Bits of Script – Green Wake #1 Pages 1 & 2

by kurtiswiebe

I’m going to cut out and post bits of my scripts for various projects on my blog for people to read and get a feel for how I draft my comics. Here’s one I’ve always been very proud of, Green Wake #1. Enjoy!

 

PAGE ONE (5 Panels)

 

Panel 1. A dark lonely dirt road, heavy rain and muddy puddles. The front of an old Model T Ford is crushed up against a tree that sits at the side of the road, a swerving track indicating the vehicle went out of control in the deep mud and slid off it. A single headlight streams light ahead, to where a man lays on his side in the muddy ground. This is MORLEY MACK, who’s been thrown from the vehicle. In this panel, we see a woman, her torso ejected from the passenger seat, she is half sprawled on the hood. They are both dressed in 1930’s era formal wear, as they have returned from a night out.

 

CAP 1                   THERE’S A MOMENT IN A MAN’S LIFE WHEN HE QUESTIONS EVERY DECISION HE’S EVER MADE.

 

Panel 2. Morley on his hands and knees. The shot is from behind, looking toward the car, the single undamaged headlight blinding him. He raises his hand to shield his eyes.

 

CAP 1                   HE BELIEVES THAT BY GOING BACK, WEIGHING EACH FORK IN THE ROAD AND COMPARING THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES, HE CAN ACTUALLY CHANGE HIS FATE.

 

MORLEY 1                ANNA?

 

CAP 2                   OR DESPERATELY WISHES HE COULD.

 

Panel 3. Morley pulling himself up to his feet, using the front of the car to brace himself. He is covered in mud and blood drips from the lacerations on his face. We do not see his wife, Anna, yet.

 

CAP 1                   BUT WHEN REALITY SHOWS ITS GODDAMN TERRIFYING FACE, HE REALIZES THAT THERE NEVER WAS A FORK IN THE ROAD.

 

MORLEY 1                ANNA? SPEAK TO ME, SWEETHEART.

 

CAP 2                   HE DROVE DOWN THE ONE ROAD HE WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO.

 

 

Panel 4. Morley finds Anna. Her cold, terrified face looks back at him, hollow in death and so final, splayed across the hood like a doll.

 

CAP 1                   FATE.

 

Panel 5. He brushes blood from her cheek, overcome with his loss.

 

CAP 1                   CHANCE.

 

PAGE TWO (3 Panels)

 

Panel 1. Morley walks towards the camera, his dead wife cradled in his arms. He stares forward, completely broken as the rain pounds the muddy ground at the side of the road.

 

Panel 2. Overhead shot, Morley sinks to his knees still holding his wife.

 

Panel 3. Large panel. Straight on shot, Morley screaming to the black sky as rain pours onto his face. He clutches Anna, rage searing through his bones.

 

CAP 1                        WE ALWAYS HURT THE ONES WE LOVE IN THE END.