Date:
Feeling:
Watching:
Reading:
Listening to:
This is a test of the Monday Journal Broadcast System. I repeat, this is only a test. If this had been a real Monday Journal blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. This is only a test.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Needing a Magical Journal (and more)
So, a rather powerful storm that visited recently made its way through an opened window (imagine that) and managed to effectively fry my laptop, plus a Wacom tablet and an iPod touch. What work had been started on my graphic little Tarot thingy (see last post)-- which wasn't much, admittedly-- was on the computer and, hence, has been put on the back-burner. Beyond that, I want to take the time to find a more... shall we say, legitimate source of information on the Tarot.
I managed to find a PDF copy of Magic in Theory and Practice online, which I've uploaded to the Kindle Fire to read. Thus far (48 pages into the 327 page PDF) it's a pretty good read-- good in the sense that it's interesting, not so much easy to read. Unfortunately, the conversion process has rendered the tables in the book unintelligible. (The same thing happened with the version of 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley that I purchased from the Kindle Store on Amazon. As far as I can tell, tables account for roughly ninety percent or more of the book, rendering it effectively worthless.) In case you didn't know, there are myriad places spread across the internet to find old esoteric texts. The problem I have with this is their authenticity-- the degree to which they've been edited, modified, or just screwed up in general. I've read some, and liked some of what I read, but I feel as though I need a hardcover to feel secure in their legitimacy, especially after the debacle with 777.
That being said, I need a magical journal. Granted, any notebook would essentially be suitable as such a thing, but I really just don't have the four dollars I'd need to get the little notebook that I want. (I'm very particular about the notebooks and pens that I use.) I've not yet been able to get a copy of Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary, but I don't think it was written by Crowley himself, and I figure I have the intelligence and/or creativity to effectively create a near-proper magical journal on my own. (I'm using the terms "diary" and "journal" a bit more interchangeably than I believe they actually are. Full disclosure, the term "journal" always seemed to be the more masculine term, and so that's the one I usually go with.) I've taken ideas from the book on Tarot I read and Alan Moore's Promethea (funnily enough) for how I intend to start this journal of mine. I also found an article online about magical journals that I printed to PDF and plan to upload onto my Kindle and read-- more for inspiration than for factual content, mind you.
I've been reading quite a bit about magic(k) lately. The tenth of 777 that wasn't tables was interesting, but not anything overtly informative. I've read some into Agrippa's books, read a bit about sigil magic here and there, made my way through Promethea (comic series as treatise on occult philosophy, your mileage may vary), Scott Cunningham's Earth Power, most of Arbatel of Magic, and a few other things here and there. In reading a bit all over the esoteric map, plus doing my research elsewhere, I've gotten a clue as to what I should and shouldn't be reading. Case in point, I think I'll stay away from anything else written by Cunningham, and everything else published by Llewellyn in general. (As I stated before, I do intend on picking up the Steampunk and Necronomicon Tarot sets that are currently sitting my local Books-a-Million.) I would love a crack at a real occult bookstore on of these days, yet I'm pretty sure the nearest ones are an hour and a half to three hours away. That's pretty far for a guy who can't swing a four dollar notebook, you know.
Anyways, that is all.
I managed to find a PDF copy of Magic in Theory and Practice online, which I've uploaded to the Kindle Fire to read. Thus far (48 pages into the 327 page PDF) it's a pretty good read-- good in the sense that it's interesting, not so much easy to read. Unfortunately, the conversion process has rendered the tables in the book unintelligible. (The same thing happened with the version of 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley that I purchased from the Kindle Store on Amazon. As far as I can tell, tables account for roughly ninety percent or more of the book, rendering it effectively worthless.) In case you didn't know, there are myriad places spread across the internet to find old esoteric texts. The problem I have with this is their authenticity-- the degree to which they've been edited, modified, or just screwed up in general. I've read some, and liked some of what I read, but I feel as though I need a hardcover to feel secure in their legitimacy, especially after the debacle with 777.
That being said, I need a magical journal. Granted, any notebook would essentially be suitable as such a thing, but I really just don't have the four dollars I'd need to get the little notebook that I want. (I'm very particular about the notebooks and pens that I use.) I've not yet been able to get a copy of Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary, but I don't think it was written by Crowley himself, and I figure I have the intelligence and/or creativity to effectively create a near-proper magical journal on my own. (I'm using the terms "diary" and "journal" a bit more interchangeably than I believe they actually are. Full disclosure, the term "journal" always seemed to be the more masculine term, and so that's the one I usually go with.) I've taken ideas from the book on Tarot I read and Alan Moore's Promethea (funnily enough) for how I intend to start this journal of mine. I also found an article online about magical journals that I printed to PDF and plan to upload onto my Kindle and read-- more for inspiration than for factual content, mind you.
