Chase: Found And Lost — Part 2

Hey, faithful readers… You can stop holding your breath — here is part two of my Raymond Chandler meets J.R.R. Tolkien, “pulp fantasy noir” comic book script, Chase: Found and Lost. You can find part one here. Um… If you’re an artist that digs this kind of thing…

PAGE 4 (Four Panels)

1 – ANGLE ON CHASE
as he tries to manage a weak smile.

CHASE:
Look… I, uh, can’t actually cover my tab since he didn’t show. I can, uh…

2 – ANGLE ON AHLMIER
as he holds up a hand motioning Chase to stop talking.

AHLMIER:
I understand Mr. Chase. I of course must ask you to leave and not to return until you can pay for your current tab.

3 – ANGLE ON CHASE WITH BOUNCER #1 AND BOUNCER #2
standing directly behind the seated Chase. The two bouncers are brutes. One is a big human – the size of those competitors in those “strong man” competitions – with various tribal-like tattoos and a bald head. The other bouncer isn’t quite human. He might be a human/ogre – a real brutish looking guy – perhaps with large incisors sticking up out from between his lips.

CHASE
Yeah. I figured. Are they both standing behind me right now?

4 – ANGLE ON AHLMIER
who can’t help but display a sly smirk as he stares directly at Chase while he reaches for the last empty mug on the bar in front of Chase.

AHLMIER:
Yes, Mr. Chase.

AHLMIER:
Good evening, Mr. Chase.

PAGE 5 (Four Panels)

1 – ANGLE ON CHASE AND BOUNCER #1 AND BOUNCER #2
as the two bouncers roughly lift Chase off of his stool and away from the bar. There is a bouncer on either side of him and they’ve got shoulders and elbows and lift him up with ease.

CHASE
Now, take it easy fellas.

2 – ANGLE ON CHASE AND BOUNCER #1 AND BOUNCER #2
as they carry Chase away from the bar and toward the exit. Ahlmier can be seen in the background behind the bar as he turns his attention to a paying customer. The bouncers are easily hauling him toward the front of the establishment like a piece of unwanted trash.

CAPTION:
It wasn’t the first time that I’d been thrown out of a tavern.

3 – TIGHT ON ANGLE ON CHASE
as the bouncers “accidentally” smash his jaw into a large and heavy wooden chair – knocking it over. Chase is wincing in pain.

CAPTION:
But, it was one of the rougher times.

4 – EXT. BURNT CORK TAVERN – ANGLE ON CHASE
as he crashes through one of the sets of windows in front of the tavern – having been thrown out by the two bouncers. A couple of innocent passersby – maybe a few merchants or local farmers – react to Chase crashing out through the broken windowpanes.

CAPTION:
Still, I had seen the help at the Burnt Cork do much worse while escorting nonpaying customers out of the tavern.

PAGE 6 – (Five Panels)

1 – ANGLE ON CHASE
as he sits amid a large puddle on the edge of the cobblestone street in front of the Burnt Cork tavern. He is wet, dirty, and a bit tattered. He is rubbing his jaw.

CAPTION:

Besides not being allowed to return until I had settled up, I knew Ahlmier would hire collectors to see that I paid my tab one way or the other.

2 – EXT. ANOTHER STONEPORT STREET – ANGLE ON CHASE
as he is walking along a line of two and three story buildings deep within the city near the less desirable neighborhoods. It is near dusk and there are fewer pedestrians about than before – maybe only one or two poorer citizens looking for a place to spend the night out of the elements. Chase does not appear to be in the best of spirits. His head is hung low as he is nearing a corner.

CAPTION:
I hadn’t had a paying case for nearly two-dozen days. The coffers of Chase Investigations were getting low. Very low.

3 – ANGLE ON CHASE
as he rounds the corner and comes to an abrupt stop as he spies something off panel.

CHASE:
Whoa.

4 – ANGLE ON GOON ONE AND GOON TWO – CHASE’S P.O.V.
as they hurry out of Chase’s office building – a modest three story structure of wood and stone. If there were an equivalent of a mid-evil office building, this would be it. Not much detail can be seen of the two goons with their hooded cloaks hiding much. But, one appears short and thin. The other is of medium height and a bit stockier than the other.

CAPTION:
What’s this? A couple of goons hurrying out of my building.

5 – ANGLE ON CHASE
as he suddenly comes to the realization of something – or someone very important.

CAPTION:
Goons like that usually showed up at my office for only one reason.

CHASE:
Lana…

Chase: Found and Lost © 2007 Dan Taylor

Two Decades of The Next Generation

Has it been twenty years already or has there been some sort of rift in the space/time continuum? I was starting my first year at Cal State Long Beach the same fall season that Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered on television. Being a long-time fan of Star Trek: The Original Series I was eager to experience a return to the universe created by Gene Roddenberry some two plus decades previously — and I was not disappointed. Apparently, the same was true with many other viewers. ST:TNG lasted for seven seasons — four seasons longer than ST:TOS — and spun off two additional Star Trek series in Deep Space Nine and Voyager.

This past year I had the pleasure of serving as editor for IDW Publishing’s first foray into Star Trek comic books with Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between with writer David Tischman, artist Casey Maloney, and colorist Len O’Grady. As cliché as it sounds, it was a dream opportunity for this fanboy.

For as long as I can remember, Star Trek, in one form or another, has been a part of my life and will probably continue to be so for many many more decades — perhaps even to the the chagrin of my future children… Generation after generation… Sorry, kids.

Hero Happy Hour Time… Soon!

