Next week: something a little different!
The Adventures of Hiro Arturian, Samurai
Chapter 4: Hiro's Return
Chapter 4: Hiro's Return
Page 1 – 3 Panels
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| Chapter 4, Page 1 |
2: Away in the distance, Hiro is walking homeward with his head down. His steps are mechanical; he is beaten man who wants nothing more than to get home. Rice paddies and family farms stretch away into the distance while there are a few town-like buildings closer on.
Block Text: The Adventures of Hiro Arturian, Samurai
BT: Chapter IV: Hiro’s Return
3: Minari looks up, noticeably cheered.
M: Hiro?
Page 2 – 4 Panels
1: Hiro looks up hopefully and sees Minari. He smiles here for the first time in awhile.
2: Minari and Hiro are running towards each other.
3: They embrace. He is holding her up off the ground and looking into her eyes.
M: Oh my Hiro… My samurai has come home.
4: Similar shot, but now Hiro has put her down. He is frowning.
M: What’s wrong?
H: It’s…
H: It’s nothing. I am home. That is all that matters for the moment.
Page 3 – 5 Panels
1: Establishing shot. They are back inside the house, and Hiro is setting his sword back into its holder on their mantle while Minari looks on. Now it is clear to her that there is something seriously wrong, but she does not know what it is. We should also see Takura’s crib somewhere in this shot.
M: Hiro… my husband… talk to me. You have returned in triumph, and yet—
2: Hiro turns and looks at Minari.
H: No.
H: I have failed, Minari.
3: She steps forward and puts her arm on his should or maybe around him.
M: Oh Hiro… I do not believe that, but even if it is true, it matters not. You have a wife who loves you, and a child who loves you.
M: What could be more important than that?
4: Minari is holding Hiro by both shoulders and looking seriously into his eyes.
M: Perhaps it is time for you to put aside the mantle of war and to embrace at last your hearth and home.
M: Embrace your family, Hiro.
5: Close up on Minari.
M: We love you. What could be more important than that?
Page 4 – 2 Panels
1: This is a montage-type panel, that attempts to tell the story of the next few weeks without taking up a hundred pages to do it. In the center of the panel we see an image of Hiro holding Minari closely, like a drowning man would hold a life preserver. Around the outsides of that image, we see scenes of Hiro attempting to settle into the role of domestic husband (albeit, a fairly well-to-do one) in feudal Japan:
- He plows the land behind a team of oxen
- He holds Takura above his crib
- He works in a rice paddy
- He works at a blacksmith table making horseshoes or something
Caption: And so Hiro set aside the sword and took the mantle of Husband and farmer.
Caption: He worked the land and forgot about war.
2: Hiro sits with his head in his hands, looking away into the distance with a thousand-mile stare. The sun is going down, and Minari is behind him putting a blanket onto his shoulders. She is trying to console him and basically looking worried.
C: It was not an easy change, but in time Hiro found peace and acceptance of his fate… if perhaps not happiness.
C: And yet, even as Hiro had forgotten about his duty…
Page 5 – 7 Panels
1: Shakushura flies above the Earth, looking down upon a village with some cattle far below him.
Caption: …his duty had not forgotten about him.
2: Shakushura swoops down upon the village, grabbing a cow in his lower legs (like an Eagle would take a fish) and using his flaming breath to set the place a light.
Caption: Far to the North, Shakushura is master of all he surveys.
3: Several samurai have come out from the village to fight Shakushura but they are now match for him. Their arrows bounce off harmlessly. Shakushura is screaming his rage here.
Caption: In the weeks since his summoning, many have challenged him…
SFX (SHAK): RAAAAAAAAAAAR!
4: Shakushura uses his tale to scatter the samurai. Several are clearly killed.
SFX: WHAM!
Caption: But none have lived to tell the tale.
5: Close up on Shakushura breathing fire. We can see that his eye is scarred but healed from its wound.
Caption: None save Hiro Arturian.
Caption: And even in his triumph, Shakushura has not forgotten the insult that Hiro gave him.
6: Close up on Shakushura's eye.
Caption: The wound itself is long healed, but each victory only reminds the great beast of his own true defeat.
7: Disgusted, Shakushura launches himself skyward, determined to avenge his defeat at once.
Caption: At last he can stand it no longer… He must have REVENGE!
Page 6 – 5 Panels
1: Shakushura lands in Hiro’s village. Perhaps he flames a building or destroys a temple or something. Either way, he is enraged and calls out to Hiro for immediate combat.
SHAK: Samurai!