I've been reading quite a bit about magic(k) lately. The tenth of 777 that wasn't tables was interesting, but not anything overtly informative. I've read some into Agrippa's books, read a bit about sigil magic here and there, made my way through Promethea (comic series as treatise on occult philosophy, your mileage may vary), Scott Cunningham's Earth Power, most of Arbatel of Magic, and a few other things here and there. In reading a bit all over the esoteric map, plus doing my research elsewhere, I've gotten a clue as to what I should and shouldn't be reading. Case in point, I think I'll stay away from anything else written by Cunningham, and everything else published by Llewellyn in general. (As I stated before, I do intend on picking up the Steampunk and Necronomicon Tarot sets that are currently sitting my local Books-a-Million.) I would love a crack at a real occult bookstore on of these days, yet I'm pretty sure the nearest ones are an hour and a half to three hours away. That's pretty far for a guy who can't swing a four dollar notebook, you know.
Anyways, that is all.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Tarot Spread
I'm working on whipping up some graphics representative of tarot cards for the next venture of this hear blog, which is to act as a Tarot journal. I think I'll be working on the above image to make it look a bit more artistic for future posts as well. Whether or not I'll leave the attribution of where I learned of the spread, I'm not sure, so I decided I should go ahead and throw it on this image for future reference.
I picked up the Easy Tarot Handbook from the local Books-a-Million about two weeks ago. It came with the Gilded Tarot deck and a layout sheet for a price of, I think, $19.95 plus tax. (I hope you'll pardon my discount occultism; if not, I won't be bothered.) There are things that I like and don't like about both the deck and the manual. The book makes it almost difficult to ever find a negative in the readings, and the cards I find to be somewhat hard to relate to. That being said, I had to start somewhere, and I'm finding that the book is a fairly nice read and the cards are just find for a neophyte like myself.
The same store, mind you, had other decks, including Steampunk and Necronomicon sets like mine, though slightly pricier. I think I might pick them up for the novelty of it, not so much because I find either Steampunk or the (Simon) Necronomicon having any actual connections to the Tarot or Occultism.
It's not like I get any comments on this blog, but for the record: I don't need some internet mystagogue to drop a note saying I should've read The Book of Thoth or The Tarot by S.L. MacGregor Mathers or some other occult text by an author with more occult credibility, nor do I feel the need to counter-balance my reading of a Llewellyn (comparative) nobody with the other texts that I've got my hands on. It's appreciated, but not, so don't bother.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
TECHNOMAGIA: G.U.I. - TIME SPANNER
PAGE ONE
PANEL ONE
The Chronomancer enters the saloon. It’s like the cantina scene from Star Wars. Different races and classes and cultures from within the Technomagia universe are represented and cavorting with each other. Our view is from behind the Chronomancer, and we can clearly see his guild emblem on the back of his cape. With a crimson cape, it probably stands out in gold; I’m thinking it’s a combination of a cog, a clock, and a magical symbol.
PANEL TWO
An over-the-shoulder shot: the Chronomancer looks to one side of the saloon.
PANEL THREE
An over-the-shoulder shot, reverse angle: the Chronomancer looks at the other side of the room. One person has shifted in his chair to turn and look at him.
PANEL FOUR
A close-up of that guy-- the Chronomancer’s target. He just looks sketchy, you know? Something about the Chronomancer has already set this guy on edge.
PANEL FIVE
The Chronomancer has approached the bar, and is holding up a picture to hold to the bartender. The Chronomancer keeps his poise and posture; he’s here on official guild business, serious business. The bartender’s probably drying off a stein, trying to multitask.
CHRONOMANCER: I’m here on behalf of the Chronomancer Guild. This man has been caught selling Chronomancer technology to Arzzandal’s forces. Any chance you’ve seen him?
BARTENDER: A Meta-lover, eh?
PAGE TWO
PANEL ONE
From behind the Chronomancer’s target, we can see the bartender point the man out. The bartender has probably shifted his rag and stein to the same hand, wrapping the rag around the handle.
BARTENDER: That’s the one.
PANEL TWO
Switch angles to look at the target head-on. Outrage is clearly visible. It looks like he stood up so fast his chair fell behind him, and he’s in the process of flipping the table. He’s either pissed at the bartender or simply trying to cause an uproar for distraction.
PANEL THREE
It’s almost like the Heisman pose-- someone is in the target’s way, and is forcibly being removed.
PANEL FOUR
And by the time he’s hit door, he’s already left plenty of destruction in his wake.
PANEL FIVE
The protagonist has bolted for the door...
PANEL SIX
… And with a touch of the forefinger to the brooch, or whatever the ornate thing is that holds his cape together, the cape itself begins to dissolve into crimson binary. I dunno, I figure it’d look majestic or something during the intro, but wouldn’t be practical for “making chase.”
PAGE THREE
PANEL ONE
The Chronomancer does a bit of a standing baseball slide to the center of the dirt and rock road. Ahead, on the same path, his target is making a ninety degree turn from the main path to another. The setting is probably sparsely-forested mountains, so there’s a bit of an upwards angle toward the target’s turn.
PANEL TWO
The Chronomancer hits the next path. The target is way ahead. Unlike the dirt road, which is actually made for travel, this path is less designed for typical travel. There are highs and lows and large rocks in the path which make it less habitable.
PANEL THREE
As if in some jumping-turning maneuver typical of a video game (and fittingly so), the target has spun mid-air to cast a summoning spell. His left hand grips his glowing right. The ground below him glows as well, possibly in a circle or in a symbolically magic arrangement.
