Funnybooks

I’ve already shown you my character designs for the Spaceship Zero comic book.

Now I’m gonna give you s’more: thumbnails and script.

Steve gave us samples of actual comic scripts that he has worked on, including MEK by Warren Ellis. The three he gave us had similarities but the format differed somewhat. Basically, comic scripts are a lot like TV/movie scripts. Mine is very loose because at the moment it’s just written for my own reference – so I know who is saying what and how many balloons it’s going to take up. Skip it if you want. There’s pics below.

SPACESHIP ZERO #1
By Toren Atkinson

PAGE ONE

Panel 1.

CAPTION: Antarctica, 2023

WALTERS: Professor Ashton, I’m John Walters.

ASHTON: Dreadful.

WALTERS: Uh, I hope the trip wasn’t too uncomfortable.

ASHTON: I despise flying. Where is the site?

Panel 3

WALTERS: It’s about one mile southwest. We couldn’t pitch camp any closer due to…

ASHTON: Are we to travel in that thing?

WALTERS: Yes. We’ve prepared a room and a meal for y…

ASHTON: I would like to go immediately.

Panel 4

(beat)

WALTERS: Certainly.

Panel xxx

IN THE HALFTRACK

WALTERS: I gather from the Commodore that this vessel is tied into your project in a very profound way.

ASHTON: Seemingly

WALTERS: Well you’ve seen the data we’ve sent so far. Steveston took a carbon dating reading on the hull but the results were…

ASHTON: …completely meaningless.

Panel xxx
WALTERS: Well the surrounding ice is DEFINITELY thousands of years old. And if the ship isn’t SpaceCorp then it’s a good goddamn replica. I’m no ship buff, but from what I’m told it’s a hopper.

ASHTON: The images you sent didn’t transfer very well.

WALTERS: I apologize for that. We couldn’t get any clear, wide shots due to the weather. We took some this morning but of course that’s no…

ASHTON: Has anyone been inside?

STEVESTON: We’re just clearing the hatch now, Professor Ashton.

Panel xxx

WALTERS: This is Heather Steveston, Professor.

STEVESTON: Here’s this morning’s readings. The tanks are apparently spent. Just residual traces of xenon as you can see.

Panel xxx

ASHTON: Is that it?

Panel xxx

STEVESTON: Hold on to the rope, Professor. We’ll have a much better view at the bottom.

Ashton slips?

Panel xxx
(Big shot)

ASHTON: Good heavens!

Panel xxx
(C.U)

ASHTON: It can’t be.

STEVESTON: What is it, Professor?

ASHTON: Those tines…. Staggering!

WALTERS: What about the tines?

STEVESTON: They’re not standard to the Mark V Space Hopper, I know that much.

WORKMAN: That’s got it, Jensen.

Panel xxx

ASHTON: Let me through!

WORKMAN: Woah, hold up there, sir. Give the metal a chance to cool.

Panel xxx
(Walters produces an open box of ray guns)

WALTERS: The commodore insisted we carry these, Professor.

ASHTON: What on Earth for?

Panel xxx

Walters shrugs

ASHTON: I have never in my life discharged a firearm.

WALTERS: Commodore’s orders.

ASHTON: SIGH (takes a gun and holster)

Panel xxx
This metal is rather deteriorated.

STEVESTON: That coincides with our readings from this ice.

WORKMAN: Okay. Here are some torches.

Panel xxx

They move through the hulk by flashlight

Panel xxx

STEVESTON: Looks pretty intact to me.

WALTERS: What level is this?

STEVESTON: Reactor is up one more. Readings are normal.

Panel xxx

ASHTON: Hmm. I wonder….

WALTERS: Weir, do you have that cable ready?

Panel xxx

WALTERS: The T6 has completely lost its charge and the heads are shot. Give me three minutes.

STEVESTON: Where’s Ashton?

Panel xxx

Steveston looking for Ashton

Panel xxx

STEVESTON: Ashton?

ASHTON: It’s here. This is it. The entire module. It’s staggering. It’s completely impossible.

Panel xxx
Power comes on revealing the BTL Drive.

ASHTON: Completely impossible.

PAGE FOUR

Panel xxx

Ashton and Walters in dim room

WALTERS: Yawn! You want something to eat? Professor? PROF!

ASHTON: No, for heaven’s sakes, Walter! No!
WALTERS: Walters. John Walters. Well I do. Download is slow going. I’ll bring you something back. Give a yell on the blower if you need anything.

Panel xxx

Monitor reads: 7 LIFEFORMS IN DECON

ASHTON: Hello, what’s this? Walter, look at this. Eh?

Panel xxx

Ashton on computer.

DATA FILE CORRUPT. REPAIR / DIAGNOSTIC / EXIT

BIOSPEC INTACT
DECONSTITUTION INITIATED

Panel xxx

Ashton watches as decon does its thing

Panel xxx Ashton reacts to deconstituted thing out of frame

Panel xxx
Hand reaches for gun

Feel free to comment/proofread! One of the most challenging things for me is arranging the characters and the word balloons so they flow properly, naturally, and clearly. It’s actually pretty difficult to do that and still keep the panel compositions interesting! As you can tell from the text above, when I wrote the script I didn’t really know what panels were going to be on what page, except for page four. Here are the almost completed first two pages.

I think at some point I’ll take some reference photos of poses in winter coats. Any volunteers? Who wants to be in a comic boooook?