FAILED-PROJECT FRIDAY: EMPOWERED AND THE MASK CITY MELTDOWN (pt.10): Issue #2 roughs & script, pp. 7-12!

Time to continue serializing my roughs and script for an abortive two-part Guest Artist miniseries titled Empowered and the Mask City Meltdown, which I initially wrote with one particular artist in mind back in 2017 or  so; alas, that first artist didn't end up working on it, so I pitched it to the excellent artist Rob "Robaato" Porter, who had earlier colored a  bunch of Emp covers for me.

After Rob had to turn it down, I abandoned the project entirely, though I did briefly consider drawing it myself as part of Empowered vol. 12, a plan which was soon abandoned in turn as I had no interest whatsoever in drawing all the many, many urban environments this story would've required.

And now, without further ado, our next installment of roughs and script from Empowered and the Mask City Meltdown issue #2, cropped from the original 4-roughs-per-page format for greater clarity. UPDATE: For the record, my script formatting is being torched by the Patreon text set-up's lack of tabs or indents, hence the dialogue bits being a tad challenging to follow. Sorry 'bout that, folks.

PAGE 7

PANEL 1

NINJETTE, the railing-draped CAGED DEMONWOLF, and THUGBOY. NINJETTE, beer in hand, is looking over at THUGBOY with deep concern as he speaks into the SMARTPHONE held to his ear. More CIVILIAN gawkers in the BG beyond, pointing out at the off-panel spectacle or taking pictures with their own phones.

THUGBOY

--We're fine, baby, 'cept for having to watch you megascale Jackie Channing out there--!

(continued)

Appreciate the check-in, baby--

CAGED DEMONWOLF (BOLD, JAGGED BALLOON OUTLINE)

Hrmmm.

SFX (AT TOP; SMALL)

KTHOOM

PANEL 2

Close-up of THUGBOY on the phone, speaking with a concerned expression.

THUGBOY

--But, uh, d'you need something from us?

PANEL 3

We're looking down on EMPOWERED in mid-superjump (presumably from one rooftop to another), hair streaming back as she hurtles along; she's yelling into her hand-gesture "telephone" as she does so.

EMPOWERED (BURST BALLOON)

Um, sure do, sweetie!

PANEL 4

Big, panoramic action panel with a slightly tricky layout and a low camera angle. FG: EMPOWERED is sprinting along along a "fish-eye-lens"-distorted curving sweep of rooftop at high speed, still speaking into the "telephone" of her hand gesture as she darts along the roof. Meanwhile, several more I-BEAMS are spearing down onto the rooftop all around her. These are raining down from the cyclopean mass of the OFFICE BUILDING KAIJŪ looming above her in the BG, one gigantic paw outflank to indicate that it's tossed the I-BEAMS. The KAIJŪ might be raining other giant pieces of debris down on EMP, possibly including other detached sections of OFFICE BUILDINGS (as in issue #1's pp.7-8), antenna stanchions as spears, detached air conditioning units, or the like.

The tricky part: Along the bottom of the panel, seemingly "under the rooftop" EMP is running along, are 6 small, jagged panels briefly depicting the sorry states of the other SUPERHOMEYS we saw being felled in issue #1. This is akin to the series of shots we saw in #1's p.16; in fact, three of these panels are essentially rehashes of panels 3-5 from that page. I'll describe each of these images separately below.

EMPOWERED (BURST BALLOON)

See, whatever goofy new unearthliness has possessed the city--

(continued)

--Not one of my superpeers acquired any actionable intel whatsoever about what might be causing it--

(continued)

--Before their sorry asses got skyscraper-stomped and taken outta play, okay?

(continued)

Um, so.

SIGN ON KAIJU FACE

You deserve this.

PANEL 5

First of the series of smallish, jagged "SUPERHOMEYS laid low" panels along the bottom of the page. Here, CAPITAN RIVET from #1's p.11, speared t the pavement by an I-BEAM; we might only see his battered head and shoulders (and tattered red cape) amid shattered pavement and billowing dust, though.

PANEL 6

An unconscious MAJOR HAVOC sprawled/ buried amid debris.

PANEL 7

A battered and dented MECHANISMO likewise buried in debris, with the slight difference being that we can see the bent piping of the TWIN ANTENNA stanchions wrapped around him, as seen in #1's pp.20.