PANEL FOUR
From the glowing ground, the front half of the dragonhound has arisen, and is basically pulling itself in this space from whatever space it had previously occupied.
PANEL FIVE
While the dragonhound pulls the rest of itself up out of the glowing circle, the Chronomancer’s target has turned to flee.
TARGET: That should hold you for a bit!
PAGE FOUR
PANEL ONE
Not to draw too many Star Wars references here, but the Time Spanner looks like a high-tech wrench that’s attached to his belt like a light saber hilt. At any rate, the Chronomancer pulls it from his belt in preparation...
PANEL TWO
…Then quickly moves to avoid the giant snapping jaws of the dragonhound.
PANEL THREE
The Time Spanner grows to the length of, oh, say, a wizard’s staff. That’s appropriate enough, as that it essentially the parallel it is meant to draw. In retreating from the attack, and with the resized Spanner in his hands, the Chronomancer casts a spell, shooting the dragonhound with some form of energy.
PANEL FOUR
I picture this as being a borderless panel, just the growling dragonhound. It should be scaled to make it look big, bulky, but the features of it have changed to reflect its time-reversed younger form.
DRAGONHOUND (no bubble): GRR ARF! ARF!
PANEL FIVE
The Chronomancer is seen now standing much taller over the dragonhound pup. He’s wagging a stern finger down at the pup, shaming him for his aggressive behavior.
CHRONOMANCER: No! Bad boy!
PAGE FIVE
PANEL ONE
The Chronomancer kneels down towards the pup, his Time Spanner (still enlongated) in his left hand and a little bone-shaped puppy treat in his hand. I refuse to disclose which orifice this puppy treat was pulled from.
PANEL TWO
The Chronomancer commands the pup.
CHRONOMANCER: Speak!
DRAGONHOUND: Ruff!
PANEL THREE
The pup is somewhere in the process of rolling over. This could be one of those time lapse panels with a transparent illustrations of the pup’s movement. It could be something more simple than that.
CHRONOMANCER: Roll over!
PANEL FOUR
The pup is standing on his hind quarters.
CHRONOMANCER: Stand!
PANEL FIVE
The Chronomancer gives the pup the treat.
CHRONOMANCER: Play dead!
PANEL SIX
A close-up of the pup, laying on his back with his legs straight up, as the Chronomancer rubs his belly.
CHRONOMANCER: Good boy!
PAGE SIX
PANEL ONE
The Chronomancer’s target is now much further along on the coarse path; from the perspective shown, we can see him from behind as he’s running.
PANEL TWO
From the opposite angle, looking at the target head-on as he sort of peeks behind him.
SFX: WUB WUB WUB WUB
PANEL THREE
The target has stopped and turn. From over his shoulder, we can see the target’s expression of fear as he sees the Chronomancer riding the back of the flying (and again fully grown) dragonhound.
PANEL FOUR
A close-up on the head of the dragonhound. Its mouth is opened, baring its teeth and gullet as a fireball forms from within its throat.
PANEL FIVE
Exasperated, the target turns in an attempt to scramble away from the fireball, which is seen in the background, large and mid-approach.
END
PANEL ONE
The Chronomancer enters the saloon. It’s like the cantina scene from Star Wars. Different races and classes and cultures from within the Technomagia universe are represented and cavorting with each other. Our view is from behind the Chronomancer, and we can clearly see his guild emblem on the back of his cape. With a crimson cape, it probably stands out in gold; I’m thinking it’s a combination of a cog, a clock, and a magical symbol.
PANEL TWO
An over-the-shoulder shot: the Chronomancer looks to one side of the saloon.
PANEL THREE
An over-the-shoulder shot, reverse angle: the Chronomancer looks at the other side of the room. One person has shifted in his chair to turn and look at him.
PANEL FOUR
A close-up of that guy-- the Chronomancer’s target. He just looks sketchy, you know? Something about the Chronomancer has already set this guy on edge.
PANEL FIVE
The Chronomancer has approached the bar, and is holding up a picture to hold to the bartender. The Chronomancer keeps his poise and posture; he’s here on official guild business, serious business. The bartender’s probably drying off a stein, trying to multitask.
CHRONOMANCER: I’m here on behalf of the Chronomancer Guild. This man has been caught selling Chronomancer technology to Arzzandal’s forces. Any chance you’ve seen him?
BARTENDER: A Meta-lover, eh?
PAGE TWO
PANEL ONE
From behind the Chronomancer’s target, we can see the bartender point the man out. The bartender has probably shifted his rag and stein to the same hand, wrapping the rag around the handle.
BARTENDER: That’s the one.
PANEL TWO
Switch angles to look at the target head-on. Outrage is clearly visible. It looks like he stood up so fast his chair fell behind him, and he’s in the process of flipping the table. He’s either pissed at the bartender or simply trying to cause an uproar for distraction.
PANEL THREE
It’s almost like the Heisman pose-- someone is in the target’s way, and is forcibly being removed.
PANEL FOUR
And by the time he’s hit door, he’s already left plenty of destruction in his wake.
PANEL FIVE
The protagonist has bolted for the door...
