A Lonely Spot on the River-Bank - Kid Flash 8-page script #4 of second series
Characters: Bart Allen (Kid Flash), Max Mercury, Jay Garrick (Flash), and supporting cast.
Rating: G.
Content: Humor.
Page Count: Eight pages of comics script.
Summary: After encouragement from his relatives, Bart has signed up for his first class at Keystone Community College.
Continuity: Starting from the DC Comics standard, and the news that a planned Kid Flash had been put off, I scripted a series of eight-page backup stories about Bart Allen starting here. This new series builds on that story, starting here. Bart is living in Keystone City with Jay and Joan Garrick; Barry Allen and Max Mercury are back.
Disclaimer: Kid Flash and his family and friends are owned by DC Comics under copyright and trademark laws. This pastiche is offered freely as entertainment for fans.
PAGE ONE (three panels)
Panel 1. BART ALLEN as Kid Flash and MAX MERCURY in his costume and mask are running across a western prairie landscape at speed like old times (though BART is taller than in his Impulse days). BART rolls his eyes as they talk.
MAX:
So how are you finding college?
BART:
I already told you about Google Maps.
MAX:
What I meant was--
BART:
Joking, Max!
Panel 2. Title and credits space.
TITLE:
A Lonely Spot on the River-Bank
CREDITS
Panel 3. More running across the grasslands.
MAX (eyeing BART):
Hmm.
BART:
College is fine.
BART:
I signed up for a class on criminal justice.
•
PAGE TWO (five panels)
Panel 1. BART talks to MAX as they approach a stack of cloth sacks and shovels.
BART:
I figure that’ll help me be a better hero.
Panel 2. BART loads MAX up with sacks.
BART:
Though it may not be fair to the other students ’cause I’m already working with the Titans.
Panel 3. Flashback panel. BART is in his Criminal Justice class, one hand in the air, answering a question.
BART:
The rational-actor theory assumes that criminals behave reasonably based on the economic opportunities and risks they see.
Panel 4. Flashback panel. PROFESSOR McDONNEL praises BART while he grins a little smugly.
PROFESSOR McDONNEL:
Yes, Mr. Allen. That’s exactly what the textbook says.
Panel 5. MAX and BART are running with the sacks as they continue their discussion. BART also has a shovel over one shoulder.
BART:
Plus, I took five minutes and read all the books three times.
•
PAGE THREE (five panels)
Panel 1. MAX and BART, carrying the sacks and shovel, run along the banks of a river.
MAX:
You use your speed to study?
BART:
It goes faster that way! And I remember stuff better when I’m not bored.
Panel 2. MAX and BART dump the sacks into a heap beside a big pile of sand.
MAX:
Has Jay talked to you about using your speed?
BART:
Oh, we’ve talked.
Panel 3. Flashback panel. JAY is talking to BART in his living room. JAY is in his top hail-fellow-well-met form, in sport coat; he isn’t smoking a pipe, but he looks like he could. BART, in contrast, is totally bored.
JAY:
You should take time and enjoy college, Bart.
JAY:
Have I told you about my college days?
BART (balloon nearly covered up by JAY’s balloons as he continues on):
Yes.
JAY:
College was where I became the Flash. College was where I met Joan.
Panel 4. Flashback panel. JAY continues his anecdotes, and something causes BART to cock an eyebrow.
JAY:
Of course, she didn’t notice me at first.
JAY:
But then I won the big game against Hudson with some…broken-field running.
Panel 5. Flashback panel. With a smirk, BART confronts JAY, who has no answer.
BART:
So you used your speed in college? To play football? To get girls?
•
PAGE FOUR (six panels)
Panel 1. MAX is holding open one sack while BART shovels sand into it at super speed.
MAX:
And are you still making that…video?
BART:
“Kid Flash Investigates”? For the Flash Museum?
BART:
Oh, yeah, that’s on track.
