Vector 4/4: The First Issue
PAGE ONE (One Panel)
PANEL 1: Full page illustration of Times Square, in the daytime, with an emphasis on the signage covering the buildings.
CAPTION: My name is Carter Digby. You’ve never heard of me, but you’ve probably seen my work. I’m the youngest partner at Hexagon, the world’s biggest design firm. As a graphic designer, my job is to tell people what to buy, what to think, how to feel…
PAGE TWO (Six Panels)
PANEL 1: Jon Pearl and a nameless Male Designer sit next to each other at a table, looking at artwork which we can’t see that’s mounted on black foam core.
CAPTION: No wonder we’re such an exclusive group.
PEARL: Jejune, pedestrian…
MALE DESIGNER: These colors make no sense.
FEMALE DESIGNER: (out of panel, to right) This isn’t dry mounted, is it?
PANEL 2: The Male and Female designers, looking over artwork; she’s picking at the corner of the foam core, ignoring the art that’s mounted on it.
PEARL: (to left) Amateur, mediocre…
MALE DESIGNER: Seems a bit too heavy.
FEMALE DESIGNER: This foam core looks like it’s been chewed on!
PANEL 3: Female designer and Carter Digby.
PEARL: (To left) Utterly unoriginal.
FEMALE DESIGNER: And this. Did you make this with a marker?
PANEL 4: Davis Steele, looking up at the designers reviewing his work.
STEELE: My inkjet did this striping thing. I had to fill the gaps with colored pen.
FEMALE DESIGNER: (out of panel) Which is why we have print shops!
PANEL 5: Wide shot showing the four designers sitting at their table, looking down at Steele, who has his back to the camera. Their firm’s name, HEXAGON, is on the wall behind them.
MALE DESIGNER: I’m sorry, Mr. Steele…
PANEL 6: Closeup of Carter, looking at/listening to his colleagues to the left.
MALE DESIGNER: I’m afraid you’re not Hexagon material.
PAGE THREE: (Nine panels)
PANEL 1: Carter approaches a bus stop bench where Steele sits, looking dejected, slouching with his portfolio case between his legs.
CARTER: Hey, I want to apologize for my colleagues.
STEELE: It’s okay.
PANEL 2: Closeup of Steele in profile.
STEELE: I’m used to it.
PANELS 3-5: Waist-and-up shots of Carter sitting on the bench, talking.
CARTER: (P3) I didn’t think your stuff was so bad. It wouldn’t win any art contests, but it did the job. (P4) My friends just get a little lost in the details. Although, to be fair, that is their job. (P5) You should work on your presentation, though. At least buy a new printer.
PANEL 6: Wide shot of Carter and Steele on the bench. Carter looks off to the left while Steele stares straight ahead.
CARTER: Well, here’s the bus. It was nice meeting you.
STEELE: Mm-hmm.
PANEL 7: A bus blocks our view of the bench. The bus advertises Fabian Romero’s upcoming exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. Small writing in the corner of the ad reads “Exhibition Design by Hexagon”.
PANEL 8: Carter watches the bus exit the panel; it’s still blocking the part of the bench where Steele sat.
PANEL 9: Both Carter and Davis remain on the bench, looking at each other as they speak.
CARTER: Wasn’t that your bus?
STEELE: I don’t ride the bus. Too expensive. I was just resting here before I walk home.
PAGE 4: (Six panels)
PANEL 1: Same as Page 3, panel 9.
CARTER: So you live around here?
STEELE: No…
PANEL 2: They’re avoiding eye contact now.
STEELE: …No, I don’t.
CARTER: Oh…
PANEL 3: Carter watches Steele walk away, carrying his portfolio case.
CAPTION: It’s funny how life works. I’d just met a man who would one day put the world in jeopardy, and I couldn’t even remember his name.
PANEL 4: Davis Steele walking through the printer aisle of an electronics store.
STEELE (thought): A new printer? Do they think I’m made of money? Why would I need a job if I could afford a new printer?
PANEL 5: Slightly zoomed in version of Panel 4. Steele is looking at a tag describing a mail-in rebate offer.
STEELE (thought): And unoriginal! There’s no such thing as originality. Everything has been done by someone before.
PANEL 6: Close-up of Steele’s eyes, his eyebrows arched in anger.