PANEL SIX
… And with a touch of the forefinger to the brooch, or whatever the ornate thing is that holds his cape together, the cape itself begins to dissolve into crimson binary. I dunno, I figure it’d look majestic or something during the intro, but wouldn’t be practical for “making chase.”
PAGE THREE
PANEL ONE
The Chronomancer does a bit of a standing baseball slide to the center of the dirt and rock road. Ahead, on the same path, his target is making a ninety degree turn from the main path to another. The setting is probably sparsely-forested mountains, so there’s a bit of an upwards angle toward the target’s turn.
PANEL TWO
The Chronomancer hits the next path. The target is way ahead. Unlike the dirt road, which is actually made for travel, this path is less designed for typical travel. There are highs and lows and large rocks in the path which make it less habitable.
PANEL THREE
As if in some jumping-turning maneuver typical of a video game (and fittingly so), the target has spun mid-air to cast a summoning spell. His left hand grips his glowing right. The ground below him glows as well, possibly in a circle or in a symbolically magic arrangement.
PANEL FOUR
From the glowing ground, the front half of the dragonhound has arisen, and is basically pulling itself in this space from whatever space it had previously occupied.
PANEL FIVE
While the dragonhound pulls the rest of itself up out of the glowing circle, the Chronomancer’s target has turned to flee.
TARGET: That should hold you for a bit!
PAGE FOUR
PANEL ONE
Not to draw too many Star Wars references here, but the Time Spanner looks like a high-tech wrench that’s attached to his belt like a light saber hilt. At any rate, the Chronomancer pulls it from his belt in preparation...
PANEL TWO
…Then quickly moves to avoid the giant snapping jaws of the dragonhound.
PANEL THREE
The Time Spanner grows to the length of, oh, say, a wizard’s staff. That’s appropriate enough, as that it essentially the parallel it is meant to draw. In retreating from the attack, and with the resized Spanner in his hands, the Chronomancer casts a spell, shooting the dragonhound with some form of energy.
PANEL FOUR
I picture this as being a borderless panel, just the growling dragonhound. It should be scaled to make it look big, bulky, but the features of it have changed to reflect its time-reversed younger form.
DRAGONHOUND (no bubble): GRR ARF! ARF!
PANEL FIVE
The Chronomancer is seen now standing much taller over the dragonhound pup. He’s wagging a stern finger down at the pup, shaming him for his aggressive behavior.
CHRONOMANCER: No! Bad boy!
PAGE FIVE
PANEL ONE
The Chronomancer kneels down towards the pup, his Time Spanner (still enlongated) in his left hand and a little bone-shaped puppy treat in his hand. I refuse to disclose which orifice this puppy treat was pulled from.
PANEL TWO
The Chronomancer commands the pup.
CHRONOMANCER: Speak!
DRAGONHOUND: Ruff!
PANEL THREE
The pup is somewhere in the process of rolling over. This could be one of those time lapse panels with a transparent illustrations of the pup’s movement. It could be something more simple than that.
CHRONOMANCER: Roll over!
PANEL FOUR
The pup is standing on his hind quarters.
CHRONOMANCER: Stand!
PANEL FIVE
The Chronomancer gives the pup the treat.
CHRONOMANCER: Play dead!
PANEL SIX
A close-up of the pup, laying on his back with his legs straight up, as the Chronomancer rubs his belly.
CHRONOMANCER: Good boy!
PAGE SIX
PANEL ONE
The Chronomancer’s target is now much further along on the coarse path; from the perspective shown, we can see him from behind as he’s running.
PANEL TWO
From the opposite angle, looking at the target head-on as he sort of peeks behind him.
SFX: WUB WUB WUB WUB
PANEL THREE
The target has stopped and turn. From over his shoulder, we can see the target’s expression of fear as he sees the Chronomancer riding the back of the flying (and again fully grown) dragonhound.
PANEL FOUR
A close-up on the head of the dragonhound. Its mouth is opened, baring its teeth and gullet as a fireball forms from within its throat.
PANEL FIVE
Exasperated, the target turns in an attempt to scramble away from the fireball, which is seen in the background, large and mid-approach.
END
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Warren Ellis: Building The Imperfect Beast
From Warren Ellis's BAD SIGNAL mailing list, sent August 12, 2008.
Okay, I'm pretty sure I did do this last year, but I think it's reconfigured in my head since then. So.
What you need is one writer and three artists. Essentially, you decide to Form A Band.
And you decide up front that all the money from the anthology comic is divided 4 ways equally. This is for simplicity's sake -- people argue this point with me all the time, but I have had publishers say to my face that they avoid anthologies, especially creator-owned ones, because THE SUMS ARE TOO HARD. Keep it simple. 25% for everybody.
What you're going to do, you see, is one writer writing three serials for three artists.
You're doing a two-dollar book. That's FELL format. A 24pp unit, all on the same paperstock, including covers. "Guts" of 20pp, with the "cover", constituting 4pp, wrapped around it, yes?
Three 6pp episodes is 18 pages. Your cover and inside front cover for indicia etc are 2pp. So that leaves you 4pp, including the back cover, to play with. Use them to interleave the serials, use them as backmatter, let the artists take turns doing full-page pieces, whatever.