Panel 2. Flashback panel. PETER KARLSON with his camera under his arm and BART in his Kid Flash outfit have met behind the Flash Museum. PETER is yelling at BART, and BART is yelling back.
PETER:
You scared my uncle’s customers--uncool, dude!
BART:
Your uncle’s customers are bad guys!
Panel 3. Flashback panel. The argument continues.
PETER:
You don’t even know them all!
PETER:
From now on, family business is off limits.
BART:
I have family, too! I have secrets to protect!
Panel 4. Flashback panel. PETER gestures to the camera. BART becomes more thoughtful.
PETER:
Have I ever asked you about private stuff, man? Have I ever asked you to take off your mask?
BART:
No.
BART:
I guess I can trust you.
Panel 5. Flashback panel. BART is once again eager for filming, and PETER is back in directorial mode.
PETER:
Good. Now I want to get you running up the side of a building. That looks so cool.
Panel 6. Flashback panel. BART runs up the building while PETER films him.
PETER (muttering):
We can save the mask stuff for the sequel.
•
PAGE FIVE (five panels)
Panel 1. Now MAX is quickly shoveling sand into a sack that BART holds.
MAX:
And how’s working with the Titans?
BART:
They’re great! It’s Cassie and Kon and Gar and a buncha new guys.
Panel 2. BART places that sandbag on top of a wall of other sandbags as MAX looks at him thoughtfully.
MAX:
So what’s bothering you?
BART (hiding something):
Bothering me? Nothing’s bothering me! I’m not being bothered at all.
Panel 3. MAX quizzes BART, who gestures to the rising river behind the wall of sandbags.
MAX:
Then why did you ask to come with me this weekend?
BART:
We’re being useful, Max! This river’s flooding!
Panel 4. MAX and BART head back to the pile of sand.
MAX:
But you didn’t know my plans when you called me. I got the feeling that you wanted to talk.
BART:
Well,…
BART:
I guess college is tougher than I thought.
Panel 5. Flashback panel. Expanded version of the fourth panel on PAGE TWO. PROFESSOR McDONNEL praises BART while he grins happily, but behind him a student named BILLY JAKE HERSEY is objecting. HERSEY is a white man in his late twenties, slightly overweight, a sheriff’s deputy from a rural county.
PROFESSOR McDONNEL:
Yes, Mr. Allen. That’s exactly what the textbook says.
HERSEY:
And it’s total crap.
•
PAGE SIX (four panels)
Panel 1. Flashback panel. The class is engaged in a lively discussion, with BART left behind in the background. OLIVE MAYBAUM is a gray-haired white woman who knits through class; she’s taking the course as part of her plan to write mystery novels. JEANNE-MARIE LaFLUME is a Haitian-American woman nineteen years old.
HERSEY:
If perps are “rational actors,” how come most of the guys I pick up are drunk?
MAYBAUM:
Because, honey, you’re catching the assaults and disorderlies. You’re not catching the burglaries.
LaFUME:
Exactly. Like, how many property crimes never get solved?
BART:
Ooh! 82%!
Panel 2. Flashback panel. BART is thumbing through his textbook in dismay as the discussion continues. NAT BIRNBAUM is twenty years old, hopefully pre-law, wearing a yarmulke and a heavy metal T-shirt. MARINA DESIDERIO is a middle-aged Latina woman dressed for an office job.
HERSEY:
But half the housebreakers I catch are drunk, too.
BIRNBAUM:
You think maybe you caught those guys because they were drunk? You caught the ones who weren’t “rational actors.”
DESIDERIO:
Unless lowering your inhibitions looks like a reasonable choice when you’re planning to break into a house.
Panel 3. Flashback panel. BART points to a particular page in the textbook.
BART:
The book says--
HERSEY:
Aah, whoever wrote that book never broke up a bar fight in their life!
Panel 4. Flashback panel. BART is fuming at HERSEY while PROFESSSOR McDONNEL takes control of the discussion.
