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BIG NUMBERS
THREE (FORTY PAGES)
PAGE 1
PANEL 1
“ONLY ON PAPER HAS HUMANITY YET ACHIEVED GLORY, BEAUTY, TRUTH, KNOWLEDGE,
VIRTUE, AND ABIDING LOVE.” – GEORGE BERNARD SHAW.
HELLO, BILL. THE RECURRENT VISUAL THEME RUNNING THROUGH THIS ISSUE IS THAT OF
PAPER GETTING SCREWED UP. IN THIS LIGHT, I’M NOT ENTIRELY SURE OF THE RELEVANCE
OF THE ABOVE SHAW QUOTE..IT WAS JUST THE ONLY ENTRY UNDER “PAPER” IN MY
DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS. PERHAPS ITS MEANING WILL BECOME LESS OPAQUE AS WE
PROGRESS WITH OUR NARRATIVE. LET’S HOPE SO.
THIS FIRST PAGE HAS TWELVE PANELS, IN WHICH E ARE BASICALLY LOOKING AT
CHRISTINE’S SISTER JANICE AS SHE SITS IN HER CHAIR BY THE WALL OF THE HOSPITAL
SIDE-WARD DURING HER VIGIL OVER THE AS YET UNSEEN FORM OF HER COMATOSE BOYFRIEND
KEITH. I WANT YOU TO IMAGINE WE ARE LOOKING AT JANICE FROM THE FRONT AS SHE SITS
AGAINST THE WALL FACING US, AND THAT SHE IS READING FROM AN ILLUSTRATED AND
LAVISHLY PRINTED SURVEY FORM. THE FORM CONSISTS OF A SINGLE SHEET, PRINTED FRONT
AND BACK, IN WHICH BRIGHT, SIMPLE IMAGES OF CONSUMER LIVING SURROUND A LIST OF
QUESTIONS THAT ARE BRIGHTLY NUMBERED. AS JANICE SITS READING, THE TOP OF THIS
FORM HAS FLOPPED OVER BACKWARDS SO THAT IT IS VISIBLE UPSIDE DOWN AS WE LOOK AT
HER. NOW, FOR THIS FIRST PANEL, I WANT YOU TO IMAGINE THAT WE HAVE ZOOMED RIGHT
IN UPON THE UPSIDE DOWN FOLDED FLAP OF THE SURVEY FORM. MORE PRECISELY, WE HAVE
ZOOMED IN UPON THE COLUMN OF BIG, RINGED NUMBERS THAT MARK THE QUESTIONS,
ALTHOUGH WE ARE SO CLOSE TO THESE THAT WE CANNOT SEE THE QUESTIONS THEMSELVES.
ALL WE SEE HERE ARE TWO OR THREE BIG, UPSIDE DOWN NUMBERS, PROBABLY BEING
NUMBERS BETWEEN ONE AND FOUR SINCE THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO RELATE TO THE QUESTIONS
AT THE VERY START OF THE SURVEY. THESE INVERTED DIGITS FILL THE ENTIRE FIRST
PANEL, LEADING US INTO THE ISSUE FROM THE FIELD OF NUMBERS THAT FILLS THE INSIDE
FRONT COVER. JANICES SPEECH BALLOON ISSUES FROM OFF PANEL ABOVE.
JANICE (OFF, ABOVE): ...gave Mum two extra forms, but Chris was sulking about
her novel,
so she wouldn’t DO here.
PANEL 2
NOW WE PULL BACK A LITTLE FROM THE INTENSIVE CLOSE UP OF THE UPSIDE DOWN
NUMBERS. IN THIS SHOT, WE CAN SEE THE QUESTIONS (ALSO UPSIDE DOWN) THAT ARE
APPENDED TO THE RINGED NUMBERS, THESE BEING SIMPLE THINGS LIKE NAME? ADDRESS? DO
YOU OWN THE ABOVE PROPERTY? AND SO FORTH, WHICH NEEDN’T BE LEGIBLE HERE UNLESS
YOU WANT THEM TO BE. WE CAN ALSO NOW SEE, PULLING BACK, THAT WE HAVE BEEN
LOOKING AT THE FLOPPED OVER TOP OF A SURVEY FORM, AND WE CAN PERHAPS GLIMPSE A
LITTLE OF JANICE’S HAND..HER THUMB OR SOMETHING..ENTERING THE PANEL FROM OFF TO
ONE SIDE AS SHE HOLDS THE PIECE OF PAPER. HER BALLOONS STILL ENTER THE PANEL
FROM OFF PIC ABOVE.
JANICE (OFF, ABOVE): Anyway, this spare form, I thought “Oo! Keith would like
that. I’ll…”
JANICE (OFF, ABOVE): Keith? Are you listening?
PANEL 3
PULL BACK A LITTLE FURTHER, SO THAT WE CAN NOW SEE THE WHOLE OF THE SHEET WITH
ITS TOP FOLDED BACK AND A LITTLE OF JANICE AS SHE SITS THERE IMMEDIATELY BEYOND
IT, HOLDING IT UP BEFORE HER AS SHE READS IT OUT TO THE OFF-PANEL KEITH. SHE’S
PROBABLY SITTING THERE IN HER RAINCOAT, AND IF WE CAN SEE ANY OF HER FACE
ENTERING THE PANEL FROM ITS UPPER REACHES THEN WE SHOULD ONLY SEE THE LOWER
FACE, WITH HER EYES NOT YET VISIBLE.
JANICE (FROM ABOVE): Good.
JANICE (FROM ABOVE): Well, anyway, it’s to do with a new shopping centre and
I’ve filled
in the first four already..
PANEL 4
OKAY, IN THIS PANEL WE PULL BACK JUST A LITTLE FURTHER SO THAT WE NOW HAVE A
COMFORTABLE HALF FIGURE TO HEAD AND SHOULDERS SHOT OF JANICE AS SHE SITS FACING
US IN HER HOSPITAL CHAIR, HOLDING THE SURVEY FORM UP IN FRONT OF HER, HER EYES
DOWNCAST TOWARDS IT AS SHE READS FROM IT. HER EXPRESSION, AS USUAL, IS FAIRLY
NEUTRAL. ALSO, WE STILL CAN’T GET MUCH IDEA WHERE SHE IS FROM HER IMMEDIATE
VISIBLE SURROUNDINGS, JUST LIKE ON THE PREVIOUS OCCASIONS WHEN WE’VE SEEN HER
SITTING WITH KEITH AT THE HOSPITAL. KEITH, AS EVER, IS OFF PANEL SOMEWHERE IN
THE FOREGROUND..ITS ALMOST AS IF WE WERE LOOKING AT JANICE THROUGH HIS COMATOSE
EYES, ALTHOUGH WE WON’T REALIZE THAT UNTIL LATER ON IN THIS ISSUE.
JANICE: “Name: Keith Peach
Address: Hospital
Do you own the above property?: No I don’t.
Job or trade: Plumbing.”
PANEL 5
OKAY, NOW FOR THE REST OF THIS TWELVE PANEL PAGE WE HOLD ON THE SAME SHOT OF
JANICE, JUST SITTING THERE FACING US IN A HEAD AND SHOULDERS TO HALF FIGURE
SHOT. ONLY JANICE MOVES THROUGHOUT THIS PAGE, AND THEN ONLY SLIGHTLY. HERE, SHE
STILL ISN’T LOOKING AT US, BUT STILL HAS HER LOWERED EYES FIXED UPON THE FORM.
HERE, SHE IS FROWNING SLIGHTLY AS IF IN MILD PUZZLEMENT AT THE WORDING OF THE
NEXT QUESTION.
JANICE: Then it says “Are you currently functioning in the above trade?”
So
that’s, like, “Are you in plumbing?”
PANEL 6
SAME SHOT. HERE, HOWEVER, JANICE LOOKS UP FROM THE FORM AND DIRECTS A COOL AND
QUESTIONING GLANCE DIRECTLY AT US, LOOKING DIRECTLY INTO OUR EYES. OH,
INCIDENTALLY, I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THAT JANICE IS HOLDING A BALL-POINT PEN IN
HER OTHER HAND. SORRY ABOUT THAT. HERE, THE PEN IS PAUSED, POISED ABOVE THE FORM
AS JANICE DIRECTS HER QUESTIONING GLANCE TOWARDS THE OFF PANEL KEITH BEFORE
CONTINUING.
No Dialogue
PANEL 7
SAME SHOT. HERE, JANICE HAS RETURNED HER GAZE TO THE FORM, AND IS WRITING UPON
IT WITH THE BALL-POINT. HER EYES ARE ONCE MORE LOWERED, AND SHE IS NO LONGER
LOOKING AT US OR KEITH AS SHE CONTINUES TO FILL OUT THE FORM.
JANICE: I’ll put “Sort of”, shall I?
PANEL 8
SAME SHOT. ALTHOUGH SHE HAS ONCE MORE STOPPED WRITING, JANICE STILL HAS HER EYES
LOWERED TO FOCUS UPON THE FORM AS SHE READS FROM IT, STILL WEARING THE SAME
NEUTRAL EXPRESSION.
JANICE: Now, following on, are you VERY interested, QUITE interested or
NOT AT
ALL interested in purchasing the following items…
PANEL 9
SAME SHOT. AS SHE FINISHES READING HER LIST OF ITEMS FOR PURCHASE SHE LOOKS UP
AT BOTH US AND KEITH WITH A POLITE AND INQUIRING SMILE THAT SHE HAS PRESUMABLE
LEARNED DURING HER TENURE BEHIND THE DESK AT THE SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICES.
JANICE: Luxury bathroom fittings, Do-It-Yourself power equipment,
freshly-blended coffee,
or
sporting accessories?
PANEL 10
SAME SHOT, WITH JANICE IN MORE OR LESS EXACTLY THE SAME POSITION AND STILL
LOOKING AT US. HERE, HOWEVER, THE LITTLE SMILE THAT SHE HAD ON HER FACE LAST
PANEL DIES AWAY, TO BE REPLACED BY A LOOK OF DULL AND RESIGNED DISAPPOINTMENT AS
SHE STARES AT THE OFF PANEL FORM OF HER COMATOSE BOYFRIEND.
No Dialogue
PANEL 11
SAME SHOT. STILL WITH HER EYES LOOKING DIRECTLY TOWARDS US, JANICE STARTS TO
TUCK THE SURVEY FORM ABSENTLY INTO HER HANDBAG, STARTING TO RISE SLIGHTLY FROM
HER SEAT AS SHE DOES SO. AS SHE LOOKS TOWARDS US, HER EXPRESSION IS FAIRLY
NEUTRAL, BUT STILL TINGED WITH THE RESIGNED AND DISAPPOINTED LOOK THAT WE
GLIMPSED LAST PANEL. SHE JUST LOOKS ROUTINELY FED UP WITH LIFE IN GENERAL AS SHE
BEGINS TO RISE FROM HER SEAT, LOOKING TOWARDS US.
JANICE: Well, look, I’ll leave you to mull that over while I fetch meself a cup
of tea
out of
the machine, alright?
PANEL 12
NOW WE JUST SEE THE EMPTY CHAIR STANDING AGAINST THE WALL, PERHAPS WITH JANICE’S
HANDBAG RESTING UPON IT. JANICE HAS GONE, AND OTHER THAN THE CHAIR, THE HANDBAG
AND THE WALL, THE PANEL IS COMPLETELY EMPTY. IT IS THE EVENING OF SATURDAY, THE
24TH OF SEPTEMBER, 1988.
