| Home
¦ Fiction ¦ Devlin
Waugh: A Darker Shade of Purple - Part 1
 |
22nd
May 04 |
Part
1 by J.Z.Clinton
Page 1
First 3 panels in a strip with the 4th panel filling the bottom 2/3rds of the
page
1. Image of a young Adonis type figure reclining on a dark crimson leather couch
and draped in a toga smiling all the while, background is all in shadow. This
is actually a painting but thanks to the wonders of comic-book format the readers
cannot tell that yet.
2. Pan in on the
picture, as a crimson spot, same colour as the couch, appears over the toga-clad
heart of the figure, again this is paint splashed on the painting whilst still
attempting to perpetuate a myth that the reader is watching a character in the
story.
FX: Drip
3. Getting closer
to the image as we focus on that reddening toga clad breast, the ruse is shattered
as we can now see the end of a paintbrush as some more crimson paint hangs in
a heavy drop off the tip.
Voice (DEVLIN):
Oh damn!
4. Suddenly we
draw back into a larger view of DEVLIN, in the foreground of a room lit from overhead
i.e. a ceiling lamp, standing in front of the picture left shoulder towards the
POV, which is supported on a easel, paintbrush just visible in his right hand
mixing palette in his left and clad in a white artists smock, dog collar still
peeking over the top. He's frowning, evidently at the careless ruination of his
own painting. In the background sits the very Adonic youth, VICTOR, on the very
couch DEVLIN had conspired to paint. VICTOR's brow is wrinkled with concern as
he speaks to Devlin whilst still holding the pose he was painted in.
Now that we can
see the background behind the couch it is very much a Devlin Waugh bachelor pad
however one may conceive that to be. Best example would probably be Edgar Allen
Poe’s essay on an ideal room. Nice red walls in the background continuing
the hints of Devlin’s vampirism.
VICTOR:
Have I done anything to offend you Devlin?
Page 2
Panels 1-3 in
a strip,4-6 in a strip and 7 filling the bottom third.
1. Close up on
Devlin’s face from the right side, i.e. the side we didn’t see last
panel. His right cheek is a bit splattered with crimson, paint I assure you. He
still maintains the frown from the last panel.
DEVLIN: No
dear boy, I've just carelessly ruined a good days work.
2. Sticking to
the close up of Devlin, his frown has turned into a straight lipped (no pun intended)
pose with his brow furrowed in concentration.
DEVLIN:
….more’s the pity Victor but…
3. Same close up,
Devlin’s brow relaxed now and a big smile on his face clearly showing his
vampires fangs.
DEVLIN:
It means I’ll have to have you back around tomorrow, and let's face it I’ve
got more than a lifetime to paint beauty in.
4. POV moves back
as we see Devlin reaching behind his own neck with both arms to undo the artists
smock he is wearing accentuating his heavily muscled arms.
DEVLIN:
Now why don’t you slip into something less revealing while I brew us up
a nice pot of Earl Grey?
5. POV moves to
behind Devlin's back as he holds a strand of the cord holding the smock on with
his right hand so that he's pulling it and thus undoing the knot that holds it
up while his left hand holds the knot itself. From behind we can see he’s
wearing the standard purple tank-top/dog-collar combo.
6. The knot undone,
with a flourish of his right hand, the smock starts to slip to the floor.
DEVLIN:
Voila…as they say.
7. EXT BRIT CIT,
a trash strewn back-alley we are unsure if it's either night or day. We can see
the back of a mangy, slight overweight figure clawing at the ground. The figure
his shoulder length brown hair and is wearing tatters of clothing, its skin is
pale; the scene is awash with a purple tint.
RAGGED FIGURE:
Come one…please…it's coming….
Page 3
Panels 1 and
2 on top, 3 middle strip on the left hand side with a lack of panels in the middle
right and lower left and finally the fourth I the lower right of the page stretched
more vertically than the other panels. Substitute purple for the standard black
in those empty panels and around the borders.
1. A humanoid shadow
appears covering the figure from the panel before but he still keeps clawing at
whatever is on the ground in front of it, still keep the colours of the panel
washed with a general purple tint.
