Double Cross Scene Compilation - CH3 Pgs 60-73

Howdy, everyone!

Here's the next scene compilation with "DVD-style" commentary from Double Cross. I'll keep posting these scene compilations weekly(ish) until I start getting the completed pages from Gabriel and Vero for Fallen Chapter Two soon. I'll let y'all know when I have an exact date for that. (Things are still being scheduled, but it shouldn't be long now before I can book our linework artist for those pages. Once I start getting some of the work-in-progress pages, I'll share them here on Patreon, so you can check them out.)

On the personal front, my Mom is back in the hospital, which is hard. But she seems to be getting better every day, so I hope to be able to get her back to her home at the assisted living center soon.

And on the writing front, now that the draft is done and waiting for the developmental editor, I've been steeped in planning the "launch strategy" for the urban fantasy novel, something that can take months, if you want to do it right (and are a "new" author.) A lot of launch strategy is teasing the coolest parts of your book up until the publish date—the cover art, of course, but also cool quotes and excerpts—so stay tuned for me to start sharing fun stuff here a few months from now.

Anyway, in this scene comp, Flyboy rushes in where angels fear to tread. Check out what happens under the fold!

These pages were first published way back in January - February 2021. 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!

Maximum speed!

Anyone for a little bondage?

Lots of moving parts

So, I love me an epic action set-piece, and this mid-story battle is certainly that. The action lasts until the end of the chapter—50 pages! I got into comics because I love visual storytelling, and when I think of scenes, I think big-screen cinematic.

Of course, there are limitations to comics that are not present in film, and one of those things is showing things that change rapidly or, in this case, spring into existence. Shades has set up a number of trip-wire traps—the fire grid, the flypaper grid. I remember being fairly anxious about whether it would be clear what's happening here. (That Flyboy triggers the fire grid by crossing the lines of flaming drums with runes. That Teen Spooky triggers the flypaper grid by stepping over the runes on the pavement paint.) Adam and I did are best to tell those parts of the story (and, at least with the fire grid, I think things become more clear when one of the minions kicks over the flaming drum and we're able to show the grid dissolving.)

But is the action clear? Were you confused? Let me know in the comments!

Shades is prepared

One thing is certainly clear: Shades was clearly ready for our young heroes and has created a bunch of nasty surprises for them. When it comes to your heroes, it's important to establish up front what they can and can't do, so it doesn't feel like you're cheating to solve story problems as they come up. But the nice thing about villains is that they don't have that problem. As long as it makes things harder for your heroes, anything is fair game! Surprise away!

Flyboy gets hurt (again!)

Poor Flyboy gets hurt a lot in this comic. (And this won't be the last time.) Part of that is that I do like to make things challenging for my heroes. But it also gives Teen Spooky a chance to show us his feelings. He's growing to care about Mitch, and he can't stand seeing him hurt. We see it right on his face, and in the way he rushes down to try to help him.

(But there's not anything he can do for that blue glow on Flyboy's arm. Not without the artifact, at least...)

Amanda realizes that heroing can be fun

Up to now, Amanda has been the voice of caution when it comes to kicking butt, but her confidence has grown throughout this story, and here is the first time she lets herself enjoy mixing it up with the bad guys. Just like Mitch and Teen Spooky, she was born to be a hero, and this is truly her element.

She even lets loose with some bullets, and does indeed have some luck with that. (Which she would need at 200 yards with a pistol—especially with the goal of only wounding, not killing—but that's what makes here a superhero!)

(Also, side note: typically Amanda's psychic blasts would be red, but because the minions's blasts are red, I thought that would make things confusing. Thus, her attacks are colored full-on psychedelic stripes here. The way I justify this is that she's just learning to use her powers, so it makes sense that it might come out a little funky this first time... ;) )

We finally get to see what's in Spooky's vials

I established in the Engaging the Enemy arc that Spooky carries around dangerous potions in his trench coat, and Double Cross gives me the chance to have a little origin story for that. I teased that he was packing in the previous scene compilation, and now it's time to show what he's got—and it's cute, little, dangerous monsters!

I love cute, little dangerous monsters. And so does Adam. So it was fun to write these little guys into the story. They don't say much, but what they do say should feel adorable.

We also get to see what the cannon does

There was a cannon lying in wait for Spooky back at the church in Bay City, but we didn't get to see it in action. What was Shades's plan there? To blow Spooky up?

Now we get to see that Shades is all about capturing our young wizard, not killing him. (At least to start.) What does he want to capture Spooky for? Hopefully, readers will want to ask themselves that.

(We also get to see Flyboy use the momentum transferring power that he gossiped about in the previous scene to move a choo choo. So there's a lot of set-up paying off as this action scene gets cooking.)

Shades is back with the rope

And badder than ever. Again, until the climax, it never hurts to keep raising the stakes with your villiain. Every time we meet Shades, he should seem that much more dangerous.

Odds and Ends

And finally, one other little note with this scene: you'll notice that tiny Spooky's word balloon gets a green border in one of the panels. Since his magic is green, I figured that would make it more clear who was speaking. Clarity is everything when it comes to comics storytelling.

Let me know what you think!

Anyway, those are the things I was thinking when I was creating these pages with Adam and Vero. 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 enjoy creating this story. And it's only possible because of your support.

I hope you all are having a great start to 2025! Hugs!