alexwoolfson
patreon
Double Cross Scene Compilation - CH2 Pgs 26-38
🕑 Added 2024-10-19 01:21:25 +0000 UTCHowdy, everyone!
Time for another scene compilation with "DVD-style" commentary, which I'll be posting weekly until I start getting the pages from Gabriel and Vero for Fallen Chapter Two in November.
It's only been a few days, so not much new to report on the personal front. But I am glad to be back working on the urban fantasy novel after my trip home. At this point, I hope to have the draft finished enough to send to my alpha reader in a few weeks.
And in this scene comp, we introduce a new, even more dangerous enemy and finish off Chapter Two!
Check out what happens under the fold!
These pages were first published way back in February 2020 - April 2020. If you want to read the previous scene compilations (and, even better, read the whole first two chapters all at once), you can find them on the TYP:DC Scene Compilation Collection page.
My DVD-style commentary is below the comic pages. And the pages themselves are full-resolution here on Patreon, so feel free to zoom-in!
Let's go to church!
Shades does not believe in loose ends.
The Difference Between Flyboy and Teen Spooky
My goal with this last scene of Chapter Two was to highlight the differences between Flyboy and Teen Spooky. We've spent most of the chapter showing how they're alike, a lot more so than Flyboy and Adult Spooky. And Mitch starts off the scene ready to defer to Spooky, like he would in the present day. But unlike Mitch, this Spooky has not had mentors who have taught him to be cautious and think before he acts. At 14 and 15, Teen Spooky has essentially been fighting evil all on his own. And up until now, he's been the most powerful magic user in the room, so "shock and awe" have worked pretty great for him so far.
But this attitude horrifies Mitch. Not only because of what his two "superhero parents" (Adult Spooky and Commander) taught him, but also because he's had first-hand experience of the limits of raw power, especially if you don't have experience to back it up. This is the moment when it truly becomes clear to Flyboy how much the dynamic between him and Spooky has changed. For the first time in his life, Flyboy has to play the role of the "adult" member of a superhero team. And that awareness and responsibility will color his actions throughout the rest of the story arc.
The blue arm glow returns!
We saw it briefly at the beginning of the chapter, but now it comes back with a vengeance. It'll be important to the plot later on, but here it raises the question: What's causing it? Or who?
Spooky's pretty sure he knows the answer once
We introduce Shades!
Not only do our heroes find the Sphere Celestial here (that was easy!), but they also meet the story arc's Big Bad. Since it does seem like there is some connection between the events of this time and what happened in the present, Flyboy was prepared to run into The Platinum Priestess, and told Spooky that if they ran into a "leader," they should run and regroup.
But Spooky's bravery is a defining characteristic at any age and, as a Teen, he's not the running type. Unfortunately for him, Shades can apparently do the impossible and cancel all his magic. And that makes him even more dangerous than our silver sorceress.
It's child's play for Shades to get a noose around Spooky's neck, and the chapter ends just how I like it: with our heroes facing disaster. :)
Odds and Ends
There were some more difficult visuals I wrote for this scene that I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to pull off. One of which is the gag where Spooky is about to blow down the door, and Flyboy chooses to just take a moment to see if it's unlocked first. It's an classic joke for these kind of scenes, and I mainly used it to restore a bit of fun banter between these guys after highlighting their differences. But I wasn't sure how clear it would be in comics form. What do you think? Is the action clear here?
Also, in terms of humor, I remember having fun with Spooky's quips. Adult Spooky is known for his sense of fun, and I wanted to make sure to include that part of him at this age. So. as a teen, I tried to show him as a Spider Man type superhero who is always cracking wise when on the job. And he says one of my favorite of his lines in this scene: "Your lips say 'Release Me' but your eyes say 'so I can kill you both.'"
The way we show invisibility here isn't how I intended things. To me, this looks more like they are stepping through a portal from somewhere else, rather than becoming visible. There was some reason why Adam went in a different direction with this, and at this point I can't remember why. But I chose to "yes, and" it because I figured that if Flyboy really wasn't going to be able to hear them with his super-senses, maybe it would make sense that Shades was hiding everyone in a pocket dimension. I think it makes for a more interesting visual anyway.
Finally, Shades last line is an inadvertent rhyme. I noticed it at the time, but decided to keep it. Reading it here now, I might ultimately change it before I go to print. It kinda sets him up to be a Riddler-type character, and that's not really his vibe. :)
Let me know what you think!
Anyway, those were the things I was thinking about when I was writing this scene. I hope you enjoyed revisiting it along with my own memories.
Please let me know your own thoughts below. It's your feedback that makes it fun for me to create these, so please jump in and share!
