What I've been meaning to do all week is write this post, and express my sincere thanks to the crew at www.thecomiccrypt.us - The Comic Crypt for selecting a body of work of mine that I submitted, as the winner of their comic book writing contest.
Contestants were told to provide a sypnosis of character(s), followed by a 3-5 page written submission in comic book form.
Originally the prize was to be a custom painting of any hero or villan of my choice, but long story short that didn't pan out. It was a good thing actually, since I had - and still have - very little wall space. So, in the end I was offered a case of action figures of my choice as my prize.
Now, you may or may not know, but Canada has to have the worst luck when it comes to cool toys making their way into our country, and onto our shelves.......(I'm directing my infuriated glare at the likes of Hasbro and Mattel, and retailers like Wal-Mart and Toys R Us. In fact, I was at the Richmond Toys R Us today, and I STILL see the likes of Marvel Legends Series 10 Mystiques peg-warming - they are over 2 years old. You think they would of discounted these to clear them out by now? Noooooooo! And to add to this...... all throughout the US of A, you can find the utterly beautiful creations of the 4 Horsemen with their recent work on the DCUC 'Collect and Connect' series of figures available at Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and Target. Can they be found in Canada? Series 1 eventually showed up at Wal-Marts, but nothing has been found at a mass retailer since!)
So, I asked for the great crew that makes up the admin at The Comic Crypt to aid me, a huge Marvel Legends collector, with obtaining the Red Hulk Build-A-Figure series since it is a Target exclusive - and Canada of course, does not have any Target stores. They were more than happy to help a 'Crypter out, and between bigraj and Ram I had my Red Hulk in a matter of 3 international parcels. I first received Spiral and Adam Warlock, followed by X-Force Wolverine and Union Jack, and lastly Silver Savage and Black Costume Spidey aka Symbiote Spiderman. Now, I wasn't too worried about getting the gold variant of Spiral, but I was pretty keen on getting the X-Fore Wolvy over the Tigerstripe version, since in my opinion, he paled, (no pun intended to other collctor types,) in comparison to the uber-sexy X-Force version. I waited to open them all until I had received them all, and once my girlfriend and had completed our move into out new dwelling. Now, for those of you that may not be a 'collector', you may not know the utter euphoria and satisfaction that one feels once they have clicked and snapped all the pieces together to build that big, bad-ass 'BAF'.
This rush is slowly dying for Marvel Legends. In the Toybiz days, we were treated with the likes of Galactus, Sentinel, Apocolypse, Mojo, Modak, and Giantman - all of them huge, highly detailed and lots of articulation. Since the Hasbro days, we've received Annihilus, Blob, & Brood Queen, as well as other flashs in the pan that were near impossible to find, such as Ronan the Accuser, Movie Sandman,(which sucked horribly,) and as of recent, a whiff of redemption - Fing Fang Foom, Red Hulk, and Ares.
So, here are the pics of my pretties, my prizes for my winning entry:
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Now, I must admit, I had never written ANYTHING in this format, but I have always been a fan of it.
Well, I decided to draw from well that is my mind, from the cast of characters I've been assembling and refining for ages............
and I thought that the duo of "Ebb and Flo" would be a great fit for the parameters of this project.
Now, I've tried to find the exact link to my winning entry, and the other entries I was competing with but no dice. So, here is the sypnosis and the entry in their entirety:
Character Synopsis; Ebb & Flo
Ebbenezer – name means, “Stone of Help” – Hebrew.
Ebbenezer, aka “Ebb” is of an “Unprincipled” alignment. This meaning that he is basically good, but often acts selfishly and holds his personal freedoms above most else. Think about Han Solo. A character who associates with good and bad peoples, and thinks he is bad but deep down, he’s good.
In his early 30’s, (31) he’s outgrown most of his insecurities, but still has an adolescent streak in him that gets him into more trouble than not.
Always one that has lived a hard, snake bitten life, he seems to, (does,) exude an aura of bad luck. Even though he seems to have strong gut feelings for when trouble is headed his way or upon him, (much like a Spider-Sense,) he’s usually able to acknowledge it just in time for it to bite him.
After his mother was murdered by his father, and he in turn murders his father, he at the young age of 18 was on the run after torching the family shack in the ghetto they lived in.