STEELE(thought): Art snobs! Think they’re so--
PAGE 5: (Two panels)
PANEL 1: Full page except for the second panel inset in the bottom corner. Two well dressed men, seen from behind, look over “artwork” in a gallery. The art consists of 9 clear plastic cubes, stacked 3x3, each containing a random piece of garbage.
SNOB 1: Brilliant!
CAPTION: Two weeks later…Museum of Modern Art.
SNOB 2: An ingenious commentary on an overly structured, bureaucratic society where everything has it’s place--even garbage.
SNOB 1: No. It’s about materialism, the way we’ll buy a piece of junk and elevate it to a place of honor.
PANEL 2: A small panel inset in the bottom right corner of the page: Fabian Romero walks towards the right.
SNOB 2: (from left) I must have it.
SNOB 1: (from left) No, it’s mine!
ROMERO (thought): Idiots.
PAGE 6: Five panels
PAGE 7: (11 panels)
PANEL 1: Close-up of Romero.
ROMERO: I didn’t ask for your life story, Derby. Just do your job.
PANEL 2: Carter hangs one of Romero's abstract mobiles from the ceiling.
CARTER (thought): How can I focus on this when I’ve got a meeting at Adobe?
PANEL 3: He descends the ladder.
CARTER(thought): Adobe! The company that revolutionized graphic design.
PANEL 4: The outside of Adobe’s office building. White’s speech bubble comes from the top floor.
CAPTION: What could they possibly want from me?
WHITE: Could I ask you something, Mr. Digby?
PANELS 5-7: Carter and Mr. White, a handsome black man with a mustache and beard, seen from behind as they descend in an elevator with a glass door, watching the floors go by.
WHITE: Have you ever printed something and found a tiny mistake?
CARTER: Of course.
WHITE: Wouldn’t it be great if, instead of fixing the mistake on the computer and reprinting, you could fix it right on the page?
CARTER: I suppose.
PANEL 8: Front lobby at Adobe. The elevator can be seen still descending in the background; only the top half is visible.
WHITE: What if, instead of just manipulating paper and ink, you could treat the entire world as a piece of digital art?
PANEL 9: Profile of White. The LED screen which says what floor the elevator is on can be seen behind him, reading “B”.
CARTER: That would be awesome. Why do you ask?
PANEL 10: Same shot of White, but the room has gone dark. The only light comes from the LED screen, which now reads “-2”.
WHITE: You see, Mr. Digby, in the past few years Adobe’s development team has expanded beyond software.
PANEL 11: Earlier camera angle showing Carter and White from behind. The LED screen gives off just enough light to show that there’s a brick wall in front of them.
WHITE: We’re working on technology that could make history.
PAGE 8: (3 Panels)
PANEL 1: A glowing blue X stretches across the brick wall. The elevator doors are opening.
WHITE: Or, more accurately, make the future.
PANEL 2: The elevator doors are open now. The brick wall has disappeared to reveal a black chasm. The glowing blue lines are in the process of building a bridge across it.
WHITE: Are you ready for the future, Mr. Digby?
CARTER: What is this about?
PANEL 3: White begins to cross the bridge, moving towards a lit doorway on the other side of the chasm.
WHITE: Mr. Digby…welcome to CS10.
PAGE 9: (5 panels)
PANEL 1: A girl in a beret holds up a sign which says “WE [HEART] YOU.”
GENDARME(thought): (from right) Why did I sign up for this?*
CAPTION: *Translated from French
PANEL 2: Three women in hysterics, like teenage girls in the 1960s meeting The Beatles.
GENDARME (thought): (from left) These security details used to be so easy.*
PANEL 3: The women from the previous panels, along with many others, stand behind a velvet rope, greeting Tucker Crowley as the gendarme looks on.
CAPTION: Paris
GENDARME(thought): Back then only rich people cared about fashion designers and things like that.*
PANEL 4: Close-up of Tucker Crowley, smiling and waving.
GENDARME(thought): (from left) Now they’ve got TV shows and book deals. They’re celebrities.*
PANEL 5: The gendarme holds back a spectator who’s reaching across the rope, trying to touch Crowley.
