Short Story Comic Adaptation

Page 1

A. A television screen is displaying a big outdoor celebration. A crowd of people are standing outside a magnificent building, not unlike the White House but more modern in design with a huge glass dome and a metal spire. The crowd is a sea of people, obscured by a constant snow of falling confetti. A TV announcer is now speaking over the noise of the screaming crowd. "If you are just tuning in, this is LIVE coverage of the capitol building on Mars for New Year's 1300 A.R."

B. Another shot of the television broadcast, this time showing the top of the capitol building. It is decked out in its ordinary political regalia, but there is an addition of the traditional New Year's Eve ball atop its spire. Confetti is still floating through the air. The TV Announcer continues, "we've had a tough year due to the energy crisis, but people have come out in droves to celebrate this momentous event."

C. The television broadcast continues, this time with a close-up of peoples faces. They are smiling and dressed up, leaning into the camera, whether they are drunk or celebrating a moment of the camera's notice. The announcer continues "we will be continuing our broadcast, LIVE..."

D. A small television is sitting on a desk and there is a man who has been watching it in the dark. He is hidden behind big thick glasses. He is short and balding, his hair very thin and graying. He is hunched forward, with round shoulders and fat hands resting on a belly. His scarred face is expressionless, but he is sweating. He is wearing a work shirt with a badge clipped to his right collar. The shirt is stained. He is Montresor. Lucky bastards Montresor thinks, it's not that warm in space.

E. A panel door slides open to Montresor's left. We see the back of Montresor's balding head, as another man peers into his office. Light is spilling in from the hallway. The man who has appeared in the hallway has a thinner face and looks young. He is wearing a New Year's party hat. He looking confused about the man in the room. "Hey..." he greets suspiciously.

F. A close up on the man in the hallway's face. His eyes are wide with recognition. We see that he has dark hair, smoothed and styled. The sides of his hair are grey. "Montresor!" he announces. "Monty!" He is smiling, but obviously drunk.

Page 2

A. Montresor has gone from stoic to now frowning. His stare is blank. He is being bathed in light and we can now see how intense his scars are. "Captain Fortunato," he gruffly greets.

B. Fortunato saunters into the room. "Cut the crap, I'm just old Fort." He is gesticulating with one hand drunkenly, and in the other he is holding a glass bottle. Fortunato is dressed in his full Captain's regalia, medals and all. There is a wine stain on his white shirt.

C. Fortunato is about to take another drink from the bottle but has paused. Only his eyes seem focused on Montresor. "Not celebrating?"

D. Fortunato drinks from the bottle, its contents splashing down his face. His eyes are shut tight, trying to concentrate. His party hat is askew.

E. Fortunato is wiping his mouth, his arm at an awkward angle, his fist balled. His eyes are glassy and unfocused. "What are you doing down here?"

F. "I'm on call," Montresor calmly replies, shifting awkwardly in his seat. We see him from the view of the towering Fortunato, who is still standing.

G. BEEP BEEP BEEP, a sound pierces the awkward silence. Montresor is checking a small beeper on his belt, shifting because of his large waist. "See," he tells Fortunato.

Page 3

A. "Got a malfunction with an oxygen filters on level J," Montresor explains. He is standing and pulling up his pants. "Gotta go."

B. "I'll come with you," Fortunato offers. He leans forward towards Montresor, spilling some of his drink on his desk.

C. "Not necessary," Montresor says flatly. He is holding his work bag and waiting for Fortunato to step aside to let him by.

D. "Besides, you'll be missing your party. It isn't your kinda work anymore." Montresor is inching past Fortunato, his face scrunched up at the strong smell of alcohol so close.

E. "No, I insist. I want to help you, old friend," Fortunato responds in a moment of clarity. His arms are above his head as he allows Montresor to pass in such a small space.

F. Montresor says nothing but doesn't seem pleased, he is walking down the hallway with Fortunato trailing behind, bottle high in the air, calling, "Wait!"

