Sequential Script Challenge #3: Batman & Catwoman -- Indigo Al wins!

[mattbib]

Here's the concept:
Posters were asked to write a three page script utilizing some character, team, or plot device decided upon by the winner of the previous Sequential Art Challenge. Writers had approximately two weeks to submit their scripts.

The third theme, suggested by KWW, winner of Sequential Art Challenge #2, was "Batman & Catwoman". How that's interpreted was entirely up to each participant.

Now that the submission period has concluded it's time to vote to decide which script will be used in the Sequential Art Challenge. Use the poll to vote but please leave constructive comments in a post.

Using the winning script, artists will submit their sequentials and, after a couple weeks, they'll be voted on as well.

There are no rules other than following the theme and meeting the deadline. There are no prizes, so those of you just wanting to have fun shouldn't be discouraged from participating, even if you are unsure of your talent.

For this third round, voting will end on Friday, April 4.

So without further ado let's take a look at our submissions...

[mattbib]

Page 1
Catwoman is leaping in front of Gotham's night sky. She looks peaceful, gorgeous.
She stops on the rooftop of a 2 story building. She looks down into the alley.
Batman is fighting a small group of common thugs. An old woman is laying on the ground, the contents of her purse strewn all over the ground. Catwoman smirks at the scene.


Page 2
Batman easily beats the snot out of the muggers. Catwoman descends into the alley. She helps the lady to her feet. The lady looks Catwoman in the eye and speaks,

" Why you... you.......FLOOZY!"

She slaps Catwoman in the face. Catwoman is astonished and a bit angry. The old woman stands her ground. Batman approaches. The woman shouts,

"...and YOU! You're a MONSTER!"


Page 3
Police cars arrive. A handsome young officer tends to the lady while others begin cuffing the hoods. He tells her that he'll take her home.

"Aren't you a nice young man!" She gushes.

"Not like these GARGOYLES!"

Batman speaks to Catwoman,
"Are you alright?"

She sighs,
"I'm fine. I haven't been called a floozy since.... ever, I think. How 'bout you?"

Batman:
"Oh, I was called a gargoyle just this morning... and a monster at least twice this week. Comes with the territory."

Catwoman:
"Hmph! There are times when I'm not sure I want to stay in this territory."

[mattbib]

Page 1

Batman looking through the binoculars for his nightly patrol, sees a woman in a cat costume breaking in creatively through a very expensive jewelry store.

He watches her quickly gather all of the jewelry, Batman paces his move, waits until she heads outside, throws a batarang which scathes her shoulder making the “Catwoman” hiss in brief pain.

Page 2

A battle ensues in the streets, as Catwoman surprises Batman with her agility and elusiveness, dodging punches and kicks all this while balancing her purse full of jewelry. As she finds the quickest exit route, Batman ties her legs with a batarang tripping her in the process. As he is about to attreive her she flips over Batman as her and her purse is no where to be found.

Page 3

Bruce Wayne is at a glitzy charity benefit, a bit bored. He tries to scan through the crowd, as he sees a glamorous woman, dressed ravishly with jewelry and with a classic black dress.

Bruce approaches her, “May I have this dance?”

She snobbily turns her head the other way.

He stealthfully takes her hand and moves in front of her, and cleverly replies “I didn't hear you say no, Miss..?”

She answers “Kyle, Selina Kyle, are you usually this determined?”

He replies, “Only when I'm in pursuit.”

As he spins her during the dance, he notices a scar on her shoulder, as they spin back, she dissappears, leaving Bruce alone, and curious with a bit of a smirk.

[mattbib]

Page 1:

Caption: Fear needs us to survive...

Panel 1: Large body shot of the Batman comming directly at the reader. He is over the skyline of Gotham city he has a bat-rope firmly grasped in his left hand between his legs and his right arm and his legs extended toward the reader (where the soles of his boots are shown). This shot clearly demonstartes that he is moving with stealth and alarm. (Artists go nuts with this for it can almost be a splash page, so really flex your artistic muscle of your own choosing)

Panel 2: Head shot of Catwoman's profile with fresh scratch marks dribbling crimson from her cheek (and for reference her costume is the one from the film Batman Returns) Her eye has a wild open look and she is drolling down her jaw, her head is drooping slightly toward a nasty floor where she has clearly been nauseous. Somewhere on her person or on the floor a communicator needs to be seen

Catwoman 9radio transmission): Bruce, please hurry, I need you...

