and stocky.  Tall is smoking, and judging by the ashtray, has been going at it for a while.  They nurse drinks, but there's no sign of food at the moment.

TALL: I still don't see what' so impressive about it.

2 - Focus in on Tall as he takes a drag and continues on his oral contemplations.

TALL: I mean, doesn't running around wearing a helmet take most of the risk out of it?

3 - Switch back out to the two.  Short takes a hard look at Tall (who continues that drag).  No dialogue.

4 - Focus in on Short.  He leans in a bit to emphasize his words.

SHORT: Does it?

5 - Switch locations completely.  We're now in a shady back alley.  Still night time.  This alley is even more run down than Tall and Short.  Windows are mostly boarded, broken, or missing.  Few, if any, are whole.  Doors are barred or likewise missing.  The rain falls hard against the pavement.  Puddles pool everywhere.  There's plenty of garbage cans, a number of them overturned, spilling their contents across the sidewalk and street.  In the centre of all this is a lone figure.  His back to the reader, he walks up the street.  It is Le Boxeur casqué.  It looks like he's wearing a trench coat, but it's actually one of those boxing robe / coat things that boxers wear on their way up to the ring.  He also has boxing boots and gloves on.  And, of course, true to his name, he wears a helmet on his head.  It's a round, open face helmet (kind of like this, but without the visor and with two stripes going from across the top from the back of the neck to the forehead).  He is the only figure on the page.

CAPTION (SHORT): Then how come you aren't out there every night like he is?

This is based off of a sketch that I came across by chance.  A boxing-type who was wearing a helmet (with Le Boxeur casqué written across the top because it was a French sketch).  I really like the idea of a dude dressed up as a boxer with a motorcycle helmet running around the streets of a city at night trying to right wrongs.  It sounds super fun in my books.

I also like this page, because I think it could act as a solid first or last page in a book about LBC.

Oo, Wuul, and Frinxil

Five rows of panels, each row made up of a single panel.

1 - Mars.  An endless marscape near the Gale Crater spans off into the distance (let's say something like this).  There's nothing going on.  No dialogue.

2 - Repeat panel.  The difference is that the the Curiosity Rover is driving along in the distance, going from left to right.  It's maybe a third of the way across the panel.  Its tracks are visible behind it.  No dialogue.

3 - Repeat panel.  Curiosity is about two thirds of the way across.  No dialogue.

4 - Repeat panel.  Curiosity has gone off-panel.  Only its tracks remains.  No dialogue.

5 - This panel is actually the continuation of the above image, simply divided by the gutter.  Two Martians, Oo and Wuul, stand looking towards the tracks in the distance.  They're tall and spindly.  They have redsih skin, wearing simple clothing that does little to offset them from the marscape around them.

OO: <The Earthlings are back again.  I guess they just couldn't get enough of looking at our rocks the first three times.>

Oo is a very sarcastic Martian who is kind of sick of Earthlings periodically sending robots to his planet to ultimately break down and do nothing.  Wuul isn't quite as upset about the whole thing, but he knows when to stay quiet.

And while I like this script and character, I recognize that it isn't a lot to go on, so I came up with a companion piece to it.

Five rows of panels, each row made up of a single panel.

1 - Venus.  An endless venuscape spans off into the distance (let's say something like this).  There's nothing going on.  No dialogue.

2 - Repeat panel.  Also nothing.  No dialogue.

3 - Repeat panel.  Still nothing.  No dialogue.

4 - You know the drill.

5 - This panel is actually a continuation of the above image, simply divided by the gutter.  A single Venusian, Frinxil, stands looking towards the emptiness in the distance.  He holds a futuristic holographic-tablet-type thing that reads "Curiosity Successfully Lands on Mars!", maybe with an accompanying picture.  Frinxil looks kind of sad.

FRINXIL: <Why don't they ever come here?>

The first script is very much inspired by the Curiosity Rover (no kidding!), and O and Wuul are perhaps a bit lackluster or light in detail, but I actually really like Frinxil.  I see her as a pretty smart and capable Venusian, but she's also the only one, which makes her a little lonely, to say the least.  However, she seems to have some pretty advanced technology, so maybe she won't always have to be alone?