The cover art is a rotating job between the three artists.
Collect it every six months as a 128pp book (therefore still splitting everything four ways) or collect each serial on its own as best fitting (each book therefore splitting 50/50). (As is blatantly obvious, but people like to ask these questions instead of thinking for themselves.)
Go and do it. I need something to read.
Form a band, boys and girls. Form a band.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Pentacle Program - Two Page Script
Simple grid frame, three rows by three columns.
PENTACLE PROGRAM
PAGE ONE
PANEL ONE - THE PROTAGONIST UNLOCKS THE DOOR TO HIS APARTMENT COMPLEX BUILDING IN THE RAIN.
There's a light over the exterior door shining down on the guy. It's late at night; the guy is dressed in a long coat, but having no hood leaves his head unprotected.
PANEL TWO - THE PROTAGONIST PULLS A CD-ROM OUT OF HIS MAILBOX.
The mailbox is one in a locker-style row of many. The guy's keys are still hanging from the mailbox door. The CD-ROM is packaged somewhat discretely. The locker bank is in the complex foyer, which also has the stairs to the second floor. Our guy is soaked in his long coat. He probably won't show much over receiving something in the mail he actually sent for.
PANEL THREE - THE PROTAGONIST CLIMBS STAIRS.
With the mailbox closed and locked, our guy has begun to trudge up to the second floor-- his floor-- leaving sloppy, wet footprints in his wake.
PANEL FOUR - THE PROTAGONIST OPENS THE DOOR TO HIS DARK APARTMENT.
We're looking at the guy from inside the studio apartment. The hallway light is bright, and we can see little more of the guy than his silhouette. The only thing on in his small studio is his computer screen; its light, combined with the hallway light, illuminates just a bit of the mess his apartment is.
PANEL FIVE - THE PROTAGONIST SHUTS THE DOOR BEHIND HIM.
That extra light from the hallway is gone; the light from the computer screen is thus accentuated. The guy's silhouette (and the glimmer of the LCD light off his spectacles) is further into the apartment, probably closing in on his almighty throne.
PANEL SIX - THE PROTAGONIST IS SLUMPED IN THE CHAIR IN FRONT OF HIS COMPUTER.
He's got the slouch anal-retentive posture people warn you about. He's much more visible now that he's directly in front of the computer. His head is sort of hanging and his wet bangs are still dripping wet. His finger is by the external eject button of the computer's disk drive, which is now opened. (Alternatively, the guy would be pulling out a porn DVD from the now-opened disk drive.)
PANEL SEVEN - THE PROTAGONIST PUTS THE CD IN THE SLOT.
A close-up of his hand and the new CD, with his index finger through the hole and his thumb on the rim, careful to place the disk appropriately. The disk's label looks black with a large logo, the pentagram that is disintegrating into binary on the right side of the disk.
PANEL EIGHT - THE PROGRAM DISPLAYS THE WELCOME SCREEN.
It's basically a close-up of the computer screen. The same logo from the disk label is on the screen. The bottom of the screen has one of those boxes you have to click, saying one does agree to the terms of usage and/or assume full responsibility. The guy's arrow-style mouse pointer is probably somewhere between that box and the button marked "continue."
PANEL NINE - THE PROGRAM ASKS THE PROTAGONIST TO SELECT A BASE MODEL.
The program allows for the selecting of one base from many, and a color option that changes the color of the selected model's lines. The guy picks up a pentagram, double-encircled with smaller circles at each point of the star within the dual bands; the color option has "red" selected.
PAGE TWO
PANEL ONE - THE PROTAGONIST IS LOOKING AT HIS KEYBOARD.
This should probably be shot from over the guy's shoulder so as not to beat side-shots to death. From this angle, the reader might be able to see that he is putting letters in each of the five smallcircles around the star. (Hadn't planned for that until next panel, but if it can be worked in there, why not?)
PANEL TWO - LETTERS ARE FILLED INTO EACH ONE OF THE FIVE SMALLER ORBS.
Starting from the uppermost circle, the guy has put the letters J-N-T-h-N in the orbs.
PANEL THREE - THE PROTAGONIST CHANGES THE FONTS.
The guy has changed each letter from the English alphabet to other fonts/alphabets in the program. It will be something like J in Theban, N in Enochian, T in Ancient Greek, h in Furthark, and N in Magi. The guy may have right-clicked to pull up a menu, with the mouse hovering over "invert image."
PANEL FOUR - THE PENTACLE IS INVERTED.
The image is flipped upside down; even the letters, in their new positions, are upside-down.
PANEL FIVE - SYMBOLS ARE ADDED TO THE INVERTED PENTACLE.
The guy decorates his project with alchemic and planetary symbols from a drag-and-drop menu. He starts by putting the astrological symbol for Saturn in the pentagon at the center of the star.
PANEL SIX - THE PENTAGRAM IS COMPLETE.
Another over-the-shoulder view of the computer screen (the side opposite the view taken in page two/panel one) and the now finished pentagram. It now has the symbol for Saturn at the center of the star, the symbols for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in the higher three sections outside the star, and the alchemic symbols for fire and sulfur in the bottom two sections.
