Future Imperfect - Page 5

Page 5

1 - We're back to that first scene of page 1.  Close up of the infinaut walking towards the portal in the midst of putting their helmet on (really focused on their upper body and the portal itself).

CAPTION: Perhaps we can know what the future holds.

2 - Same image, but pulled back a bit to show more of the infinaut and the machine they stand before / on top of. The infinaut has stopped walking and has lowered the helmet to their side.

NO COPY

3 - Same image, but pulled back even further to show the room and equipment within it as well.  The infinaut holds the same pose as last panel. The scientist colleagues stand at their posts, confused / looking at each other in confusion.

CAPTION: But can we understand what that means?

And with that, our little story reaches its end, coming full circle.  I think the finished pages could perhaps use a bit of editing, but I'm pretty pleased with the exercise itself.  I will definitely keep at it, so keep an eye here for more pages in the coming days, maybe in fuller story pieces such as this and maybe not.

Future Imperfect - Page 4

Page 4

1 - The infinaut has returned to the future and it's no longer a dead world.  Not only is that vegetation from page 2 around, but it hasn't overwhelmed the city.  Indeed, there are signs of actual life all about, with the city being in decent repair, maybe some hovercars, or whatever.  It's not an utopia, but progress is being made.

CAPTION: Time is changeable.

2 - A rally similar to that seen on page 3, panel 4.  Night time.  Fireworks are going off, confetti is streaming from the sky.  People are in a good mood and celebrating the progress.

CAPTION: Which is both our greatest advantage and greatest challenge.

3 - Same scene.  The next day.  The people are gone, but the remains of their celebration are evident everywhere.  Confetti, food, drink, and other detritus litter the ground.  Street lights or car windows might be broken.  It's not a great looking scene, and no one (or very few) seems to be taking action to clean it up.

CAPTION: Does knowing the result of our efforts help?

4 - Back to the future again, except things have gotten worse.  A lot worse.  Maybe even past the point of initial contact on page 1.

CAPTION: Or hinder?

Future Imperfect - Page 3

After a brief delay, we're back for more.  And don't worry, the final two pages should go up in the next two days without delay.  Prepare yourself!

Page 3

1 - The infinaut stands at a podium in a university auditorium, speaking passionately.  There's a decent size audience, but that obviously only adds up to so many people.  Perhaps on the podium or behind it, there should be a banner or somesuch that reads "Our Future: Together" (it could also be just portions of the phrase if you can't see it all).

CAPTION: What would that look like and how much effort would you need?

2 - The infinaut is now on a late night TV show, speaking earnestly with the host.  Both wear serious expressions.

CAPTION: How many people would have to act?

3 - A YouTube-equivalent website.  The video being watched is some footage from that initial university auditorium lecture.  Video title could be "Our Future: Together"; the view count should be into the low millions.

CAPTION (1): Inertia is a difficult thing to overcome.

CAPTION (2): But once you get past those first, halting steps.

4 - The infinaut once again stands at a podium, but this time it's at an outdoor demonstration that is incredibly well-attended.  The crowd before them is huge, with lots of people having come out to hear and support the message.

CAPTION: It can become your greatest ally.

Future Imperfect - Page 2

It's true!  I'm continuing the narrative from yesterday.  For how long?  Only time will tell!

Page 2

1 - The infinaut is back in the lab.  Helmet off, they look towards and speak with two colleagues who listen to the dire report of the future.  The two colleagues wear expressions of despair and sorrow, matching the captions.  The infinaut looks determined, matching the caption from the next page.

CAPTION (1): How would we react?

CAPTION (2): With despair?

CAPTION (3): Sorrow?

2 - The infinaut is working on a big creation of some variety.  It's not quite clear what it is yet, but there's a lot of metal, circuitry, and wires involved.  The infinaut has a blowtorch at the ready and is about to lower their protective mask to do some work.  We could have other members helping out in various capacities if we'd like, but I kind of like the idea of it starting as a singular effort.

CAPTION: Or determination?

3 - The creation is completed - the team has built a new type of battery or energy cell.  It is similar to the gizmo of the previous panel, but much smaller.  An intense glow comes off from it.  The team has assembled around it and look delighted.

CAPTION: Would we make the changes necessary to avoid disaster?

4 - Switch to a news anchor reporting on the device.  An image of it floats above her as you'd expect in your average newscast.  At the bottom of the screen, a caption reads: "Green Energy is Here!" with a subtitle that goes "Fossil Fuels a Thing of the Past?"

CAPTION: Could we?

5 - Channeling the final panel of page 1, the infinaut is back in the future.  The city / world isn't poisoned this time around, but humanity remains long dead.  The difference is that lush vegetation and green permeates the scene now, having into place after the passing / destruction / whatever of humanity (kind of like this, I suppose).  The infinaut stands with discouraged body language.

CAPTION: More importantly,  could we do it on a large enough scale to make a difference?

Future Imperfect

Loosely inspired by this poster from Neal Williams of Epic Problems.