Soid

Five rows of panels.  Each row is made up of a single panel that spans the page's width.  Rows one and five are quite thin, together taking up less than a quarter of the page.  The remaining three rows are all of equal height, taking up the space in between.

1 - Black panel, but there's a couple of tail-less word balloons.  The first word balloon is in the top left area; the second is towards the bottom right.

SOID (wavy writing to imply he's regaining consciousness) (1): Oooooh.

SOID (2): What happened?

2 - From Soid's perspective, looking skyward.  A blurry figure looks down on Soid.  They stand above him, so they look upside-down on the page.  Due to said blurriness, no substantive details are visible, although it seems like the figure is wearing a mask.

SOID (1): Lanno?

SOID (2): Is that you?

3 - Still from Soid's perspective.  The blurry figure has solidified.  They are wearing a tribal-like mask that looks rather nefarious.  Still upside-down, dark, empty eyes loom over Soid, with hungry-looking teeth carved in around where the creature's mouth would presumably be.

SOID: ...

4 - Switch to a 3/4esque angle.  Soid lies on the ground, propped up a little by his elbows.  He is surrounded by four or five of these creatures, all wearing tribal-like masks that, while thematically similar, are all different from one another.  The creatures are also all different sizes.  They all hold weapons at the ready.  One standing towards Soid's feet hits him with the butt of his spear.  Soid's head slams backwards.

SOID: You're not Lan--

SFX (interrupting): THWOK!

5 - A black panel.  No dialogue.


Poor Soid.  They weren't Lanno at all.

Lord Dogberry & Lane

1 - Lord Dogberry is dressed in full Boer War-era British uniform (say, something like this).  He is lying on the top of a hill, aiming down his rifle's sights at something off-panel.  No dialogue.

2 - Repeat panel.

LANE (off-panel): Sir?

3 - The same panel, but it is slightly wider, revealing that Lane, Lord Dogberry's batman / valet, has been standing behind him, arms folded behind his back and looking dapper, the entire time.  Lord Dogberry's expression changes slightly to one of annoyance.

LANE: *ahem* Sir?

LORD DOGBERRY: What is it, Lane?

4 - Lane holds the same position.  Lord Dogberry looks back at Lane, diverting his attention from his rifle for the first time.

LANE: Do you ever wonder if perhaps your prodigious talents could be put to better use?

LORD DOGBERRY: What?

5 - Lord Dogberry is on his feet.  Angry, he jabs an accusing finger into Lane's chest.  Lane holds the same position, unphased.

LORD DOGBERRY (1): What is this nonsense you're talking about!

LORD DOGBERRY (2): Society must be protected at all costs, Lane!

6 - Lord Dogberry holds his arms up in indignation.  He still holds his rifle, which is also up in the air.  In the background, we see a festival of some type, with a number of helium balloons evident.  They're attached to signs, for sale, and held by a number of young children.

LORD DOGBERRY: I ask you, if we don't hunt down those villainous bags of air, who will?

Sometimes you just want to do something silly.  Here we have Lord Dogberry who is on the hunt of the world's most dangerous game - balloons - and his loyal batman / valet, Lane.  I hope this translated from my head to the page properly.

With apologies to Kate Beaten and Brendan Leach.

Richard Costly

Three rows of panels.  The first row is three panels of equal size.  The second row is two panels (4 and 5), and panel 4 is two-thirds of the page's width.  The third row is a single panel.

1 - Two football teams line up against each other for the next down.  The offensive team is lined up in the shotgun formation, with their quarterback standing a few steps back from the centre.  He has his hands out to receive the ball, which has been snapped.

CAPTION (RICHARD): There was no time left on the clock.

QB: Hike!

2 - The quarterback is throwing the ball just as he is getting tackled by two opposing players.  The ball is released, but the throw is not clean.

CAPTION (RICHARD): In a game where we'd been trying to catch up from the start.

3 - A shot from the end zone looking up field.  Richard Costly, a receiver, stands in the end zone looking towards the ball.  He sees that the ball is headed towards the opposite side of the field and is running in that direction at full speed.  The defense is trying to keep pace with him, but while they are providing good coverage, it really is the distance between him and the ball that represents his biggest obstacle at this point.

