Meanwhile at ThoughtBalloons - Artifacts

Oh man, this has probably been the hardest week so far on Thought Balloons. Artifacts is a Top Cow mega event, and I have read very little in terms of Top Cow universe comics, so this was definitely a challenge for me. In the end, I did what I always do when in doubt: write a crossover with another property. What came out was a script called The Man Behind The Curtain. My favorite part is these couple of lines...

MAN: Ah, Sara, I was just educating all of you. Humanity is nothing without the knowledge we gather, you know? But yes, I think you have earned that much. The thirteenth artifact is what protects all of humanity against this holy war you are all fighting.

Go ahead and check it out. I was reasonably pleased with what came out in the end, considering how much I struggled to come up with something decent. 

Meanwhile at ThoughtBalloons - Blue Beetle

It was my week to choose a character for Thought Balloons, and I decided to go with Jaime Reyes, the current Blue Beetle.

I was actually quite stumped in what to do with him. I normally pick a character based on a story I already have in mind (just to make things easier), but the character I wanted to choose was a Marvel one, and we had a long string of Marvel characters, so I wanted to break it up a bit. It also came at a time when it seemed like Blue Beetle had died (he got better). However, I still managed to make a short and fun story entitled "The World is Yours?", in which Paco finally gets to play with the armor. Kind of. Read on.

BLUE BEETLE: It says that it can “Provide supplemental temporary armory” for you.

PACO: What does that mean? What kind of weapon?

SCARAB: (unintelligible sounds)

Let me know what you think!

Meanwhile at ThoughtBalloons - Venom & Moon Knight

I actually managed to stay almost up to date with Thought Balloons. I say almost because I missed one of the entries, for Venom. However, I was determined to make up for it and catch up with the rest of my fellow ThoughtBallooners. I ended up coming up with a script that connected into this week's character, Moon Knight.

Read the first part of The War at Home here, which includes this neat scene...

Description: Venom is jumping out of the airplane, falling through the night sky. An uneasy full moon shines in the background.

VENOM: What’s the deal, control? I normally know who I’m going after way before I’m free-falling off a plane.

CONTROL (through comm): We know, Venom. The general has been...unusually quiet about this whole enterprise. Anyway, target location should be in sight by now.

And the second part here. Which brought it all home.

Description: Moon Knight is now standing over the badly wounded (but still alive) body of Flash Thompson. His missing legs are clearly visible and he is making an effort of staying conscious.

MOON KNIGHT: You had lost everything, your career, your love, your... legs. You accepted an entity into your body that promised to give it all back to you. And it was changing you for the worse.

I am actually quite happy with how this turned out, and I have a full story behind the revelations here.

Meanwhile at ThoughtBalloons - Batgirl

This was one of those weeks where I barely know the character outside of the most superficial sense. Haven't read her current series at all, I think I've read some forgettable appearances of her as Spoiler, and pretty much it. So this week was Stephanie Brown's turn, a.k.a. Batgirl. While doing some research, I came across a story point that interested me, and extrapolated it to an idea I already had (but thought was not good enough). The result? A story called "All in the Family"...

STEPHANIE: How DID you find me anyway? Even *I* didn’t know who you were.
CHARACTER: You have to thank my grandfather for that.

And to be honest, I'm actually pretty happy about. And I only used four panels, which is always a plus, I think.

Meanwhile at ThoughtBalloons - Batman, Inc.

This week was my turn to choose, and rather than a character, I went ahead and chose a concept: Batman, Inc. I think the writers will be able to turn in some fun concepts and it expands our pool a bit, by allowing us the possibility of creating new characters. For example, in my story Tilting at Windmills, I created a new character: 

BRUCE WAYNE: Hidalgo has proven more than capable of handling his region. 

BRUCE: He’s young, idealistic, and impulsive but ready and eager to fight for the greater good. Does that remind you of anyone? 

ALFRED: I could think of one or two men I have known that fit that archetype, yes.

Now I can sit back and enjoy the show. I really want to see what other people come up with this week. 

Meanwhile at ThoughtBalloons - Doctor Strange

Possibly one of the hardest characters to get right, and I can say I am completely happy with my output this week. Doctor Strange is a character that suffers from perpetual support-character syndrome, always showing up in other people's stories, but rarely in his own. I think I committed the same mistake. While he is by no means a guest character, in my script Blood Magic, he appears along a bunch of other people.Take a look...

DR. STRANGE: Magic is governed by a set of rules, as old as the universe itself. To prevent exploitation, no mortal but the Sorcerer Supreme has full knowledge of them.

DR. STRANGE: The most paramount rule to all magical beings is this: to grant something, you must get something in return.

I did like the script in general, but it feels more like a New Avengers script than a solo Doctor Strange one.

Meanwhile at ThoughtBalloons - Ben Reilly

This is one of those times where you have an idea and everything just clicks into perfection. This week I was thinking of what to do with Ben Reilly, Spider-Man's clone, when it suddenly dawned on me: make him a mentor of other clones! (Comics, I know). So the idea went into motion, and this is what came out, a story called "Most Valuable Clone"...

MAN: Clones! Aren’t they a pain in the back? You can’t even argue with them because they will think exactly like you!

MICHAEL & PATRICK (together): And who are you?

MAN: Me? Oh, just a friend of a friend of yours. I’m the one that invited you here, boys.

I think it was a pretty neat idea, if somehow very comic-y. To the point where I could actually see something very similar done with the characters.

Meanwhile at ThoughtBalloons - Lois Lane

This week on ThoughtBalloons, it was the turn for Lois Lane. This week was a tough one for me as well, because I had already written a pretty strong Lois script when it was Superman's week. Instead, I finally went for something completely different, in a story called "Beyond Metropolis":

THUG #1: Boss said you were sniffing around the offices, so we gotta send a message.

THUG #2: Yeah, that being a reporter in this city is bad for your health!

LOIS LANE: Now, gentlemen, that’s no way to talk to a lady, is it? Threats will get you nowhere, besides...

What I ended up writing borders a bit on the fan-fiction side, but I do have a pretty good idea for the story behind it. Anyway, go check it out, it has a nice twist ending.

Meanwhile at ThoughtBalloons - Reed Richards

I had a tough time with this one. I had plenty of ideas for Reed Richards, but none that I could condense into one single page to my satisfaction. In the end, I went with a small tribute that I think really fits the character (not to mention another tribute in the title as well, to Hickman's first story arc on Fantastic Four).

The story is simply called Answer Everything. Here's a small excerpt...

THE THING: Whadda you mean everything, stretcho? Didja stare at your notes for so long that you forgot to blink again?

REED RICHARDS: No, Ben, this is real. It’s the answer to everything. Even in this very room, the answer is already apparent. Furthermore, I also know the question.

So far the response seems to be really positive. Let me know what you think!