Yeah, I know. It’s been a hot minute since I did one of these. But here we go! Page 4 of Footprints #1. Keep in mind that this isn’t REALLY what my actual script looks like, but just what I can provide within WordPress formatting issues.
Read on!
PAGE FOUR – (5 PANELS)
PANEL 4.1
Bigfoot’s attention has snapped away from the photograph he was inspecting.
FOOT (CAP):
…AND AIN’T NONE OF ‘EM GOOD.
DEVIL (OP):
UM… FOOT?
This carries over from Page 3. There’s not a whole lot to add here, as the panel is pretty much exactly how it’s written, albeit with the lovely expression of indifference that Jonathan added to Foot’s face. But I have to say, I love cigarette smoke. Like, not in my for-real lungs, but for my eyes when looking at a page. It’s one of my favorite things, particularly in black and white comics. And Jonathan nailed it here. You’ll notice throughout the series how often Foot lights up and that’s mostly because I just like looking at it.
PANEL 4.2
Bigfoot has moved over near Devil, who is standing in front of a large, closed doorway. Devil looks unusually perturbed, almost scared. He’s pointing down to the floor.
FOOT:
WHAT IS IT? WHAT’S WRONG?
DEVIL:
B… BLOOD…
I love this shot. It’s where I knew that Devil, as a character, would work, at least with Jonathan drawing him. He’s such a tough guy wimp, and this is the panel that really depicts that, I think. The furrowed eyebrows that Jonathan gave him tells you everything you need to know, and his body language suggests that his knees are rattling and he’s just freaking out. Plus his stammering helps, too.
PANEL 4.3
CLOSEUP of the bottom of the door. Blood has seeped through, staining the snow at their feet.
DEVIL (OP):
OH GOD…
FOOT (CAP):
I AIN’T GOTTA OPEN THE DOOR TO SEE WHAT I ALREADY KNOW.
As much as I love the previous panel, this one I kind of hate in retrospect. Not because of anything Jonathan did, of course, but because it’s unnecessary. I could’ve done one of two things differently: either axed this completely (since Devil already told us he saw blood), or just widened the angle of the previous panel to depict the blood on the ground. Nevermind the fact that it actually makes very little sense in the context of what’s to come; as you will see, there is no blood trail from Yeti’s body to the entry way where this massive pool of blood is. Oops. That’s why you hire an editor, kids.
You’ll also notice that we added another stammer on Devil’s part in the lettering revision, because he’s a wimp.
PANEL 4.4
Bigfoot is carefully opening the door to this room, as Devil shies away in fear of what they’ll find.
SFX:
KREEEEEEEK
FOOT (CAP):
BUT I DO ANYWAY.
Not much to add about this one, it’s pretty spot on. Foot is still rockin’ the indifference and the sweet, sweet cigarette smoke.
PANEL 4.5
Big reveal. Bigfoot stands in the doorway to a blood soaked room. Devil is hunched over, puking his guts out. Bigfoot isn’t shocked, but rather reaffirmed that his suspicions were correct.
In the middle of the room is Yeti, horrifically mutilated and soaked in blood. His head sits apart from his body, facing its onlookers. On the icy wall behind Yeti’s dismantled body, frozen in blood, is the word “MOTHER”.
Money shot! This was one of the first images I knew I wanted in the book. Utterly gruesome, mysterious, and hilarious (at least to me) at the same time. You’ll notice what I mentioned earlier — there’s no blood trail so that pool of blood from 4.3 makes no sense — but oh well. I love the way Jonathan framed this shot, with Yeti’s head seemingly staring directly at Foot as he walks in. And, of course, Devil hurling. The “Hurkkk” sound effect was missing in the script and added during lettering revisions.
As for the “Mother” thing. Did I have Motheresa invented before I wrote this scene? No, not really. I knew the Mothman myth would be playing a huge role as a femme fatale (hence the appearance of a moth on Page 2), but didn’t have her name/role locked in yet. That was one of the last pieces of the puzzle for me. So, what “Mother” was all about was how to incorporate “moth” into Yeti’s death. It was not, however, ever intended to actually be something related to their mother (that’s a future story that will probably never get told), but it provides a nice moment of shock and awe. The mother theory is dispelled on the next page by Foot himself, and it just so happened that I thought Motheresa was a cool name.
How did he write that in blood before he was killed? I don’t know. But it makes an impression, doesn’t it?
Here’s the full page:
If there’s anything you’re curious about that I didn’t touch on, please let me know! I’ll try not to wait a year before the next installment.