CAPTION (RICHARD): Our frenzied efforts came down to one last play.

4 - Richard is diving, and while he's heavily covered, he manages to make the catch - just barely.  It's pretty much all fingertips, and he is completely splayed out.

CAPTION (RICHARD): An impossible catch to cap an impossible comeback.

5 - Richard celebrates with all of his teammates.  The home crowd is going wild.  The scoreboard shows that the score is now 58 - 57 for the home team.

CAPTION (RICHARD): No one expected us to win.

6 - Richard sits alone in the locker room.  He is still in full gear, with only his helmet removed.  The room is dark.  Richard holds his head with both hands, a look of fear in his eyes.  Caption at the bottom of the panel.

CAPTION (RICHARD): Least of all the people who told me to throw the game.

So yeah.  Mr. Costly has apparently made some poor decisions, something that doesn't appear to be changing.  At least not yet.  I really built this script and the character from that last visual, but I feel like it doesn't have quite the resonance I was hoping for.  Especially that last line.  But it'll do for the nonce.

Frobisher / F.R.O.B.

Two scripts that approach the same concept from slightly different angles.  I've had an idea of a puppet who's lost his master in my mind for a while, and it's something I'd like to develop a bit more at some point, but I found myself wondering how the concept would look in a slightly updated milieu, thus the robot version at the bottom.

I'll admit that neither script is perfect at the moment, but I think I prefer the former over the latter.  I just feel like there aren't enough stories involving puppets anymore.  Clearly I'll have to get on that.

Script the First

Two rows of panels.  The first row takes up about a third of the page, comprised of four equal-size panels.  The second row takes up the remainder of the page, made up of two panels.  One panel is relatively thin (perhaps similar in width to one of the first row panels) and the other takes up the remainder of the page.

1 - A rectangular box sits atop a round end table.  There is nothing else of note in the panel.  No dialogue.

2 - Repeat panel.  The box has moved slightly to the right.

SFX: NOCK!

3 - Repeat panel.  The box is even further to the right, balancing precariously on the edge of the table.

SFX: NOCK!  NOCK!  NOCK!

4 - Repeat panel.  The box has fallen over the side, now off-panel.  Have some lines to denote that it's smacked into the ground.

SFX: THUD!

5 - Move the shot over and down slightly, with the table mostly off-panel.  Focus on the box, which is now overturned on the ground.  Its contents are not yet visible.

6 - Pull out slightly for a wider shot.  The box remains the centre of attention, but you can now see that there isn't much else in the room beyond the box and the end table.  The box has been pushed over, now on its side.  From within, a puppet has emerged.  He is trying to stand, but the disorientation is causing him to stumble a bit.  He holds a hand to his head and grimaces.  You could even potentially put in one of those squiggly lines that denote confusion / disorientation.

FROBISHER: Master?

Script the Second

Two rows of panels.  The first row takes up about a third of the page, comprised of three equal-size panels.  The second row is a single panel that takes up the remainder of the page.

1 - Close-up of a robot's head.  The robot is off, its head angled down slightly, its eyes dark.  The room the robot in is dark.  It has some cobwebs attached to it.  No dialogue.

2 - Similar panel.  The robot's head is still angled down, but a slight glow seems to be coming from its eyes.  It's activating.

SFX: brzzzt!

3 - Simlar panel.  The robot is now on, its eyes bright in the gloom.  It looks up, taking in its surroundings.  No dialogue.

4 - Pull the shot waaaay back.  The robot is in a huge, empty warehouse, devoid of pretty much anything else.  The place is covered in dust and grime.  The robot looks quite small and alone.

ROBOT: Hello?

Marv

Five rows of panels, each made up of a single panel that extends the entirety of the page.  All equal size.

1 - A child's bedroom.  The child is tucked into their bed (on the left side of the panel), their parent has turned off the light and is closing the bedroom door (towards the middle / background of the panel), and a closet door is visible on the right side of the panel.  Three eyes look out from the darkness of the closet.

SFX (lightswitch): click!