Panel 3: Back shot of the pose of The Batman on his Bat rope, heading away from the reader and heading toward a large bay window located under a sign that says WAYNE CHEMICALS & IMPORTS

Caption: Fear makes her need me.

Page 2:

Caption: The Board of Wayne Enterprises decided to close this facilities months ago, because...they no longer need it

Panel 1: Panoramic view of Bats streaking through the building where there are street lights peaking through the many windows and low glows of lights from ceiling lamps. The artist is encouraged to spot the scene of any debris found in any abandoned chemical plants USA. (If the artist feels like it, draw here what I call an "easter egg" and that is a small artifact that clearly conveys Ancient Egypt)

Panel 2: Head shot Of Batman fastening a gas mask across his mouth and he is obviously adjusting an ear piece in his cowl.

Radio transmission from his cowl: Bruce, the fear....

Panel 3: Only in freakin Batman fashion he has kicked open the door, and entered where his goal is.

Panel 4: He moves and twists trying to avoid the onslaught of thin razor shards of "Question (?) marks, suddenly greet his entrance. Some find their mark some are embeded into the wall behind him.

Panel 5: An over head view of The Batman standing over Catwoman who is laying on a bright-lit bathroom floor in the fetal position. She clearly shows signs of the worst end of a beat down. Her hair is protruding in wisps from her head gear and the Door Batman kicked ajar has a "Men's" sign on it.

Caption: Fear...I need it to make me work faster.

Page 3

Panel 1: Batman has Catwoman's head cradled in his arm as he administers the Fear Gas Antidote.

Batman: If you really needed me Catwoman, you could have chosen a better place than a locked bathroom.

Panel 2: Same as Panel one, but she is half grinning now and wiping the side of her dirty face

Catwoman (weakly): You always come when I need you most, but someone else needed you here more....

Panel 3: Over head shot of Batman still holding Catwoman he is almost looking up at the reader who is staring back like a ceiling light, but the power has been cut and shadows and low hues of lights bounce around the restroom.

Panel 4: Full shot of Batman carrying Catwoman out of the restroom in his arms away from the reader.

Batman: ....And I intend to find out who has this sick need, and make no mistake, it's not a riddle, but a who? But for now, you need me.

A hand is appearing to retrieve a ?-Mark shirken dripping with our heroes' blood from the dirty floor. His hand is well manicured and his arm is banded in gold from his fore-arm to his wrist.

Panel 5: Ok, this will be hard, but I have faith in you. A manical looking King-Tut is holding the shirken with the fresh blood flowing onto his hand. The challenge is: make one of the lamest villians in Batman Folk-lore (as voted by in a poll on the net) look absolutlely crazy, scary, perverted, nutty...Liefieldian (I don't care...hehehe just scare people!)

King Tut: I don't need you Bats!
King Tut: I just need what makes you you.

Rare Photo Of King Tut (http://us.imdb.com/media/rm4251817984/nm0120658)

The plot:
These 3 pages of script represent a rising of The Batman's lamest villians comming together to thwart the caped crusader. This lame group have also employed the underlings of his pinacle villians and they not only give their labor for the group's cause but also knowledge. All said, they are tired of the constant defeat by The Detective but also the beatings and abuse by those in villianous power. The question is...Did they come together on their own accord or did an unknown manipulate them like puppets and declare a war that threatens ALL of Gotham City....so it begins

[mattbib]

PAGE ONE

(OK sue me – I love Splash pages) The scene is a dark and dimly lit room, very spare, sort of like a storage unit. Batman’s arms are bound to ropes that come down from the ceiling, his legs chained to the floor. He should have a furious look on his face.

Catwoman is grinning before him, clutching her whip.

CATWOMAN: “There! Thanks to my Cat-Nip knockout gas, you’re now helpless under my power!”

PAGE TWO

Panel 1: Closeup of Batman’s face, sideways shot – and Catwoman’s index finger and long sharp nail are directly under his chin.