No Dialogue
PAGE 2
PANEL 1
THERE ARE TWELVE PANELS AGAIN ON THIS SECOND PAGE, BUT HERE WE CHANGE SCENES AND
JUMP BACK IN TIME TO SHOW CHRISTINE ATTEMPTING TO GET STARTED ON HER NOVEL, ON
THE MORNING OF SATURDAY THE 24TH. ALL THE PANELS ON THIS PAGE ARE FROM A STATIC
SHOT, WHICH I WILL ATTEMPT TO SET UP AS FOLLOWS: WE ARE IN THE UPSTAIRS BEDROOM
AT AUDREY GATHERCOLE’S HOUSE THAT WE SAW BRIEFLY TOWARDS THE END OF ISSUE ONE,
THIS BEING THE ROOM THAT CHRISTINE IS USING WHILE SHE STAYS AT AUDREY’S. I
FIGURE THAT CHRISTINE HAS A SMALL TABLE SET UP SOMEWHERE TO ONE SIDE OF THE
ROOM, UPON WHICH SHE HAS A SMALLISH MANUAL TYPE WRITER, A BOX OF CROXLEY SCRIPT
TYPING PAPER AND A BOTTLE OF CORRECTION FLUID RESTING. THERE IS ALSO A SPIRAL
BOUND NOTEBOOK AND A BALL-POINT PEN. CHRISTINE IS DRESSED SLOPPILY AND CASUALLY,
AND WE SEE HER IN PROFILE HERE, PROBABLY FULL FIGURE, AS SHE SITS THERE AT HER
MAKESHIFT DESK WITH THE TOOLS OF HER TRADE ARRAYED BEFORE HER. SHE WEARS A
NEUTRAL EXPRESSION HERE HAS SHE REACHES OUT TO WIND A SINGLE SHEET OF CROXLEY
SCRIPT INTO THE ROLLERS OF THE MANUAL TYPEWRITER, AND AS WE LOOK BEYOND HER INTO
THE NEAR BACKGROUND WE CAN SEE THE OPEN DOOR TO HER ROOM, WHICH LEADS OUT ONTO
AUDREY’S SMALL UPSTAIRS LANDING. THE DÉCOR IN THIS ROOM, INCIDENTALLY, IS
NOTHING THAT CHRISTINE WOULD HAVE CHOSEN FOR HERSELF, CONSISTING MAINLY OF AN
INAPPROPRIATE WALLPAPER DESIGN AND A CONTRADICTORY PAINT SCHEME UPON ALTERNATING
WALLS. CHRISTINE LOOKS COMPOSED AND PROFESSIONAL AS SHE ROLLS THE PAPER INTO HER
MACHINE, READY TO BEGIN.
No Dialogue
PANEL 2
SAME SHOT, ONLY HERE CHRISTINE SITS BACK SLIGHTLY IN HER CHAIR, HAVING
SUCCESSFULLY FITTED THE PAPER INTO THE ROLLERS OF THE MACHINE. AS WE SEE HER
HERE SHE HAS REACHED OUT AND PICKED UP HER SPIRAL BOUND NOTEBOOK FROM THE DESK
TOP, FROWNING SLIGHTLY IN CONCENTRATION AS SHE READS FROM IT, CHECKING HER NOTES
ONE LAST TIME BEFORE SHE EMBARKS UPON THE FIRST CHAPTER. THE TEXT THAT CHRISTINE
IS READING LETTERED IN A LOOSE BUT LEGIBLE BALL-POINT SCRAWL IS MAYBE LETTERED
UPON RULED LINES UP AT THE TOP OF THE PANEL SOMEWHERE, TO SUGGEST THAT THIS IS
WHAT CHRISTINE IS READING AS SHE READS THROUGH THE SPIRAL BOUND NOTE-PAD. UP TO
YOU WHETHER THE SIMULATED BALLPOINT WRITING IS ENCLOSED IN A CAPTION BOX OF ANY
KIND…MAYBE IT COULD JUST BE FLOATING IN THE AIR IN A VAGUELY CLOUDY AREA OF THE
PICTURE. SEE WHAT LOOKS BEST AND DO ACCORDINGLY, ANYWAY. THE CROSSINGS OUT AND
ROUGH UNDERLININGS IN THE BALL-POINT TEXT IMMEDIATELY BELOW SHOULD BE LEFT
INTACT, BY WAY OF VERISIMILITUDE, INCIDENTALLY.
BALLPOINT WRITING (UPPER PANEL): THE NEW ELECTRIC HEART
Chapter 1: Establish Cynthia, post-Terry: Age 34;
despairing; devastated. Make funny, not depressing!
PANEL 3
SAME SHOT. HERE, CHRISTINE HAS REPLACED THE PAD UPON HER DESK-TOP AND HAS NOW
TURNED HER ATTENTIONS TO THE TYPEWRITER ITSELF. LEANING FORWARD OVER THE KEYS
SHE STARTS TO PECK AT THEM, TWO-FINGERED. UPON HER FACE THERE IS AN ALMOST
CHILDISH LOOK OF CONCENTRATION. THE TEXT THAT SHE IS TYPING APPEARS, IN A
SUITABLE TYPEWRITER TYPE-FACE, UP IN THE SAME CLOUDY AREA OF THE UPPER PANEL
REACHES THAT THE BALL-POINT WRITING APPEARED IN LAST PANEL. HERE, OBVIOUSLY, THE
TYPE IS AGAINST AN UNLINED BACKGROUND, JUST FLOATING IN NEAT LINES ABOVE
CHRISTINE’S HEAD AS SHE TYPES.
TYPE (UPPER PANEL): CHAPTER 1
Named after her father’s favourite aunt and her mother’s favourite chocolate,
Cynthia Praline Pike had not been an
PANEL 4
SAME SHOT. CHRISTINE CONTINUES TO TYPE, HER CONCENTRATION DEEPENING. SHE DOESN’T
MOVE MUCH FROM HER POSITION OF LAST PANEL, EXCEPT THAT HER BEHIND SHIFTS FAINTLY
UPON THE HARD CHAIR THAT SHE IS SITTING UPON AND HER FINGERS MOVE UNCERTAINLY
OVER THE KEYBOARD. OTHER THAN THAT THE IMAGE IS ALMOST IDENTICAL. THE CONTINUING
TYPE STILL APPEARS IN THE MURKY AREA ABOVE CHRISTINE’S HEAD.
TYPE (UPPER PANEL): optimist since her christening, some thirty-four years
earlier:
An optimist would say that the bad was half full. Sprawling
PANEL 5
SAME SHOT. HERE, CHRISTINE’S FINGERS SEEM TO PAUSE OVER THE KEYS IN MID SENTENCE
AND SHE LOOKS UP FROM HER WORK WITH A LOOK OF SURPRISE. AS IF SHE HAS HEARD
SOMETHING. IN FACT, SHE HAS HEARD THE TELEPHONE RINGING DOWNSTAIRS, BUT SINCE WE
DON’T HAVE ANY SOUND EFFECTS IN THIS STRIP, THIS WILL NOT BE CLEAR UNTIL THE
DIALOGUE MAKES IT OBVIOUS IN A COUPLE OF PANELS TIME. HERE SHE JUST LOOKS UP AND
SWEARS BENEATH HER BREATH. THE TYPED WORDS THAT SHE IS JUST COMPLETING HERE
STILL FLOAT ABOVE HER HEAD HERE, IN THE CLOUDY AREA TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF THE
PANEL’S UPPER REACHES.
TYPE (UPPER PANEL): alone, what Cynthia said mostly consisted of “Oh Terry”, or
“Oh shit.”
This went on for months. Occasionally
CHRISTINE: Oh shit.
PANEL 6
SAME SHOT, ONLY HERE CHRISTINE HAS PUSHED HER CHAIR BACK FROM THE DESK AND HAS
RISEN FROM HER SEATED POSITION. AS WE SEE HER HERE SHE IS JUST RUNNING OUT OF
THE ROOM AND ONTO THE SMALL LANDING THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR. I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH
OF THE LANDING WILL BE VISIBLE HERE, BUT IF WE CAN SEE THE TOP OF THE STAIRS
THEN CHRISTINE IS RUNNING OUT OF THE ROOM IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT’S OBVIOUS THAT
SHE IS RUNNING TOWARDS THEM, ABOUT TO RUN DOWNSTAIRS AND ANSWER THE PHONE IN THE
HALL. SHE LEAVES THE TYPEWRITER AND THE PARTLY-TYPED PAGE THAT STICKS OUT OF IT
RESTING ON THE TABLE UP IN THE FOREGROUND.
CHRISTINE: HANG ON! Hang on. I’m coming..
CHRISTINE: Shit.
PANEL 7
SAME SHOT, BUT HERE CHRISTINE HAS RUN DOWN STAIRS AND IS NO LONGER VISIBLE. WE
JUST SEE THE NEGLECTED TYPEWRITER UP IN THE FOREGROUND AND THE EMPTY LANDING
VISIBLE THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR BEHIND IT. CHRISTINE’S BALLOONS, VISIBLE THROUGH
THE OPEN DOOR, SEEMS TO BE ISSUING UP INTO VIEW FROM DOWNSTAIRS SOMEWHERE.
CHRISTINE (OFF, DOWNSTAIRS): Hello?
CHRISTINE (OFF, DOWNSTAIRS): Yeah, speaking. The Hampton..? Oh, the ADVERTISER.
Yeah, I know it. What do..?
CHRISTINE (OFF, DOWNSTAIRS): Hmm. Well, if it isn’t a LONG interview..
PANEL 8
SAME SHOT EXACTLY AS OUR LAST PANEL. THE SEAT IS STILL VACANT IN THE FOREGROUND
AND CHRISTINE IS STILL NOT VISIBLE THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR THAT LOOKS OUT ONTO THE
CRAMPED LANDING. HER BALLOONS STILL ENTER INTO THE PANEL FROM OFF-PIC AT THE
BOTTOM, DRIFTING UP FROM THE HALL DOWNSTAIRS.
CHRISTINE (OFF, DOWNSTAIRS): Yeah, yeah, later this morning’s fine.
Incidentally, how did you know I was back in .?
CHRISTINE (OFF, DOWNSTAIRS): Yeah, yeah, small town. I suppose so.
CHRISTINE (OFF, DOWNSTAIRS): Okay. See you later.
PANEL 9
SAME SHOT, ONLY NOW, THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR, WE SEE CHRISTINE TRUDGING BACK
UPSTAIRS AND ONTO THE LANDING. HER FACE LARGELY EXPRESSIONLESS AFTER HER BRIEF
PHONE CONVERSATION. THE EMPTY SEAT AND THE TYPEWRITER WAIT FOR HER IN THE
FOREGROUND.
No Dialogue
PANEL 10
SAME SHOT. HERE, CHRISTINE IS ONCE AGAIN SEATED BEFORE HER TYPEWRITER. LEANING
FORWARD AND PULLING THE TOP OF THE PARTLY TYPED PAGE UP A LITTLE WITH ONE HAND
SHE SQUINTS AS SHE READS WHAT SHE HAS WRITTEN. IN THE CLOUDY SPACE ABOVE HER
HEAD WE SEE THE WAY HER WRITING LOOKS TO HER NOW AS HER EYES SCAN ACROSS IT,
JUST PICKING OUT WORDS HERE AND THERE. THEY WAY WE REPRESENT THIS IS TO CUT UP
THE LINES OF TYPE THAT WE USED EARLIER AND SET THEM AT SLIGHTLY JUMBLED ANGLES
TO EACH OTHER TO SUGGEST THE DISJOINTED QUALITY OF CHRISTINE’S RAPID
READ-THROUGH. THE DIFFERENT PHRASES AND DIVIDED BY SPACES BELOW, AND IN THE
FINISHED PANEL THEY SHOULD BE SHOWN AS SEPARATE CUT-UP STRIPS OF TYPE, SET
SLIGHTLY AT ANGLES TO EACH OTHER TO SUGGEST A MENTAL JUMBLE OF PHRASES. HOPE
THAT MAKES SENSE TO YOU. THE ORDER OF THE PIECES SHOULD BE SOMETHING LIKE THE
ORDER BELOW, WITH “SHIT” BEING ONE LITTLE WORD ALONE ON THE BOTTOM ROW, SO THAT
THE CLUTTER OF TYPED PHRASES LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE AN INVERTED TRIANGLE.
CHRISTINE STARES AT THE PAGE WITH A NEUTRAL EXPRESSION AS SHE RE-READS WHAT
SHE’S WRITTEN AND TRIES TO PICK UP THE THREADS AFTER HER PHONE CONVERSATION.
JUMBLED TYPE (UPPER PANEL): her father’s favourite
chocolate Pike
had not been
since four years earlier : An
optimist would say that
was half full
of
shit
PANEL 11
LOOKING DISGUSTED WITH WHAT SHE HAS WRITTEN CHRISTINE YANKS THE PAGE FROM THE
TYPEWRITER AND STARTS TO CRUMPLE IT INTO A BALL. INCIDENTALLY, I SHOULD HAVE
MENTIONED IN MY DESCRIPTIONS FOR PANEL ONE THAT THERE IS A METAL WASTE-PAPER BIN
STANDING SOMEWHERE NEAR CHRISTINE’S DESK, ALREADY FAIRLY FULL OF SCRAP PAPER.
THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN VISIBLE THROUGHOUT THE PREVIOUS TEN PANELS, BUT I FORGOT
TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT. SORRY. ANYWAY, IT’S VISIBLE IN THIS PANEL AS WE SEE THE
PISSED OFF AND SCOWLING CHRISTINE START TO CRUMPLE HER MANUSCRIPT, WRENCHING IT
FROM BETWEEN THE ROLLERS AS SHE DOES SO.
No Dialogue
PANEL 12
IN THIS LAST PANEL, WE JUST HAVE A SHOT CLOSING IN UPON THE WASTE-PAPER BIN. THE
BIN ITSELF ENTERS FROM THE RIGHT OF THE PANEL. NOT ENTIRELY VISIBLE HERE, AND
LYING ON THE CARPETED FLOOR NEXT TO THE BIN WE SEE THE CRUMPLED BALL THAT IS ALL
THAT REMAINS OF CHRISTINE’S MANUSCRIPT. THE WORDS “CHAPTER 1” ARE PERHAPS STILL
VISIBLE UPON ONE OF IT’S CRUMPLED SURFACES. IT JUST RESTS THERE ON THE FLOOR
WHERE CHRISTINE HAS THROWN IT, INERT AND MOTIONLESS NEXT TO THE METAL
WASTE-PAPER BIN. UP TO YOU WHETHER WE SEE A GLIMPSE OF CHRISTINE’S
SNEAKER-GARBED FEET IN THE BACKGROUND OR NOT HERE, BUT THE CRUMPLED BALL OF
TYPING PAPER SHOULD BE THE MAIN FOCUS OF ATTENTION IN EITHER EVENT.
No Dialogue
PAGE 3
PANEL 1
THERE ARE NINE PANELS ON THIS THIRD PAGE, WITH FOUR PANELS UPON EACH OF THE
UPPER TWO TIERS AND THEN ONE BIG WIDE PANEL ON THE BOTTOM-MOST TIER. IT IS STILL
THE MORNING OF THE 24TH, AND WE CUT ACROSS TO BRAMBLE HILL ESTATE AND THE HOME
OF COLIN AND HILARY WORDSWORTH WHERE WE FIND HILARY SUBMITTING TO SOME DOORSTEP
RESEARCH BY ANSWERING A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS FOR ONE OF THE YOUNG WOMEN EMPLOYED
BY THE MALL’S ADVANCE MARKET ANALYSIS TEAM. ALL WE SEE IN THIS FIRST PANEL IS AN
EXTREME CLOSE UP OF THE COLUMN OF LARGE RINGED NUMBERS THAT ARE SET OUT OF THE
FORM TO INDICATE THE DIFFERENT QUESTIONS. THIS PANEL IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE
FIRST PANEL ON PAGE ONE, EXCEPT THAT HERE THE TWO OR THREE NUMBERS THAT WE CAN
SEE ARE RIGHT WAY UP. THE RESEARCHER’S BALLOON ISSUES FROM OFF PANEL ABOVE.
RESEARCHER (OFF, ABOVE): “Hilary…Anne…WORDSWORTH.” Lovely. Now, I’ve got your
address, lets see…
RESEARCHER (OFF, ABOVE, SEPARATE BALLOON): “Do you own the property?”
PANEL 2
WE PULL BACK A LITTLE SO THAT WE CAN SEE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS APPENDED TO THE
NUMBERS AND MORE OF THE ILLUSTRATED AND LAVISHLY PRODUCED FORM THAT THEY ARE SET
UPON. WE CAN ALSO SEE ONE OF THE RESEARCHER’S THUMBS AS SHE HOLDS THE FORM UP IN
FRONT OF HER WHILE SHE READS. FOR YOUR INFORMATION, WE ARE READING THE FORM OVER
THE RESEARCHER’S SHOULDER, BUT WE HAVEN’T PULLED BACK FAR ENOUGH FOR THIS TO
BECOME APPARENT YET. THE RESEARCHER’S BALLOON IN OUR LAST PANEL SHOULD HAVE
ISSUED FROM SOMEWHERE TOWARDS THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE PANEL WHILE IN THIS
CURRENT PANEL HILARY’S RESPONDING BALLOON ISSUES FROM THE UPPER LEFT CORNER.
HILARY (OFF, UPPER LEFT): Course not, else we’d have repainted the front door.
RESEARCHER (OFF, UPPER RIGHT): “We”. Married, then. Is he in work, your husband?
PANEL 3
WE CONTINUE TO PULL BACK SO THAT HERE WE CAN SEE THE WHOLE OF THE FORM, SOME OF
THE HAND OF THE RESEARCHER ENTERING FROM OFF PANEL AND A LITTLE OF HILARY
WORDSWORTH AS SHE STANDS ON HER DOORSTEP, FACING US FROM THE IMMEDIATE
BACKGROUND. WE CAN’T SEE MUCH OF HER HERE, ALTHOUGH WE CAN PERHAPS SEE PART OF
HER PERPETUALLY SCOWLING LOWER FACE AS SHE STANDS THERE WITH HER ARMS FOLDED
DOGGEDLY, ENDURING THE STREAM OF QUESTIONS AND GRUFFLY SUPPLYING HER ANSWERS.
THE RESEARCHER STILL ISN’T VISIBLE, OTHER THAN HER HAND HOLDING THE FORM AND
PERHAPS ANOTHER HAND HOLDING A PEN, BOTH ENTERING FROM OFF PANEL TO ONE SIDE OF
THE FOREGROUND.
HILARY: Yeah..building. His firms’ after that Yank shopping centre contract.
That what this survey’s about?
RESEARCHER (OFF): Well..yes, actually.
RESEARCHER (OFF): Hilary, do you have children?
PANEL 4
NOW WE CONTINUE TO PULL BACK SO THAT WE CAN SEE JUST A LITTLE MORE OF THE
RESEARCHER IN THE FOREGROUND BUT SO THAT WE CAN MOSTLY SEE THE STOICAL AND GRIM
FIGURE OF HILARY AS SHE STANDS ROUGHLY HALF FIGURE FACING US FROM THE BACKGROUND
WHILE SHE SPEAKS. HER FACE IS SULLEN AS SHE REPLIES. IF WE CAN SEE THE
RESEARCHER’S HANDS THEY ARE BUSY SCRIBBLING ANSWERS DOWN UPON THE SURVEY FORM IN
RESPONSE TO WHAT HILARY IS SAYING.
HILARY: Three. Damien’s thirteen; Sigourney, she’s ten; and William Henry, he’s
two.
HILARY: Contraceptive failure.
PANEL 5
WE CONTINUE TO PULL BACK NOW SO THAT WE ARE STILL LOOKING AT HILARY BUT SO THAT
WE CAN NOW SEE MORE OF THE BACK OF THE RESEARCHER UP IN THE FOREGROUND..SAY THE
HEAD AND SHOULDERS AS SHE STANDS THERE FACING AWAY FROM US AND PATIENTLY READING
THE FORM TO HILARY. HILARY STANDS THERE WITH HER ARMS FOLDED AGGRESSIVELY ACROSS
HER CHEST, BUT THE EXPRESSION ON HER FACE IS SOMEWHAT SOFTER THAN THE SCOWL WE
SAW LAST PANEL, GAINING A SLIGHTLY WISTFUL QUALITY AS SHE TALKS ABOUT HER
CHILDREN (WHO, YOU’LL REMEMBER, WE LAST SA MAKING MOLOTOV COCKTAILS IN ISSUE
TWO.) THE RESEARCHER, IF WE CAN SEE ANY OF HER FACE, LOOKS UP AT HILARY WITH
FEIGNED SIMPERING INTEREST AT HILARY’S MENTION OF CHILDREN.
HILARY: Smashin’ kids: I’d all these empties, ready for the bottle bank,
they
said “Don’t worry, Mum. We’ll take ‘em.”
RESEARCHER: They DIDN’T!
PANEL 6
WE CONTINUE TO PULL BACK SO THAT NOW WE SEE HILARY AND THE RESEARCHER, BOTH
ROUGHLY THREE QUARTER TO HALF FIGURE AS THEY STAND THERE FRAMED BY HILARY’S
FOUNT DOOR, THE RESEARCHER WITH HER BACK SLIGHTLY TOWARDS US AND HILARY STANDING
FACING US AND THE RESEARCHER FROM HER DOORSTEP. THE RESEARCHER SIMPERS AS HILARY
CONTINUES TO BRAG MILDLY ABOUT HER CHILDREN.
HILARY: And her next door, they took her bottles too. AND Mr. Oldshaw’s, down
the street.
RESEARCHER: Aaa.
PANEL 7
SAME SHOT BUT WE PULL BACK STILL FURTHER SO THAT WE ARE NOW SOME DISTANCE FROM
HILARY’S FRONT DOOR, LOOKING BACK AT HER AND THE RESEARCHER AS THEY STAND THERE,
THE RESEARCHER IN HER RAIN COAT AND HILARY IN HER SKIRT AND CARDIGAN. THE
RESEARCHER IS A FAIRLY SMART YOUNG WOMAN OF ABOUT TWENTY FIVE. SHE SMILES AT
HILARY AS SHE SPEAKS TO HER. HILARY’S FACE IS FLAT AND EXPRESSIONLESS AS A NAIL
HEAD AS SHE REPLIES.
RESEARCHER: They sound lovely. Now, would your family be VERY interested, QUITE
interested or
NOT INTERESTED AT ALL in purchasing the following items…
HILARY: No.
PANEL 8
SAME SHOT, BUT WE CONTINUE TO PULL BACK. WHEREAS IN OUR LAST PICTURE WE COULD
ONLY SEE A GLIMPSE OF THE IDENTICAL HOUSES SURROUNDING HILARY’S, IN THIS PANEL
WE HAVE PULLED BACK FAR ENOUGH TO SEE A FEW MORE OF THEM. THEY STAND, IDENTICAL
AND HOMOGENEOUS, IN THEIR ORDERED ROWS, WITH HILARY STILL STANDING FRAMED IN THE
DOORWAY OF HER OWN HOME, FACE SET AND ARMS FOLDED. THE RESEARCHER, STANDING
FACING HILARY WITH HER BACK TO US, LOOKS UP AT HILARY WITH AN EXPRESSION OF
EXTREME PUZZLEMENT ALTHOUGH WE’RE PROBABLY TOO FAR AWAY TO SEE EXPRESSIONS HERE.
THE FIGURES ARE BOTH VERY SMALL HERE, GRADUALLY BECOMING LOST IN THE HOUSING
ESTATE LANDSCAPE THAT SURROUNDS THEM.
RESEARCHER: No?
RESEARCHER: No what?
PANEL 9
NOW WE HAVE A WIDE, PANORAMIC SHOT WITH WHICH TO END THE PAGE AND THE SCENE,
STRETCHING THE PAGE’S FULL WIDTH. THE SHOT CONCLUDES OUR GRADUAL PULL-BACK BY
SHOWING A WIDE ANGLE VIEW OF THE ESTATE IN ALL ITS MONOTONOUS AND OPPRESSIVE
GLORY, WITH THE CLONED HOUSES SPREADING OUT ALL AROUND LIKE ENVIRONMENTAL
CANCER. WE NEEDN’T EVEN BE ABLE TO SEE HILARY AND HER HOUSE HERE, UNLESS YOU
WANT TO SHOW THEM VERY SMALL. THE WAY I SEE IT, WE’VE PULLED BACK SO FAR THAT WE
JUST SEE A LONG SHOT OF THE ESTATE WITH HILARY’S SOLITARY BALLOON ISSUING FROM
SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT, FLOATING WEIGHTLESSLY ABOVE THE DRAB COUNCIL
HOMES BELOW.
HILARY (FROM ESTATE): No thank you.