Page 4

A. "You don't work all the time, right Monty?" Fortunato is following him down a grey metallic stairwell. Montresor has his hand on the railing, but Fortunato is still wildly gesturing and still has his bottle.

B. Fortunato stumbles on the stairs, sloshing drink. His eyes are wide in surprise. He inhales quickly.

C. Montresor turns, still very stoic. "You should go back, Captain. No one would like it if you took a fall."

D. Fortunato waves him aside, and makes a face of disbelief. "Like they'd care. They aren't my friends."

E. Montresor has stopped at the bottom of the stairs and Fortunato leans in, real close and hangs on Montresor. "I consider you a true friend, Monty."

F. Montresor raises an eye at the comment, and his eyes narrow behind his glasses. He looks disgusted.

Page 5

A. Montresor is now bent over, fixing the oxygen filter. He's pulling out a strange foam piece, not unlike soundproofing in a music studio. Fortunato is hovering right behind him, his glass bottle hitting the side of Montresor's glasses.

B. "Hey, why don't you let me give it go?" Fortunato insists. "For old time's sake." We see Fortunato from above, towering over Montresor.

C. "You're drunk," Montresor says, not looking up from his work.

D. "You don't forget the easy stuff," Fortunato says, hunched down and pressing against Montresor to give him room.

E. Montresor gives up and stands, allowing the drunk man to pull a metal coil out of the duct. Fortunato has set his bottle aside. "It's been years," Fortunato drunkenly reminisces.

F. Fortunato is still talking to himself. "Years... Hey, remember what happened at the complex at Mons?"

G. We see Montresor's eyes open a little more than they have been, he is still sweating. Fortunato adds off-panel, "we're lucky to be alive. Lucky."

Page 6

A. A change of color scheme and design denotes a flashback. We see a young Montresor, his face bathed in unknown orange light. His glasses are broken and his face is one of shock, but it is known from the pudgy face that is Montresor.

B. An establishing shot of a huge scientific complex in the mountains. The entire scenery is one red and orange fireball, and black smoke is erupting and filling the night's sky. People are fleeing the site in hundreds. We see the twisted metal framework of once elegant domed buildings melting and crashing to the floor.

C. We see Fortunato, younger, even thinner, running scared. In his arms he holds an unconscious woman. Her long hair is untidy and her face is covered in black smudges. Fortunato's lanyard is trailing behind him and his shirt is burned and torn. A voice off panel calls to him, "Fortunato! Fort!"

D. He turns and sees Montresor, who is trapped under debris, fire all around him. Montrsor only has one arm free and it's reaching out for Fortunato. "Help me!"

E. A close up of Fortunato, his eyebrows knit in confusion. The woman's head is pressed tightly against his chest. His eyes are wide with cowardice and panic. He is bathed in the orange light.

F. We see Fortunato turning and running. Montresor calls after him, furious and scared. "Fortunato! COME BACK!"

G. Montresor is in a hospital, he is covered in bandages and is badly burned. He is expressionless. watching a television. "... saved Chairman's Allen's niece" the TV blurts. "... Fortunato being heralded as a hero."

H. We return to present day, where Montresor's face is in the same position it was in the hospital-- same expression. The only thing changed is that the burns have turned to scars, he is fatter, and his hair has thinned. He shows calm silent rage.

Page 7

A. "What's wrong?" Fortunato is standing, leaning heavily onto the wall. His eyes are squinted into thin narrow lines as if trying to read something that is too far away.

B. "Nothing," Montresor says, looking away.

C. "Well, I got it all done. Not that it's difficult, right?" Fortunato smiles, looking like a completely arrogant asshole.

D. He saunters up to Montresor and elbows him. "If it keeps giving you problems I can put in a JAO2XX593 requisition form for you."

E. Montresor is removing his glasses.

F. "Sorry, a bit of the military lingo," Fortunato smirks. "You wouldn't get it." Montresor is simply cleaning his glasses.