PARENT: Sleep tight!

2 - A big fury monster, Marv, has creeped out of the closet.  He is currently crawling along the floor towards the bed.  The child has closed their eyes to sleep.  No dialogue.

3 - Marv stands at the edge of the bed, hands in the air, preparing for a big scare.  The young child opens one eye and looks at Marv.  No dialogue.

4 - The young child is at the foot of their bed, giving Marv a big ol' hug.  Marv holds the same position, but his eyes have gone wide in surprise and shock.

CHILD: ♥

5 - Marv is back in his home, looking pretty devastated.  His girlfriend Sheila, an octopus-like monster, holds him reassuringly with her multiple arms.

MARV: It happened again.


A little Monsters, Inc.-esque, but it's not like Pixar invented the concept of monsters living in closets.

Right?

Marv is a big fuzzy monster with three eyes, claws, and all that good stuff.  He doesn't have a head in the way that humans would.  Instead, his eyes, nose, and mouth are all placed at what would be considered the upper-part of a human torso.  Except, you know, he's a monster.

As the page suggests, Marv is having difficulties scaring children, which is hurting his self-confidence, which exacerbates his difficulties scaring children.  A vicious cycle.

In case you're curious, Sheila is an octopus monster with so many arms because I like the image of her using a plethora of them to try to reassure Marv.

WRITING, EVERYONE!

Shining Armor

Hello, readers!  Hello, reader!  It's been a while, hasn't it?

People generally like to start new initiatives at the beginning of the month and things like that, but sometimes you don't have an idea until a few days in and it's not worth waiting to get started on it.  That might be this.

30 Characters in 30 Days isn't exactly something new, but I'm going to give such an endeavour a shot nonetheless.  At the very worst, it means I'm working my creative muscles on new ideas every single day, which strikes me as a positive.

Three rows of panels.  Each row is of equal size.  Rows one and three are single panels, taking up the width of the page.  Row two is made up of 3 panels of equal size.

1 - An establishing shot.  It's night time and it's raining.  A Ghost stands alone outside an entrance to a building.  He's trying to be under the awning, but he's still getting soaked.  On top of said awning, Shining Armor lies flat, listening.  No dialogue.

2 - Switch angle to look more directly at the entrance.  A second Ghost is coming out of the entrance.  The first Ghost looks up.  Move in closer so that Shining ARmor isn't on-panel.

GHOST 2: Orders are in.  We strike at midnight.

GHOST 1: Midnight?  That's less than three hours from now.

3 - The first Ghost is frustrated.  The second Ghost is more resigned to their fate.

GHOST 1: They know we need more time than that to mount a proper raid!

GHOST 2: Well, we're mounting one anyways.  We should tell the others.

4 - Ghost 2 stars walking down the stairs.  Ghost 1 continues to complain after him.

GHOST 1: I understand their fear of the rebels, but this degree of secrecy does more harm than good!

5 - Repeat the angle from panel 1.  Ghost 1 follows down the steps hurriedly after Ghost 2.  Shining Armor is gone, no longer on the awning.

GHOST 1: I mean, who do they think we're going to tell?


I'm not sure what shape this effort will take day in and day out, but today, as you can see, it's a one page script, as so often is my wont.  As my post title indicates, today's character is Shining Armor, who is one of the lead fighters among the Soldiers of Light in an ongoing fight against the much larger and more entrenched Spectre Syndicate.  The Syndicate is a huge organization that runs pretty much anything and everything in the city.  The organization has many different levels in its hierarchy, the lowest of which are the Ghosts.  As the names imply, most everything related to the Spectre Syndicate has that phantom-theme to it, thus the light-theme from the rebels.

Anyways, Shining Armor's just the man's name.  He isn't all that shiny and he definitely doesn't have any armor.  At the moment, he wears ruined boots, baggy and worn military pants, and a plethora of tattoos covering his upper body.  He's recently stolen one of the trenchcoats belonging to the Ghosts (although he hasn't bothered taking one of their helmets to match).  To complete his ensemble, he wears a bucket hat low over his face to partially conceal his identity (and because why not?).

So yeah, let's see where this takes us.