1 - A science lab.  There can be lots of wires and experiments and so forth spread throughout or it can be immaculately clean.  The important thing is that a time travel-y portal stands in the middle of the room, looking all impressive an indecipherable (I've never seen the show, but I'm thinking something like the Star Gate gates, but maybe more angular).  A figure in what would be a mixture of a space / time travel suit walks towards the portal, in the process of putting on their helmet.  Their back is to the reader.  If we'd like, we could have a scientist or two manning some machines / taking notes (labcoats: an obvious must).

CAPTION: Humanity has always yearned to know what the future holds.

2 - The portal as background.  The figure (I'm calling them a infinaut) has passed through the portal and looks at the world in front of them.  Their helmet is obviously on at this point.  Perhaps there could be some reflection within their visor (should the suit have a visor), but it should be indistinct / unclear.

CAPTION: But part of me has always worried.

INFINAUT: Good lord...

3 - Main panel of the page.  Rotate the focus so that we're seeing what the infinaut would have been looking at.  They're in the middle of a ruined city.  Only the skeletons of the buildings remain, with debris and discarded items, vehicles, etc littering the landscape.  The sky is dark and poisoned, as nothing is left living.  Having a couple of obvious skeletons also wouldn't be a bad idea.  This could either be an eagle-eye view looking down on the horror and destruction or it could be worm's eye kind of next to the infinaut looking up at the awful world they've discovered.  Either way, the infinaut and the portal they came through should figure into the page in some capacity.

CAPTION: "What if we don't like the answer?"

Rising Need

Loosely inspired by this poster by Rob Jones of Animal Rummy.

1 - A Victorian-esque cityscape.  If we're feeling really into it, maybe some steampunk elements thrown in there.  The important thing is that the city is in the midst of a major dust storm, which rages all around the scene in this panel.  A small paperboy holds the day's issue for sale, which plainly reads "Drought Enters 5th Year" ("No End in Sight" as the slightly harder to read subtitle goes).  Two men walk by (towards the right side of the panel), dragging a hot air balloon basket behind them.  The first man is small and lithe and maybe isn't having that great of an impact on dragging the balloon.  However, the second man is tall and broad-shouldered, and is able to pull more than his fair share.

CAPTION (FIRST MAN): "The city needs water."

2 - The two men are now in a field.  They pull out the balloon portion along the expanse to set it up (kind of like this).  The dust storm continues to a certain extent through this panel (and the remainder, as well).

SECOND MAN: Sure, but why do we have to get it?

3 - The balloon pulled out, the men are now filling the envelop with air / fire (kind of like this).  The first man, who operates the burner, looks up to the sky as he speaks.  The second man, who holds the envelope, looks anxious.

FIRST MAN: Because everyone is satisfied with waiting for salvation to fall from the skies.

4 - The balloon is filled and is rising into the sky.  Decent distance from it, so we can get a sense of its scale while also being able to make out the men in the basket, if possible.  The first man looks determined, while the second is pretty scared (maybe gripping the edge of the basket or what-have-you).  Above the balloon are dark, foreboding clouds - their destination.

CAPTION (FIRST MAN): "When it's only ever come to those willing to fight for it."

World's Edge

Inspired from this poster by Justin Santora.

Three rows of panels. Rows 1 and 3 are both made up of single wide and short panels. Row 2 is tall (perhaps near twice as tall as rows 1 or 3) and made up of three equal sized panels.

1 – Two young adults / older teens - Jeannie and Bernard - stand on the edge of a cliff, looking out over a seemingly endless expanse of water in front of them. In the distance (towards the right side of the panel), a boat floats on said water, small and dwarfed by the immensity around it. The sun is setting; it's becoming night. Jeannie stands with her arms at her side, intently focused on the boat. Bernard looks at a pocket watch he's fished out of his vest.

JEANNIE: It's just sitting there...

BERNARD: We should be heading back...

JEANNIE: What?

2 – Pullout and reverse angle to look at the cliff-side that Jeannie and Bernard are standing on. It's not dissimilar to the poster – rivers rage around them, pouring their waters into enormous falls that tumble into the waters below. Like the boat on panel 1, our two characters are dwarfed by the immensity of their surroundings, barely visible (or maybe even only hinted at) at the top of the cliff.

JEANNIE: This is the World's Edge.

3 – Back close in on the two. Jeanne is flummoxed at Bernard's lack of curiosity. She's kind of getting in his face, maybe poking her finger pointedly into his chest to emphasize her points, while gesturing out over the water towards the boat with her other arm / hand. Bernard is wilting under her pressure, slumping his shoulders and the like.

JEANNIE (1): There isn't supposed to be anything on the other side.

JEANNIE (2): Which is exactly where that boat came from.

JEANNIE (3): And you don't have any questions?

BERNARD: Jeannie...

4 – Jeannie is walking away from Bernard towards one of the nearby rivers. She does not look back. Bernard reaches out lamely after her, but he's not actively doing anything to stop her.

JEANNIE: You can head back if you want.

BERNARD: What about you?

5 – A shot of the top of the cliff as Jeannie leaps from it towards the water far below. Because the cliff is so tall and this panel is wide, we can't actually see the water below. Instead we have the cliff-top and Jeannie's form in the air above and beside it, as if she's jumping into nothingness. With the pending sunset, let's go with something silhouetted, shall we? (kind of like this, but inverted)

CAPTION (JEANNIE): I'm going to get some answers.