The Comics How To... 10: THE BOB: NON-UNION PSYCHIC #0 COMIC BOOK SCRIPT BREAKDOWN - PART II

In the last article I discussed the basic structure of the script. I will now show how we organized the main elements of the story, following the basic structure, and how Adam originally organized the initial page estimate.

Initial page breakdown:

Intro/Teaser/Prologue:

Page 1- Professor and Carl get into grave robbing and they secure the Hux Medallion.

First Act:

Page 2- Bob does Darla’s hair; we glimpse Teddy, meet Henry/Gramps (who in the name of narrative economy is perhaps reading about the tomb). Bob’s psychic power is demonstrated; he can apparently see glimpses of the future.

Page 3- Darla and Teddy leave. Henry and Bob talk about his night and the possibility of one day joining the Union.

Page 4- Professor and Carl are ready to call it a night at the university. Medallion starts getting creepy, though.

Page 5-7 – Big scene: Bob performs the house call, meets Sylvester and Mary, gets into fight with the voodoo curse monsters.

Page 8 – The Hux has killed everyone, though probably off-camera. The cops arrive and the Professor begs them to lock him up.

Second Act:

Page 9 – Bob does Tony’s hair, and then Spencer Dorwell arrives, explains himself. Then Henry/Gramps sees the news.

Page 10 – Gramps immediately puts it all together and educates Bob about the Hux and the medallion, perhaps even while Spencer is still there. One-panel flashbacks to various historical family members. Gramps explains Professor is now Hux.

Page 11 – Inmate bullies Professor in jail as Bob and Gramps arrive at police station, meet Spencer, denied entry.

Page 12-13 – Hux manifests, kills inmate. Bob, Gramps, and Spencer encounter Hux. Hux kills Spencer, and then Professor disappears into construction site.

Page 14 – Police are oddly skeptical, despite the gory results of the Hux’s rampage. Gramps reveals he has a Hux remnant and they need to take it to someone who can get a better reading than Bob.

Page 15 – Bob and Gramps visit Albert in a sanitarium. Albert feels Hux piece. Flashback: Holy Man doing stuff. Then Albert finds Professor, gives clue.

Third Act:

Page 16 – 19 – Bob and Gramps enter site, avoiding security guard. Bob and Gramps interrupt Professor from killing himself, an idea Gramps likes. Bob is more idealistic, says no, and instigates a more complicated operation that a security guard ruins. Hux manifests during the delay and the big action scene commences, ending with Hux dying but the Professor surviving.

Resolution:

Page 20 – Bob does Darla’s hair again and Gramps simply says it’s too bad the Union disqualified him on the reasonable basis that he failed to protect their rep.

This was a good start, but of course this breakdown varies from the final draft. We had to try and stick to the main plots of the story and eliminate as much filler as possible. We continued to modify the breakdown in order to focus more on the main plots of the story, which resulted in editing out major characters and adding six more pages of plot development.

There was an overwhelming amount of content to cover, and as the original writer of the project, I had to be disciplined and focused on the main plots of the story. Major cuts were made in order to accommodate the new medium, and I was perfectly fine with it. Sure, I’m very fond of the original screenplay, but I was willing to let it go. You have to; otherwise you will just torture yourself.

As the page breakdown became clearer, more precise, the basic structure was more solid. We knew how the story would start, where we were going, and most importantly how the story would end. There was no way we would get lost or write ourselves into a corner. Even with mild deviations the story would have a clear direction, an even pace and flow. We were finally ready to write this script!

But first, we must tackle the technical side of the script writing process. A very clear and understandable road map must be constructed in order to accurately represent the story as a visual medium.

Next, the script format!

For more information about the BOB: NON-UNION PSYCHIC world, visit the Warehouse 9 Productions site HERE