PAGE 4
PANEL 1
THIS PAGE HAS TWELVE PANELS, AND WE CUT ACROSS TO A LOCAL DEPARTMENT STORE,
PROBABLY SOMEWHERE LIKE BOOTS THE CHEMISTS. THE BASIC SHOT ONCE MORE REMAINS THE
SAME FOR THE WHOLE PAGE, AND IS SET UP AS FOLLOWS: WE ARE BEHIND THE COSMETICS
COUNTER OF THE STORE, LOOKING OUT ACROSS IT AT ROUGHLY COUNTER-TOP LEVEL. RIGHT
UP IN THE FOREGROUND WE SEE AN ARRAY OF COSMETICS STANDING UPON THE GLASS
COUNTER-TOP, INCLUDING SOME YARDLEY EYE-LINERS AND LIPSTICKS OVER TO THE LEFT
AND SOME EXPENSIVE LOOKING INDIVIDUAL COMPACTS OVER TO THE RIGHT. THE STORE’S
STRIP LIGHTING GLINTS ROMANTICALLY UPON THE GLASS OF THE COUNTER AND THE SILVER
CAPS OF THE VARIOUS COSMETICS. LOOKING ACROSS THE COUNTER-TOP AND ACROSS THE
CARPETED AISLE BEYOND WE CAN SEE THE COMPUTER DEPARTMENT, PERHAPS WITH A HANGING
SIGN THAT READS COMPUTERS TO LABEL IT AS SUCH. PERHAPS THE FIGURE OF A
MALE ASSISTANT IS OCCASIONALLY SEEN DRIFTING ABOUT BEYOND THIS FAR COUNTER, JUST
DOING SOME MINOR TASK THAT IS TOO FAR AWAY HERE TO PROPERLY DISCERN. THE
COMPUTER COUNTER AND THE SOMETIMES-VISIBLE MAN BEHIND IT ARE REALLY ONLY USED AS
BACKGROUND DETAIL THROUGHOUT THIS PAGE, BUT WE CLOSE IN UPON WHAT’S HAPPENING AT
THE COMPUTER COUNTER ON OUR NEXT PAGE, SO IT WOULD BE NICE TO ESTABLISH THEM
HERE BEFORE-HAND. IN THIS FIRST PANEL ALL WE SEE IS THE SCENE AS DESCRIBED
ABOVE, WITH THE COUNTER IN THE FOREGROUND, THE EMPTY AISLE BEYOND THAT AND THEN
THE COMPUTER COUNTER RIGHT IN THE BACKGROUND WITH THE INDISTINCT FIGURE OF THE
COMPUTER DEPARTMENT MANAGER FUSSING ABOUT BEHIND IT. ALL THIS PANEL REALLY TELLS
US IS THAT WE’RE IN A STORE, AND THAT WE’RE IN THE COSMETICS DEPARTMENT.
No Dialogue
PANEL 2
SAME SHOT. IN THE FOREGROUND, THE COUNTER WITH ITS ARRAY OF COSMETICS REMAINS
UNDISTURBED. LOOKING PAST THIS AT THE AISLE BEYOND WE NOW SEE THE RAIN-COATED
FIGURE OF MONICA BEARD, THE SHOP-LIFTER, AS SHE ENTERS FROM THE RIGHT OF THE
PANEL. SHE WALKS SLOWLY AND WEARILY, LIKE ANY OTHER SHOPPER, AND HER EXPRESSION
IS, AS USUAL, COMPLETELY DEADPAN. AS SHE SHUFFLES INTO THE PANEL FROM THE RIGHT
SHE SEEMS TO BE DIRECTING HER EXPRESSIONLESS GAZE TOWARDS THE YARDLEY COSMETICS
IN THE LEFT OF THE FOREGROUND. BEYOND HER, IN THE BACKGROUND, WE PERHAPS SEE THE
MANAGER TURNING AND STARTING TO WALK OFF PANEL, AWAY ON SOME MINOR ERRAND.
WHATEVER LOOKS WORKABLE TO YOU, BASICALLY. HERE, THE MAIN FOCUS IS UPON THE
SUDDEN ARRIVAL OF MONICA ON THE SCENE, ENTERING STAGE RIGHT AND GLANCING TOWARDS
THE COSMETICS IN THE LEFT OF THE FOREGROUND.
No Dialogue
PANEL 3
SAME SHOT, ONLY HERE, MONICA HAS DISCREETLY CROSSED TO THE COUNTER IN THE
FOREGROUND AND IS STANDING FACING US ACROSS ITS LEFT-MOST SIDE. SHE LOOKS DOWN
AT THE YARDLEY COSMETICS BEFORE HER WITH SEEMING DISINTEREST UPON HER DEADPAN
FACE. LOOKING ACROSS THE AISLE BEHIND HER TOWARDS THE COMPUTER DEPARTMENT IN THE
BACKGROUND WE CAN PERHAPS JUST SEE THE BACK OF THE MANAGER AS HE VANISHES
OFF-PANEL RIGHT, AWAY ON HIS ERRAND. MONICA LOOKS AT THE YARDLEY COSMETICS AND
THEY GLINT RIGHT BACK AT HER.
No Dialogue
PANEL 4
SAME SHOT. IN THE BACKGROUND, THE COMPUTER DEPARTMENT MANAGER IS NOW COMPLETELY
OFF PANEL AND THUS NOT SEEN HERE. AS IF TO CONFIRM THAT THERE IS NO-ONE WATCHING
HER, MONICA GLANCES ROUND TO ONE SIDE, LOOKING BACK SLIGHTLY OVER HER SHOULDER.
OTHERWISE, NEITHER HER POSITION NOR HER EXPRESSION CHANGE, AND SHE REMAINS
STANDING EXACTLY WHERE SHE WAS LAST PANEL WITH THE SAME DEADPAN LOOK UPON HER
FACE. ONE OF HER HANDS BEGINS TO REACH CASUALLY OUT TOWARDS THE YARDLEY
COSMETICS BEFORE HER.
No Dialogue
PANEL 5
SEEMINGLY SATISFIED THAT SHE IS NOT BEING WATCHED, MONICA RETURNS HER GAZE TO
THE JOB IN HAND. WITH ONE HAND SHE IS GATHERING UP ON IMPRESSIVE FIST-FULL OF
THE ASSEMBLED EYELINERS AND LIPSTICKS, SO THAT THERE ARE ONLY A FEW LIPSTICKS
REMAINING AND NO EYE-LINERS AT ALL. WITH THE OTHER HAND, SHE STARTS TO PULL OPEN
HER RAINCOAT, TO FACILITATE TRANSFERRING THE COSMETICS TO AN INSIDE POCKET. SHE
IS UTTERLY ENGROSSED IN WHAT SHE IS DOING, AND HER EXPRESSION REMAINS DEADPAN
AND PROFESSIONAL. LOOKING PAST MONICA INTO THE MID-GROUND, WE SEE THE FIGURE OF
THE RENTBOY, KEVIN SORRY, AS HE ENTERS FROM THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE PANEL
JUST AS MONICA DID BACK IN PANEL TWO. ALTHOUGH MONICA HASN’T NOTICED KEVIN’S
ARRIVAL, KEVIN HAS NOTICED HER. HIS SHARP AND INTELLIGENT EYES GLANCE ACROSS AT
HER TURNED BACK, STUDYING HER SHREWDLY. MAYBE KEVIN WALKS ALONG WITH HIS ARMS
FOLDED IN FRONT OF HIM, TAKING SMALL, QUICK STEPS, UNLESS THAT LOOKS WRONG TO
YOU, IN WHICH CASE JUST DEPICT HIS GAIT AS WHATEVER SEEMS NATURAL FOR THE
CHARACTER TO YOU. HERE, HE JUST GLANCES SHREWDLY ACROSS AT MONICA AS SHE
PREPARES TO POCKET THE COSMETICS.
No Dialogue
PANEL 6
SAME SHOT. TOWARDS THE LEFT OF THE FOREGROUND, ACROSS THE NOW PARTIALLY-DENUDED
COUNTER-TOP, WE SEE MONICA. KEEPING HER EYES DOWNCAST AS SHE BECOMES AWARE OF
THE PRESENCE STANDING NEXT TO HER. MONICA IS SEEN HERE REMOVING HER NOW-EMPTY
HAND FROM INSIDE HER OPEN COAT. THE COSMETICS HAVE VANISHED. KEVIN SORRY HAS BY
NOW ALSO CROSSED TO THE COSMETICS COUNTER AND IS STANDING NEXT TO MONICA. OVER
TOWARDS THE RIGHT OF THE FOREGROUND. HIS HEAD IS TURNED SLIGHTLY AND HE IS QUITE
OPENLY WATCHING MONICA WITH DISAPPROVAL AS SHE REMOVES HER HAND FROM HER COAT.
MONICA DOES NOT LOOK AT HIM, AND HER EXPRESSION REMAINS DEADPAN. LOOKING PAST
THEM AND INTO THE BACKGROUND WE CAN PERHAPS SEE THE COMPUTER DEPARTMENT MANAGER
RE-ENTERING THE PICTURE FROM THE RIGHT, HIS ERRAND COMPLETED. THIS IS JUST
BACKGROUND DETAIL, HOWEVER, AND SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED TO DETRACT FROM THE SILENT
INTERPLAY BETWEEN MONICA AND KEVIN IN THE FOREGROUND.
No Dialogue
PANEL 7
SAME SHOT. HERE, KEVIN IS NO LONGER LOOKING AT MONICA, ALTHOUGH HE OTHERWISE IS
STANDING BY THE COUNTER IN JUST THE SAME POSITION AS HE WAS LAST PANEL. HERE, HE
HAS SWITCHED HIS GAZE TO THE EXPENSIVE LOOKING INDIVIDUAL COMPACTS ARRANGED
BEFORE HIM ON HIS SIDE OF THE COUNTER. HIS EXPRESSION IS ICY AND DISDAINFUL AND
SNOTTY. NEXT TO HIM, ON THE LEFT, MONICA HAS FINISHED POCKETING THE MAKE-UP AND
HAS SLOWLY TURNED HER HEAD TO LOOK AT KEVIN, WITHOUT OTHERWISE CHANGING HER
POSITION MUCH. AS SHE COLDLY REGARDS THE RENTBOY HER EXPRESSION IS DEADPAN,
FILLED WITH NO MORE OR LESS DISDAIN THAN SHE OFFERS THE REST OF THE WORLD,
ALTHOUGH THAT’S GENERALLY QUITE SUFFICIENT. SHE LOOKS AT KEVIN HERE, HER
FEATURES MASK-LIKE, WHILE HE LOOKS AT THE COMPACTS, PERHAPS ALREADY STARTING TO
REACH HIS HAND OUT TOWARDS ONE IN THE CASUAL AND OFF-HAND MANNER OF A CUSTOMER
PICKING UP GOODS TO INSPECT THEM BEFORE POSSIBLE PURCHASE. CONTEMPTUOUSLY, HE
IGNORES MONICA AS HE SPEAKS.
KEVIN: Tt.
KEVIN: I suppose that was the LAST of the Yardley eye-liner, was it?
PANEL 8
SAME SHOT. NOW MONICA HAS RETURNED HER GAZE TO THE COUNTER TOP BEFORE HER AND IS
NO LONGER LOOKING AT KEVIN. SHE RE-BUTTONS THE TOP BUTTON OF HER COAT AS SHE
SPEAKS, OTHERWISE IGNORING THE YOUTH BESIDE HER. KEVIN, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS
TURNED HIS HEAD TO GLANCE AT HER WITH SOME SURPRISE, THE HARDNESS AND DISLIKE IN
HIS FEATURES MELTING AWAY. ONE OF THE COMPACTS IS NESTLED IN HIS HAND, HALF
RAISED FROM THE COUNTER. LOOKING BEYOND THE PAIR, WE CAN PERHAPS SEE THE SMALL
FIGURE OF SAMMY PORTUS ENTER THE PANEL FROM ONE SIDE. HE APPEARS TO BE HEADING
IN THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF THE COMPUTER DEPARTMENT AND DOES NOT SO MUCH AS
GLANCE AT THE COUPLE IN THE FOREGROUND, NOT THEY AT HIM.
MONICA: Y’wanna try the end of the counter. They’ve got Charles of The Ritz down
there.
PANEL 9
SAME SHOT. HERE, MONICA HAS TURNED AND IS STARTING TO WALK OFF THE LEFT OF THE
PANEL, UP IN THE FOREGROUND. PROBABLY HER FACE IS ALREADY OFF PANEL HERE AND WE
CAN ONLY SEE HER BACK AS SHE EXITS. KEVIN SORRY, OVER TOWARDS THE RIGHT OF THE
FOREGROUND, IS LOOKING AT HER WITH A NEW LOOK OF RESPECT AND GRATITUDE AS SHE
LEAVES WITHOUT A BACKWARD GLANCE AT HIM. KEVIN, AS HE SPEAKS TO MONICA, IS
SLIPPING THE COMPACT INTO THIS COAT POCKET, APPARENTLY WITHOUT BEING AWARE OF
WHAT HE IS DOING..OR AT LEAST, NOT BETRAYING THAT AWARENESS WITH ANY CHANGE OF
EXPRESSION. HE SEEMS GENUINELY GRATEFUL TO MONICA FOR THE INFORMATION AND
ANXIOUS TO MAKE UP FOR HIS EARLIER COLDNESS.