After leaving his nightmare upbringing, he took with him the skills he had inherently learned from his father for being a good con man, and a greater thief. He knew that he’d need a new identity, so he paid a visit to his “Uncle Jack” – his Dads’ partner in crime, to get himself the proper paperwork he’d need to disappear from “The Systems’” eyes. Once he got what he needed, he covered his tracks by putting a bullet in Uncle Jacks’ head and torching his warehouse.
Living off the streets, hitch-hiking, drifting through towns, always managing to get himself into some sort of trouble with the local bad guys, he always had the skills to con his way into the beds of ladies, and into the wallets of their husbands.
He manages to get a gig being a runner for the mob in Chicago, after he initially was to be killed for beating one of the captains nephews within an inch of his life in a bar fight.
Liking what he saw in this now 28 year old ‘kid,’ the Don saw some true potential for this sly-tongued, take-no-shit-from-nobody con man. He also saw the potential Ebb had to be the fall guy for some dirt that had been accruing on his crew. What the Don didn’t count on was his daughter falling in love with this vagabond in the years to follow.
After putting in some time enforcing, extorting, and running some numbers, Ebb is asked to escort some cash into Canada to pull off a major arms deal. After already being “told,” (a mock execution by a neighboring mob,) by The Don to stop seeing his daughter, Ebb sees this as being the last thing he does before he takes off for greener pastures. While en route to Canada, spending a night in a hotel, he gets a very unexpected knock on the door. Thinking this is his end, he throws open the door and shoves a pistol in the face of who must be his death-dealer – and to his surprise, it’s his one weakness in this life: Flo. She has come to warn him of the set up that awaits him in Canada. Together, they decide to flee to a far away land to try and find some freedom from all that plagues their lives.
Florence – name means, “prosperous, flourishing” – Latin, Mancini from “manco,” which means left-handed, (hence why her Dad is known as the Left Hand of Death.)
Florence, aka “Flo” is of a “Scrupulous” alignment. This meaning she has a high regard for life and freedom. She is more the vigilante that works beyond the law, yet for the law, and the "greater good" of the people. Although she may seem floozy and flirtatious, she loves Ebb and does her best to keep him out of the constant trouble he’s always getting himself into.
Born into a life of luxury, she’s spoiled from a young age by her doting father, the local Mob Boss. Flo from a young age has always been the “Good Girl,” and seems to, (does,) exude an aura of good luck. She has always had a strong sense of what lies ahead from the premonitions she gets in her dreams. As she’s grown older, these dreams aka visions have grown more vivid and have even manifested themselves while she’s awake, (Clairvoyance.)
Unawares of his employment, she enjoys all that life has given her for years – until one day her world is shattered when the family home is raided and her father taken down in a rain of slurs being uttered from his mouth. Now at the age of 14, she’s not so easily fooled by her fathers’ seemingly caring eyes, and his silk tongue. She’s a smart girl from all the private schooling she’s endured, and begins to piece things together.
Her father always being tied up with, and out of town on business. The fact that he seems to get whatever he wants by walking into a local establishment, and simply asking for it, and adding a wink of his eye. The fact that even when she’s seen her father clearly in the wrong, he gets away with it because everyone is too scared to speak out against him.
She sees the fear that has been instilled in her mother, and at the fragile age she is, she makes a vow to ready herself for the war she’ll wage upon men like her father, and men that are even worse.
So, she keeps up her Daddy-girls façade, and starts to take on more extra curricular activities to get her trained up for the vigilante she envisions herself to be. Cheerleading, gymnastics, swimming to name what her Dad knows about. Judo, boxing, wrestling are the things he doesn’t know about.
All seems to be going as planned, until the day she meets Mr. Badnews himself – Ebb. A scruffy, down-on-his luck man who is irresistibly charming in his own way, who unknowingly charms his way right into her heart. She had heard that he was the guy who almost killed on of her “Uncles’” nephews – Christoph. The same Christoph who’s always been notorious for having a big mouth; the same Christoph who has always been trying to get her into his bed. Knowing that he was the man that managed to set him straight in the best of ways, (the way she’s always wanted to,) he falls for him even harder.
Doing her best to hide her crush on him whenever they are at the same “Family” functions, her desire for him eventually boils over when they finally get alone.
This happenstance almost gets her love killed. She finds out soon after that her father plans on setting him up to take the fall for an arms deal in Canada, and she throws caution into the wind and runs to save her true love.
