The Writing Portfolio

of
Daniel Wayne Cole
Comic Samples,
Scripts & Proposals
(336) 554-6815
dcole871@gmail.com
I was in the
top of my class
when I graduated.
I wanted to write
stories on riots, politics,
and general unrest.
... The amazing.
God
LESSER EVIL Sample Script for Five Pages
PAGE ONE (four panels)
Panel 1. Establishing shot. The Kraken, the giant octopus of Scandinavian legend, has burst through the
San Francisco bay this night of the full moon. In one tentacle, the beast clutches his victim Franken-
steins monster.
SFX: SPLOOOSH!
THE MONSTER: RHNNN!
Panel 2. On the docks below, a slightly drenched Djeserit (Jes) looks towards the Kraken. Dracula
lingers behind her.
JES: *Egyptian Swear*
DRACULA: The next time Jonathan Grave asks me to run an errand, I believe I shall eviscerate
him.
JES: We are not succeeding in our goal.
DRACULA: Whatever gives you that notion, my dear Djeserit?
JES: I need you to take a message to Stockton and Lake.
Panel 3. A glowing purple glyph begins to form underneath Dracula a transportation spell.
JES: Tell him we do not have much longer. Tell them it is time to put the plan into motion.
DRACULA: I shall alert the good Captain, but I shall get there on my own--
Panel 4. Dracula begins to shift into a mist form, heading away from the action.
DRACULA: --I fnd your brand of magicks tends to wreak havoc on my attire.
LESSER EVIL Sample Script for Five Pages
PAGE ONE (four panels)
Panel 1. Establishing shot. The Kraken, the giant octopus of Scandinavian legend, has burst through the San
Francisco bay this night of the full moon. In one tentacle, the beast clutches his victim Frankensteins monster.
SFX: SPLOOOSH!
THE MONSTER: RHNNN!
Panel 2. On the docks below, a slightly drenched Djeserit (Jes) looks towards the Kraken. Dracula lingers
behind her.
JES: *Egyptian Swear*
DRACULA: The next time Jonathan Grave asks me to run an errand, I believe I shall eviscerate him.
JES: We are not succeeding in our goal.
DRACULA: Whatever gives you that notion, my dear Djeserit?
JES: I need you to take a message to Stockton and Lake.
Panel 3. A glowing purple glyph begins to form underneath Dracula a transportation spell.
JES: Tell him we do not have much longer. Tell them it is time to put the plan into motion.
DRACULA: I shall alert the good Captain, but I shall get there on my own--
Panel 4. Dracula begins to shift into a mist form, heading away from the action.
DRACULA: --I fnd your brand of magicks tends to wreak havoc on my attire.
PAGE TWO (fve panels)
Panel 1. On a rooftop a few blocks away, Captain Richard Stockton watches the battle through a pair of binocu-
lars. One of his men, Michaels, stands beside him.
MICHAELS: Hows it looking out there, Capn?
STOCKTON: Its lookin like a dang-blasted octopus is tearing San Francisco apart, Michaels. Keep
your attention on Lake.
MICHAELS: Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.
Panel 2. Michaels returns to the tent cover set up over a makeshift lab. Working away are Dr. Chad Lake and Dr.
Vincent von Frankenstein. Lake looks slightly pale, a little sweaty.
LAKE: *Cough* Stockton tear into you again, Mikey?
MICHAELS: Little bit.
LAKE: Ahhh don`t worry about it. He just. eh. he has his ways.
FRANKENSTEIN: Lake, could you focus on the task at hand? It is bad enough that your attention is
already divided
Panel 3. Lake begrudgingly returns to examining a sample in the microscope, a slight snarl curling his lips. A
glint of the animalistic anger in his eyes.
FRANKENSTEIN (OP): --But must you risk everything to socialize?
LAKE: Back off Vic, or so help me Ill--
Panel 4. Lake takes a breath. He centers himself - calms the beast.
Panel 5. Lake looks toward his microscope, focusing himself and diving into his work.
LAKE: Sorry. Youre right. I need to focus on the work.
DRACULA (OP): No need to apologize, young man.
PAGE THREE (six panels)
Panel 1. Dracula materializes from the mist. Michaels is a little shocked, but Lake and Frankenstein seem to
take it in stride.
DRACULA: Sometimes the animal in all of us needs. release. Hello there, young one.
MICHAELS: Uh. hi?
FRANKENSTEIN: What is the news, Count? The living scab cannot retain strength under pressure?
Panel 2. Dracula gets uncomfortably close to Michaels. The look on his face is similar to that of a child looking
at a pretty pastry.
DRACULA:Djeserit is fnding it hard to. focus. She requires your precious little libation if she is to
play her part.
FRANKENSTEIN: She will have to stall for another half hour, at least.
Panel 3. Captain Stockton interrupts the conversation. Draculas attention is drawn away from the soldier.
STOCKTON:Half an hour? Have you seen the destruction this creature is causing? We dont have half
of a minute!
LAKE: Sir, with all due respect--
STOCKTON: With all due respect, Dr. Lake, you said you would have a working sample of that
cell-eater chemical by now.