And thank you, as always, for making this comic possible. Sharing these scenes with you helps remind me of how much I love creating this story. And it's only possible because of your support.
Y'all totally rock. I'll post the next set of pages next Tuesday! I hope to see you there! :D
Comments
Adam Irving
I do think a simple reference in the appendices would be enough, especially if you use headers to mirror how the main storyline is organized. Once people realize how you have them structured - a key image as reference is a great idea - then it's easy to follow.
Alex Woolfson
Thank you for the suggestion, camelotcrusade. I can't seem to see that section in the Look Inside on the Amazon page, but I wonder if it is similar to the Making Of section I created at the end of the printed Artifice graphic novel...
Alex Woolfson
Thank you, Adam! Yes, my goal was to make Teen Spooky funny, but that his humor wouldn't be quite as sophisticated as his older self. Glad that worked for you. You make a very good point about the action being in a claustrophobic location, and how that changes things up. I'm often going for "epic" with my superhero battles, so I typically picture them in grand spaces, but I agree, it does up the tension to be in a more confined space. And I'm all for adding bonus material to the printed books. In fact, that's my preferenceβto give that little bit extra to make them special. I'm just not 100% sure how to format such an appendix so that it's clear what I'm referring to and easy to make the connections. I could just reference it by scene using headers and include a key image like I do with the posts here. Do you think that would be enough?
Adam Irving
This was a fun scene, for all the reasons you stipulate. The humor bits do come through and don't seem forced or unusual in a way that would take the reader out of the moment. They are light levity rather than meant for huge laughs, in other words, and I think that fits. Spooky's quips are quite good and I like how the ones you have his teen version using are - while still good - perhaps not quite as sophisticated or experienced as his later self might use. Humor matures too. I get it about the unintended rhyme at the end. Just a personal preference but it feels like "boy in blue" would be the easier one to change. I like this scene in particular because of the scope of the action. We've seen some hellaciously large battles in some incredible scenery, but it's nice to have something tense and actually dangerous for our heroes in a pretty tight, contained space. Anyone feeling claustrophobic with baddies and bad magic all of a sudden? Finally, taking up some of the hardcover/omnibus-including-commentary, I get the challenges of translating something like this into actual print. But I DO like the concept of editing these up a little and tucking them in a set of appendices or something like that. Having them set in this way does not distract the reader when reading the story but also provides an easy access that you normally get with a Further Reading or Notes section seen in some books. Something worth exploring to see if they could be edited and formatted in some way to be both easy on the production team and rewarding to the reader.
Alex Woolfson
Thank you so much for that continuous support, Bill. It's really appreciated. I'm glad you're enjoying the re-read!
william clapie
I cannot believe how long I have supported your comic (in my own small way) ! Congrats on the longevity and thanks, the reviews/ re-reading are fun too.
camelotcrusade
Yeah, "too much" vs. "not enough" could be an issue with commentary. The pop-up idea is awesome, or maybe you get a "PDF companion" that essentially has your writeups from here that you can open up as you read the book. Something I really liked was how Colleen Doran did her commentary in this book, a graphic novel adaptation of Chivalry by Neil Gaiman. You can check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Neil-Gaimans-Chivalry-Gaiman/dp/1506719112 I absolutely adore that adaptation, so if you don't know the story (or if you do!) I recommend it π―. Anyway at the end she did about 10 pages of "making of" where she discussed the challenges, inspirations, and journey of making the work. She also included draft sketches. It definitely felt like gilding the lily to me!
Alex Woolfson
I'm glad you found this a treat. And I like your idea of including the commentary in some kind of collector's edition. I'm not sure how I'd set that up (include it at the end of each chapter? at the end of the book?), and it would certainly add a lot of pages, so it probably wouldn't be a good idea for an omnibus. But if there is enthusiasm for hard cover editions of the regular books, it would definitely make sense to include this. If I wanted to get really fancy, I could have little "pop-ups" of my comments overlayed over desaturated comic pages to really make things visually interesting. It would be a lot of work, but if I'm putting these notes at the end of the book, it would help make things clear and engaging. In terms of the rhyme, it's "stuck to my shoe... kill the boy in blue". Maybe I'm the only one who notices that, though. If so, I won't change it. And from henceforth, Diane Cannon it shall be! ;) Thank you for your good thoughts on all of this! Much appreciated!
camelotcrusade
You know Alex, if (when?!) you go to print, maybe you could make a collector's edition that includes your commentary. Whether that's feasible or not, it's a treat to have that experience right here. I didn't remember ANY of this (was I sick? on vacation?) so that made it doubly enjoyable to read today. β I liked crazy Diane Cannon (that's her name now, according to me) and how Flyboy is the "adult" here. As for the rhyme, which dialog are you referring to? Everything read great to me. π€