PANEL 8

The final three smallish panels, here, recall panels 3-5 from issue #1, p.16. (Switch up the order, if you like.) Here, as per #1's panel 3, the blobby GLORPP is buried amidst piled debris.

PANEL 9

As in #1's p.16, panel 4, KIRBY HELMET CHICK and her absurdly long, badly bent helmet buried in debris.

PANEL 10

As in #1's p.16, panel 5, the metallic, badly dented and battered "roboserpent" MECHZACOATL is sprawled amidst jumbled wreckage.

PAGE 8

PANEL 1

Close-up of EMP in mid-run or mid-leap, yelling into her hand gesture "telephone" with a rather apologetic expression on her masked face.

EMPOWERED (BURST BALLOON)

Desperate times, etcetera, etcetera--

(continued)

--Which means, well--

(continued)

(Overlaps next panel) --Can you put the Caged Demonwolf on the line, please--?

PANEL 2

THUGBOY knits his brow in mingled surprise and confusion, mouth agape as he listens to EMP over the SMARTPHONE held to his ear.

THUGBOY

...Hahh?

PANEL 3

Up-angled and tilted shot, with the RAILING-draped CAGED DEMONWOLF's frame in the FG. In the BG beyond, a frowning THUGBOY looks down at him while beginning to lift the SMARTPHONE away from his own ear.

CAGED DEMONWOLF (BOLD, JAGGED BALLOON OUTLINE)

Ah ha!

(continued)

Might the desperate doxy mayhap solicit a hint helpful from this celestial sage's fathomless font of wisdom?

THUGBOY (SMALL)

This is a joke, right...?

PANEL 4

Big vertical action panel. The ginormous OFFICE BUILDING KAIJŪ looms in the distant BG, one giant "hand" outflung at the top of the panel. A detached section of thrown OFFICE BUILDING (like the one that felled MAJOR HAVOC in issue #1) is dropping down from that hand and crashing in the FG in an explosion of dust and debris, with the small figure of EMPOWERED leaping justclear of the wreckage; she's continuing to yell into her hand-gesture "telephone" while narrowly avoiding disaster.

EMPOWERED (BURST BALLOON)

Hey, what's the point of having a nigh-omniscient demigod-ish beastie around--

SFX (AT BOTTOM)

SKROOOM

PANEL 5

THGBOY, looking bemused, extends his SMARTPHONE down to the CAGED DEMONWOLF's RAILING-draped frame, while NINJETTE shrugs and mutters in "I guess so" reaction, still clutching her beer in one hand.

EMPOWERED (ELECTRICAL BALLOON, FROM PHONE)

--If you can't pump him for critical, game-change-y info once in a while--?

NINJETTE

Makes sense, I guess...

CAGED DEMONWOLF (BOLD, JAGGED BALLOON OUTLINE)

Bahh!

PANEL 6

Here, the CAGED DEMONWOLF's RAILING-draped form, lights glowing as the frame rattles about a bit with the intensity of his ranting. At FG right, NINJETTE looks down at him with a dubious expression.

CAGED DEMONWOLF (BOLD, JAGGED BALLOON OUTLINE)

Affront not the proud princeling of the spaceways with your prattle of "pumping," jackanapes!

(continued)

(Overlaps next panel) But aye, wench, the ever-observant oligarch knows well the arcane secrets of your accursed city!

PAGE 9

PANEL 1

Another STORYBOOK page of illustrative, borderless vignettes. This one is a flashback focusing on the DEMONWOLF in his fiery, gigantic, horned "UNCAGED" form, as seen in Empoweredvol.1, pp.103-105 and vol.2, pp.103-05. (Those page numbers are not a typo, BTW; just a weird coincidence.) Here, as on most of these STORYBOOK pages, we first see a big, panoramic image with an INSERT CLOSE-UP at right (to be described in a "panel 2" bit).

This is a dramatic, up-angled shot of the hulking UNCAGED DEMONWOLF striding across a devastated area of the CITY. He's gripping the battered-looking giant, metallic, winged serpent MECHZACOATL in one fiery paw. (MECHZA reference: vol.1 cover illo, interior pp.176,187-88; vol.4, p.167.)

Per vol.1's p.103, several more fallen SUPERHOMEYS are sprawled unconscious on the jumbled debris in the extreme FG. While we see collapsed and ruined BUILDINGS as wreckage in the middleground, in the distant BG beyond we can see the tops of distant, still-intact BUILDINGS.