PANEL SEVEN - THE PROTAGONIST SNEEZES ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN.
The guy is in the full throws of a violent sneeze, and seems to blast the pentagram with sickly bodily fluids.
PROTAGONIST: Ahh-
PROTAGONIST: Ahh--
PROTAGONIST: Ahh-choo!!
PANEL EIGHT - THE PENTACLE TURNS INTO A HELLISH PORTAL.
The outer edge of the pentacle has collapsed inward into a portal. It looks fiery yet dark at the same time. A hand is reaching out from inside the portal, with demonic red skin and painted-black claws. The guy is recoilind in fear, if he can be seen in this panel.
PANEL NINE - THE PROTAGONIST IS PULLED INTO THE PORTAL.
The guy is already half-way gone, his precious chair kicked over and the lower half of his body sticking out of the screen. His legs are probably still kicking.
END CAPTION: Tough break, kid!
How's my scripting?
Part of a Green Lantern fanfiction script I'm working on.
PART ONE: YELLOW LANTERN ALLEN SCOTT
PAGE ONE
PANEL ONE
This panel takes up all the page, save for the bleed. There's a yellow border around it. The right half is "reserved" for some panels-in-panel action.
The left side of the panel is primarily taken up by Yellow Lantern Alan Scott. It's a full-body shot, meant to show off his unique costume. (This is meant to immediately show the difference between characters visually. There will be more of kinds of "introductory panels" for each of the six primary characters.) It may be at a slight angle, possibly an action pose, as he had just entered the main room of his version of the JSA's headquarters. There might be other members in sight (even just partially, given the limited room on either half of the page), but he's there to see Mister Terrible, who's definitely not in this particular panel.
YL SCOTT: You called?
PANEL TWO
This is one of the smaller panels on the right side of Panel One. It is the uppermost panel in a column of three same-sized panels, each space proportionally between each other and the edge of the bleed (vertically, that is). Yellow border.
Mister Terrible has his back to a large computer display, his arms outstretched with amiability. We can only see about the upper half or so of his torso-- not being outright important, he doesn't get the "look at my cool costume" treatment like the main six do.
TERRIBLE: I did. First, to give you an appropriate "job well done."
YL SCOTT (off-panel): It was a job.
TERRIBLE: I was getting to that.
PANEL THREE
The second in the column of panels inside Panel One; yellow bordered.
Mister Terrible is sitting at the computer, YL Scott now visibly standing behind him.
What can be seen of the computer screen or screens would be things like images of universes other than their own (though not universes we're all that familiar with, so no Earth-1 or anything too common), perhaps schematics of a device and portions of the formulas that operate at the device's core.
TERRIBLE: While you were dealing with Vand le Savant, one of my Terribyte crawlers was able to infiltrate the base and found this.
YL SCOTT: "This" being?
PANEL FOUR
The third in the column of panels inside Panel One; yellow bordered.
The character positioning will be similar to the last panel, with the perspective shifted so that we can get a better view of the screen(s). The dominant image on the screen is of the schematics of that device. The schematics might be diagrammed, with lines linking different parts of the device to explanations of what they are and what they do; that may be Mister Terrible's computer attempting to divine the purpose of the device by running a simulation of its operation.
TERRIBLE: An interdimensional transporter.
TERRIBLE: Technically, a personal teleporter, augmented for larger capacity and interdimensional travel.
YL SCOTT: And we found the schematics?
PAGE TWO
PANEL ONE
This panel takes up approximately the top third of the page, each panel being of equal dimensions and allowing for space between each of them. Yellow-bordered.
Mister Terrible has left his chair, now standing a few short feet away at a table-like console. YL Scott watches from place behind the chair. This might be a good time to show a wider array of screens, some of which might be keyed onto JSA members in other universes. In theory, the computers connection to the device could allow it to access computers or satellites from other worlds. When the device comes out, the computer would lose that ability.
TERRIBLE: Not exactly. These schematics were drawn from the computer's scans of the actual device.
TERRIBLE: By hooking it up to the computer, I was able to get a glimpse of alternate versions of Earth.
YL SCOTT: Sounds like we got lucky. There's a lot of havoc to be had with a device like that.
PANEL TWO
Equal in size with those above and below it; yellow bordered.
A close of Mister Terrible's hand, or maybe just his index finger as it presses into a button on the console he's standing before.
SFX: Click!
PANEL THREE
Equal in size with those above and below it; yellow bordered.
Mister Terrible is still standing in front of the console, but YL Scott has now crept up to the side of the thing. Between them, the ascending compartment within the console can be seen rising up.
YL SCOTT: Do we have any major plans for it thus far?
PAGE THREE
PANEL ONE
This panel and Panel Two take up the top third of the page, each being half the width of the page. Yellow bordered.
A close-up on the compartment, which has finished rising and retracted its shell to reveal its interior: the device is a gauntlet, held in the air by a visible ray of light. The color doesn't specifically matter itself, but might want to reflect Mister Terrible's coloration in some way. (That is, his costume, not his skintone.)
TERRIBLE (off-panel): We've not even finished the analysis phase, and from the looks of it, it's dependant on an external power source.
Panel TWO
The same size as Panel One; yellow bordered.