KEVIN: Ooh, well, thanks very much. I’ll try down there, then.
KEVIN: Thanks again.
MONICA: You’re welcome.
PANEL 10
SAME SHOT. ONLY HERE MONICA IS COMPLETELY OFF PANEL AND OUT OF SIGHT. KEVIN,
STILL STANDING TOWARDS THE RIGHT OF THE FOREGROUND BUT TURNED SO AS TO FACE
AFTER THE DEPARTED MONICA, STILL HAS THE SAME CHIRPY AND GRATEFUL EXPRESSION ON
HIS FACE AS HE RAISES ONE HAND TO HIS MOUTH IN A PARTIAL-MEGAPHONE EFFECT,
CALLING OUT LIGHTLY AFTER MONICA AS SHE EXITS. LOOKING BEYOND HIM AND INTO THE
BACKGROUND WE CAN SE THAT SAMMY PORTUS HAS WALKED OVER TO THE COMPUTER COUNTER.
THE MANAGER, TURNED AWAY FROM THE COUNTER TO DO SOMETHING BEHIND IT, ISN’T
PAYING SAMMY ANY ATTENTION, JUST AS SAMMY ISN’T PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO KEVIN,
OVER IN THE FOREGROUND.
KEVIN: Have a look in Dorothy PERKINS. They’ve got some GORGEOUS blouses,
and the store
detective’s near-sighted.
PANEL 11
SAME SHOT. HERE, KEVIN EXITS OFF THE RIGHT OF THE FOREGROUND SO THAT WE CAN ONLY
SEE THE BACK OF HIM HERE AS HE WALKS OFF PANEL. THE COUNTER, IN THE FOREGROUND,
SEEMS TO HAVE MUCH LESS STUFF ON IT THAN IT DID WHEN WE SAW IT IN IT’S VIRGIN
STATE BACK IN PANEL ONE. AS KEVIN WALKS OFF IN THE FOREGROUND WE LOOK ACROSS THE
AISLE TOWARDS THE COMPUTER DEPARTMENT, WHEN WE SEE SAMMY STILL WAITING PATIENTLY
FOR THE DEPARTMENT MANAGER..A MAN IN HIS MIDDLE FORTIES, INCIDENTALLY, TO LOOK
UP FROM WHATEVER HE IS DOING. OTHERWISE, THE MAIN FOCUS OF OUR ATTENTION IS
STILL KEVIN AS HE WALKS OFF PANEL IN THE FOREGROUND.
No Dialogue
PANEL 12
SAME SHOT, BUT NOW THERE IS NOBODY IN THE FOREGROUND. KEVIN AND MONICA HAVE BOTH
GONE THEIR SEPARATE WAYS AND LEFT ONLY THE PARTIALLY STRIPPED MAKE-UP COUNTER
GLINTING PLAINTIVELY IN THE FOREGROUND. LOOKING BEYOND THIS AND ACROSS THE AISLE
WE SEE SAMMY PORTUS JUST STANDING CALMLY BY THE COMPUTER COUNTER AND WAITING. I
SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, BUT SAMMY IS DRESSED HERE IN THE FAIRLY WILD
AND LOOSE ACID HOUSE GEAR THAT HE WEARS ON SATURDAYS RATHER THAN IN THE SCHOOL
UNIFORM HE WEARS DURING THE REST OF THE WEEK. THIS CONSISTS OF LONG, BRIGHT
PSYCHEDELIC SHORTS AND A SORT OF LOOSE, HOODED TOP WITH
ETHNIC/PAISLEY/MAYAN/PSYCHEDELIC PATTERNS ALL OVER IT. ON HIS FEET HE WEARS
BRIGHT SNEAKERS. I SHOULD ALSO HAVE MENTIONED THAT BENEATH HIS ARM HE IS
CARRYING THE BIZARRE, DECORATED SKATEBOARD THAT WE’VE SEEN HIM WITH PREVIOUSLY.
AS HE WAITS BY THE COMPUTER COUNTER HE IS GAZING COOLEY AT THE MANAGER, WEIGHING
HIM UP EXPRESSIONLESSLY. FINALLY THE MANAGER LOOKS UP FROM WHATEVER PETTY TASK
HE’S BEEN ENGAGED IN BEHIND THE COUNTER AND GIVES SAMMY A CONDESCENDING SMILE.
WE MAY WELL SEE THIS MANAGER AGAIN. ALTHOUGH HE ISN’T A FEATURED PLAYER IN THE
WAY THAT OUR OTHER CHARACTERS ARE. AS I SEE HIM, HE’S IN HIS MID FORTIES,
PERHAPS SLIGHTLY BALDING AT THE FRONT, AND IS PROBABLY QUITE A BIG, SOLID, RED
FACED KIND OF GUY WHO WILL SUCCUMB TO HEART DISEASE IN HIS MIDDLE FIFTIES. HERE,
DRESSED FOR WORK, HE WEARS A SOBER AND DARK TIE AGAINST HIS PLAIN WHITE SHIRT,
THE CUFFS OF WHICH ARE ROLLED UP TO THE ELBOWS IN A BUSINESS-LIKE AND HARD
WORKING FASHION. LOOKING UP HE GIVES SAMMY A GRUFF, BARELY-PATIENT LOOK.
MANAGER: Yes, son, what can I do you for?
PAGE 5
PANEL 1
OKAY, NOW THERE ARE TWELVE PANELS ON THIS PAGE, WITH THIS FIRST TIER BEING A
CONTINUOUS BACKGROUND SHOT. I SHOULD POINT OUT BEFORE WE GET TOO FAR IN THAT
THIS PAGE REQUIRES SOME TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND POSSIBLY SOME VISUAL REFERENCE
THAT WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL I CAN CONTACT THE GUY I KNOW WHO WORKS IN A
COMPUTER SHOP. WHAT I’VE DONE, THEREFORE, IS TO MAP OUT WHAT THE PANELS WILL
LOOK LIKE GENERALLY, LEAVING THE FEW FINE VISUAL DETAILS UNTIL WE CAN GET THE
PROPER INFORMATION. THE RELEVANT DIALOGUE I’VE LEFT BLANK, BUT I’LL INCLUDE
PROVISIONAL DIALOGUE IN WITH THE PANEL DESCRIPTIONS SO THAT YOU AT LEAST KNOW
ROUGHLY WHAT THE CHARACTERS ARE SAYING AND SO THAT YOU CAN GIVE THEM APPROPRIATE
FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. OKAY THEN..IN THIS FIRS TIER WE HAVE CLOSED IN UPON THE
COUNTER OF THE COMPUTER DEPARTMENT THAT WE SAW A LITTLE OF IN THE BACKGROUND ON
OUR LAST PAGE. THE COUNTER HERE RUNS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT FOR ALMOST THE FULL
WIDTH OF THIS CONTINUOUS-BACKGROUND TIER, WITH THE LEFT-MOST END OF IT OVER IN
PANEL ONE AND THE RIGHT-MOST END OVER IN PANEL FOUR. WE SEE THE GLASS
COUNTER/DISPLAY-CASE WITH VARIOUS SMALL COMPUTER-RELATED GOODS DISPLAYED INSIDE
IT. BEHIND THE COUNTER THERE ARE SHELVES UPON WHICH STAND VARIOUS LARGER PIECES
OF COMPUTER HARDWARE, EITHER IN THEIR LABELED CARDBOARD BOXES OR UNPACKED FOR
DISPLAY PURPOSES…PROBABLY A MIXTURE OF BOTH WOULD BE MOST REALISTIC. OVER IN
THIS FIRST PANEL, STANDING IN THE FOREGROUND BETWEEN US AND THE GLASS COUNTER WE
SEE SAMMY. HE STANDS THERE IN HIS EYE-BRUISING GARB, LOOKING TOTALLY COOL AND
RELAXED AND DIGNIFIED WITH HIS SKATEBOARD BENEATH HIS ARM. HE IS FACING SLIGHTLY
AWAY FROM US SO THAT WE SEE HIM ROUGHLY HALF-PROFILE AS HE GAZES TOWARDS THE
MANAGER WHO WE SEE BEHIND THE COUNTER. THE MANAGER, BULKY AND FLORID IN HIS
SHIRT-SLEEVES, IS NOT LOOKING AT SAMMY AS THE BOY SPEAKS, BUT IS CONCENTRATING
UPON PICKING UP A LARGE AND HI-TECH PIECE OF COMPUTER HARDWARE (THIS IS WHERE
THE VAGUENESS COMES IN, AS I DON’T YET KNOW WHICH PIECE OF COMPUTER HARDWARE THE
MANAGER IS PICKING UP) FROM THE SHELVES IMMEDIATELY BEHIND HIM. HE GRUNTS A
LITTLE WITH THE EXERTION AND GENERALLY LOOKS SORT OF BAD TEMPERED AND HARASSED,
AS IF THERE ARE THINGS HE’D MUCH RATHER BE DOING ON A SATURDAY MORNING THAN
HUMPING BITS OF COMPUTERS ABOUT. SAMMY SEEMS TOTALLY UNRUFFLED BY THE MAN’S
DEMEANOR.
SAMMY: Well, it’s more what I can do for YOU.
SAMMY: I wondered if you had any Saturday jobs going?
PANEL 2
NOW WE PAN ACROSS OUR CONTINUOUS BACKGROUND FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, FOLLOWING THE
MANAGER AS HE RUDELY TURNS HIS BACK UPON THE MOTIONLESS SAMMY, AND STARTS TO
CARRY THE PIECE OF COMPUTER HARDWARE ALONG FROM LEFT TO RIGHT BEHIND THE COUNTER
TOWARDS THE OTHER END, OVER IN PANEL FOUR. SAMMY, WHO REMAINS STATIONARY BACK IN
PANEL ONE, IS NOT VISIBLE HERE. ALL WE SEE HERE IS THE GLASS
COUNTER-CUM-SHOWCASE UP TOWARDS THE FOREGROUND AND THEN THE MANAGER IN PROFILE
BEHIND IT AS HE WALKS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ACROSS THE TIER, AWKWARDLY HOLDING THE
BULKY PIECE OF HARDWARE IN FRONT OF HIM AS HE DOES SO. HIS FACE ASSUMES A SORT
OF SNOTTY AND INDIFFERENT LOOK..THE EYELIDS ARE LOWERED CONDESCENDINGLY, THE
NOSE IS TILTED UPWARDS DISMISSIVELY AND THE LIPS HAVE A SLIGHTLY PURSED AND
SNOBBISH LOOK TO THEM AS THEY FORM AROUND THE WORDS THAT THE MANAGER IS SAYING.
HE SPEAKS WITHOUT SPARING SAMMY A BACKWARD GLANCE, CARRYING ON WITH HIS WORK
HUMPING THE COMPUTER PARTS AROUND.
MANAGER: Job? What ARE you, thirteen? Fourteen?
MANAGER: Nah. I need somebody older, who could pull their weight.
PANEL 3
WE CONTINUE TO TRACK ACROSS NOW, FOLLOWING THE MANAGER AS HE PROGRESSES FROM
LEFT TO RIGHT ACROSS OUR CONTINUOUS BACKGROUND, STILL WITH THE GLINTING GLASS
COUNTER BETWEEN HIM AND US. HE STILL DOES NOT LOOK BACK AT SAMMY AS HE TRUDGES
ALONG BEHIND THE COUNTER, CARRYING HIS CHUNK OF HARDWARE, WHICH HE SEEMS TO BE
ABOUT TO PUT DOWN UPON A SECTION OF GLASS COUNTER OVER TOWARDS THE RIGHT OF THE
PAGE IN PANEL FOUR. HIS FACE STILL WEARS THE SAME DISMISSIVE EXPRESSION,
COLOURED BY HIS GENERAL LOOK OF OVER-WORKED HARASSMENT.
MANAGER: Besides, I can’t waste time training somebody up.
MANAGER: I need somebody who could SAVE me time.
PANEL 4
WE COMPLETE OUR PAN ACROSS NOW, AND SHOW THE MANAGER STANDING STILL AT THE RIGHT
MOST END OF THE COUNTER AS HE ATTEMPTS TO CONNECT THE PIECE OF HARDWARE THAT HE
HAS BEEN CARRYING WITH ANOTHER PIECE OF HARDWARE THAT IS ALREADY SITUATED AT THE
COUNTER’S RIGHT-MOST END. LIKE I SAY, I DON’T KNOW WHAT PIECE HE’S CONNECTING TO
WHAT, OR HOW HE’S CONNECTING IT, BUT WHATEVER HE’S DOING HIS BASIC POSTURE AND
EXPRESSION HERE IS THE SAME: AS HE FUMBLES CLUMSILY WITH THE CONNECTION OF THE
TWO PIECES OF HARDWARE HE SORT OF FREEZES, PAUSING SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE MIDST OF
WHAT HE IS DOING AS HE HEARS SAMMY SPEAK FROM OFF PANEL TO THE LEFT BEHIND HIM.