GENDARME(thought): I just wish this thing would start so I can get back to actual police work.*
PAGE 10:(8 panels)
PANEL 1: Backstage at the fashion show, Tucker examines a model’s outfit as a man with a headset and clipboard tries to get his attention.
TUCKER: We may have to take it in a little.
HEADSET GUY: Mr. Crowley, we’ve got a problem.
PANEL 2: Same shot, but now Headset Guy has Crowley’s full attention.
HEADSET GUY: Barbie hasn’t showed up yet.
TUCKER: What? But we’re launching her line today.
PANEL 3: Same shot. Tucker holds his head in his hand.
HEADSET GUY: No one’s seen her and she won’t answer her phone. Should we worry?
TUCKER: <sigh> No…
PANEL 4: Close-up of Tucker with an expression of disapproval.
TUCKER: If I know Barbie, she’s probably off somewhere with a fan, “humbly” accepting their adoration.
PANEL 5: A fashion magazine sitting on a nightstand shows Barbie Kensington posing, the headline reading “ROLE MODEL: Kensington Breaks Into Fashion Design.”
CAPTION: Plaza Hotel, New York
ROMERO: (from right) You’re so beautiful…
PANEL 6 : A laptop displays black and white studio portraits of Barbie. The first few are arty and serious, the model looking almost angelic with her hair blown back and a cryptic expression on her face. Then she breaks character with a grotesque Harpo Marx face. The remaining photos are more casual and playful.
ROMERO: (from right)…a work of art…
PANEL 7: A nude painting of Barbie is displayed on an easel; the speech bubble covers the naughty bits.
ROMERO:…a perfect marriage of form…
PANEL 8: Romero and Barbie in bed, naked. He’s embracing her and kissing her neck.
ROMERO : …and function.
BARBIE: I know.
SFX: Cell phone ringing, to right of panel
PAGE 10: (8 panels)
PANEL 1: Barbie, still lying in bed, looks at her cell phone on the nightstand next to the hotel’s phone.
BARBIE: Don’t they ever give up?
ROMERO: Maybe you should answer.
BARBIE: It’s not like I could make it to Paris now, anyway.
SFX: Cell phone ringing.
PANEL 2: Same as Panel 1, but now hotel phone is ringing instead of cell phone.
BARBIE: They can’t know I’m here?
PANEL 3: Manager at the hotel’s front desk, talking on phone. There’s a cardboard box on desk in front of him.
ROMERO: (on phone) Hello?
MANAGER: Mr. Romero, this is the front desk. We just wanted to inform you that we’ve received your package.
ROMERO: Hmm. Can you send it up?
MANAGER: Right away, sir.
PANEL 4: Barbie looks up at Romero, who is standing up and tying the belt of his bathrobe.
BARBIE: Right now? We’re kind of in the middle of something.
ROMERO: I wasn’t expecting a package. I’m curious.
PANEL 5: Barbie sits up in bed, covering herself with the blankets, as Romero walks down the little hallway towards the door.
BARBIE (thought): That man has the attention span of a five-year-old.
PANEL 6: Same shot without Romero.
BARBIE(thought): Says the woman that ditched her own fashion show.
PANEL 7: Romero sits on the bed opening his package. Barbie is behind him with her arms wrapped around him, looking over his shoulder.
ROMERO: No return address.
BARBIE: What is it?
PANEL 8: Romero holds up one of CS10s primary devices, a screen the size of a smart phone mounted on a wide metal bracelet.
ROMERO: I can’t say I know.
PAGE 12: (6 panels)
PANEL 1: Carter, wearing what looks like swim goggles, holds his hands out in front of him like someone doing a magic trick or playing a theremin. Between them hovers a 2-dimensional 8-pointed star, white with a blue outline and “anchor points”.
CARTER: Incredible! How does it work?
PANEL 2: Carter and White, seen from behind, observe the star, which has grown to be larger than them.
WHITE: I’m only a programmer, so I can’t explain all the physics.
PANEL 3: Carter and White seen from the front. Carter wears a wristband like the one Romeo received on the previous page, and is touching the screen. The giant star is now just a floating blue outline.
WHITE: Something to do with particle beams, and a network of satellites.
PANEL 4: The star is gone. Carter is holding a device which looks like the Magic Wand Tool from Adobe software, turning to face White.