Mister Terrible and YL Scott are still standing at the console, although the gauntlet-like device is now in Terrible's hands and the console is mid-descent.
TERRIBLE: Catman said something about starting an interdimensional gladiator arena... Powergirl pondered finding a Krypton to conquer and rule over... But we've got to make sure the thing even works first.
PANEL THREE
This panel takes up the middle third of the page; yellow bordered.
The console between Terrible and YL Scott has returned to its normal state. Terrible is holding the gauntlet in a different position; both are looking at it intently.
Terrible: No one wants their molecules scattered in the multiverse.
YL SCOTT: May I?
PANEL FOUR
To be simple, this panel is the same size as Panels One and Two, bottom left with a yellow flippin' border.
Although still in Terrible's hands, YL Scott has wrapped a yellow force field around the gauntlet.
YL SCOTT: I totally agree. That's a great idea.
TERRIBLE: Idea?
PANEL FIVE
Same as Panel Four, bottom right and yellow border.
The force field is holding up the gauntlet between Terrible and YL Scott. YL Scott has his head cocked to the side, probably looking at buttons or screens. Terrible, confused at what seem to be YL Scott's non-sequitors, is giving him a puzzled, cautious look.
YL SCOTT: That sounds highly likely. Should we proceed with that course of action?
TERRIBLE: Alan, are you okay?
PAGE FOUR
PANEL ONE
This might be a little confusing but here goes: this page, like Page One, is designed with some panels-in-panel action. There will be three panels inside this one, centered and towards the top. There will be two in one row, one in the second; the top two will equal the length of the bottom, which is about fifty percent of the page's length. Although this is the primary panel on the page, it is the last in the reading order of it, so it might read as though it were out of place. Same yellow border, of course.
YL Scott is in the center of the bottom portion of this panel, and should be the only person seen. Energy is swirling around him, as though his yellow light of fear is combining with temporal and multiversal energies as it sends him into another dimension.
YL SCOTT: I can spread a little FEAR through the Multiverse!
PANEL TWO
This panel is approximately a quarter of the length of the page, just to the right of the center line, and roughly a little less than a quarter of the height of the page. Yellow bordered.
This panel is a close-up of the gauntlet, still surrounded by the YL Scott's force field but now opened or unlatched, ready to but placed on someone's arm.
TERRIBLE: Scott, what are you doing?
YL SCOTT: Isn't it obvious?
PANEL THREE
The same size as panel two, although positioned to the right of the center line with a bit of space between them. Yellow bordered.
Another close-up, this time as the YL Scott's forcefield places the gauntlet onto his left arm (which should, if I remember correctly, be the same side his ring is equipped on).
PANEL FOUR
This panel is just below Panels Two and Three, inside Panel One, and is the same height as the above two and the length of them both combined. Yellow bordered.
YL Scott has backed away from Terrible a bit, who's reaching out to him. YL Scott is looking at the gauntlet and pressing buttons with his right hand.
TERRIBLE: Scott, no!
YL SCOTT: I figure, if I can put a little FEAR in this machine...
END PART ONE
PART ONE: YELLOW LANTERN ALLEN SCOTT
PAGE ONE
PANEL ONE
This panel takes up all the page, save for the bleed. There's a yellow border around it. The right half is "reserved" for some panels-in-panel action.
The left side of the panel is primarily taken up by Yellow Lantern Alan Scott. It's a full-body shot, meant to show off his unique costume. (This is meant to immediately show the difference between characters visually. There will be more of kinds of "introductory panels" for each of the six primary characters.) It may be at a slight angle, possibly an action pose, as he had just entered the main room of his version of the JSA's headquarters. There might be other members in sight (even just partially, given the limited room on either half of the page), but he's there to see Mister Terrible, who's definitely not in this particular panel.
YL SCOTT: You called?
PANEL TWO
This is one of the smaller panels on the right side of Panel One. It is the uppermost panel in a column of three same-sized panels, each space proportionally between each other and the edge of the bleed (vertically, that is). Yellow border.
Mister Terrible has his back to a large computer display, his arms outstretched with amiability. We can only see about the upper half or so of his torso-- not being outright important, he doesn't get the "look at my cool costume" treatment like the main six do.
TERRIBLE: I did. First, to give you an appropriate "job well done."
YL SCOTT (off-panel): It was a job.
TERRIBLE: I was getting to that.
PANEL THREE
The second in the column of panels inside Panel One; yellow bordered.
Mister Terrible is sitting at the computer, YL Scott now visibly standing behind him.
What can be seen of the computer screen or screens would be things like images of universes other than their own (though not universes we're all that familiar with, so no Earth-1 or anything too common), perhaps schematics of a device and portions of the formulas that operate at the device's core.
TERRIBLE: While you were dealing with Vand le Savant, one of my Terribyte crawlers was able to infiltrate the base and found this.
YL SCOTT: "This" being?
PANEL FOUR
The third in the column of panels inside Panel One; yellow bordered.
The character positioning will be similar to the last panel, with the perspective shifted so that we can get a better view of the screen(s). The dominant image on the screen is of the schematics of that device. The schematics might be diagrammed, with lines linking different parts of the device to explanations of what they are and what they do; that may be Mister Terrible's computer attempting to divine the purpose of the device by running a simulation of its operation.