RAGGED FIGURE:
I know that you're behind me, just like you have been all these long years….
2. The figure in
tatters flips his arms up as if they've just shoved something out of the way,
a hand appears in the foreground of the panel, it is a sleek boned and fair coloured
hand, well manicured and the frilled end of a sleeve is just about visible. This
illustrates that we are seeing through the eyes of whoever is casting the shadow.
Still keeping the colours of the scene with the purple wash effect.
FX: CLANG!
3. The POV moves forward as the front half of the figure in
tattered clothing goes head first down a manhole, or whatever the Brit-Cit tech
equivalent is, again maintaining the purple wash effect.
VOICE from the
POV figure: You can't escape yourself, not forever.
4. INT UNDERBRIT CIT, The ragged figure mostly in shadow looks up from his new
vantage point in some form of sewer tunnels towards the opening that he's just
come down. He looks like a cross between Stephen Fry and a tramp; sweat beads
on his pale face.
Page 4
1 stretched
panel per level with the borders moving back to black instead of the purple used
in the previous page.
1. INT DEVLIN's
BACHELOR PAD, different room, again ceiling based lighting keeping the reader
unsure if the events of RED TIDE have occurred yet. DEVLIN is sitting as we first
see him in SWIMMING IN BLOOD, sitting cross-legged in his standard tank top and
trousers, with the Eye of Sekhmet present around his neck and the filtered cigarette
between his lips; the earlier crimson paint stains have been washed off. This
time, however, he's recumbent in his own home a bone china cup of tea in hand
sitting side on to a mahogany table. Maybe stick some flower arrangements in the
background as tribute to his Olympic career.
DEVLIN:
So, my boy, did I ever tell you about my sparring match with Jud..
FX: DING-DONG
(Devlin’s doorbell)
2. POV moves around
so that we can see both sides of the table, VICTOR now in somewhat ordinary, compared
to DEVLIN’s, clothes, Mega-Cit style citizen clothes with the big kneepads
and a red shirt light than the crimson bombardment from earlier, sits at the other
end of the table, china cup of tea in front of him. DEVLIN is placing his cup
down on the table, now that the POV has shifted around his back is to us so that
we cannot see his facial expressions.
DEVLIN:
Blast! This had better not be another call to save the world.
3. Same POV, DEVLIN
stands up from his chair.
FX: SLAM!
(The sound of Devlin's front door closing)
DEVLIN:
The manners of some people, can't wait for the door to be opened for them!'
Page 5
Panels 1-3 in the
top row,4-6 in the middle with the bottom third empty. Shade gradually from black
to purple in the bottom third.
1. Classic horror,
"from the stairway" POV here as the reader looks on from the vantage
point of a staircase in DEVLIN’s house, where we can see the ragged Stephen
Fry figure squatting in front of Devlin’s front door, DEVLIN has entered
from a doorway beneath the staircase but is invisible to this POV so far.
RAGGED FIGURE:
Please, you have to help me.
2. Same POV we
can now see DEVLIN as he strides towards the figure that stays in a heap by the
door.
DEVLIN:
Sorry, I believe the Grudian Salvation house for the homeless is a couple of streets
away.
3. The ragged figure
makes to stand, pressing himself against the doorway as DEVLIN walks towards him.
RAGGED FIGURE:
You don’t understand, you don’t know who I am….
4. Change POV to
the well-muscled figure of DEVLIN now looming large over the ragged figure pressed
against the door.
DEVLIN:
Don’t tell me, you're the Jack of Tramps come to bring about Karmageddon.
5. The ragged figure
stares up a DEVLIN.
DEVLIN:
Or the Brit Cit Bogeyman, you certainly sme…
RAGGED FIGURE:
I'm Wilde, Oscar Wilde.
6. Back to the
POV of the stairs, as DEVLIN puts a hand on OSCAR WILDES shoulder but this time
the scene is tinted with purple.
DEVLIN:
Good grief! I suppose this is the start of something wicked.
Go
to part 2
|
