Issue One: God Fruit

The Quilt  Page Breakdown Script by Bradley Littlejohn

Synopsis: The gods unleash a cruel devouring menace upon the weary experimental world that is The Quilt. We meet Apannon, last heir of the Starbreakers, as well as Sliver, Tar, Thunk and two yet to be designed characters, X and Y.
This is the rough or page breakdown script. It provides the basic information to quickly understand the goals for each page as well as larger themes running across the script for an issue of The Quilt.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SCENE I DEEP SPACE

Page 1 FULL SCRIPT PAGE 1

An enormous dark star and the diminutive pale, hazel dwarf star holds a tattered planet in a sworling field of energy.  The planet, QUILT, is built of many disparate chunks of planetoid. It is a patchwork quilt -misshapen and tired.  A tear opens in space, raining down a mass of BRUISE-BLACK darkness pouring onto the planet.

SCENE II RUINS OF THE STARBREAKERS CITY COBBLED FROM THEIR ANCIENT SPACECRAFT

Page 2 

Overview of the barren landscape with a fallen seventies sci-fi city in the foreground and a BRUISE-BLACK tear appearing in the sky.

The People of the Starbreakers look up at the sky as the bruise-black grows.  A once noble and knightly race, their civilization is in ruins, battered from the years of holding back the hardships of their life since finding themselves upon the Quilt. Enter APANNON, Queen of this increasingly barbarian group directing her people to flee from the falling BRUISE-BLACK wickedness from the sky.

SCENE III THE CRATER A CALDERA OASIS UPON THE HARD SURFACE OF QUILT

Page 3 

Crater Critters:

• THUNK
• SLIVER
• TAR
• X (TBD)
• Y (TBD)

Five “Critters” bicker as they harvest the Barnacle-tree fruits of an enormous alien-jungle tree far from their home.  THUNK extolls X(unnamed character TBD) to be careful while standing on his shoulders with scissors. The arguing darkens

Page 4 Still grousing and talking about the nature of fear, the ensemble carries the surfboard sized fruits that have grown in elaborate and goose-like shapes through the alien forest.

Page 5 Crossing the gnarled fallen tree headed back to their home, Sliver and Tar struggle and almost fall, dropping their fruit -which X is bravely saved from toppling off into the ravine beneath them by X.  THUNK is worried.  Sliver falls and is caught up by X  “see? no fear!”, says X.

Page 6 The BRUISE-BLACK, a massive, gushing whorl of mist, viscous liquid and even the hint of twisted expressions and awful creatures stretching out from deep within erupts from high above on the hillside.  It pours down through the ravine towards the group.  It whisks X away from the party as they reach out in vain. As the characters freeze and wonder what to do THUNK leaps into action launching himself atop one of the Goose-like fruits down the deluge of Bruise-Black after his friend.

Page 7 Sequence of panels as the other three characters follow, chasing afterward on another goosefruit. THUNK continually tries to reach for X

PAGE 8 The other three arrive at the bottom.  There is a drain in the basin of their crater.  A wide hole where the Bruise-Black fell in.  The characters peak inside.  They extend Sliver on a string from Tar’s backpack deep into the darkness below. “There’s nothing here but darkness”, he says.

SCENE IV HIDDEN AMIDST THE RUBBLE OF A “BUCK ROGERS” ERA CIVILIZATION.  

PAGE 9 Barbarian people in hiding.  APANNON  crouches against a cylinder.  The architecture is different.  The group is out of place and away from their home.

She speaks with a young warrior next to her. The child is angry and scared and wants to strike back. “Not Yet”, she consoles.

Page 10 The group prepares to fight back. APANNON makes some rallying whispers and adds again, “not yet”. – looking up the bruise black has oozed all around them and now it looms and absorbs.

SCENE V THE CLEVER CLUBHOUSE OF THE CRATER CRITTERS

Page 11  JAR and SLIVER are carrying wood to build an enormous bonfire in the middle of a field below an elaborate treehouse structure built by these characters in their oasis on quilt.  They talk about their defiance of THUNK in building the fire, and concern for Y(TBD) who still believes that X will find their way back to them.