Plot Synopsis:
Now united, Ebb & Flo want to flee from the hands of her father the Mob Boss. Knowing he will soon find out of his daughters disappearance, she feels they must act quickly by getting into Canada to either follow through on the set up, or to blow it out of the water.
Ebb suggests the easiest way out of the situation – in his own words, “C’mon Flo, let’s make like the Steve Miller band, Take the Money and Run!”
She laughs it off, and lets Ebb know she wants to send a message to her father to leave them alone. What better way to do that than to wipe out the Yakuza that are supposed to be setting him up?
Ebb is a little uneasy taking on a bunch of modern day ninjas with fully automatic weapons, given his streak of luck. Flo assures him, “Baby, together, we can do anything.” And you know what, for the first time in a very long time, he actually believes what he’s being told.
He feels that she is the yin to his yang, the butter of his cup, the split of his banana. He feels that with her, his luck ain’t so bad.
Flo begins to kiss her knight in tarnished armour, and they soon end up in a whirlwind of hotel bedding. ....that concludes the sypnosis, and so begins the comic.......... Ebb & Flo: The Deal
We pick up where our plot synopsis leaves off, with Ebb & Flo heading into a trap that has been set for Ebb by Flos’ father, Mafia Boss of the Chicago underworld.
Page 1: This page contains 5 panels, the sixth panel being one that is as wide as the page, and a 1/3 of the overall height. The other 4 panels can be of whatever size works best.
Panel 1: We see a dark room, and 2 figures, one male, one female, sitting upright in bed, silhouetted in a glow from a cigarette that is being inhaled by the male.
NO DIALOGUE.
Panel 2: We see the cigarette being butted out into an ashtray on a bedside table.
Ebb: (Off-Panel): All right sweetness, it’s time we saddle up and ride out. As much as I’d love to get a good nights sleep, we both know that ain’t gonna happen for either of us.
Panel 3: We see Ebb sitting on the bed, pants already on, pulling on a boot. We see Flo half out of the bed, with a bed sheet being held to her chest with one arm.
Flo: Who needs sleep? My batteries are charged and ready for action thanks to you.
Panel 4: A shot of Ebb straight on, from the chest to head, half looking down, as if he is pulling on his other boot. We can see Flo leaning over his shoulder to the left, swooping in and about to kiss Ebb on the temple of his forehead.
Flo: You ready for this Ebb? Ebb: With you by my side babe, I’m ready for anything.
Panel 5: A semi-exterior shot, as if looking from the inside of the hotel room as the door is being closed by Ebb. The reader can see the inside of the door, Ebb’s upper body and head, and Flo in the not-so-distant distance, standing by an open car trunk.
Flo: I guess we’re stuck driving your ride. If we were to show up in my car, it may tip them off. We’ll have to stash my car nearby for when we’re done. But for now ---
Panel 6: Allow this to be the full out view of the contents of her trunk – a massive stash of almost any weapon imaginable, with brief glimpses of both our characters arms/hands on the seam of the trunk.
Flo (Off Panel): --- let’s get these presents I brought loaded into your trunk! Ebb (Off Panel): Damn girl! You sure know how to inspire confidence in a man! Flo (Off Panel): Aren’t I enough inspiration on my own? I guess you are yet to see me in action. Ebb (Off Panel): Oh, I saw you in action……
Page 2: This will have a total of 5 panels
Panel 1: We see the front end of Flos’ car, semi-shadowed by the darkness of being inside of an old, decrepit garage, whose door is being closed by Ebb. It is dusk, and the darkness of night is soon to be upon them.
Ebb: Put the keys up in the sun visor. Don’t want to be losing ‘em if we’re running.
Panel 2: We see our Ebb sitting in his vehicle, from the side view, (as if we are standing on the passenger side of the car looking in through the window from a distance.) On the front seat we see a handgun, and a briefcase with a handcuff attached. We also see Flo standing by the entrance of the garage, holding what appears to be a large designer handbag, hair pulled back into a pony tail, wearing a full black bodysuit, un-tinted sunglasses, and a lady-like trench coat to conceal the many weapons she has strapped to herself.
Flo: Just remember, keep your glasses on. I’ll be your guardian angel while you’re in there love. Ebb (In thought): Yeah, knowing my luck though, I won’t even get a chance to sit down before they get started on gutting me. Ebb: Your word is God Flo, I hear ya. Keep the peeps on my ugly mug. We both got our Mike phones if anything gets hairy, so we can catch up later.