HIS EYES WIDEN SLIGHTLY IN AFFRONT AND SURPRISE AND HE SEEMS TO SWIVEL THEM BACK
AS IF IN A FUTILE ATTEMPT TO GLANCE BACK OVER HIS SHOULDER AT THE SOURCE OF THE
SUDDEN VOICE FROM BEHIND HIM. SAMMY’S BALLOON ISSUES FROM OFF PANEL LEFT, WITH
SAMMY HIMSELF NOT VISIBLE.
SAMMY (OFF, LEFT): You’re setting that up wrong.
PANEL 5
THIS SECOND TIER HAS FOUR SEPARATE PANELS THAT ARE ALL SHOT FROM THE SAME ANGLE:
WE ARE NOW DOWN AT THE MANAGER’S END OF THE COUNTER, BEHIND THE COUNTER WITH HIM
AND LOOKING ACROSS AND ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE COUNTER TOWARDS SAMMY, AS HE
STANDS OVER THE SIDE OF THE COUNTER AT THE END FURTHEST AWAY FROM US. UP TO THE
RIGHT OF THE FOREGROUND WE SEE THE MOTIONLESS BULK OF THE MANAGER (OR AT LEAST
PART OF IT) AS HE TURNS TO LOOK INCREDULOUSLY AT SAMMY, WHO IS OVER TOWARDS THE
LEFT OF THE NEAR BACKGROUND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTER’S FAR END. TO THE
LEFT OF THE FOREGROUND, RESTING ON THE GLASS COUNTER-TO BEFORE THE MANAGER WE
SEE AT LEAST PART OF THE TWO COMPUTER UNITS THAT HE IS TRYING TO CONNECT
TOGETHER. LOOKING BEYOND THIS, AS WE SEE SAMMY HERE HE IS LOOKING TOWARDS US,
STILL WITH THE SAME COOL AND DIGNIFIED EXPRESSION DESPITE HIS RIOTOUS CLOTHING.
HE IS JUST PROPPING HIS SKATEBOARD AGAINST THE COUNTER HERE, PREPARING TO COME
DOWN TO OUR END OF THE COUNTER AND SHOW THE MANAGER HOW TO FIT HIS COMPUTER
UNITS TOGETHER. UP IN THE FOREGROUND WE NEED ONLY SEE A LITTLE OF THE MANAGER AS
HE FACES ROUGHLY AWAY FROM US..JUST HIS SHOULDER OR A LITTLE OF THE BACK OF HIS
HEAD OR SOMETHING. HE DOES NOT MOVE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FOUR PANEL SEQUENCE,
AND OUR ATTENTION MOVES PAST HIM TO THE MOVING FIGURE OF SAMMY, FURTHER INTO THE
PANEL. I’VE LEFT SAMMY’S BALLOONS BLANK BELOW, BUT A ROUGH APPROXIMATION OF WHAT
HE IS SAYING COULD BE CONTAINED IN TWO SPEECH BALLOONS, THE FIRST READING “EASY
MISTAKE TO MAKE. THAT’S THE AMSTRAD 1512, ISN’T IT? ONLY OUT A COUPLE OF WEEKS?”
AND THEN A SMALLER SECOND BALLOON LINKED TO THE FIRST THAT READS “FUNNY MODEL.”
THIS IS APPROXIMATELY WHAT SAMMY IS SAYING AS HE PROPS HIS SKATEBOARD UP AGAINST
HIS SIDE OF THE GLASS COUNTER, LOOKING TOWARDS US AND THE HARDWARE THAT RESTS ON
THE COUNTER IN THE FOREGROUND AS HE DOES SO.
SAMMY:
SAMMY:
PANEL 6
SAME SHOT AS PANEL FIVE, BUT NOW SAMMY HAS STARTED TO WALK DOWN THE LENGTH OF
THE COUNTER TOWARDS US, LEAVING THE SKATEBOARD PROPPED UP AGAINST THE FAR END
WHERE WE SAW HIM PROP IT LAST PANEL. AS HE WALKS TOWARDS US HE REMAINS CALM AND
WITHOUT A TRACE OF ARROGANCE. WITH ONE FINGER HE POINTS TOWARDS A CONNECTING
POINT UPON ONE SIDE OF ONE OF THE COMPONENTS AND SAYS SOMETHING ALONG THE
FOLLOWING LINES: “Y’SEE, WITH THESE, THE CONNECTION FOR THE MODEM IS OVER THERE,
NEAR THE MOUSE.” I KNOW THIS IS GIBBERISH, BUT I’LL BE ABLE TO REPLACE IT WITH
MORE ACCURATE AND AUTHENTIC COMPUTER REFERENCES ONE I’VE TALKED TO THE NECESSARY
PEOPLE. THE ABOVE SHOULD GIVE YOU THE ROUGH FLAVOUR OF THE EXCHANGE THOUGH, AT
LEAST FOR THE MOMENT. AS SAMMY COMES TOWARDS US, THE BULK OF THE MANGER, PARTLY
VISIBLE TO THE RIGHT OF THE FOREGROUND, DOES NOT MOVE AT ALL. NOR DO THE
COMPUTER PARTS THAT SAMMY IS POINTING AT, RESTING ON THE COUNTER-TOP TO THE LEFT
OF THE FOREGROUND IN FRONT OF THE MANAGER.
SAMMY:
PANEL 7
SAME SHOT, WITH THE MANAGER AND THE COMPUTER PARTS STILL UNMOVED UP IN THE
FOREGROUND. FROM THE BACKGROUND SAMMY HAS WALKED RIGHT UP CLOSE TO US SO THAT
HE’S NOW ONLY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTER. WITHOUT ASKING FOR PERMISSION HE
REACHES OUT AND STARTS TO CONNECT UP THE TWO PIECES OF HARDWARE IN A DIFFERENT
WAY TO THAT ATTEMPTED BY THE LESS-ADEPT MANAGER. AS HE DOES THIS HE REMAINS
TOTALLY COOL AND COMPOSED, AND DOES NOT GIVE THE IMPRESSION OF BRAGGING OR
SHOWING OFF. HIS DELIVERY IS VERY PLEASANT, INFORMATIVE AND MATTER OF FACT. THE
MANAGER JUST STANDS MOTIONLESS, WATCHING HIM, AND MAKING NO MOVE TO INTERFERE.
SAMMY HAS TWO BALLOONS IN THIS PANEL, WITH THE FIRST READING SOMETHING AS
FOLLOWS: “IT’S TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE SECOND DRIVE, WHICH IS A NEW FEATURE.” THE
SECOND BALLOON READS “YOU JUST CONNECT IT LIKE THIS…AND LIKE THIS…”
HE IS LOOKING DOWN AT WHAT HIS HANDS ARE DOING AS HE SPEAKS, RATHER THAN UP AT
THE MANAGER.
SAMMY:
SAMMY:
PANEL 8
SAME SHOT. IN THE RIGHT OF THE FOREGROUND THE MANAGER’S PARTLY VISIBLE FORM HAS
NOT MOVES, STILL FACING MOSTLY AWAY FROM US AND ACROSS THE COUNTER AT SAMMY.
UPON THE COUNTER TOP TO THE LEFT OF THE FOREGROUND, THE TWO PIECES OF HARDWARE
ARE NOW CORRECTLY AND EFFICIENTLY FASTENED TOGETHER. LOOKING BEYOND THIS WE SEE
SAMMY. HAVING FINISHED CONNECTING THE PIECES OF HARDWARE HE LOOKS UP AT THE
MANAGER AND SMILES WARMLY, GESTURING TO THE CONNECTED COMPUTER COMPONENTS AS HE
DOES SO. THE MANAGER DOESN’T MOVE OR RESPOND IN ANY WAY.
SAMMY: There.
PANEL 9
NOW WE CHANGE ANGLES, SO THAT WE ARE OVER ON SAMMY’S SIDE OF THE COUNTER NOW. WE
SEE PART OF SAMMY OVER TO THE LEFT OF THE FOREGROUND AS HE STANDS THERE FROM
BEFORE THE COUNTER. I FIGURE WE ONLY SEE A LITTLE OF HIS MID SECTION, AS IF WE
WERE LOOKING UP PAST HIM SLIGHTLY FROM A SLIGHTLY DEPRESSED ANGLE. WE CERTAINLY
CAN’T SEE HIS HEAD OR SHOULDERS HERE. OUR ATTENTION IS FIXED UPON THE BULKY
MANAGER AS HE LEANS UPON HIS COUNTER TOP WITH THE SUCCESSFULLY CONNECTED
COMPUTER PARTS BEFORE HIM. MAYBE HE LEANS ON THE COUNTER WITH HIS BEEFY ARMS
FOLDED, AND HIS EXPRESSION IS SET INTO A BELLIGERENT SCOWL OR GLARE OF
RESENTMENT AS HE STARES ACROSS THE COUNTER TO THE POINT OFF PANEL ABOVE WHERE
SAMMY’S HEAD AND SHOULDERS ARE PRESUMABLY SITUATED. HE DOESN’T LOOK AT ALL
PLEASED WITH SAMMY’S PERFORMANCE. NEITHER HE NOR THE PARTLY VISIBLE SAMMY IN THE
FOREGROUND MOVE EVEN SLIGHTLY. NOBODY SAYS ANYTHING.
No Dialogue
PANEL 10
SAME SHOT EXACTLY AS PANEL NINE: NOTHING HAS MOVED. SAMMY IS STILL PARTLY
VISIBLE UP TO THE LEFT OF THE FOREGROUND AND WE ARE STILL LOOKING PAST HIM AT
THE MANAGER AS HE GLOWERS AT US ACROSS HIS COUNTER TOP, HIS BURLY ARMS FOLDED
RESENTFULLY AND HIS FACE SET INTO A SCOWL. THE ONLY SLIGHT DIFFERENCE HERE IS
THAT THE MANAGER’S SCOWLING AND RESENTFUL MOUTH IS HERE OPEN SLIGHTLY AS HE
SPEAKS. OTHER THAN THIS NEITHER HE NOR SAMMY MOVE A MUSCLE.
MANAGER: You can start next Saturday.
MANAGER: Only for Christ’s sake smarten yourself up!
PANEL 11
SAME SHOT, WITH SAMMY REMAINING MOTIONLESS IN THE FOREGROUND. THE MANAGER,
VISIBLE ACROSS THE COUNTER TOP, HAS MOVED ONLY SLIGHTLY: HE IS NOW LOOKING DOWN
WITH A WARY AND SUSPICIOUS SCOWL AT THE LINKED PIECES OF HARDWARE IN FRONT OF
HIM, PRODDING AND POKING AT THE CONNECTIONS PERHAPS TO SEE IF THEY’RE LOOSE OR
PERHAPS TO WORK OUT HOW SAMMY DID THEM. HE IS GLARING AT THE MACHINERY RATHER
THAN AT SAMMY AS HE SPEAKS, LOOKING GRUDGING AND SURLY. SAMMY DOESN’T MOVE OR
SPEAK.
MANAGER: And think yourself LUCKY. It’s only because we’ll need staff for that
American shopping centre.
MANAGER: We’re opening a branch there.
PANEL 12
NOW ALL WE HAVE IS A HEAD AND SHOULDERS CLOSE UP OF SAMMY AS HE REPLIES TO THE
MANAGER. HIS FACE IS UTTERLY DEADPAN AND EXPRESSIONLESS…SO MUCH SO, IN FACT,
THAT THE READER WILL KNOW THAT SAMMY IS LYING. HIS EYES HAVE A SORT OF LIDDED
AND SECRETIVE AND SHREWD LOOK IN THEM AS HE REPLIES TO THE OFF PANEL MANAGER.
SAMMY: Really?
SAMMY: I had no idea.