Page 12 Y looks down at Sliver and Tar from above in the treehouse as they are packing up materials for another expedition to find X. They call out to stop with the fire and come help prepare.   The fire bursts to life and casts shadows across the enormous high tree line like a German forest or a Tolkein illustration.  In the shadows there are things creeping toward Y in the treehouse.

PAGE 13  THUNK is patrolling the perimeter of the treehouse with his guard up.  THUNK is thinking, thinking, trying to understand what this feeling is that he has.  He is sad for the loss of his friend but overwhelmed with worry that something is coming.  The bonfire comes into view and THUNK is irate that they have lit the bonfire when he told them not to.  Running to the clearing the page ends with a look of shock at what THUNK sees.

PAGE 14 & 15 DOUBLE PAGE DRAWJAM SPREAD

A two-page layout. The tree line encompasses the entire layout with the fire at the center and eyes and limbs and horrible things bursting out of the trees to rain down on the characters.  The Bruise-Black has come.

PAGE 16 X in the treehouse is packing a little brown suitcase full when the tentacular blackness wraps round his limbs. In a struggle set to a poem they reach out until they finally reach a lever to a Rube Goldberg- like contraption, still being smothered.

PAGE 17 Sliver and Tar are overwhelmed with the Bruise-black, trying to reach one another desperately.  With a tall Arcing leap and a loud HUMMMMMMM THUNK lands in between SLIVER and TAR’s outreached hands trying to connect, uniting their hands and dragging them away from the black, membranous fumble of gunk and monsters that is trying to absorb them. 

PAGE 18 The treehouse goes mad with traps and contraption smacking back at the darkness with visual gags as Y runs to the balcony and screams for help!

PAGE 19 THUNK smashes himself into the BRUISE-BLACK, telling SLIVER and TAR to get behind him.  They cower there blaming themselves for bringing the wickedness home.  The BRUISE-BLACK can barely withstand the blows of THUNK and his rage and retreats.  SLIVER and TAR point up at Y in the balcony as THUNK bashes back the darkness

SCENE VI END OF AN ERA

PAGE 20 SPLASH PAGE with one inset panel

The Bruise Black crushes and shreds the treehouse to smithereens, (and presumably Y along with it).  The inset panel shows the three dejected survivors and THUNK tells them they have to go!

PAGE 21 Climbing frantically up the hillside SLIVER and TAR fret about what happened to their home, their life, to X and to Y.  THUNK fends off the BRUISE-BLACK as he just repeats, we have to go.

PAGE 22 PINCH POINT 

At the top of the Rock Wall there is a cut-through a narrow crack in the rock that seems to be a passage and THUNK pushes SLIVER and TAR into it.  He turns and sees a BRUISE-BLACK version of Y looking at him now viscous, distant, and darkened- part of the black collective.  THUNK begins to HUMMMMMMM with rage.  The BRUISE-BLACK interrupts that by smashing into him and SLIVER and JAR scream from their crevice in the rock wall.

PAGE 23 THE GLOAT

The BRUISE-BLACK recedes like a tide and rises up into a looming wall around the fallen body of THUNK.  There is SPLORCHING cacophony of sounds coming from the BRUISE-BLACK.  SLIVER and TAR overcome their fear and cannot help themselves. They run out to be next to THUNK. “Tar?”, asks SLIVER.  “He’s dead”, says TAR. As they lay at his side two feet appear in panel: armored and humanoid.

PAGE 24 SACRED WEAPONS

Reaching down APANNON grabs the body of THUNK by his feet and the humming sound from the campfire returns and fills the air. To the protests of the two friends, APANNON raises THUNK and swings him overhead with a growl of rage. THUNK is transformed.  The BRUISE-BLACK seems to retreat at the expression of rage and power on APANNON holding THUNK.

PAGE 25 FIGHT SCENE

APPANNON fights back against the BRUISE-BLACK. The humming increasingly fills the panels as the fight continues across these panels.

PAGE 26 INTO THE VOID

Double panel of APANNON smashing the ground in front of the BRUISE_BLACK and bashing it back.  She turns commandingly to SLIVER and TAR, “NOW! We leave NOW!”

Stunned the characters are ushered into the crack.  APANNON looks backward in the closing panel with a look of anger but also satisfaction.

END ISSUE 1