I featured the first few pages of Green Wake on my initial entry to the Bits of Script. Here I’m pulling back the curtain on Grim Leaper, a series that isn’t out yet. The preview has gone up on the Facebook Fan Page (http://www.facebook.com/grimleapercomic) so you can take a look at the pages, seeing how what I write comes alive through series artist, Aluisio C. Santos. Enjoy!

Grim Leaper #1

PAGE ONE (4 Panels)

Panel 1. Cold autumn morning, outside an old Presbyterian church. It’s quaint, like something you’d see in a small prairie town. Behind shot of our protagonist, Lou, the wind ruffling his designer blazer. He wears a trendy scarf. He is looking up at the church, reflecting. There are a handful of other people walking up the steps. Grieving. This is a funeral. Lou will look different here, as he has already died a few times. He is now in the body of Blake Finley, a long haired redhead in good physical shape, mid-20s.

CAP 1                        EVER SINCE MY PARENTS DIED WHEN I WAS A KID, I’VE AVOIDED FUNERALS.

CAP 2                        SOMETHING ABOUT THE AWKWARD TENDERNESS, THE FALSE PRETENSE OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE HELL IT WAS YOU WERE GOING THROUGH.

Panel 2. Side shot as he walks up the steps, hands in pockets.

CAP 1                        THAT’S THE THING ABOUT DEATH, HOW WE EXPERIENCE IT IS UNIQUE TO EACH OF US.

Panel 3. Inside the church, an usher is handing Lou an In Memory program for the funeral. The man wears a somber face, but Lou looks cool as a cucumber. He’s brushing his hair back as he takes the pamphlet in his other hand.

CAP 1                        HOW WE COPE, WELL…THAT’S WHAT MAKES IT SO DAMN INTERESTING, ISN’T IT?

Panel 4. Shot of the front, where a closed casket sits, and an image of a young man, dark hair, sits propped up for all to see. A woman, his mother, stands near the casket and bawls, her husband consoling her.

CAP 1                        THING IS, I’VE BEEN TO A LOT OF FUNERALS LATELY.

PAGE TWO (5 Panels)

Panel 1. Lou spots a pretty young thing, Kara, dabbing her eyes with a tissue, sitting a few rows from the front. She has an empty seat beside her.

CAP 1                        HM, DIDN’T MEET HER.

Panel 2-4. Three panels side by side. Straight shot, Lou sitting next to the woman. Panel 2 Lou is looking straight ahead, the woman dabs her right eye. Panel 3 Lou is looking away from her, she dabs her opposite eye. Panel 4 Lou is leaning back, both arms draped over the back of the pew and the woman is looking at him now, a bit hesitantly. Each line of dialog corresponds with the panel.

CAP 1                        I’LL TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, IT’S NOT LIKE IN THE MOVIES.

CAP 2                        THEY ALWAYS SAY PEOPLE WANT TO FEEL ALIVE WHEN FACED WITH THEIR MORTALITY.

CAP 3                        THEY MEET A STRANGER AND THEN FUCK LIKE RABBITS.

Panel 5. Lou, moving in, putting on his charms.

CAP 1                        IT’S BULLSHIT.

LOU 1                        HEY, I’M L-

LOU 2                        HEH…

LOU 2                        YOU KNOW, I’VE DONE THIS A DOZEN TIMES ALREADY AND I STILL GET THAT WRONG.

KARA 1                       SORRY?

LOU 3                        I’M BLAKE.

CAP 1                        THIS IS ATTEMPT NUMBER THIRTEEN.