CATWOMAN: “And soon, my purrr-fectly helpless Dark Knight, you’ll reveal to me the Wayne Foundation’s secret bank account codes!”

BATMAN: “NEVER.”

Panel 2: Catwoman lashes her whip at Batman, and the part of his costume that covers his torso and arms is ripped off.

CATWOMAN: “That’s fine – I’m certain the Injustice Society will double whatever is in the Wayne Foundation’s coffers for your head!”

Panel 3: Catwoman lashes at Batman’s left leg, ripping the costume and leaving it bare.

BATMAN: “I’ll find a way out of your trap.”

Panel 4: Catwoman lashes at his right leg, same effect. Batman is now only dressed in cowl, cape, utility belt, briefs and boots.

PAGE THREE

Panel 1: A door to the room is seen slowly creaking open. Dialogue from Batman and Catwoman will be off-panel (you will see word balloons but not the actual characters).

BATMAN: “We’ll see if you keep boasting once I have you in my Bat-Cuffs.”

CATWOMAN: “Mrrrow. I’d better remove your utility belt, then…”

Panel 2: We see a dark-haired nine year old girl poking her head through the door with a curious expression on her face.

GIRL: “Mommy? Daddy? I heard noises…”

Panel 3: Shot of Batman and Catwoman. Catwoman buries her face in the palms of her hands. Batman is still tied up.

BATMAN: “Helena – it’s past your bedtime, sweetheart.”

[mattbib]

I'm going to just go ahead and write this, without editing it or working it over, stream of concious style, because I want to know where and how I can make improvements to my natural writing style.

Page one -

Scene - a dark rooftop somewhere in Gotham City.

Panel one -

time: now, midnight in gotham city.

The bat signal shines in the background as a shadowy figure creeps up to a corpse of a businessman in full dress who is laid out on a dark rooftop.

Panel two -

the creeping figure is Catwoman, who approaches the dead man and starts to make a quick check on the victim. Seen up close, the man has a bullet wound in his left shoulder, and the blood from the wound is splattered all around the rooftop, not just around the man's shoulder.

Panel three -

Catwoman leans in close to the corpse, and a dash of white powder puffs off of the corpse and makes contact with Catwoman's nose.

Panel four -

Another dark, shadowy figure creeps out of the rooftop shadow, Catwoman turns her head up to look, and sees a gigantic bat shaped monster with dark red eyes, and long fangs. Catwoman reaches for her whip.

Page two -

Panel one -

Catwoman tries to use her whip to take the creature down, but it swiftly grabs the end of the whip and pulls it from Catwoman's hands.

Panel two -

Catwoman pulls out her claws and tries to scratch the creature.

Panel three -

Catwoman runs and tries to scratch the creature, but it deftly side-steps her attack and dodges it.

Panel four -

Catwoman falls to the ground as a result of the momentum of her run at the creature, she rolls and lands on two feet.

Catwoman - "Cats always land on their feet. It's been fun, lets not do this again sometime."

Panel five -

Catwoman blows the creature a kiss and runs away, the creature pursues.

Panel six -

Catwoman jumps off of a roottop to reach the adjoining one.

Panel seven -

Catwoman looks down, and, realizing how far up she is, has a shock of panic, and terrified, can't complete the jump. The creature reaches out an hand to grab her.

Page three -

Full page image of Catwoman her left arm linked with Batman's left arm, dangling over the rooftop.

Batman - It's okay, Selina, I've got you.


That's it. It should be obvious to all bat-fans that the person behind the murder of the businessman is the scarecrow and that selina was exposed to fear toxin that was left on the man's suit. As for who he was, how he died, and how he got where he was, I'll leave that up to your imagination to fill in, as I've only got three pages. All comments and critisms are welcome.

[mattbib]

page 1

PANEL 1: gotham panorama. night.

PANEL 2: the batmobil racing down the street.

PANEL 3: interior of the batmobil: batman behind the wheel.

PANEL 4: same as panel 3 but with an expression of astonishment on batman’s face.