Hey, Gang! Busy, busy, busy over here. (Hence the late posting today.) In between working on a couple of scripts and such I’ve been prepping something new for Hero Happy Hour — namely putting together the Hero Happy Hour: Omnibus 01. I just wrapped up putting it all together and sending the files off to the printer. I hope to be able to announce the details of its availability soon (as well as some other Hero Happy Hour news that we have up our sleeves). But in the meantime, I can show off the nifty all-new cover art — a tribute to Mr. Jack Kirby — by my fellow Hero Happy Hour creator Chris Fason with the oh-so-cool retro color stylings of Len O’Grady.

Ouch! Mother Effer…

The suture is a bit more painful today. I may have popped a stable and/or a few stitches. I thought I’d walk my roommate’s dog this morning. He’s a hefty golden retriever that can tend to drag you along if you don’t keep up. I probably should’ve been holding the leash with my left hand as opposed to my right. The general ache of the last few days is a tad more intense — not to sound like a whiny baby, but this sucks.

Halo 3? Hell No!

Today’s the day — the day the greatest video game of all-time, the first-person shooter developed by Bungie Studios exclusively for the Xbox 360, drops in retail outlets everywhere, forever changing the way video games will be played… Or so the hype would have you believe. Honestly, I’ve got nothing against Halo 3, but I’d be remiss if I’d didn’t make some sort of mention of something this “nerdy.” (That, and why not take advantage of the hype and draw more traffic by mentioning it?) Will I be playing Halo 3? Nope. I don’t own an Xbox 360, nor do I have the time. Video games are the bane of the writer’s life. That’s why I had to sell my PSP.

So, to all you Halophiles (and I’m not talking about extremophiles that thrive in environments with very high concentrations of salt) out there… Throw back a Big Gulp-sized Mountain Dew for me and, “Game on!“

American League West Division Champs!

“Scioscia’s the rock. He and his coaches and trainers are a bunch of great people, but he’s the rock,” Angels owner Arte Moreno said. “We’re lucky to have had him for eight years, and as long as I’m here, he’s going to be here.” The Angels have made the playoffs four since Mike Scioscia became their manager. It looks like the authentic number 14 Scioscia jersey that I bought while attending the second game of the 2002 season (the very same season that the Angels went on to win the World Series) was a sound investment. Although it seemed as if the Halos could have locked things up a couple of games back, it seemed fitting for the team to win the division title during the last home game of the season in front of 44,000 plus fans. Now it’s bring on Boston, Cleveland, or New York!

Getting The Carcinoma Monkey Off Of My Back

So, last Friday I had a “procedure” done — a little out-patient surgery on my back to remove a nasty basal cell carcinoma. It wasn’t pretty — uglier than the suture that I now have on my right shoulder blade. Honestly, I had let it go on for too long. I had had it originally treated about four years ago, but didn’t follow up to make sure that it had been completely taken care of — it hadn’t. So it came back with a vengeance. A number of excuses kept me from getting it taken care of — no health insurance (for a time), a busy work schedule, if I ignored the problem it would go away (yeah, right), etc…

Not really sure the hows and whys of how I got it. I’m not really a sun worshiper. I believe it may have been caused by an evil person staring evil laser beam glares into my back when it was turned.

But, I finally got into the dermatologist and had the matter looked at, and removed. The doctor told me that it’s going to leave a hell of a scar — which is cool because chicks dig scars. It’s going to look like a shark bite she tells me, so I’ll have to start working on some kind of shark-attack story to go along with it. I also noticed on Sunday morning that there’s a big indentation around the suture. This is where she scraped out all of the affected tissue. The doctor says that’ll grow back, but it freaked the hell out of me when I first noticed — she must of scraped out a healthy portion of prime A shoulder-cut. Over thirty stitches and 15 staples. Ouch. Trust me, it’s as painful as the picture may portray. Your shoulder blade is not a comfortable place to have a three and a half inch fresh suture. Of course, this didn’t stop me from attending two Angels games over the weekend.

So, now you know… Wear your sunscreen and don’t put off doctor visits. And knowing is half the battle.

Alright… Today Had Better Be The Day

Apparently, the frustrated Seattle Mariners aren’t going to “go gentle into that good night” and are making the Halos’ efforts to win the American League Western Division an uphill effort. Obviously with this post, my Angels did not win Friday night against the Mariners. The same fate fell upon the Halos yesterday afternoon after a fifty minute rain delay (the first rain delay for the team at home in something like nine years.)

So, we’ve got a little drama now. It’s not a question of “if” my Angels are going to win the AL West — they’ve already clinched at least a tie — it’s a question of “when” are my Angels going to win the AL West. They had an opportunity to do it Friday night and Saturday afternoon in front of a home crowd. Now, today — Sunday — is the final home game for the Halos. It is also the final game of the series against the second place (in the AL West) Seattle Mariners. It would be nice if the team could finalize the Division win today in front of the home crowd on the final home game of the season. I will be in attendance at today’s game — along with 40,000 plus other Angels fans looking to celebrate win number 92, a playoff spot, and a Division Championship.

100th Post

This is my official 100th post on this blog. That is all.

Tonight Can Be The Night…

…That my Angels outright win the AL West Division — in which they have already clinched at least a tie. The Halos’ magic number is 1. One win for the Angels, or one loss for the Mariners and the Division is officially wrapped up. SSeeing how the two teams face off tonight for the second of a four-game series, the last of home series of the regular season for the Halos, it’d be nice to have it happen tonight. The number one reason, other than simply getting the technicality out of the way, is that I’ll be in attendance at tonight’s game.

And if not tonight… Well, I’ve already got tickets secured for Sunday’s final home game of the season. Like the home opener, I haven’t missed either the first or last home game of the season for going on probably seven seasons now. Hmmm… wondering if I need to go to Saturday’s game as well.