A complicating issue: In vols.1-2's p.103, we can see that the UNCAGED DEMONWOLF is manifesting from a little girl, who is visible in those pages as a wee figure. I don't care to have that irrelevant element as a distraction, here, so be sure to show one of the DEMONWOLF's big, fiery fists held in front of the space where we would otherwise see her, conveniently hiding her from view.

NARRATOR (MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

When the fearsome cosmic conqueror known as the Demonwolf manifested himself in Elissa's neighborhood...

PANEL 2

Here, an INSERT CLOSE-UP of the UNCAGED DEMONWOLF's fiery, horned, glowing-eyed head, perhaps twitching in reaction to his perceptions. Beyond him, we might see a few more BUILDINGS looming in the BG.

NARRATOR (MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

...the sagacious starbeast knew at once that he had stumbled into in a staggeringly freakish supramundane ecosystem.

PANEL 3

Akin to the "half-face" shots seen in the THUGBOY (p.2) and NINJETTE (p.14) STORYBOOK pages, here a "half-face" shot of the UNCAGED DEMONWOLF's fiery, horned head frames the NARRATION and, importantly, a shot of EMPOWERED's wee figure leaping up to him in the BG, the band-like, glowing-lighted frame of the DEMONWOLF's future alien prison clutched in her hands, as seen in vol.1's p.104, panel 1.

NARRATOR (MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

This lowly human hive boasted a level of raw reality distortion beyond anything the spacefaring devilspawn had yet seen-- or ever would-- in his endless cosmic journeys.

PANEL 4

An image directly based on vol.2's p.105, panel 5, showing EMPOWERED locking the glowing-lighted band of the power-draining alien bondage gear around the fiery neck of the UNCAGED DEMONWOLF.

NARRATOR (MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

Thus, the otherwise all-knowing overfiend was regrettably distracted...

PANEL 5

Based roughly on vol.1's p.105, panel 1, here we see the glowing-lighted band of the now-CAGED DEMONWOLF's alien bondage-gear prison clattering down onto shattered, debris-strewn pavement in the FG. Just behind that, we see a relieved-looking EMPOWERED landing nearby. Note that, importantly, we leave out the little girl from p.105, panel 1's original image, as she would otherwise just be distracting.

NARRATOR (MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

...allowing Elissa to cage him with a repurposed set of power-draining alien bondage gear.

PANEL 6

Close-up on the glowing lights and frame of the CAGED DEMONWOLF, with open space above and below it for the NARRATION.

NARRATOR (MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

And lo, Elissa's exceedingly peculiar city claimed another victim.

NARRATOR (SMALL; MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

(Wackiness, needless to say, ensued.)

PAGE 10

PANEL 1

Four panoramic panels on this page. Here, another view of the OVERLOOK setting, with the figures of NINJETTE, the draped CAGED DEMONWOLF, and THUGBOY (holding his SMARTPHONE out to the DEMONWOLF) prominent in the shot. On either side of them, assorted CIVILIANS rubberneck at the RAILINGS, some recording the off-panel urban destruction with outheld PHONES, others pointing and gesturing, others still just watching avidly. Beyond them, the OFFICE BUILDING KAIJŪ rampages across the skyline in the distance.

CAGED DEMONWOLF (BOLD, JAGGED BALLOON OUTLINE)

--But will you dare pay the licentious leviathan's price extortionate, oh prudish primate?

EMPOWERED (ELECTRICAL BALLOON, FROM PHONE)

Fine, fine, whatever goofiness you want, I'll pay it, okay?

SFX

RMBB RMBB

PANEL 2

Downshift of SUPERSUITED EMPOWERED racing along a rooftop, or in midleap from one to another; the latter BG would be more interesting, I think. Hair streaming back behind her as she flies along, she's yelling into her hand-gesture "telephone." Meanwhile, wisps and streams of dust and chunks of debris flash by all around her.

EMPOWERED (BURST BALLOON)

Just tell me why my weird, wonderful city has gone completely and utterly berserk--

(continued)

--And more importantly--

SFX

KTHOOM

PANEL 3

Closer-up shot of EMP running and yelling into her hand-gesture "telephone" as all hell breaks loose behind and around her, with great pieces of BUILDINGS (or entire BUILDINGS) raining down catastrophically, I-BEAMS flying hither and yon, dust clouds streaming and so on.