WHITE: But it would be useless without the software, and that’s based on the same principle as our vector programs:
PANEL 5: Carter touches the magic wand to White and he’s covered in blue outlines.
WHITE: …reducing everything to plotted points and the paths connecting them.
PANEL 6: White is still “selected”, and Carter removes his beard as though he were a paper doll.
CARTER: Ok, I know you’re a big company, but satellites? Particle beams? Who’s funding this?
PAGE 13: (7 panels)
PANEL 1: Carter puts White’s beard on his own face.
WHITE: Are you kidding? With the endless applications, everybody wants a piece of this. The military, the auto industry, Hollywood, Richard Branson…
PANEL 2: A car in a factory, covered in blue outlines.
CAPTION: Think of it. The next time you need a car, it could just be materialized out of thin air.
PANEL 3: A suspension bridge stretches into an endless expanse of water.
CAPTION: You might build a bridge across the Pacific in mere minutes.
PANEL 4: A nighttime landscape with mountains in the distance, an eerie blue glow emanating from them.
CAPTION: You could literally move mountains.
PANEL 5: Carter places White’s beard back where it belongs.
WHITE: Unfortunately, CS10’s potential for good is matched by its potential for evil. That’s why we’ve always intended for it to be used only by exceptional people.
PANEL 6: No longer “selected”, White grabs Carter’s wrist to get his attention.
WHITE: People like you, Mr. Digby.
PANEL 7: Close-up of White.
WHITE: And that’s why we have a slight problem.
PAGE 14: (4 panels)
PANEL 1: Tucker talks to a guest at the fashion show. Both have cocktails of some kind.
GUEST: So Tucker, I hear you’ve become part of the board that makes the color predictions every year. I don’t suppose you could give me any hints?
TUCKER: Not officially. But off the record, I would start stocking up on lavender.
PANEL 2: There’s a scream from backstage, and the crowd looks in the direction it came from.
PANEL 3: The guest from Panel 1 is on the left, Headset Guy is on the right, and Tucker, in the middle, looks like a double exposure. One of him looks at the guest with an open- mouth smile/laugh, while the other looks to Headset Guy with a frown.
HEADSET GUY: Mr. Crowley, the models are having some issues backstage.
TUCKER: (to guest) Aren’t they always? (to HG) Deal with it.
HEADSET GUY: I would, sir, but I think you’re going to want to see this.
PANEL 4: Mr. White reclines in an office chair with his back to a giant computer, talking to Carter, who stands. The computer shows security footage of Aaron Locke and Norton Finn from multiple cameras.
WHITE: Three days ago, two men broke into the lab and stole most of our prototypes. We want you to use what’s left to retrieve them.
CARTER: Me? Why?
WHITE: No matter what else it can do, this technology was made for designers. I understand you’re one of the best, and one with a conscience, at that.
CARTER: But the police--
PAGE 15: (6 panels)
PANEL 1: Close-up of White.
WHITE: Would be woefully outmatched. Mr. Digby, even in the hands of a simpleton, CS10 could be used to make undetectable counterfeit money, break in or out of any building, and make a person look like anyone or anything. And in the hands of someone who knew how to use it…the possibilities are too horrible too imagine.
PANEL 2: Close-up of Tucker Crowley, looking shocked.
TUCKER: Good lord!
PANEL 3: A model deformed to looks like a Cubist painting stares into a hand mirror, or so it seems: it’s hard to tell where her eyes are looking.
TUCKER: (from left) Chloe!
PANEL 4: Another model struggles to keep her balance now that her head is as big as the rest of her body.
TUCKER(from right) Elise!
PANEL 5: A third model has a normal head, but the rest of her body has been proportioned like a T-Rex.
TUCKER:(from leftt) Raquel!
PANEL 6: The fourth model lies on the floor, barely conscious. Her body is shaped normally, but her skin is covered in a blue-and-green plaid pattern.
TUCKER:(from left) Renee!
PAGE 16: (3 panels)
PANEL 1: Tucker kneels next to Renee, holding her head up.
TUCKER: What happened here? Who did this?
PANEL 2: Close-up of Renee’s dazed face.
RENEE: It was…it was…
PANEL 3: Close-up of Tucker, looking horrified.
RENEE: (from right)...Wassily!
Comments
Post a Comment