Bradley P. Beaulieu

I used to be a comic hound. Well, not as bad as some I know (eyes Rick & Terry H.), but I collected my fair share back in the day. I got out of them but always wanted to do something in that medium. My friend, Rick Potts, is a great artist, and has even done some fill-in work in comics. He’s agreed to do the artwork for it. Most comics companies nowadays (I guess) want you to submit not just scripts, but the completed first issue. It’s a higher bar for most people to cross, and I’m sure they took that step because they were getting deluged with scripts. Scripts are pretty easy to write. Note that I didn’t say they were easy to write well. I just mean they’re easy to generate… So, I guess I understand why they’ve done this. And I don’t really mind. It’ll be a fun project to work on.

So, the project I chose is called Cirque du Lumière. It was a novelette I wrote at Clarion and that was published in DAW’s Fellowship Fantastic anthology last year, but I had earmarked it even while I was writing it for a potential graphic novel translation. I’ve completed the first script, which is essentially half of the novelette. I imagine it will be six issues total, or three novelettes (if I end up writing them in that fashion, which I think I will).

I don’t know a whole lot about the comic creation process beyond the script, but luckily Rick knows a bit about it. I’ve given him the script, and then he’s going to generate thumbnails, which are very rough, sketchy-type drawings of the scenes. They’re meant only as placeholders with very little detail so we can both agree on the panel layouts, the characters in the shots, the camera angles, etc. That should be interesting. I’ll scan and post one of the thumbnails when they’re done, but for now, here’s a teaser for the script (formatting’s a touch funky from the cut-n-paste from Word):

 

PAGE 1 -

 

1- Ext. Blighted, desert landscape. Day. Full page shot.

 

The circus troupe is traveling over a desert landscape. They’re on a ridge, getting ready to head lower toward a flat, rocky plain that leads to the city of Alé Surçois. Along the lower-right of the horizon is the shield-city (large but not overwhelming). The city’s hemispherical shield acts as a lens, bending light like the lone remaining piece from God’s own kaleidoscope. Towers and buildings and arching bridges can be seen within, each painted with an indigo brush against a harsh yellow canvas, and to the city’s left, running northward, a slim line of white traces a curve over the blighted land.

 

PAGE 2

 

1- Ext. Blighted, desert landscape.

 

Viewpoint is much closer to the troupe now. Grignal considers the landscape from the top of a small rise.

 

Grignal narration:       My favorite part of our crossings is always the end, not because our time in the badwinds is nearly over, but because the city still seems alluring and full of promise.

 

Grignal narration:          Nothing could be further from the truth, of course — Alé Surçois is in the midst of a fierce and bloody political battle — but I can’t help pretending at times like this.

 

2 – Ext. Blighted, desert landscape.

 

Grignal in the foreground, showing him from behind. In the background is Bayard, the troupe leader, waving to Grignal, annoyed. The line of wagons moves on, except for one, which has become stuck.

 

Bayard:                        “Grignal!”

 

SFX Trailing Wagon:    Zzzzz-Zzzzzzzz (or something appropriate for spinning tires)

 

3 – Ext. Blighted, desert landscape. Bayard, doffing his top hat, walking back toward the wagon line.

 

Bayard:                        “Keep your eyes on the line!”

 

Grignal:             “Sorry, boss man.”

 

SFX Trailing Wagon:    Zzz-Zzzz-Zzzzzzzz

 

4 – Ext. Blighted, desert landscape. Grignal reaches the stuck wagon, which is little more than a mishmash of ancient tank parts and welded scrap metal.

 

Remmiau, the show’s knife thrower, stands by the front of the wagon, staring with coral-colored eyes at an ancient fusion engine. His brown bowler is in one of his hands as he clears his forehead of sweat.

 

Remmiau:                     “About time, you big ugly lizard.”

 

PAGE 3

 

1 – Ext. Blighted, desert landscape.

 

Grignal, an annoyed expression on his face, is lifting the wagon as Remmiau sits on the driver’s bench, pressing on the accelerator.

 

Grignal narration:          Remmiau’s always saying things like that.

 

Grignal narration:          He mostly doesn’t mean them.

 

Remmiau:                                 “Such a sour puss. No one would ever guess how thin that skin is, would they?”

 

SFX Trailing Wagon:    Zzzzzz

 

2 – Ext. The wagon is on its way again. Grignal is walking next to it while Remmiau steers it toward the rear of the line.

 

Remmiau:                     “Listen, son, I might have a deal for you if you’re nice.”

 

Grignal:             “Not interested.”

 

Remmiau:                                 “Oh, I know what you’re thinking. The last one went bad, am I right? But this one’s simple. Simple as pie.”

 

3 – Ext. View from the front of the wagon with Remmiau steering it and Grignal walking beside it. Remmiau is staring straight ahead, but looking sidelong at Grignal.

 

Grignal:             “They’re always simple, Rem.”

 

Remmiau:                                 “No, I mean really simple. A pick and a pop, half now, half when we reach Balgique-en-Leurre.”

 

Grignal narration:          He means a body. Someone wants a person, most likely in a cryosleeve, transported to the troupe’s next stop.

 

Grignal narration:          I don’t care one way or another who–the troupe took on jobs like this often enough–but Remmiau seems too eager, which can only mean trouble.

 

4 – Ext. Grignal has stopped, allowing the wagon to continue. Remmiau is looking back over his shoulder.

 

Remmiau:                                 “Right, you be that way, but lizards need dosh just like the rest of us. You remember that.”

 

5 – Ext. The city looms large in the background. The wagon is further on, but Grignal still stands in that same spot, looking at Remmiau and troupe.

 

Grignal narration:          I know Remmiau’s right. He pays well enough, and he’s one of the few people that’ll actually hire me. But his deals, no matter how simple they seem, always manage to develop complications.

 

Well, a bit of good news to go along with the not-too-bad-but-certainly-disturbing news. I just got the word from IGMS that they’d like to publish my story, "Sweet as Honey." This is a story I wrote at Clarion back in 2006. It was a cool idea for a story, but a bit raw after Clarion. I rewrote it and sent if off, but it still didn’t quite hit the mark. The editor, Edmund Schubert, was kind enough to work with me to get the story into shape, and today he let me know he’d like to publish it. It will hopefully be out in the December issue.