EMPOWERED (BURST BALLOON)

(Black "censored" block over indicated text) --What can I do to calm it the f**k down--?

CAGED DEMONWOLF (NO TAIL; BOLD, JAGGED BALLOON OUTLINE)

Witless fool!

(continued)

In your snivelingly soft heart, the truth you already know!

PANEL 4

As dramatic a shot as possible of the CAGED DEMONWOLF's band-like frame draped over the OVERLOOK RAILINGS, leaving room on either side of the panel for this stentorian dialogue.

CAGED DEMONWOLF (BOLD, JAGGED BALLOON OUTLINE)

For, just as you have rebounded like unto ripely rubenesque rubber from countless deflating disgraces --

(continued)

--So, too, has your beloved borough resolutely regrown itself after innumerable cape-created cataclysms!

PAGE 11

PANEL 1

Another STORYBOOK page of illustrative, borderless vignettes. This one, however, rather splits the difference between the earlier STORYBOOK interludes and the real-time "urban mayhem" action, as on this page we're seeing images of EMP's fellow superheroes heedlessly trashing the CITY as they battle an assortment of random supervillains.

Here, what could be a panoramic montage of superheroic, CITY-wrecking mayhem, or perhaps a single, cleverly arranged image. At FG left is SUPERSUITED EMP, appearing upset with hands upraised in a gesture of anxious uncertainty as she looks over in dismay at the superpowered destruction taking place in the BG beyond her.

Furthest in the distance, we see a vast hole gaping through an OFFICE BUILDING (or two, in sequence?), with the wee, cape-trailing, airborne figure of a flying MAJOR HAVOC having driven a hapless, much larger SUPERVILLAIN through the BUILDING, in a manner not unlike the over-the-top urban destruction seen in the Superman movie Man of Steel. (Note that a SIGN on one of the BUILDINGS serendipitously addresses this mayhem.) Even worse, having smashed his foe through those BG structures, HAVOC is now slamming him into a middleground structure at panel right; this could be another building, or perhaps something different or more visually remarkable, such as a statue or cathedral spire or the distinctive like.

The SUPERVILLAIN could be a random "cape" of your own design,or perhaps one of the following existing characters:

*KING TYRANT LIZARD, as seen in Empoweredvol.2, pp.7-11,17-22.

*QUASARMODO, as briefly glimpsed in vol.3, p.142, panel 2.

*One of the BRAWN-E BOYZ from vol.9, pp.122-25.

*The robotic BIG IRON from vol.1, pp.32-35.

Also, a glowing SIGN on one building shows a childs finger with a ban-aid on it, next to the relevant text, THAT HURTS!

At the bottom of the image, we see the robotic MECHANISMO from issue #1 hefting an oversized white marble statue of a LION over his head; this is very much like one of the LIONS from the front steps of the New York Public Library, though you could mix things up by using a different animal. (Perhaps an giant statue of a BULDOG or PUG, say?) At right, smashed into a set of NY library-style marble steps or a structural wall, a stunned SUPERVILLAIN reels amidst shattered debris; this is clearly the target of MECHANISMO's incipient statue-throw. Again, this could be a new BAD GUY of your creation, or one of the characters listed above.

Meanwhile, airborne chunks of debris and swirling clouds of dust in the BG; we'd also see a few hapless CIVILIANS running for cover amidst the mayhem.

NARRATOR (MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

Elissa could never understand her fellow superheroes' cavalier attitude about wreaking accidental havoc on the magical metropolis that coddled them so.

(continued)

Yes, the city's amazingly resilient buildings respawned themselves like skyscraping blades of grass...

SIGN ON BUILDING (NEXT TO PICTURE OF BANDAID ON FINGER)

That hurts!

PANEL 2

Vertical panel, roughly repeating the layout of page 6's panel 2. At top, leave space for the NARRATION; at bottom, a close-up of a despairing SUPERSUITED EMP looking upset. Beyond her, a scene of utter superhuman-driven urban catastrophe, with building facades collapsing, laser beams blasting, debris shards and gouts of shattering windowglass flying, dust clouds billowing, and a SUPERVILLAIN or two (from panel 1's list) being flung hither and yon.

NARRATOR (MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

...but why did the other capes always, always seem to act like superpowered bulls in a shop full of self-reassembling china?

