Double Cross Scene Compilation - CH2 Pgs 26-38

Howdy, everyone!

Time for another scene compilation with "DVD-style" commentary, which I'll be posting weekly until I start getting the pages from Gabriel and Vero for Fallen Chapter Two in November.

It's only been a few days, so not much new to report on the personal front. But I am glad to be back working on the urban fantasy novel after my trip home. At this point, I hope to have the draft finished enough to send to my alpha reader in a few weeks.

And in this scene comp, we introduce a new, even more dangerous enemy and finish off Chapter Two!

Check out what happens under the fold!

These pages were first published way back in February 2020 - April 2020. If you want to read the previous scene compilations (and, even better, read the whole first two chapters all at once), you can find them on the TYP:DC Scene Compilation Collection page. 

My DVD-style commentary is below the comic pages. And the pages themselves are full-resolution here on Patreon, so feel free to zoom-in!

Let's go to church!

                        Shades does not believe in loose ends.

The Difference Between Flyboy and Teen Spooky

My goal with this last scene of Chapter Two was to highlight the differences between Flyboy and Teen Spooky. We've spent most of the chapter showing how they're alike, a lot more so than Flyboy and Adult Spooky. And Mitch starts off the scene ready to defer to Spooky, like he would in the present day. But unlike Mitch, this Spooky has not had mentors who have taught him to be cautious and think before he acts. At 14 and 15, Teen Spooky has essentially been fighting evil all on his own. And up until now, he's been the most powerful magic user in the room, so "shock and awe" have worked pretty great for him so far.

But this attitude horrifies Mitch. Not only because of what his two "superhero parents" (Adult Spooky and Commander) taught him, but also because he's had first-hand experience of the limits of raw power, especially if you don't have experience to back it up. This is the moment when it truly becomes clear to Flyboy how much the dynamic between him and Spooky has changed. For the first time in his life, Flyboy has to play the role of the "adult" member of a superhero team. And that awareness and responsibility will color his actions throughout the rest of the story arc.

The blue arm glow returns!

We saw it briefly at the beginning of the chapter, but now it comes back with a vengeance. It'll be important to the plot later on, but here it raises the question: What's causing it? Or who?

Spooky's pretty sure he knows the answer once

We introduce Shades!

Not only do our heroes find the Sphere Celestial here (that was easy!), but they also meet the story arc's Big Bad. Since it does seem like there is some connection between the events of this time and what happened in the present, Flyboy was prepared to run into The Platinum Priestess, and told Spooky that if they ran into a "leader," they should run and regroup.

But Spooky's bravery is a defining characteristic at any age and, as a Teen, he's not the running type. Unfortunately for him, Shades can apparently do the impossible and cancel all his magic. And that makes him even more dangerous than our silver sorceress.

It's child's play for Shades to get a noose around Spooky's neck, and the chapter ends just how I like it: with our heroes facing disaster. :)

Odds and Ends

• There were some more difficult visuals I wrote for this scene that I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to pull off. One of which is the gag where Spooky is about to blow down the door, and Flyboy chooses to just take a moment to see if it's unlocked first. It's an classic joke for these kind of scenes, and I mainly used it to restore a bit of fun banter between these guys after highlighting their differences. But I wasn't sure how clear it would be in comics form. What do you think? Is the action clear here?

• Also, in terms of humor, I remember having fun with Spooky's quips. Adult Spooky is known for his sense of fun, and I wanted to make sure to include that part of him at this age. So. as a teen, I tried to show him as a Spider Man type superhero who is always cracking wise when on the job. And he says one of my favorite of his lines in this scene: "Your lips say 'Release Me' but your eyes say 'so I can kill you both.'"

• The way we show invisibility here isn't how I intended things. To me, this looks more like they are stepping through a portal from somewhere else, rather than becoming visible. There was some reason why Adam went in a different direction with this, and at this point I can't remember why. But I chose to "yes, and" it because I figured that if Flyboy really wasn't going to be able to hear them with his super-senses, maybe it would make sense that Shades was hiding everyone in a pocket dimension. I think it makes for a more interesting visual anyway.

• Finally, Shades last line is an inadvertent rhyme. I noticed it at the time, but decided to keep it. Reading it here now, I might ultimately change it before I go to print. It kinda sets him up to be a Riddler-type character, and that's not really his vibe. :)

Let me know what you think!

Anyway, those were the things I was thinking about when I was writing this scene. I hope you enjoyed revisiting it along with my own memories.

Please let me know your own thoughts below. It's your feedback that makes it fun for me to create these, so please jump in and share!

And thank you, as always, for making this comic possible. Sharing these scenes with you helps remind me of how much I love creating this story. And it's only possible because of your support.

Y'all totally rock. I'll post the next set of pages next Tuesday! I hope to see you there! :D