PAGE 6
PANEL 1
THERE ARE NINE PANELS ON THIS PAGE, AND THIS FIRST ONE IS A BIG WIDE ONE THAT
RUNS THE FULL WIDTH OF THE UPPER TIER. WHAT WE SEE IS A GLORIOUSLY HAPPY AND
EXHILARATED SHOT OF SAMMY AS HE SKATES HOME DOWN THE ROLLING, SLOPING PATH THAT
RUNS THROUGH THE PARK. STANDING UPON HIS MOVING BOARD HE LOOKS HAPPY AND
GRACEFUL, ARMS SPREAD OUT FOR BALANCE AND A BIG WIDE GRIN ON HIS FACE. HE’S
ALMOST DANCING WITH DELIGHT UPON HIS BOARD AS IT MOVES. LOOKING BEYOND HIM AND
UP THE PATH A LITTLE WE CAN SEE THAT HE HAS JUST PASSED BETWEEN A COUPLE OF
VAGUELY SURPRISED AND STARTLED-LOOKING PENSIONERS WHO LOOK AROUND AT US AND AT
SAMMY AS HE ZIPS BY THEM. UPON THEIR FACES THERE ARE STILL VAGUE EXPRESSIONS OF
MILD ALARM, BUT SAMMY DOESN’T APPEAR TO PAY THEM ANY ATTENTION, WRAPPED UP IN
HIS OWN WORLD OF SPEED AND EXUBERANCE. AROUND THE PATHWAY THAT RUNS FROM
BACKGROUND TO FOREGROUND THE PARK STRETCHES AWAY TO EITHER SIDE WITH ITS ROLLING
AREAS OF GRASS AND ITS ELDERLY ROWS OF TREES GATHERED ABOUT THE PARK’S EDGES.
No Dialogue
PANEL 2
THIS SECOND TIER IS A CONTINUOUS BACKGROUND SHOT DIVIDED UP INTO FOUR PANELS. WE
CUT TO THE INTERIOR OF SAMMY AND HEALDIE’S HOUSE NOW, TO SHOW SAMMY AS HE
ARRIVES HOME WITH HIS SKATEBOARD NOW TUCKED BENEATH HIS ARM. TAKEN AS A WHOLE,
THIS CONTINUOUS BACKGROUND TIER SHOWS US A WIDE-ANGLE VIEW OF THE PORTUS FAMILY
LIVING ROOM, WITH SAMMY JUST BURSTING THROUGH THE DOOR OVER ON THE LEFT IN THIS
FIRST PANEL OF THE TIER. AS HE BARGES INTO THE ROOM SAMMY LOOKS HAPPY AND
UNCHARACTERISTICALLY EXCITED, HIS BRIGHT SKATEBOARD TUCKED BENEATH HIS ARM. THE
ROOM, AS USUAL, IS FAIRLY DARK AND GLOOMY, TO FIT THE MOOD OF SAMMY’S FATHER,
WHO WE CAN’T SEE IN THIS PANEL. SAMMY IS ADDRESSING HIS COMMENTS TO A POINT OVER
IN PANEL FIVE, AT THE OTHER END OF THE TIER, WHERE HEALDIE IS SITUATED.
SAMMY: Dad? Hey, guess what?
SAMMY: I got a Saturday job, in Berringham’s computer department.
PANEL 3
TRACKING ACROSS NOW, WE FOLLOW SAMMY AS HE TAKES A COUPLE OF PACES INTO THE
ROOM, BOARD STILL BENEATH HIS ARM, AND THEN STOPS IN HIS TRACKS. THE HAPPY AND
EXUBERATE LOOK FADES FROM HIS FACE AS HE REALIZES THAT THERE IS SOMETHING
UPSETTING HIS FATHER, WHO IS STILL OFF PANEL RIGHT AND NOT VISIBLE HERE.
HEALDIE’S BALLOON ISSUES INTO THE PANEL FROM OFF-PIC ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.
SAMMY: They’re opening a new premises soon, at the..
SAMMY: What’s the matter?
HEALDIE (OFF): Aa, it’s just dis letter a got…
PANEL 4
WE TRACK ACROSS STILL FURTHER TOWARDS THE RIGHT AS SAMMY TAKES A COUPLE MORE
UNCERTAIN STEPS, FURTHER INTO THE ROOM. AS WE SEE HIM HEAR HE IS JUST PROPPING
HIS SKATEBOARD UP AGAINST THE WALL OR THE TABLE OR SOMETHING. AS HE DOES SO HE
IS LOOKING ROUND TOWARDS THE FOREGROUND, WHERE WE SEE ONE OF HEALDIE’S BIG BLACK
HANDS REACHING INTO VIEW FROM OFF PANEL RIGHT, HOLDING A SHEET OF COUNCIL-HEADED
PAPER UPON WHICH A LETTER APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN NEATLY TYPED. AS SAMMY PROPS UP
HIS BOARD HE LOOKS ROUND IN PUZZLEMENT AT WHAT HEALDIE IS HOLDING, UNCERTAIN WHY
IT SHOULD UPSET HIS FATHER SO. HEALDIE’S BALLOON STILL ISSUES FROM OFF PANEL
RIGHT.
HEALDIE (OFF, RIGHT): De Social Services, dey found me a new social worker.
Dey comin’ here in t’ree weeks time..
PANEL 5
COMPLETING OUR PAN ACROSS, WE FINALLY COME TO REST ON HEALDIE AS HE SITS THERE
MOTIONLESS AND DEPRESSED IN HIS BAGGY ARMCHAIR. I KNOW HEALDIE ALWAYS LOOKS
DEPRESSED WHEN WE SEE HIM, BUT HERE HE LOOKS ANXIOUS AS WELL, ALMOST SWEATING
WITH WORRY AT THE PROSPECT THE LETTER HAS ALERTED HIM TO. FRANKLY, AS HE SPEAKS
TO HIS OFF PANEL SON, HE LOOKS SCARED SHITLESS. SAMMY IS NOT VISIBLE HERE, BEING
OFF PANEL TO THE LEFT OVER IN PANEL FOUR. THIS IS WHERE HEALDIE’S GAZE AND
DIALOGUE ARE DIRECTED AS HE SPEAKS.
HEALDIE: It’s a woman.
PANEL 6
THIS NEXT FOUR PANEL SEQUENCE IS SORT OF A GRADUAL CLOSE-IN UPON SAMMY. IN THIS
FIRST PANEL WE SEE BOTH HEALDIE AND SAMMY. HEALDIE, RISING AGITATEDLY FROM HIS
CHAIR, IS SLIGHTLY CLOSER TO US HERE THAN SAMMY, WHO WE SEE FULL FIGURE IN THE
NEAR BACKGROUND, STARING WITH A SYMPATHETIC GAZE AT HIS FATHER. HEALDIE, RISING
FROM HIS CHAIR, IS STILL CLUTCHING THE ACCURSED LETTER FROM THE SOCIAL SERVICES
IN HIS SUDDENLY-CLAMMY HAND, AND HIS EYES ARE STARTING OT TAKE ON A WILD,
TRAPPED, FRIGHTENED LOOK. HE LOKS NEAR TO TEARS, BARELY ABLE TO LOOK AT SAMMY AS
HE SPEAKS AND TALKING DOWN AT THE FLOOR INSTEAD. SAMMY WATCHES HIS FATHER,
PITYINGLY AND WITH REAL CONCERN.
HEALDIE: Aa, Sammy, I don’t know what am gonna do.
HEALDIE: A can’t talk to no woman; A get meself embarrassed..
PANEL 7
NOW WE START TO CLOSE IN UPON THE PAIR, SO THAT HEALDIE IS ABOUT HALF FIGURE IN
THE FOREGROUND AND SO THAT SAMMY IS ABOUT THREE QUARTER FIGURE IN THE BACK
GROUND AS HE STANDS THERE STARTING SYMPATHETICALLY TOWARDS BOTH US AND HIS
FATHER. HEALDIE, NEARER TO US, HAS TURNED AWAY FROM SAMMY AS HE BEGINS TO PACE
UP AND DOWN, WAVING THE LETTER IN HIS HAND AGITATEDLY TO UNDERLINE THE POINT HE
IS INARTICULATELY TRYING TO MAKE. SAMMY JUST LOOKS ON FROM THE BACKGROUND, FULL
OF SYMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING FOR HIS FATHER’S CONDITION.
HEALDIE: It’s like, since y’Mam passed away…
HEALDIE (SEPARATE BALLOON): A mean, LOOK at de place! A can’t ‘ave nobody ‘ere…
PANEL 8
CLOSE IN STILL FURTHER, SO THAT NOW ALL WE CAN SEE OF HEALDIE IS ONE OF HIS
HANDS ENTERING THE PANEL FROM THE RIGHT OF THE FOREGROUND, STILL WAVING THE
LETTER FROM THE SOCIAL SERVICES. HIS BALLOONS ISSUE FROM OFF PANEL RIGHT.
LOOKING PAS HIS HAND AND THE WAVING PIECE OF PAPER WE SEE SAMMY AS HE STAND
THERE, HIS EYES FULL OF SYMPATHY BUT HIS FACE OTHERWISE EXPRESSIONLESS. WE HAVE
CLOSED IN UPON SAMMY SO THAT HE IS ROUGHLY HALF FIGURE HERE. HE STANDS WITH HIS
EYES FIXED UPON THE PIECE OF PAPER THAT HIS FATHER IS WAVING IN THE FOREGROUND.
HEALDIE (OFF, RIGHT): A don’t WANT nobody ‘ere! Nobody but y’Mam, an’ she’s...
HEALDIE (OFF, RIGHT): Aa, a wish a’d not opened dis bloody t’ing.
PANEL 9
IN THIS LAST PANEL WE HAVE CLOSED RIGHT PAST HEALDIE’S OUTSTRETCHED HAND AT THE
PIECE OF PAPER TO COME TO REST UPON SAMMY IN A HEAD AND SHOULDERS SHOT AS HE
STANDS FACING US, GAZING AT HIS OFF PANEL FATHER. ALTHOUGH THERE IS SYMPATHY AND
CONCERN IN HIS EYES HIS FACE IS OTHERWISE CALM AND EXPRESSIONLESS AS HE SPEAKS.
SAMMY: Dad?
SAMMY: Did you ever hear of the second-and-a-half dimension?
PAGE 7
PANEL 1
THIS PAGE ALSO HAS NINE PANELS, AGAIN WITH A BIG WIDE ONE TAKING UP THE TOP TIER
AND THEN FOUR PANELS ON EACH OF THE TWO TIERS BENEATH THAT. IN THIS FIRST WIDE
PANEL WE HAVE A FAIRLY SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD SHOT OF HEALDIE AND SAMMY,
WITH A WIDE-ANGLE VIEW OF THEIR GLOOMY FRONT ROOM STRETCHING OUT AROUND THEM IN
THE BACKGROUND. HEALDIE, MORE TO THE LEFT HERE AND FACING RIGHT, IS HOLDING UP
ONE HAND IN PROTEST AND FROWNING IN CONSTERNATION. IN THE OTHER HAND, HE STILL
HOLDS THE LETTER. SAMMY HAS ALSO TAKEN HOLD OF THIS LETTER AND IS ATTEMPTING,
NOT WITHOUT SUCCESS, TO WREST IT FROM HIS FATHER. WITH THE HAND THAT ISN’T
HOLDING THE LETTER, SAMMY IS GENTLY PRYING HIS FATHER’S FINGERS LOOSE FROM THEIR
GRIP UPON THE PAGE. SAMMY IS SMILING QUIETLY AND REASSURINGLY AS HE DOES THIS,
EFFORTLESSLY DEFLECTING HIS FATHER’S PROTESTS WITH SHEER CHARM.
HEALDIE: Aa, c’mon, you know am not up to your mathematics an’ your figurin’. A
got too much to t’ink about at de moment…
SAMMY: Aah, come on, it’s EASY.
SAMMY: Look, gimme that letter and I’ll send it into the second-and-a-half
dimension for you.
PANEL 2
THIS SECOND TIER HAS FOUR PANELS THAT ALL HAVE THE SAME COMPOSITION AND ARE SHOT
FROM THE SAME ANGLE. WHAT WE SEE, BASICALLY, IS A HALF TO THREE QUARTER FIGURE
SHOT OF SAMMY AND HEALDIE, WITH HEALDIE SLIGHTLY CLOSER TO US AND MORE TOWARDS
THE LEFT OF THE PANEL, FACING SLIGHTLY AWAY FROM US AT ANGLE TOWARDS SAMMY, WHO
IS JUST SLIGHTLY FURTHER AWAY AND FACING US FROM OVER TO THE RIGHT OF THE PANEL.