PANEL 5: batman’s foot hits the break pedal.

page 2

PANEL 1: the batmobil stopped right in front of a black cat which is sitting on the street. batman is about to leave the car.

PANEL 2: batman’s approaching the cat which is sitting there in the exact same pose as in panel 1. but now we can clearly see that it’s just a weird looking toy cat.

PANEL 3: BOOOOM! the cat explodes. batman is engulfed in flames.

page 3

PANEL 1: batman is down on the asphalt. there’s smoke coming from his burned costume. he’s looking at catwoman in the foreground (we can only see her legs). she’s holding her whip.

catwoman: “on your feet soldier.”

PANEL 2: batman is standing up.

batman: “you almost had me.”

PANEL 3: large panel: batman and catwoman (surrounded by pedestrians) are ready to fight.

[mattbib]

PAGE ONE:

PANEL ONE: Establishing shot of the Gotham City Museum of Natural History. In fact, there's a fancy brass plate on the building that says "Gotham City Museum of Natural History," and under it is the word balloon. A banner reading "Charity Masquerade Tonight" is draped across the front of the building.

1 BALLOON (INSIDE MUSEUM): -- Museum of Natural History thanks the Wayne Foundation for the donation --

PANEL TWO: In the museum's main foyer, the MUSEUM DIRECTOR and LUCIUS FOX stand on either side of a dais. On the dais, under a glass case, is a mummified cat. The DIRECTOR, LUCIUS, and the other people attending this society gala are all dressed in some sort of masqued costume. Some are dressed as superheroes, all DC characters of course. LUCIUS, of course, wears a stylized fox mask, similar to what might be seen at Mardis Gras.

2 BALLOON (DIRECTOR): -- of this splendid specimen from the recently unearthed temple of Bast at Alexandretta!

3 SFX: CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP

PANEL THREE: A different angle on the dais, which is in the background. In the foreground, a glass of wine is raised to a set of lips by a gloved hand.

4 BALLOON (DIRECTOR): And now, as it's approaching midnight, everyone put down your glasses and prepare to --

PANEL FOUR: The lights have suddenly gone out, so we have a completely black panel.

5 BALLOON (FREE): What the --

6 BALLOON (FREE): Hey, who's -- ungh!

7 SFX: CRASH

PANEL FIVE: Close on the dais. The cat is gone, LUCIUS is on the floor unconscious, and the glass case is broken over his head.

8 BALLOON (OFFPANEL): The cat --

9 BALLOON (OFF PANEL): It's gone!



PAGE TWO: Odd and even-numbered panels are offset. All are either from Batman or Catwoman's POV.

PANEL ONE: A man dressed as Green Arrow and a woman in a tiger mask, both in poses of shock.

1 CAPTION (BATMAN): Selina, obviously. But where is she? *Who* is she?

PANEL TWO: A ZORRO figure fingers the pommel of his fake sword.

2 CAPTION (CATWOMAN): *He'll* be here. Somewhere. But he'll never find me.

PANEL THREE: Someone dressed up as a cast member from "Cats."

3 CAPTION (BATMAN): Too obvious.

PANEL FOUR: The gloved hand from before sets down the glass on a table. In the
background, a guard pats down a Sherlock Holmes in a domino mask.

4 CAPTION (CATWOMAN): Better make my break while I can. He'll still be watching. Follow the lemmings.

PANEL FIVE: A crowd of people rushing the front door of the museum. This is still a
shot from inside the museum.

5 CAPTION (BATMAN): Crowd's panicking. She'll try and lose me in the confusion.

PANEL SIX: A gloved hand shoves a woman in a Robin suit out of the way.

6 CAPTION (CATWOMAN): Hmm -- I wonder -- nah. Almost there --

PANEL SEVEN: Close on a small handbag held in a gloved hand.

CAPTION (BATMAN): Of *course*!

PANEL EIGHT: From above, the gloved hand reaching into the handbag. Like you're
looking at yourself doing the same thing.

7 BALLOON (OFF-PANEL): Guards! Stop that woman!

8 CAPTION (CATWOMAN): Ah, screw it.



PAGE THREE:

PANEL ONE: A whip, lashing out and wrapping itself around the neck of a young woman in a harem girl outfit, complete with veil.