Panel 3: Similar to Panel 2, though now we only see the ass-end of the car, and Flo standing looking at Ebb driving away, with a small smile on her face that can only be described as a look of love. Dusk is now all but dead.
NO dialogue.
Panel 4: We see Ebb pull up to a gated entrance, that has a guard posted. The reader can barely see the holster on the inside of the guards suit jacket. The gate itself looks to be very sturdy, with a mess of barbed wire topping it, and the surrounding fence. In the not too far distance, you can see a warehouse with a few SUVs parked beside it.
Guard: State your name and reason why you’re here. Ebb: Name’s Ebb, I’m here on behalf of Mr. Mancini. Guard(speaks over radio):Mr.Ebb is here, on behalf of a Mr.Mancini. (Reply from radio): He’s cleared to enter. Guard: You’re clear. Proceed to the warehouse.
Panel 5: We see Ebb getting out of the car, hand cuffed briefcase in hand, just around the corner of the entrance of the warehouse.
Ebb(Thinking): So far so good. I got through the gate easier than a greased pig. My luck really seems better with Flo watching over me….. wait, did I think too soon? I got that gut feeling……….
Page 3: This page consists of 6 panels. Panel 3 will span the width of the page, and will be about 1/4th of the total height of the page, with a split in it to change the perspective of the story. The remaining panels will have a PIP – a Panel in Panel, in the upper right hand corner. This will be the image Flo is seeing through Ebb’s eyes/glasses.
Panel 1: We see Ebb confronted by 2 large, armed, mean-looking guards at the warehouse entrance. It’s a bit of a look up – since the guards are larger, taller than Ebb.
Guard 1: Against the wall, spread ‘em. Ebb: Aww, really? I thought I was thoroughly checked at the gate. Guard 2: Funny guy, eh? What are these, your balloon animals? Nice try pal. NOW you’re clear. Get in there before I slap a balloon on my hand and check deeper, feel me? Ebb(Thinking): Damn, so much for wielding heat. I hope nothing happens until my personal cavalry is here.
Panel 2: We see the interior of a dimly light warehouse. About half of the space is occupied by large metal racks that tower to the ceiling, filled with various palletized goods. In the open spaces where workers would normally be bustling about, 2 large Hummers are parked. We see a desk in the distance, dimly lit under a low wattage lamp that hangs from the ceiling. We see the shape of a man sitting at the desk with armed guards nearby.
Suzuki: Ahh, you must be Mr.Mancinis’ man, Ebb. I am glad you made it to our meeting without any complications. Please come here, sit down.
Panel 3: Is a split panel. We see the Japanese man with a noticeable scar on his face, sitting at the table, from the perspective of Ebb’s shoulder-head silhouette, that is seated. We see the same Japanese man in a slightly closer perspective, blue-tinted, with digital read-outs. This is what Flo is currently seeing through the glasses Ebb is wearing.
Suzuki: So, Mr.Ebb, let us, how do you Americans say it, “Cut to the chase.” I have the sample shipment that your boss is paying for now loaded in the Hummer on the left. You are to bring it back to him for his final decision as to whether or not he wants larger quantities of it.
Split of panel:
PIP: Suzuki cont’d: What is that outdated catch-phrase used in one of your American films? Ahh yes, “Show me the money.”
Panel 4: We see Flo edging out of the shadows of nearby brush, at the front gate Ebb first came through. We see a small amount of her masked head, an arm, and what can only be described as a Rambo-esque knife being drawn out of a breast mounted sheath. PIP: We see Ebbs hands beginning to open the briefcase, which has been placed on the desk.
NO DIALOGUE. PIP: Ebb: It’s all there Suzuki, as promised.
Panel 4: Essentially, this is the same panel as when Ebb first rolled up, but from a slightly further distance back to allow the reader to see a bit more of the surrounding brush. We see a guard lying under shadowed brush to the right, with a gaping wound to his neck, and a pool of blood forming beneath him. We see the booth he was standing guard at slightly sprayed with blood, and a silhouetted figure over and behind the fence, attention focused on the warehouse. PIP: We see the briefcase still attached to Ebb’s wrist, pulled closer to the Japanese man, who looks to be thumbing through it.
NO DIALOGUE. PIP: Suzuki: I’ll be the judge of that………….yes, it is all here. Now, you can verify your end of the deal.