PROFESSOR McDONNEL:
I like the professional experiences most of you are bringing.
PROFESSOR McDONNEL:
But let’s talk about how we’re looking at different samples…
•
PAGE SEVEN (five panels)
Panel 1. MAX once again shovels sand into BART’s sack at super speed.
MAX:
College study takes more than memorizing facts and phrases, Bart. It means exploring ideas.
Panel 2. MAX has another shovelful of sand, but BART is in wide-armed indignation.
MAX:
It means critical thinking.
BART:
But I’m always thinking critically!
Panel 3. MAX dumps the sand from his shovel into the sack BART is holding. BART’s face shows more reflection, and a little sheepishness.
MAX:
Not just about other people.
BART:
Oh.
Panel 4. MAX and BART load two more sandbags atop a barrier which has grown since PAGE FIVE.
MAX:
I’ve seen you grow, Bart.
MAX:
Five minutes ago, you made a joke about yourself. You never used to do that.
Panel 5. As MAX talks, BART is still a bit anxious and uncertain. His thought balloon shows his memory of a paper he’s just received back from PROFESSOR McDONNEL.
MAX:
I think you can handle college.
BART (quietly, little letters):
I hope so.
BART (thought balloon, note in red ink on a college paper he’s holding in his hand):
Mr. Allen-
See me in my office after Monday’s class.
-Prof. M
•
PAGE EIGHT (three panels)
Panel 1. BART and MAX at superspeed add more sandbags to the wall, lengthening it.
BART:
How come you know so much about college? You never went.
MAX:
No, it wasn’t an option for most people back when I was your age.
Panel 2. Reverse angle shot of MAX and BART from the other side of the sandbag wall, showing that the river has risen halfway up the wall.
MAX:
I had to learn the same lessons in other places.
Panel 3. Overhead image of BART and MAX running away from the sandbag wall they’ve built. The view’s height and distance reveal that the wall is holding a flooded river back from a ghost town that dates from MAX’s youth.
MAX:
Those places still mean a lot to me.
Continued here.
Rating: G.
Content: Humor.
Page Count: Eight pages of comics script.
Summary: After encouragement from his relatives, Bart has signed up for his first class at Keystone Community College.
Continuity: Starting from the DC Comics standard, and the news that a planned Kid Flash had been put off, I scripted a series of eight-page backup stories about Bart Allen starting here. This new series builds on that story, starting here. Bart is living in Keystone City with Jay and Joan Garrick; Barry Allen and Max Mercury are back.
Disclaimer: Kid Flash and his family and friends are owned by DC Comics under copyright and trademark laws. This pastiche is offered freely as entertainment for fans.
PAGE ONE (three panels)
Panel 1. BART ALLEN as Kid Flash and MAX MERCURY in his costume and mask are running across a western prairie landscape at speed like old times (though BART is taller than in his Impulse days). BART rolls his eyes as they talk.
MAX:
So how are you finding college?
BART:
I already told you about Google Maps.
MAX:
What I meant was--
BART:
Joking, Max!
Panel 2. Title and credits space.
TITLE:
A Lonely Spot on the River-Bank
CREDITS
Panel 3. More running across the grasslands.
MAX (eyeing BART):
Hmm.
BART:
College is fine.
BART:
I signed up for a class on criminal justice.
•
PAGE TWO (five panels)
Panel 1. BART talks to MAX as they approach a stack of cloth sacks and shovels.
BART:
I figure that’ll help me be a better hero.
Panel 2. BART loads MAX up with sacks.
BART:
Though it may not be fair to the other students ’cause I’m already working with the Titans.
Panel 3. Flashback panel. BART is in his Criminal Justice class, one hand in the air, answering a question.
BART:
The rational-actor theory assumes that criminals behave reasonably based on the economic opportunities and risks they see.
Panel 4. Flashback panel. PROFESSOR McDONNEL praises BART while he grins a little smugly.
