Clockwork Angels: Comic Script Read Free Page A

intimidated; maybe show him taking a nervous sip. If there’s room in the panel, other tavern customers cheer for him.
    OWEN
    Th-thanks. I guess I’ll have to learn to drink hard cider now …
    OWEN’S FATHER (SMALL VOICE)
    If only your mother could see you now …
    PANEL 4
    An officious-looking man (late 40s) with pince-nez spectacles and extravagant sideburns, stands holding a long piece of paper, reading it aloud. (Stylistically, this could be a long and thin strip of paper, like a tickertape, to imply that he’s reading something special.) This is Mr. PAQUETTE, Lavinia’s father.
    MR. PAQUETTE
    *Ahem* Today’s report, received at the Barrel Arbor newsgraph office.

    But first I’d like to add, on a personal note, my delight in the imminent betrothal of my daughter Lavinia to young Owen Hardy, as is to be expected. *Ahem*
    PANEL 5
    Close-up of Mr. Paquette as he reads.
    MR. PAQUETTE
    And now the news. The Watchmaker is saddened to announce the loss of another steamliner en route to Poseidon. The Wreckers are believed to be responsible …
    PANEL 6
    The angry crowd, grumbling. Paquette continues (possibly out of panel.)
    MR. PAQUETTE
    The Anarchist planted another bomb and ruined a portion of the northern line, disrupting steamliner traffic throughout Albion. Fortunately, the airship captain was able to lift his cars to safety just in time, and no one was hurt.
    CROWD (VARIOUS)
    Damn the Anarchist!
    The Devil take him!
    PANEL 7
    Owen looks very troubled, baffled more than infuriated.
    OWEN
    But why would anyone want to ruin what the Watchmaker created? Doesn’t he know how dangerous the world would be?
    MR. PAQUETTE
    He’s a freedom extremist, boy. How does a disordered mind work?
    OWEN’S FATHER
    It’s not ours to understand. All is for the best. Now drink up … time to get back home.
    PAGE 9
    PANEL 1
    Establishing shot of Owen’s house, a quaint and humble dwelling next to the cider house we saw earlier.
    PANEL 2
    Inside the house, a quiet and dull evening. There are clocks on the wall, on the mantel, and a big grandfather clock in the corner. Owen’s father sits in a chair beside the fireplace, reading a newspaper. Owen in a smaller chair (like father, like son) is reading a large book.
    OWEN
    Didn’t you ever want to see Crown City, Dad?
    OWEN’S FATHER
    Not really, and not since the last time you asked. It was never in the schedule … Ah, your mother was always a dreamer, too …
    PANEL 3
    Close-up, Owen turns pages of the book, is fascinated.
    OWEN
    At least we have these books she used to read. It’s all we have left of her …
    PANEL 4
    Close-up of a page of the book, a tintype showing the Watchmaker’s tower and the Clockwork Angels emerging like a glockenspiel (but no detail on the angels’ faces).
    OWEN (OFF PANEL)
    Someday, maybe I’ll get to see the Clockwork Angels.
    OWEN’S FATHER (OFF PANEL)
    That was what your mother always said, too.
    PANEL 5
    Owen’s father gets up, winding a clock on the mantelpiece, while Owen puts the book on a shelf.
    OWEN’S FATHER
    Come now, help me wind and check all the clocks before we go to bed.
    PANEL 6
    Owen adjusts the weights on a big grandfather clock as his father heads into the bedroom.
    OWEN
    Good night, Dad. I’ll stay up a little while longer.
    OWEN’S FATHER
    You always do …
    PAGE 10
    PANEL 1
    Inside the living room of the dark house, the fire in the fireplace has burned down to embers, leaving only a dull orange glow. The clock on the mantelpiece says 11:40.
    CAPTION
    Almost midnight …
    CAPTION
    Lavinia … my true love.
    PANEL 2
    Dressed, Owen opens the front door and tiptoes out of the house. He is carrying a small cloth sack (it has a few apples in it)
    CAPTION
    Is the thought of a secret kiss really so exciting?
    CAPTION
    I hope she thinks so …
    PANEL 3
    Night shadows, a moon in the sky, Owen walks along a tree-lined lane, eating an apple from his sack.
    PANEL 4
    On top of the hill, a night version of what we saw on Page