“Black Magic
Mastiff”
Page One
Panel 1. JOE watches
incredulously as STAN holds up a dusty book in one hand to read in the corner
of the school library. Stan stands
before a large piece of poster board on the floor that has a pentagram circumscribed
by a circle all drawn with black marker.
A lit candle resides at each of the five points of the pentagram. Joe and Stan are otherwise in the dark, but
Stan holds a flashlight in his free hand to read the book. In general, Joe is more practical whereas
Stan is wily, and they both wear name tags as participants in the science fair. That’s really all you need to know to design
their looks as fifth graders.
1 JOE:
Will black magic really help us beat Will
and Keith?
2 STAN:
It will when it summons up a devil dog that
only likes to eat kids’ homework!
3 STAN:
You know a mutt like that will treat a science fair
project like it’s a T-bone steak--
Panel 2. Pan in on
the spine of Stan’s book. “100 Spells for
the Junior Satanist” is discernible as the title. Maybe include a cute little kid holding a
bloody sacrificial knife on the cover if there’s room. Stan himself might be slightly off-panel with
his dialogue.
Panel 3. Joe
gestures with a hand for Stan to get on with the ritual, though he is still
pretty skeptical of the whole concept and rolls his eyes. Stan gives him a confident smirk in return.
5 JOE:
If you say so, Stan.
Just make it quick. It’s almost our
turn to present.
6 STAN:
Ten-four, good buddy.
Panel 4. Stan
spreads his legs out in dramatic fashion as he reads from the book. A malevolent mist starts to grow and spiral
around his legs and the pentagram. Go
melodramatic with the word balloon!
7 STAN:
Oh, black lord of the netherworld, king of deceptions,
take mine lust as seed and sire forth a fiend made great on youths!
Page Two
Panel 1. An
enormous, quasi-demonic mastiff explodes into existence over the pentagram
(sound effect), mist spewing in all directions.
Let’s just call him the DEVIL DOG because it’s simpler that way. The devil dog has eyes that almost seem to burn,
underscoring a ferocity that can never be sated. Joe and Stan are both understandably
terrified at the sight of the creature, even though Stan had thought it was a
great idea only seconds ago.
1 SFX:
BOOF!
2 JOE:
Yaah!
Panel 2. Stan
looks back at the open page of the book with intense, bulging eyes.
3 STAN (small print):
Oh, no. Oh,
no. Oh, no.
Panel 3. Joe takes
Stan by his shirt collar in a frenzy.
Stan’s confidence has disintegrated.
4 JOE:
What? What’s the
matter? Your spell actually worked!
5 STAN:
Sure, but, uh, my thumb covered up the last word
of what I was supposed to read.
Panel 4. Flip the
angle. The devil dog’s furious head
looms just behind Stan and Joe with narrowed eyes. Stan and Joe share the same blank, mortified
expression as they look at each other.
6 STAN:
I stopped at youths. I was supposed to say youth’s toil.
7 JOE:
Meaning?
8 STAN:
This pooch gobbles kids like they’re potato chips.