Franks' Log (Faerie Apocalypse, Sixsmiths)
Aside from my (once more increasing) volume of prose work, I have three new comics projects I am presently in the process of ramping up to pitch.
I can't speak much about BAD MOON yet. I'm co-editing it and, if it goes ahead, I will be writing almost half of the content. I'll be spending most of this week working on it.
BUCKET OF GLASS is a social-realist piece about a trio of goth kids who live a small town in rural Australia. But they're not just three outsiders wallowing in misery--they're three outsiders with a plan. This is being illustrated by Jose Pimienta (penciller and plotter of A FRIENDLY GAME) and I think I believe he's done with the initial pages now--just waiting for the high res scans. Once I have lettered the pages I'll post them here.
ZYCORAX (working title) is a horror/urban fantasy/police procedural about a pair of cops from the Unconventional Incidents Unit who have to deal with the titular demon, who has been set loose in LA... but the freelance sorceror they enlist to help them bring down the demon is dangerous in his own right, and Zycorax himself does not respond as expected. Or maybe it's the story of a demon trying to make his way in a new country while beset by the police and a freelance sorceror. Emphasis is on the characters here--the cops, the contractors, and particularly the demon--so the story takes some turns that, I hope, are not as obvious as the premise suggests. Paul Abstruse (THE WITCH KING) is presently laying out the pages and it's looking fine indeed.
-- JF
Comments
(AAARRRGGH! Formatting!!!)
Pages 4-5.
Double page spread. Break out of the grid for a big slo mo,
gore-splattering montage. Panels 1, 4, 8 and 9 are probably island panels that
drive us through the action.
Be creative with the way you show the sequence that runs
through 2, 3, 5, 6, 7. Maybe some tall, vertical panels, maybe no borders. Play
around, have some fun. This is our show piece.
1.
The brazier hits the floor at his feet, spraying ashes and disrupting the pentagram.
2.
We’re behind and above Underkopfler as he bends forwards, raising his clawed hands, his head down. The brazier is rolling away.
3. A third hand erupts from his chest cavity, arching him over backwards. Bits of rib and internal organs and a whole lot of blood spray in all directions.
4.
The brazier keeps rolling.
5.
The new arm reaches over and behind Underkopfler, grabbing him by his neck.
6.
The arm tears out his spine, pulling it forwards over his head.
7.
Underkopfler’s ruptured body falls backwards. The head is missing and so is a chunk of spine.
8.
Near the body, the brazier stops rolling. It’s empty, having left a tail of ashes behind it.
9.
LOW SHOT. The brazier in the FG. The body lies sprawled in the MG. Behind it, in the BG, Underkopfler’s
head hangs on the end of its length of spinal column from a twisted hand with too many fingers.
10.
Zycorax speaks out of Underkopfler’s head, still hanging upside down.
ZYCORAX
I guess you’ll just have to do
better next time.
(joined)
Won’t you, Scottie
Underkopfler?
Hopefully the formatting doesn't get too fucked up this time...
Dramatis Personae
The CopsFifteen years on the Force has made Danik into a hard woman. She had to fight twice as hard as her male colleagues for every promotion, every win, every sliver of respect. As a result, Danik is twice as good a fighter and twice as good a cop. She keeps in shape, physically as well as mentally—and she lets you know it. She’s beginning to suspect that her detective promotion into the UIU was a move intended to sideline her. A tough, smart, tenacious operator.
Danik’ partner, Olivia, is a former scientist. A PhD in physics, but with enough credit to have undergraduate degrees in chemistry and biology as well, Livia is a brain with a capital B. At the end of all of her study, Livia found that she was tired of dusty labs and classrooms and she wanted to spend some time outdoors, around normal people. (Only a scientist would think that cops are normal.) Five years later, she holds the rank of Senior Forensics Scientist and spends most of her days in a dusty office investigating all of the crimes that are too strange for the regular police establishment, wishing she could spend more time outdoors with normal people.
Meyers is, technically, Danik and Livia’s supervisor. He’s a lawyer turned bureaucrat whose job is basically that of a fixer. He arranges warrants, liaises with other police and intelligence agencies, the justice system, politicians and, sometimes, factions that belong on the wrong side of the law. Meyers is useful to Danik and Livia and generally stays out of their way.
The Contractors
Beaumont Briggs is a professional sorcerer, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to me. It’s damn hard to make a living doing as a true magician, especially if one is too proud (or lacking in charisma) to take the stage. Beaumont makes his living doing exorcisms and other minor gigs, but the work is sparse and the money isn’t great. He has (magically) dabbled in petty crime, but he finds that almost as undignified as vaudeville. Beaumont is now in his forties and is becoming increasingly desperate to make his mark—and for that, he’s going to need to power up some. First, however, he has to make the rent.
Trevor Arataki is, in theory, Briggs’ apprentice. In practice he’s more of a porter, chauffeur, bodyguard, and secretary. Briggs has no intention of teaching Trevor any actual magic, and Trevor knows it… but Trevor is far from stupid. Briggs has genuine power and resources and Trevor has already learned some Art from Beaumont’s books, as well as from watching him in action. A kinder, younger man than Beaumont, but also a cunning one. Trevor is biding his time.
The Demon
Zycorax is a demon from hell: an innately evil being who draws power from violence, depravity and death. He’s loose in LA without any kind bindings, so he has full use of his own volition. At a baseline, Zyke is as strong as fifteen men and as tough as tank. He’s a shapeshifter and he’s also a highly adept magician. In other words, Zycorax can take on all comers. But that’s not to say he’s an asshole. Zyke is generally laid back, reasonable, and optimistic. Every day he finds himself living on Earth instead of Hell is a good day indeed, and he’s grateful for it. He has developed a taste for frozen dairy desserts, which are not readily available where he comes from.
Jose's prior book, A Friendly Game, was inked by Lindsay Hornsby and toned by Lauren Affe, it has a really slick look to it that I really enjoyed... but when he sent me sketches with that bodacious brushed artwork I knew he was the right man for the job.
We have 3 chapters complete now (I've just posted chapter 1) and the pitch will go out this week.
Art by Paul Abstruse, colour by David Aravena.