G. Montresor has replaced his glasses and turns his head to look at him. "No, I understand. Just about as well as I understand a 5AT7KLM."

H. Fortunato's smirk has dropped. "What's that?"

Page 8

A. Montresor and Fortunato are standing side by side. Montresor has his hand extended unenthusiastically in presentation. Fortunato looks unimpressed as he asks, "The trash air-lock?"

B. Montresor opens the airlock at a console on the wall, pushing a button. "You'll be surprised what people throw away."

C. Montresor and Fortunato enter into a sea of knee high garbage. Fortunato is in front, looking down, while Montresor stands near the airlock door, arms crossed.

D. Fortunato is bent down, he is holding an iPod. "Wow, this stuff is old tech. Why would you throw this away?"

E. "Maybe they didn't think it had value." Montresor replies, off panel. Fortunato is now holding what looks like a computer keyboard.

F. "I can't believe it," Fortunato says in wonder, turning his head to look back at Montresor.

G. A wide shot of Fortunato, all alone in the airlock, squat down in trash.

Page 9

A. Montresor has sealed the airlock. We see him through the door, for there is a rectangular glass panel about the height of his torso. He is all in shadow, save his shiny glasses. He is looking down at the man who is now trapped in the airlock.

B. We return to the scene of the television screen, The New Year's party is still going on. This time we see the TV announcer in a nice suit and a simple headset. The TV announcer is fired up, "We now begin the countdown to the first New Years ball drop on Mars!"

C. A close up of the ball about to drop down the spire on the capitol building. The announcer calls out, "10... 9..."

D. Fortunato starting to stand up in the trash air-lock, he is taking off his hat, and his hair is a mess. "Haha, very funny." He looks unimpressed, his head at an angle, his eyes rolling.

E. The televisions again, the ball has dropped lower on the spire. "8... 7..." the TV announcer is calling.

F. "What are you playing at Monty?" We can see Fortunato through the panel in the airlock doors. He is walking towards the glass, his arms swinging at his side.

G. Another panel of the spire. "6... 5..."

Page 10

A. "Let me the hell out of here, Montresor! That is an order." Fortunato's face is red, but not from the drinking. It seems he has sobered up. We can see all his teeth.

B. The television screen again, we see people in the crowd. The are writhing, jumping up and down in anticipation and excitement. "4... 3..."

C. "For God's sake, what are you doing?" Fortunato is clawing at the glass. His eyes are rolling madly. Spit is flying out of his mouth and the veins in his neck are bulging. He looks monstrous, and is completely red from the blood in his face.

D. A close up on the lower half of Montresor's face. He is smiling, grinning, like he never has before. "Taking out the trash, Captain."

E. The ball is at the base of the spire. "...2...1!"

F. Montresor's hand is pressing on the airlock. There are warning signs all around the panel about employee safety.

Page 11

A. The television again, a wide sweep of the streets of the capitol. We see the fireworks and the confetti and the crowd going wild. "Happy New Year!" The announcer calls.

B. "Let me just say this..." the announcer begins. A close-up of people being bathed in glitter and confetti. They have their eyes closed and their hands extended as if catching falling snow. "This is an amazing time for the human race!"

C. We see a zoom-out of the city, fireworks exploding above the tiny crowds and the capitol building. The announcer continues "We allow the past to fall behind us, forget the problems, and focus on what lies on the horizon."

D. "I wish nothing but the best this year for everyone tuning in. This has been LIVE coverage..." We see Mars in all its beauty behind a massive orbiting space ship, the name of the ship is the Amontillado.

E. We see Montresor walking away from an completely empty airlock. Through the glass door we can see the darkness of space.

THE END

The previous has been an eleven page script of the classic Edgar Allen Poe short story The Cask of Amontillado for a comic interpretation. If you have never read the short story, and is a rather good short read, you can find it here.