SHAK: I have returned little rabbit. Come and meet your destiny!
2: Est. shot inside Hiro’s house. Hiro is heading over towards his sword-stand while Minari looks on in horror and Takura cries. The STRATO VIPER is noticeable on the stand along with Hiro’s family sword.
M: God of my Fathers, Hiro! Look at that MONSTER!
H: Yes… Only a true samurai can defeat him.
3: Hiro is lifting the STRATO VIPER free from its resting place. The Viper gleams in this heroic shot. In the background, Minari looks on in horror.
M: Hiro? What are you doing?
4: Hiro tucks the Viper into his waist and looks heroic.
H: The only thing I can do.
H: I must do must do my duty and hope that the rest will take care of itself.
M: No!
5: Hiro grips Minari by the shoulders.
H: I have loved you, Minari.
H: Make sure our son knows his father was a WARRIOR.Hiro is striding towards his door. He has his own saber belted at his waist and is carrying the STRATO VIPER in his left hand.
H: Ancient Shogun, my duty is at hand. Will you finally hear me in this, my hour of need?
Page 7 – 4 Panels
1: Establishing shot of SHAK flaming a building and basically raising Hell. Maybe he holds a villager (clearly this needs to be a maiden in distress) in his paw.
SHAK: Where are you, samurai?
SHAK: Face me! Don’t make me come looking for you.
2: Heroic shot of Hiro holding the Strato Viper out in front of him, ready to challenge SHAK.
H: I am here Evil One.
3: Establishing shot of Hiro standing in front of and defying SHAK.
SHAK: Ahhh… I see now. You have the STRATO VIPER.
SHAK: No matter. It will not save you, little rabbit.
4: Hiro reaches down and grasps the hilt of the Viper. A nimbus of light surrounds him.
H: We’ll see about THAT!
Page 8 – 6 Panels
Page Direction for Kevin:
You might want to break this up. If you do, we can look at consolidating some of the earlier pages.
You might want to break this up. If you do, we can look at consolidating some of the earlier pages.
1: Hiro again cannot draw the Viper, and we see his nimbus of light fading.
H: Ugh!
H: Damn you Yomoyuri Strato!
2: SHAK swipes a paw at Hiro, sending the samurai flying.
SHAK: Fool!
Hiro: Aaaaahh!
3: Close up of SHAK breathing fire.
SHAK: FWOOSH!
4: Hiro dives out of the way of the fire.
SFX: FWOOSH!
5: Beyond the fire, Hiro rolls to his feet and draws his sword.
Hiro: If the Viper will avail me not…
6: Hiro has his own sword out and faces off against SHAK.
Hiro: …then the Sword of House Arturian must carry the day!
Page 9 – 4 Panels
1: Hiro ducks under another claw swipe from SHAK.
SFX: SWOOSH!
2: Let’s do a multiple pose panel here, so that we see Hiro basically running up the side of SHAK to slash at his neck. We want to see him leaping off the ground, jumpin up onto the elbow of the paw he just dodged, and then leaping higher to slash at SHAK’s neck.
3: Hiro flies through the air with his sword over his head, ready to chop.
Hiro: Haaaa!
4: Hiro strikes SHAK right on the neck just below his head. This strike should clearly have decapitated the big bastard, but his sword isn’t strong enough to penetrate the big bastard’s armor.
SFX: CLANG!
SHAK: Aaah!
Page 10 – 4 Panels
1: SHAK grabs Hiro in his jaws, basically like a cat would grab a mouse. He is going to fling Hiro across the courtyard in the next panel.
2: Hiro has just been thrown through the air, and now he is impacting incredibly hard into a brick wall. This impact is hard enough to kill a normal man and to knock Hiro unconscious.
SFX: WHAM!
3: SHAK raises his foot to stomps on Hiro’s limp form. This will crush him dead.
SHAK: Now you die, fool!
4: SHAK stomps Hiro dead.
SFX: WHOMP!
Page 11 – 2 Panels
1 (inset to 2): Minari has just watched her husband die, and now she has her hands to her face. Tears are streaming down her cheeks as she looks on with shock, disbelief, and horror.
M: Oh Hiro…
M: NO!
2: Hiro lies dead in a pool of his own blood. His hand is outstretched at a weird angle, and it is gripping the Strato Viper.
Caption: Thus a hero dies. His valor irrelevant. His passion misplaced.
Caption: His duty undone.
Panel 3 (text): Next week from Proletariat Comics… A new weekly web comic! Tiger Force from Sigma 12! Be here is seven!!!
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