TERRIBLE: An interdimensional transporter.
TERRIBLE: Technically, a personal teleporter, augmented for larger capacity and interdimensional travel.
YL SCOTT: And we found the schematics?
PAGE TWO
PANEL ONE
This panel takes up approximately the top third of the page, each panel being of equal dimensions and allowing for space between each of them. Yellow-bordered.
Mister Terrible has left his chair, now standing a few short feet away at a table-like console. YL Scott watches from place behind the chair. This might be a good time to show a wider array of screens, some of which might be keyed onto JSA members in other universes. In theory, the computers connection to the device could allow it to access computers or satellites from other worlds. When the device comes out, the computer would lose that ability.
TERRIBLE: Not exactly. These schematics were drawn from the computer's scans of the actual device.
TERRIBLE: By hooking it up to the computer, I was able to get a glimpse of alternate versions of Earth.
YL SCOTT: Sounds like we got lucky. There's a lot of havoc to be had with a device like that.
PANEL TWO
Equal in size with those above and below it; yellow bordered.
A close of Mister Terrible's hand, or maybe just his index finger as it presses into a button on the console he's standing before.
SFX: Click!
PANEL THREE
Equal in size with those above and below it; yellow bordered.
Mister Terrible is still standing in front of the console, but YL Scott has now crept up to the side of the thing. Between them, the ascending compartment within the console can be seen rising up.
YL SCOTT: Do we have any major plans for it thus far?
PAGE THREE
PANEL ONE
This panel and Panel Two take up the top third of the page, each being half the width of the page. Yellow bordered.
A close-up on the compartment, which has finished rising and retracted its shell to reveal its interior: the device is a gauntlet, held in the air by a visible ray of light. The color doesn't specifically matter itself, but might want to reflect Mister Terrible's coloration in some way. (That is, his costume, not his skintone.)
TERRIBLE (off-panel): We've not even finished the analysis phase, and from the looks of it, it's dependant on an external power source.
Panel TWO
The same size as Panel One; yellow bordered.
Mister Terrible and YL Scott are still standing at the console, although the gauntlet-like device is now in Terrible's hands and the console is mid-descent.
TERRIBLE: Catman said something about starting an interdimensional gladiator arena... Powergirl pondered finding a Krypton to conquer and rule over... But we've got to make sure the thing even works first.
PANEL THREE
This panel takes up the middle third of the page; yellow bordered.
The console between Terrible and YL Scott has returned to its normal state. Terrible is holding the gauntlet in a different position; both are looking at it intently.
Terrible: No one wants their molecules scattered in the multiverse.
YL SCOTT: May I?
PANEL FOUR
To be simple, this panel is the same size as Panels One and Two, bottom left with a yellow flippin' border.
Although still in Terrible's hands, YL Scott has wrapped a yellow force field around the gauntlet.
YL SCOTT: I totally agree. That's a great idea.
TERRIBLE: Idea?
PANEL FIVE
Same as Panel Four, bottom right and yellow border.
The force field is holding up the gauntlet between Terrible and YL Scott. YL Scott has his head cocked to the side, probably looking at buttons or screens. Terrible, confused at what seem to be YL Scott's non-sequitors, is giving him a puzzled, cautious look.
YL SCOTT: That sounds highly likely. Should we proceed with that course of action?
TERRIBLE: Alan, are you okay?
PAGE FOUR
PANEL ONE
This might be a little confusing but here goes: this page, like Page One, is designed with some panels-in-panel action. There will be three panels inside this one, centered and towards the top. There will be two in one row, one in the second; the top two will equal the length of the bottom, which is about fifty percent of the page's length. Although this is the primary panel on the page, it is the last in the reading order of it, so it might read as though it were out of place. Same yellow border, of course.
YL Scott is in the center of the bottom portion of this panel, and should be the only person seen. Energy is swirling around him, as though his yellow light of fear is combining with temporal and multiversal energies as it sends him into another dimension.
YL SCOTT: I can spread a little FEAR through the Multiverse!
PANEL TWO
This panel is approximately a quarter of the length of the page, just to the right of the center line, and roughly a little less than a quarter of the height of the page. Yellow bordered.
This panel is a close-up of the gauntlet, still surrounded by the YL Scott's force field but now opened or unlatched, ready to but placed on someone's arm.
TERRIBLE: Scott, what are you doing?
YL SCOTT: Isn't it obvious?
PANEL THREE
The same size as panel two, although positioned to the right of the center line with a bit of space between them. Yellow bordered.
Another close-up, this time as the YL Scott's forcefield places the gauntlet onto his left arm (which should, if I remember correctly, be the same side his ring is equipped on).
PANEL FOUR
This panel is just below Panels Two and Three, inside Panel One, and is the same height as the above two and the length of them both combined. Yellow bordered.
YL Scott has backed away from Terrible a bit, who's reaching out to him. YL Scott is looking at the gauntlet and pressing buttons with his right hand.
TERRIBLE: Scott, no!
YL SCOTT: I figure, if I can put a little FEAR in this machine...
END PART ONE
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