1 BALLOON (OFF-PANEL): One more step, and I'll twist her head right off!

PANEL TWO: A batarang cutting the whip in two.

2 BALLOON (OFF-PANEL): It's over, Selina. Come quietly.

PANEL THREE: Floor level, as a set of smoke pellets hit the ground and start spewing out thick grey smoke.

3 BALLOON (OFF-PANEL): You should know by now, lover --

4 BALLOON (OFF-PANEL): -- I never come quietly.

5 SFX: SSSSSSSSS

PANEL FOUR: Through the smoke, a caped figure and a non-caped figure locked in struggle.

NO TEXT

PANEL FIVE: Still smoky, we see the non-caped figure walking toward us with the caped figure tied up. The caped figure has the handbag slung over its shoulder.

6 BALLOON (NON-CAPED FIGURE): Sorry about this, "lover." Still, I admit --

PANEL SIX: And as the smoke clears, we see BATMAN dressed as WILDCAT carrying an unmasked SELINA KYLE dressed as the SILVER AGE BATWOMAN, with her matching handbag slung over his shoulder.

7 BALLOON (BAT-WILDCAT): -- You had me guessing right to the end.

[LewMoxinsghost]

I cast my vote for Sparta's but it wasn't an easy decision. There wasn't a very broad gap between these scripts- it was a close race and so here is where I try to rationalize my decision by sharing my opinon with all.

The main reason I voted for Sparta was not just the sense of loyalty I had for Sparta himself after voting for my work last time (thanks again Sparta), but I think his idea is the strongest concept. I really do believe it is important to vote for the work itself and not for the artist anyway, because that is politics and not art. Sting once said "I don't really think democracy works in art" and while that is debatable, I think I know what he meant.

Consciously or not, Sparta took a time-honored exercise of turning something lame into something cool and presented it as a challenge. If I have one quibble with the script it is that Catwoman is a little too intimately familiar with how to get in touch with Batman somehow... I suppose there is some backstory that could explain this. Of course, the story has to move forward somehow, but to me this instance still sticks out as needing a bit more refinement because otherwise it stands on its own. That it stands on its own is something that I feel is in the spirit of the challenge.

I really enjoyed "Gargoyles" sense of movement, and the comic elements present. This script implied a lot of things and left the interpretation wide open enough for some really great art but specific enough so the action is not lost. Page 3 was the hardest for me to rough out and could have done with a bit more scene description for my tastes, but that is just a small thing. I liked it overall because it "breathed" well, but just thought the concept wasn't quite moody enough to fit the Dark Knight's world.

"Cat's Crib" was tied with "Gargoyles" for my personal second place. The surprise ending pushes the artist to come up with creative shots for the first two pages, and sets up all kinds of great opportunities to draw cool, sexy poses with little restraint. I liked the sexual edginess combined with the childlike innocence... great contrast providing an interesting, even funny, juxtaposition. From an artistic license point of view this script is the clear winner.

Ok, and now in no particular order, my thoughts on the others:
Ubergeekete- I think you have a clear vision of what you want to happen in the story, but page two could really stand some basic breakdowns on the action because it is a little too general. If the page is already essentially broken down it makes it that much easier to concentrate on the artwork instead of the mechanics of framing the action. I really liked your pacing from one page to the next however, and the decision to switch over to the charity ball added a whole, other, nice dimension to the characters' study.

Soda- I know you were going for stream of consciousness, but your script read like a finished script! Great job breaking down the action. I can easily see this as part of a larger story. I think the pacing was a little bit slow, however, it kind of depends on what backstory has happened and what if anything this scene foreshadows. I just get that we are dwelling on this one scene a little too long... which could be great for an overall plot but I am unsure about a three pager. So I guess my quibble is with your concept and not at all with the script format itself. If you want to do a stream of consciousness exercise, force yourself not to punctuate anything, or break down anything into pages, panels, or paragraphs for three full pages of notebook paper- no stopping, no breaks. It will genereally be a mess when you are finished but that is kind of the point. You can always go back and separate wheat from chaff and reshape if you think there is a Michaelangelo statue somewhere in that block of stone.