Panel 5: We see the 2 large armed, mean-looking guards. We see one with a stunned expression on his face, and a spray of blood across the wall behind him. The second one has a look of panic across his face, clutching his throat, with a large amount of blood spilling forth through his hands. We see female arms: the left holding a silencer-tipped handgun, with a trail of smoke whisping from it still in the face of the guard on the left, and in the right: a blade gleaming in the pale moonlight, with blood dripping from it. PIP: We see the case closed back up, and in the hand of the hand-cuffed hand again in the lower left hand corner of the picture. We also see the open back end of the Hummer that Ebb is nearing.
NO DIALOGUE. (But sounds are noted. The muted gunshot, the barely audible groan of a man dying from a slit throat. PIP: Ebb: So, where is it hiding? In the spare tire compartment?
Panel 6: We see the side of the warehouse were Ebb is parked, and a ladder that leads onto the roof. We see that familiar female silhouette at the top of the ladder in the shadows. PIP: We see that Ebb has begun to turn around to his left to ask for some assistance. All that we see is the butt-end of a rifle being wielded by a guard swallowing up a 3rd of this mini panel, and a sick looking smile on his face.
NO DIALOGUE. PIP: Eh, Suzu --- (Note sounds of the butt-end crushing Ebb’s face, and his glasses along with it.
Page 4: This page will consist of 5 panels. The first will have a PIP that is now showing a black screen, and the words FEED TERMINATED. Panel 4 will be the width of the page, and 1/3rd of the total height of the page.
Panel 1: We see a birds eye view of what’s going on in the warehouse below, through a skylight on the roof. We are able to see the desk, the men around it, and the slumped body of Ebb being dragged from the area of the open-backed Hummer. PIP: Is black, reads FEED TERMINATED.
NO DIALOGUE.
Panel 2: We now see Ebb held by the arms, by 2 large guards, head slumped, regaining consciousness, with Suzuki standing with arms crossed, gloating. The handcuffed briefcase is on the nearby desk.
Suzuki: You didn’t think you’d actually leave here alive, did you? Mancini set you up. I am to kill you for going against his word, for not leaving his daughter alone. But before I finish my favor to your boss, I want to know more about Mancini. I will extract my answers one way or another, the question is: will they be long, painful answers that pave the road to your death, or quick, effortless ones?
Ebb(Thinking): Dammit Flo, where are ya girl? I’m getting down to my last few chips to gamble with. Ebb: I’m not surprised, I had a feeling I might not be walking out of here.
Panel 3:We see from Ebbs’ point of view. He is looking up at the gloating face of Suzuki, who is standing right in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, (up and above the right shoulder of Suzuki,) he sees a female figure in the shadows outside of one of the skylights above.
Suzuki: So first, tell me, where can I find this daughter of his? I think I may use her in a scheme to make Mancini emotional, vulnerable. It has already led to Mancini doing business with his hated enemies, us.
Ebb: You really think I’m going to tell you where to find the woman I loved, so you can get your dirty mits on her? When I said I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be walking out of here, I didn’t mean I thought I was a walking dead-man. I meant I wasn’t going to be walking – I’m gonna be running!
Panel 4: We see Flo crashing through the skylight, a handgun in one hand, an M-16 in the other. Shots are flying everywhere, and a number of guards you can already see bullets passing through them. We see Ebb laying a kick into one of the stunned guards groin, and punching the other in the face. We see a shocked Suzuki looking up at what must be in his mind the image of the Angel of Death.
NO DIALOGUE. (Note the sounds of gunfire, breaking glass, punches and kicks.)
Panel 5: We are looking over the right shoulder of Ebb, to see a very frightened, sweating Suzuki in the clutches of Flo, with a silenced handgun to his head. We see guards lying dead all over the place.
Ebb: Now you remember that bit you mentioned a moment ago, about how I was to die for not leaving Mancini’s daughter alone? Well my friend, it’s kinda flipped. Now, Mancini’s daughter is going to kill you, for not leaving me alone.
THE END – (for now………….)
Again, I can't thank the folks @ www.thecomiccrypt.us and Grandpa, (- loved by all at the Comic Crypt,)enough for choosing me and my work as the winning entry, and with supplying me a series of figures that I'd never find at retail in Canada as my prize.
You guys rock - see you 'round the 'Crypt soon gang, Sincere thanks, Chris aka Pearsonic
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