LAKE: And we do, its just--
STOCKTON: Just nothing!
Panel 4. Frankenstein erupts from his chair, Lake goes to calm him down. Dracula seems to enjoy the idea of
possible violence.
FRANKENSTEIN: You insignifcant little man! You cannot --
LAKE: Vic, settle down.
STOCKTON: Listen to the man, Frankenstein, or youll be six feet under - next to your father.
FRANKENSTEIN: Why you --
LAKE: Enough! Both of you!
Panel 5. Lake pulls Frankenstein out of the fray, trying to reason with him.
LAKE (whisper): Victor, we were only running the last of the tests. Everything so far has come up
positive. This chemical will destroy the beasts statocysts, the organs that would keep this beast
balanced, with little error.
FRANKENSTEIN (whisper): But we could do more with it - we could develop it to attack brain tissue
directly! Given a more time--
LAKE: Victor, look around.
Panel 6. Victor looks down in defeat.
LAKE (OP): Our time is up.
Panel 7. Lake picks up a medium canister of green fuid, holding it carefully in one hand.
LAKE: Okay, Captain. Exactly as we planned.
PAGE FOUR (fve panels)
Panel 1. Below the bay, the submarine Nessie sits.
CAP: Step One --
CAP: -- Delivery.
Dracula (OP): I am an immortal --
Panel 2. Dracula hands two a crewman the canister Lake had. Dracula is drenched, reforming from mist from
the ships air ducts. The crew are a little surprised.
DRACULA: I am more than a message boy.
Panel 3. The crewman attaches the canister to a peculiar looking torpedo - metal body with a plexi-glass top.
Inside, we see the faint outline of a humanoid body, thrashing about as its enveloped by the chemical as it turns
to gas.
CAP: Step Two --
CREWMAN: Here you go, ugly. Bottoms up!
CAP: -- Make sure our vector is completely immersed in the chemical.
Panel 4. Crewmen work in the main hull of the sub, preparing to fre. Stockton checks in over the radio.
STOCKTON (radio): Everything ready?
CAP: Step Three --
CREWMAN: Yes, sir.
STOCKTON (radio): Okay, on my mark.
Panel 5. Outside the Nessie once more, the torpedo is launched carrying its human payload.
STOCKTON (radio/op): Fire!
SFX: Spssssh!
CAP: -- Insertion.
PAGE FIVE (six panels)
Panel 1. The torpedo stops short of its target, the Kraken, and the plexi-glass hatch bursts open.
SFX: Fwooosh!
Panel 2. The Creature is revealed, and it looks pissed.
STOCKTON (cap): Everything appears to be going to plan. We`re green for step fve.
Panel 3. Back on the surface, Lake begins removing his clothing. Hes looking a bit better now, but he has a bit
Daniel Cole
Notes on a Series Proposal
KEEPERS
KEEPERS
Since the dawn of time, man has encountered things it could not explain. Figures and beings that
seemed larger than life and unexplainable were feared as demons. It was the middle of the twelfth
century that mankind, with the help of the Catholic Church, began to fght back against the 'unholy
beings that took away from God`s praise. This army of individuals - known to offcials as the Keepers
of the Holy Order - changed much over time, its numbers slowly declining, until its existence was nil.
Paranormal and supernatural threats became folklore; ghost stories that parents tell their children. In
truth, it was all real, but a problem for others
to deal with.
Keepers focuses on a newly reformed version of the old group - a private organization of people
dedicated to protecting people from metaphysical threats at home and abroad. Like Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, Angel, or Torchwood, an accessible and entertaining team dynamic is extremely important;
unlike these shows, however, the majority of the cast are strictly human. The comic is intended to be
a combination of supernatural action and intrigue, as we learn more of the secrets behind the group
known as the Keepers.
As the story marches on, there will be twists and turns. Allies will become enemies and vice versa,
lines will be drawn, and we`ll fnd out that the motivations behind the reassembling of the Keepers
were not necessarily altruistic ones.
CHARACTERS
Frederick Winters
On the surface, Frederick appears to be the stereotypical British intellectual, more interested in texts
than the world outside. In secret, he is a man with intense knowledge of the occult and spell-casting.
His great-grandfathers father was a member of the Keepers in their last incarnation in the 1800s.
Frederick is a former seminary student, a small-time writer (occult books and the like), and the owner
of a bookstore in Chelsea, above which is his current residence. He keeps a journal that is sometimes
used as a narrative device. He is a thin man, in his late-twenties or so, with short brown hair. Has the
fashion sense of a librarian.
Lily Fuller
Lily is a girl from Iowa trying to fnd her way in the Big Apple. An inquisitive mind and curious
nature led her down a dangerous path, from which she emerged triumphant, and with a good-natured
demon that is forever bound to her by a life-debt.










Lily has worked many jobs in order to sustain her life in NYC, as she doesnt wish to go running back
to her parents in Iowa. Her ever-changing careers can provide a bit of comedy in the story, and her longing
to be self-suffcient gives her reason to sign up with this government-sponsored, paying incarnation of the
Keepers.