Viktor- What can I tell you that you don't already know? You know exactly what you are going for with this. I had zero problems seeing anything you have in mind for each panel. This would be a fun and relatively painless one to do... (which is why you should help me with my graphic novel!) but I chose some others over yours because I just felt like I had seen it before or like there wasn't quite enough liberty granted for me to add my own spin to it. All of the action played out perfectly... or should I say purrrrrrfectly. Someone stop me.

Ok, Michael P- same thing as Vik. I feel unqualified to give you a helpful critique, because your script was also really well done. If I have one complaint it is that, damn, that's a lot of shit to draw man! The confusion of who is who is kind of a nightmare to figure out to illustrate effectively, but I get the feeling that you were intentionally challenging us to do something at the graduate level. So kudos for that.

Ok, these were my opinions! I am greatly interested in who wins! Good luck to each and every one of you guys!

[Indigo Al]

"Cat's Cradle" was tied with "Gargoyles" for my personal second place. The surprise ending pushes the artist to come up with creative shots for the first two pages, and sets up all kinds of great opportunities to draw cool, sexy poses with little restraint. I liked the sexual edginess combined with the childlike innocence... great contrast providing an interesting, even funny, juxtaposition. From an artistic license point of view this script is the clear winner.


Thanks very much for the feedback, Lew! I was thinking that perhaps I need to not give paneling directions, and just very loosely dictate the action and let the artist do it at their discretion. Perhaps next time!

[Indigo Al]

BTW Matt, my entry was titled "Cat's Crib" - but that's not important at all.

[mattbib]

BTW Matt, my entry was titled "Cat's Crib" - but that's not important at all.
Whoops! Crib...Cradle...same thing, right? Fixed it.

[deanlegion]

I voted for ubergeekette's "Cat and Flying Mouse." As I was reading it, I was totally able to visualize what was happening. (Of course, the question is... would I be able to execute those visuals?) I appreciate the freedom to choreograph the fight scene my way. I also like the glamorous ball room scene. If you ask me, I'd say this scene could take place within the same story as mine! (There'd need to be some tweaking, of course.)

[mattx110]

I really like parties.

Hi Mike!

It had kind of a silver-age feel to the off-panel shouting, and some more modern first-person point of view stuff on the third page. Plus, you get to draw the DC Universe excluding anyone you don't like. Oh, yea and "I never come quietly"... Not that subtle, but the whole weird "I catch you and throw you in jail, then we stop joker the week after and etc." relationship is in there. And you used the word "dais".

[sparta28090]

Rats! I was hoping I would win because I felt so good about my script(still do). I will continue to try but for now a big congrats to Indigo Al for garnering the most votes.

[ubergeekette]

I was a bit surprised and enamored, on the positive reviews on my story. I was pretty busy in art school to vote for myself, I'm glad that people read my idea right! I was trying to have a bit of artistic freedom when it came to the action scene, in the end it became a bit generic, but I would still probably write it the same. I always found that Bruce had so much money, good looks, and everything else, it would make sense that he would be attracted to Selina just for the challenge itself.

And lastly I'd like to say congradulations Indigo Al, your story was good and it was a very deserved victory.

[mattx110]

Congratulations Al. I'll definitely try to draw this one, and unless I have a horrible fit of self-esteem issues that debilitate my drawing, it will rock!

[Indigo Al]

Folks, thanks very much! I wish I could see everyone's script in pencils. You all did some terrific work here.

[mattx110]

So, has anyone started working on it yet?


Not me...:(

[KWW]

What's the deadline?

[LewMoxinsghost]

So, has anyone started working on it yet?


Not me...:(

I've roughed it out... but I'm waiting on the deadline announcement before plunging into it. :cool:

[mattbib]

Congrats to Indigo Al! And to everyone else for some really good scripts. Look for the next Sequential Script Challenge in a few weeks.

[Indigo Al]

Folks, I just want to say - take liberties with the script. Break the panels and action down as you see fit.

Thanks again.

[ubergeekette]

Folks, thanks very much! I wish I could see everyone's script in pencils. You all did some terrific work here.
There is a couple of scripts I wanna draw! The competition was pretty stiff this go round.