HERE, WITH THE CALM AND PROFESSIONAL EXPRESSION OF A STAGE CONJURER, SAMMY HOLDS
UP THE FLAT SHEET OF PAPER FOR HIS FATHER’S INSPECTION, HOLDING IT BY BOTH EDGES
AS IF TO DEMONSTRATE ITS PERFECT FLATNESS. HEALDIE JUST STARES DOWN AT THE PAPER
WITH AN ALMOST COMICAL LOOK OF BLANK INCOMPREHENSION UPON HIS FEATURES. HE
DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THE HELL SAMMY IS TALKING ABOUT, BUT THE VERY STRANGENESS OF
SAMMY’S STATEMENT SEEMS TO HAVE TAKEN HEALDIE’S MIND OFF THE IMPENDING VISIT
FROM A WOMAN SOCIAL WORKER THAT HE WAS SO ALARMED ABOUT A FEW PANELS AGO. SAMMY,
COOL AND UNRUFFLED, LAUNCHES INTO HIS FRACTAL SPIEL.
SAMMY: Now, this sheet of paper’s got LENGTH and WIDTH, but no THICKNESS. So we
say it’s TWO DIMENSIONAL, right?
PANEL 3
SAME SHOT. NOW, STILL WITH THE SAME CALM AND UNRUFFLED EXPRESSION, SAMMY STARTS
TO CRUMPLE THE PRISTINE SHEET OF PAPER UP INTO A BALL. HEALDIE WATCHES HIM DO
THIS, STILL WITH THE SAME LOOK OF ABSOLUTE BLANK BEWILDERMENT UPON HIS FEATURES.
I FIGURE HEALDIE REMAINS MORE OR LESS MOTIONLESS THROUGHOUT THIS FOUR PANEL
SEQUENCE, WITH SAMMY AS THE ONLY MOVING ELEMENT AS HE STANDS THERE DEMONSTRATING
FRACTAL MATHEMATICS WITH A SHEET OF PAPER ON WHICH IS INSCRIBED A LETTER FROM
THE SOCIAL SERVICES.
SAMMY: But a BALL, on the other hand, that’s got THREE dimensions.
SAMMY: So, if we take our paper and we do THIS…
PANEL 4
HEALDIE STILL STAND STARING BLANKLY AT WHAT SAMMY IS DOING. SAMY NOW STANDS WITH
ONE HAND RAISED IN FRONT OF HIM, THE PALM UPWARDS. RESTING IN SAMMY’S PALM IS
THE CRUMPLED BALL THAT IS ALL THAT REAMAINS OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE’S LETTER TO
HEALDIE. SAMMY LOOKS AT THE BALL IN HIS PALM WITH INTEREST AND SATISFACTION.
HEALDIE LOOKS AT IT WITH INCOMPREHENSION.
SAMMY: There.
SAMMY: Now it’s got more than TWO dimensions, but it hasn’t quite got THREE:
PANEL 5
SAME SHOT AGAIN, BUT HERE, SAMMY NONCHALANTLY FLIPS THE BALL OF CRUMPLED PAPER
BACK OVER HIS SHOULDER WITHOUT SPARING IT A GLANCE. HIS EYES ARE FIXED CALMLY
UPON HIS FATHER’S FACE, WATCHING FOR ANY REACTION. HEALDIE, FOR HIS PART, HAS
MOVED HIS HEAD SLIGHTLY TO FOLLOW THE TRAJECTORY OF THE WADDED=UP BALL WITH ITS
EYES AS IT SALES BACK OVER SAMMY’S SHOULDER INTO THE GLOOMY AND CLUTTERED DEPTHS
OF THE ROOM BEYOND.
SAMMY: The second-and-a-half dimension.
PANEL 6
NOW, THIS LAST TIER IS ANOTHER CONTINUOUS BACKGROUND SHOT. TAKEN OVER ALL, WHAT
WE SEE IN THIS TIER, ALBEIT DIVIDED UP INTO FOUR PANELS, IS A SHOT OF HEALDIE’S
FRONT ROOM AS SEEN ROUGHLY FROM FLOOR LEVEL, LOOKING UP, DOWN IN THE BOTTOM
FOREGROUND, LARGE AND LOOMING AND SPREADING OVER AT LEAST THREE OF THE FOUR
PANELS HERE WE SEE THE CRUMPLED LETTER FROM THE SOCIAL SERVICES THAT SAMMY
DISCARDED LAST PANEL. IF YOU NEED ANY DUMMY TYPE-WRITTEN TEXT TO MAKE THE LETTER
LOOK AUTHENTIC THAN I SUGGEST SOMETHING LIKE THE FOLLOWING: FIRST, THE SOCIAL
SERVICES HEADING AT THE TOP FO THE PAGE (WE’LL SEE IF WE CAN GET YOU A COPY OF
THE RELEVANT LETTER HEADING) AND THEN THE LETTER AS FOLLOWS:
“ Dear Mr. Portus,
Following our
letter of August 19th, we are pleased to inform you that a new social worker has
been assigned to deal with you personally. She will be calling on October 17th
at approximately 3:00 p.m.
If for any reason
you are unable to keep this appointment, please do not hesitate to contact the
department at the above number so that a subsequent date can be arranged.
Yours sincerely,
Joyce Wilcox”
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT I’M NOT ASKING YOU TO FIT ALL THAT IN..IT’S JUST IN CASE
YOU WANT TO HAVE SOME OF THE TYPE ON THE CRUMPLED LETTER STILL VISIBLE AND
WONDER WHAT WORDING TO USE. ANYWAY, IN THIS FIRST PANEL OUT OF THE FOUR THAT
COMPRISE THE CONTINUOUS BACKGROUND HERE WE ARE LOOKING UP FROM FLOOR LEVEL AT
SAMMY AND HEALDIE. CALMLY AND GENTLY, SAMMY PLACES ONE HAND UPON HIS FATHER’S
SHOULDER AND STARTS TO GENTLY STEER HIM TOWARDS THE RIGHT OF THE TIER, HEADING
TOWARDS THE DOOR THAT LEADS OUT INTO THE HALLWAY AND THE KITCHEN BEYOND, VISIBLE
OVER IN PANEL NINE AT THE RIGHT-MOST END OF THIS TIER. AS SAMMY ATTEMPTS TO LEAD
HIS FATHER AWAY, HEALDIE IS STILL LOOKING DOWN AT THE FLOOR IN THE FOREGROUND. I
DUNNO IF THE CRUMPLED PAPER WILL BE VISIBLE IN THIS FIRST PANEL…PROBABLY NOT, IN
WHICH CASE HEALDIE’S FASCINATED GAZE SHOULD BE DIRECTED TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF
PANEL 7, WHERE ONE EDGE OF THE CRUMPLED BAL IS ACTUALLY VISIBLE. HEALDIE FROWNS
SLIGHTLY AS HE GAZES, LOOKING INTERESTED AND INTRIGUED DESPITE HIMSELF WITH WHAT
SAMMY HAS JUST DEMONSTRATED TO HIM, EVEN IF HE CAN’T QUITE FIGURE IT OUT YET. AS
HE GENTLY STEERS HEALDIE AWAY, SAMMY APPEARS TO HAVE PUT THE BALL OF PAPER
COMPLETELY OUT OF HIS MIND, RESUMING HIS NORMAL CALM MANNER.
SAMMY: Now, you come and sit down and I’ll make you a cup of tea. How’s that
sound?
PANEL 7
NOW, AS WE TRACK ACROSS, WE SEE SAMMY LEADING HIS DAD FURTHER AWAY FROM US,
HEADING DIAGONALLY ACROSS THE ROOM TO WHERE THE DOOR WAITS OVER IN THE
BACKGROUND OF PANELS EIGHT AND NINE. NEITHER OF THEM ARE LOOKING BACK AT THE
FLOOR HERE, BUT RIGHT UP IN THE FOREGROUND WE CAN SEE THE LEFT-MOST EDGE OF THE
CRUMPLED BALL OF PAPER LOOMING IN CLOSE-UP. LOOKING UP PAST THIS WE SEE HEALDIE
AND SAMMY AS THEY WALK AWAY FROM US. HEALDIE LOOKS MUCH CALMER NOW, HIS EARLIER
AGITATION FORGOTTEN. HE LOOKS DOWN AT HIS SON WITH SAD AND LOVING EYES. SAMMY’S
ONLY VISIBLE RESPONSE IS A SORT OF SELF-DEPRECATING SHRUG, BOTH PHYSICAL AND
FACIAL AS HE WAVES AWAY HIS FATHER’S APOLOGY.
HEALDIE: Sounds pretty good t’me.
HEALDIE: Sorry about all de frettin’ an’ mopin’.
SAMMY: S’okay. We all have bad days.
PANEL 8
CONTINUING TO TRACK ACROSS WE CAN NOW SEE THE MIDDLE OF THE CRUMPLED BALL OF
PAPER LOOMING UP CLOSE IN THE BOTTOM FOREGROUND. LOOKING UP PAST THIS WE SEE
HEALDIE AND SAMMY AS THEY REACH THE OPEN DOOR WAY, THE BULK OF WHICH IS OVER IN
THE NEXT PANEL. THEY ARE ABOUT TO GO THROUGH IT HERE. AS THEY DO SO, HEALDIE
SHOOTS ONE LAST THOUGHTFUL AND WONDERING GLANCE BACK OVER HIS SHOULDER TOWARDS
THE CRUMPLED BALL OF PAPER ON THE FLOOR IN THE FOREGROUND. SAMMY, AS HE CASUALLY
REPLIES TO HIS FATHER, IS NOT LOOKING AT EITHER US OR THE CRUMPLED PAPER, SO
THAT WE CANNOT SEE HIS FACE AS HE SPEAKS. ALL WE CAN SEE IS THE BACK OF HIS HEAD
AS HE STARTS TO ENTER THE KITCHEN THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR.
HEALDIE: Y’know, dat’s a useful place, dat secon’-anna-half dimension.
SAMMY: Oh, it’s more than just a PLACE.
PANEL 9
IN THIS LAST PANEL WE COMPLETE OUR PAN ACROSS SO THAT UP IN THE BOTTOM
FOREGROUND WE NOW SEE THE RIGHTMOST EDGE OF THE CRUMPLED BALL OF PAPER, LOOKING
UP BEYOND THIS WE CAN JUST GLIMPSE HEALDIE AND SAMMY AS THEY DEPART OUT OF THE
DOOR IN THE BACKGROUND, PERHAPS PULLING IT CLOSED BEHIND THEM AS THEY DO SO, SO
THAT WE ONLY CATCH A GLIMPSE OF THEM AS THEY VANISH THROUGH THE CLOSING GAP,
SAMMY BALLOONS ISSUING BACK TO US AS THEY DO SO. IN THE FOREGROUND, THE CRUMPLED
BALL OF PAPER LIES MOTIONLESS.
SAMMY: More like a new planet. Perhaps one day we’ll go there, eh?
SAMMY: Just for a holiday.
PAGE 8
PANEL 1
THERE IS ONLY ONE BIG PANELS FILLING THIS ENTIRE PAGE, THIS BEING OUR SPLASH
PAGE FOR THE ISSUE. ALL WE SEE IS A CLOSE UP OF THE CRUMPLED BALL OF PAPER
RESTING THERE ON THE FLOOR, IT’S FOLDS AND CONTOURS BUNCHED TOGETHER IN CRUMPLED
COMPLEXITY, A PIECE OF SPONTANEOUS AND ABSTRACT ORIGAMI STRANDED SOMEWHERE
BETWEEN THE SECOND DIMENSION AND THE THIRD. WHATEVER TYPING MAY BE VISIBLE UPON
THE CRUMPLED SURFACES IS SO TWISTED IN UPON ITSELF THAT THE SNATCHES OF WORDS
AND PHRASES THAT WE CAN DISCERN NOW READ MORE LIKE ONE OF WILLIAM BURROUGHS’
WILDER CUT-UPS THAN AN INNOCENT LETTER FROM THE SOCIAL SERVICES. THE BALL OF
PAPER JUST RESTS THERE, WHITE AND CRUMPLED AGAINST THE DARKNESS, A CHAOTIC PAPER
ROSE. THIS ISSUE’S TITLE IS SUPERIMPOSED SOMEWHERE UPON THE PAGE EITHER TOWARDS
THE TOP OR BOTTOM, WHICHEVER LOOKS BEST. FOR THE BALL OF PAPER ITSELF , PLEAS
FEEL FREE TO ZOOM RIGHT IN CLOSE AMONGST THE PAPER CREVASSES AND CANYONS, IF
THAT LOOKS MORE INTERESTING.
TITLE: THREE
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