PROFESSOR McDONNEL:
Yes, Mr. Allen. That’s exactly what the textbook says.
Panel 5. MAX and BART are running with the sacks as they continue their discussion. BART also has a shovel over one shoulder.
BART:
Plus, I took five minutes and read all the books three times.
•
PAGE THREE (five panels)
Panel 1. MAX and BART, carrying the sacks and shovel, run along the banks of a river.
MAX:
You use your speed to study?
BART:
It goes faster that way! And I remember stuff better when I’m not bored.
Panel 2. MAX and BART dump the sacks into a heap beside a big pile of sand.
MAX:
Has Jay talked to you about using your speed?
BART:
Oh, we’ve talked.
Panel 3. Flashback panel. JAY is talking to BART in his living room. JAY is in his top hail-fellow-well-met form, in sport coat; he isn’t smoking a pipe, but he looks like he could. BART, in contrast, is totally bored.
JAY:
You should take time and enjoy college, Bart.
JAY:
Have I told you about my college days?
BART (balloon nearly covered up by JAY’s balloons as he continues on):
Yes.
JAY:
College was where I became the Flash. College was where I met Joan.
Panel 4. Flashback panel. JAY continues his anecdotes, and something causes BART to cock an eyebrow.
JAY:
Of course, she didn’t notice me at first.
JAY:
But then I won the big game against Hudson with some…broken-field running.
Panel 5. Flashback panel. With a smirk, BART confronts JAY, who has no answer.
BART:
So you used your speed in college? To play football? To get girls?
•
PAGE FOUR (six panels)
Panel 1. MAX is holding open one sack while BART shovels sand into it at super speed.
MAX:
And are you still making that…video?
BART:
“Kid Flash Investigates”? For the Flash Museum?
BART:
Oh, yeah, that’s on track.
Panel 2. Flashback panel. PETER KARLSON with his camera under his arm and BART in his Kid Flash outfit have met behind the Flash Museum. PETER is yelling at BART, and BART is yelling back.
PETER:
You scared my uncle’s customers--uncool, dude!
BART:
Your uncle’s customers are bad guys!
Panel 3. Flashback panel. The argument continues.
PETER:
You don’t even know them all!
PETER:
From now on, family business is off limits.
BART:
I have family, too! I have secrets to protect!
Panel 4. Flashback panel. PETER gestures to the camera. BART becomes more thoughtful.
PETER:
Have I ever asked you about private stuff, man? Have I ever asked you to take off your mask?
BART:
No.
BART:
I guess I can trust you.
Panel 5. Flashback panel. BART is once again eager for filming, and PETER is back in directorial mode.
PETER:
Good. Now I want to get you running up the side of a building. That looks so cool.
Panel 6. Flashback panel. BART runs up the building while PETER films him.
PETER (muttering):
We can save the mask stuff for the sequel.
•
PAGE FIVE (five panels)
Panel 1. Now MAX is quickly shoveling sand into a sack that BART holds.
MAX:
And how’s working with the Titans?
BART:
They’re great! It’s Cassie and Kon and Gar and a buncha new guys.
Panel 2. BART places that sandbag on top of a wall of other sandbags as MAX looks at him thoughtfully.
MAX:
So what’s bothering you?
BART (hiding something):
Bothering me? Nothing’s bothering me! I’m not being bothered at all.
Panel 3. MAX quizzes BART, who gestures to the rising river behind the wall of sandbags.
MAX:
Then why did you ask to come with me this weekend?
BART:
We’re being useful, Max! This river’s flooding!
Panel 4. MAX and BART head back to the pile of sand.
MAX:
But you didn’t know my plans when you called me. I got the feeling that you wanted to talk.
BART:
Well,…
BART:
I guess college is tougher than I thought.