Lily is Hispanic, and in her early-twenties, if not nineteen, with short red hair (dyed). She typically
wears clothes that are comfortable, nothing fancy or hyper-sexual.
Django
A centuries old demon-servant of Asmodeus the Destroyer, many unrighteous and unholy men met their
demise by Djangos hands. In more recent years, Django had lost his way - Asmodeus was rarely tapped
for his brand of vengeance, and therefore Django was out of the job. He was nearly trapped by mystics
looking to force a mystical being to do their dirty deeds, but was inadvertently saved by Lily Fuller, to
whom he later pledged a life-debt.
Django is extremely old, and very eloquent in being so. He is not the stereotypical grunting, bestial
demon, and he fnds others` preconceptions about his brethren racist. He`s also quite large and hairy, almost
dog-like.
Richard Stockton*
A former military captain, Richard Stockton now works for the Grave Firm. He acts as liaison between
Jonathan Grave and the Keepers whilst in the feld. He has the look of a military man, stone-faced and
expertly trimmed hair, though hes beginning to show signs of gray, hes getting on in years.
Richard is a good, moral person, frm in his belief in doing the right thing - but he is also a soldier,
accustomed to taking and executing orders. At times he disagrees with Graves approach to things, but in
the end he must side with his employer. But for how long?
Jonathan Grave*
The man-in-charge, the top dog - this is Jonathan Grave. Building the Grave Firm from the bottom up
was no easy task, and Jonathan is a man that sees no boundaries for his success. This is not necessarily
a good thing, as he exhibits signs of reputation-defending antisocial personality disorder (a narcissistic
sociopath).
Jonathan Grave is our Big Bad - hes our central antagonist, and the catch is no one knows it (the
characters or the reader)! Jonathans motivations are simple: he has done everything he has wanted to do in
this world, and now hes going to bring it to an end. Hes a man that does everything on his own terms, and
that includes his demise. Besides, who else can say that theyve brought about the apocalypse?
For Graves look, think Sam Neil in Omen III meets John Hamm.
THE FORMAT
Keepers will be told in story-arcs, each lasting around fve or six issues. Each arc will have a primary
antagonist, but each story-arc in succession will contribute to the overall plot of the series.
Daniel Cole
October, 2010
Daniel Cole
Notes on a Series Proposal
JACK CRAFT
JACK CRAFT
Dreams can easily turn to nightmares. Meet the one who keeps them in check.
Jack Craft: Dream Warrior is intended to be an ongoing series revolving around the title character
and a companion - perhaps later a small group - similar to television shows such as Doctor Who, Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, and Supernatural. As in these shows, the characters will face episodic challenges (freak
of the week in nature), but all issues culminate in an over-arcing story.
THE CHARACTERS:
Jack Craft is a man from the waking world trapped in the Dreamscape - a world created by the
combined dreams, and nightmares, of people across the Earth. He is aware that he is trapped in a dream
world, thus he can use it to his full advantage, giving him abilities that include changing his appearance
at will (though he has a baseline self-image) and controlling his immediate environment (slowing time,
creating objects, fight, etc).
One caveat to Jacks powers is that it takes an extreme amount of willpower. Have you ever
realized that you`re dreaming and then tried to fy, or make a room, or pick something up? It`s extremely
hard. With Jack, at frst, it was near impossible, but now (given the adequate amount of concentration) he
can do anything he can imagine. If his concentration is disrupted, his subconscious mind will take over
and hell go out of control.
Joining Jack on his adventures is Katherine Summer, an artistic dreamer. Kit, as shes known,
becomes the Sancho to Jacks Quixote - learning to control her mind and use it to its fullest in this new
world. Unlike Jack, Kit can return to the waking life, which makes her an invaluable liaison to her mentor.
THE SETTING:
As mentioned, stories mainly take place in the Dreamscape - a land shaped by dreams and
nightmares. Not only does this make the world malleable, but it also makes it a vibrant world flled with
interesting characters. Someone may dream of fghting dragons in the far-fung future, while others
dream about driving their Porsche through Old-West Tombstone - all environs build to the world of the
Dreamscape, as do the characters imagined in them. Even celebrities exist in the Dreamscape - those that
people dream about all the time, and each dream adds to their personality/appearance. Paris Hilton could
have a gorilla body at one point, but down the road (maybe a few issues later) she could be more on par
with a human physique and have an unrelenting amount of intelligence.
SERIES OVERVIEW:
Each major arc (season) is planned to consist of about 20 or so issues, with every six issues
telling a new story. While the frst arc is our introduction to the characters and the Dreamscape, it is part
of a larger plot consisting of Jack and Moira hunting down a Mara (a nightmare being) that has become
too powerful. This Mara exhibits an intelligence and cunning unseen in its kin, and threatens the waking
world as well as the Dreamscape.
I feel that this would be a fun book that has the ability to appeal to comic-fans as well as reel in the
newcomers to comics. Please let me know what you think.
- Daniel Cole
May 31st, 2010