Cockney Kung Fu - A page breakdown.

We are just a matter of days now before we launch issue 2 of the Awesome Comics anthology. It will contain parts three and four of mine and Nick’s Cockney Kung Fu story. In preparation for this I thought it might be fun to look at the last page of issue 1 from a script point of view.

Below is that page as it was originally scripted. I wrote this before I knew who the artist would be. It got some changes from Nick that I really liked. I’ve added some annotations in brackets for some explanation.

Page 5.

Panel 1.

Red is heading up to see the Brothers. The stairs are dark and dirty. Musical notes float over her head from the nightclub on the ground floor below her as she climbs.

(This was set as a pretty simple panel to add movement upstairs to the offices at the Soho venue. Red had just kicked the arse of The Hay and was heading up on the offer she couldn’t refuse to see the two brothers. I intended it to show the dirty Soho Vice Scene type stairway. Nick had developed more of a strut into Red’s swagger and this continues into this scene).

Panel 2.

On the landing outside of the Brothers' Office are a couple of really skanky BDSM hookers/strippers - one man and one woman (they are both called 'Babs'). They are attached by a dog lead chain between them. All done up and looking strung out. They are actually kind of receptionists/secretaries for the Brothers Office.

Male BDSM Receptionist - 'Go in Red, they are expecting you.'

Red - 'Ta Babs.'

(I really wanted to add character to everyone in the Cockney Kung Fu Verse. I intended that even the smallest background player could be extrapolated into a bigger story. Having two BDSM, Bondage Discipline and Sado Masochism for the uninitiated, receptionists could open up all sorts of stories for me possibly later on in the road. They are both called Babs because when someone forgets my name I will occasionally tell them it’s Babs to wind them up - yes childish I know. For those paying attention to this mailer and my blog over at www.neverironanything.blogspot.co.uk you can find some of these little stories I’ve been writing, and continue to write.)

(Nick played about with the panels on this page and I loved what he had done. He allowed the Babs characters to be a little creepy by adding one panel of them just starring and smoking. It gives the impression that they know what they are helping Red get into. It also shows that they have a few hidden secrets of their own. Everyone in this tale is out for their own gains, dodgy low life scum all of them.)

Panel 3.

Shot from the inside of Red opening the door to the office.

Sound effect - 'creak'.

(Nick combined panels 4 and 5 in his tweaking. With the added single panel of the Babs receptionists this was a wise move as we had that one moment of tension. To add another panel of the door opening would have prolonged the moment far too long.)

Panel 4.

This is a shot of the office and the brothers in it. (See description from Part 1).

Above each brother's head is a little panel that tells us who they are.

Bernie -  'Bernie - Brains'

Benny - 'Benny - Psycho.'

Bernie is sitting at the desk that is central to the office and Benny is standing next to him and both are looking at Red as she enters.

The room is full of pervy shit. Dildos and leather masks adorn the shlves and table. There is also the odd lava Lamp and the desk is an old looking one, wooden and polished. There is a filing cabinet on one side of the office (relevant in part 3).

Give it a really seedy Soho look. Full of patterned wallpaper and velvet curtains.

(This is one of my favourite panels in this issue. You know exactly the character and intentions of these two Soho gang lords by what they have ion their office. Handcuffs, knives in a dartboard, two phones, chintzy lampshades even. Nick nailed it for what I wanted to set up. At the time I thought that he could have gone a bit further with the dildos but on retrospect I felt that the room was suitably crammed with hints.)

Benny - 'Ahh. Red. Thanks for finally blessing us with your presence. We have a bit of work for you.'

End Panel - 'To Be Continued.'

(I wanted a real sense of the episodic British comics style to this story and adding the classic ‘To Be Continued’ helps in my humble opinion to bring that vibe to the forefront).

Really hope that you enjoy the next couple of parts.

And remember......nothing good happens in South London.....