Panel 5. Flashback panel. Expanded version of the fourth panel on PAGE TWO. PROFESSOR McDONNEL praises BART while he grins happily, but behind him a student named BILLY JAKE HERSEY is objecting. HERSEY is a white man in his late twenties, slightly overweight, a sheriff’s deputy from a rural county.
PROFESSOR McDONNEL:
Yes, Mr. Allen. That’s exactly what the textbook says.
HERSEY:
And it’s total crap.
•
PAGE SIX (four panels)
Panel 1. Flashback panel. The class is engaged in a lively discussion, with BART left behind in the background. OLIVE MAYBAUM is a gray-haired white woman who knits through class; she’s taking the course as part of her plan to write mystery novels. JEANNE-MARIE LaFLUME is a Haitian-American woman nineteen years old.
HERSEY:
If perps are “rational actors,” how come most of the guys I pick up are drunk?
MAYBAUM:
Because, honey, you’re catching the assaults and disorderlies. You’re not catching the burglaries.
LaFUME:
Exactly. Like, how many property crimes never get solved?
BART:
Ooh! 82%!
Panel 2. Flashback panel. BART is thumbing through his textbook in dismay as the discussion continues. NAT BIRNBAUM is twenty years old, hopefully pre-law, wearing a yarmulke and a heavy metal T-shirt. MARINA DESIDERIO is a middle-aged Latina woman dressed for an office job.
HERSEY:
But half the housebreakers I catch are drunk, too.
BIRNBAUM:
You think maybe you caught those guys because they were drunk? You caught the ones who weren’t “rational actors.”
DESIDERIO:
Unless lowering your inhibitions looks like a reasonable choice when you’re planning to break into a house.
Panel 3. Flashback panel. BART points to a particular page in the textbook.
BART:
The book says--
HERSEY:
Aah, whoever wrote that book never broke up a bar fight in their life!
Panel 4. Flashback panel. BART is fuming at HERSEY while PROFESSSOR McDONNEL takes control of the discussion.
PROFESSOR McDONNEL:
I like the professional experiences most of you are bringing.
PROFESSOR McDONNEL:
But let’s talk about how we’re looking at different samples…
•
PAGE SEVEN (five panels)
Panel 1. MAX once again shovels sand into BART’s sack at super speed.
MAX:
College study takes more than memorizing facts and phrases, Bart. It means exploring ideas.
Panel 2. MAX has another shovelful of sand, but BART is in wide-armed indignation.
MAX:
It means critical thinking.
BART:
But I’m always thinking critically!
Panel 3. MAX dumps the sand from his shovel into the sack BART is holding. BART’s face shows more reflection, and a little sheepishness.
MAX:
Not just about other people.
BART:
Oh.
Panel 4. MAX and BART load two more sandbags atop a barrier which has grown since PAGE FIVE.
MAX:
I’ve seen you grow, Bart.
MAX:
Five minutes ago, you made a joke about yourself. You never used to do that.
Panel 5. As MAX talks, BART is still a bit anxious and uncertain. His thought balloon shows his memory of a paper he’s just received back from PROFESSOR McDONNEL.
MAX:
I think you can handle college.
BART (quietly, little letters):
I hope so.
BART (thought balloon, note in red ink on a college paper he’s holding in his hand):
Mr. Allen-
See me in my office after Monday’s class.
-Prof. M
•
PAGE EIGHT (three panels)
Panel 1. BART and MAX at superspeed add more sandbags to the wall, lengthening it.
BART:
How come you know so much about college? You never went.
MAX:
No, it wasn’t an option for most people back when I was your age.
Panel 2. Reverse angle shot of MAX and BART from the other side of the sandbag wall, showing that the river has risen halfway up the wall.
MAX:
I had to learn the same lessons in other places.
Panel 3. Overhead image of BART and MAX running away from the sandbag wall they’ve built. The view’s height and distance reveal that the wall is holding a flooded river back from a ghost town that dates from MAX’s youth.
MAX:
Those places still mean a lot to me.
Continued here.