PANEL 3

Another action shot of MAJOR HAVOC flinging his SUPERVILLAIN foe through a BUILDING; we might see said foe as a wee, dwindling figure in the distance, visible through a gaping hole smashed through the BUILDING.

NARRATOR (MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

Privately, Elissa began to fear that, one day, the city might retaliate for all the heedless abuse it had endured.

PANEL 4

Full-figure image of EMP standing in a panorama of BUILDING debris, amid jumbled concrete and jutting rebar, twisted beams and shattered windows; the head of the LION (or other animal) statue from panel 1 might be visible in the strewn urban wreckage. As dust clouds billow and swirl behind her and bits of debris fly, EMP looks dismayed and stunned by the devastation. To one side, a profile close-up of EMP, a lone tear running down her cheek in response to the tragedy she's beholding.

NARRATOR (MIXED-CASE LETTERING; NO OUTLINED CAPTION BOX)

And lo, that fateful day did indeed come to pass.

PAGE 12

PANEL 1

As the chaotic CITY skyline with its rampaging OFFICE BUILDING KAIJŪ looms in the BG, THUGBOY and NINJETTE, both seen in profile, look at each other with "HUH" expressions of surprise and/or unease. You might include an INSERT SHOT of the off-panel CAGED DEMONWOLF to help clarify things a bit. (I drew a cartoony DEMONWOLF in the roughs, but a separate wee panel would be easier for the letterer to integrate.)

SFX (SMALL, BY KAIJU IN DISTANCE)

KSHANGG KSHANGG

CAGED DEMONWOLF (OFF-PANEL BELOW; BOLD, JAGGED BALLOON OUTLINE)

--An organism living is your magically mecurial metropolis, jackanapes--

(continued)

--And, oft-wounded animal that it is--

PANEL 2

Big action panel with another trio of images of EMP leaping, ducking and dodging her way from rooftop to rooftop across the panel from BG to FG, similar to the double-page spread of pages 4-5. Looming over the "action panorama" is the OFFICE BUILDING KAIJŪ, one monstrous paw outflung, and sending a spray of jagged-ended I-BEAMS hurtling out and downward at EMP. The smallest EMP figure at BG left is jumping off a rooftop as one or more I-BEAMS smash into it; we can just barely see that she's making the "telephone" gesture with one hand. The middle-sized EMP figure is landing on a middleground rooftop and ducking as one flying I-BEAM just barely misses her. The final EMP image is close to the camera, whirling with hair flying to look up at the OFFICE BUILDING KAIJŪ looming over her; she's yelling into her hand-gesture "telephone" as she does so. (Could add another leaping/ ducking/dodging EMP figure if you want a smoother figure-size progression across the panel.)

EMPOWERED #1 (BURST BALLOON)

(H-b) >Hnnh<

CAGED DEMONWOLF (NO TAIL; BOLD, JAGGED BALLOON OUTLINE)

--Well does your city remember every single act of urban devastation that you masked catastrophe magnets have inflicted upon it!

EMPOWERED #2 (BURST BALLOON)

Oh god, that's horrible--

(continued)

(H-b) >Whoof<

EMPOWERED #3 (BURST BALLOON)

So you're saying we capes  caused all this, right?

(cont)

(Black "censored" block over indicated text) I f**king knew it--!

PANEL 3

CAGED DEMONWOLF's glowing-lighted frame in close-up.

CAGED DEMONWOLF (BOLD, JAGGED BALLOON OUTLINE)

Bahh!

(continued)

Did you superpowered simpletons fancy that you could repeatedly raze this regenerating jungle concrete without consequence?

(continued)

(Overlaps next panel) Did you fathom not that it might resent being recurrently ruined on the regular?

PANEL 4

Up-angled shot of the OFFICE BUILDING KAIJŪ's ominously looming "head," with the glowing SIGN that makes up its "face" prominent in the shot. Meanwhile, dust swirls and debris flies as it lumbers about.

SIGN ON KAIJU FACE

You deserve this.

SFX

KTHOOM

END PART 1

Anyhoo, there's your second installment of Mask City Meltdown's second issue, folks! Stand by for more pages next Friday, okay? (Unless I skip a week to post something different in the Friday slot.)

NEXT TIME ON THIS HERE PATREON: Definitely something in the Distressed Damsels vein for the $5+ Patron tiers; very likely will be a bunch of slightly puzzling (very) early Empowered pages that I recently unearthed.