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Ritual#00 - Neverending Nights
🕑 Added 2024-09-27 15:33:05 +0000 UTCThis story can be viewed on the Webtoons platform.
SCRIPT FOR 16 PAGES
PENCILS & INKS: Yonami
COLORS: Thiago Dal bello
WRITER: Carol Peace
COVER ART: Mirka Andolfo
This comment is valid for this page, but would be more of a general note. In this story I still drew using the traditional method and all the final art was done by hand. The only resource I used to speed up the work was to print the layout on a heavy-weight A3 sheet and I did both the pencil and the lineart. That's why you can see that I didn't make any very glaring changes on this page, even the markings of the "temporum plaga" are the same, except for the undefined designs that vary a lot.
PAGE ONE
PANEL ONE: EXTERIOR, NIGHT. MOUNTAINS CAN BE SEEN FAR AWAY, A CITY FULL OF LIGHTS IS ON THE HORIZON. IT’S DARK AT NIGHT, THE FULL MOON IS SET ON THE SKY LIKE IT’S ABOUT 10P.M. ONLY LEONA’S SILHOUETTE IS SEEN.
PANEL TWO: EXTERIOR, NIGHT. FULL MOON. SOME CLOUDS BLACKEN THE SKY, LIKE A STORM IS ABOUT TO COME. LEONA IS SHOWN FROM WAIST UP, SHE IS GAZING AT THE HORIZON.
CAPTION: A long time ago, before anything else, there was magic. Everything in the world was ruled by magic, people, desires, governments… even time.
PANEL THREE: AS THE MOON IS ENCLOSED BY THE CLOUDS, SOME SHADES APPEAR IN THE DISTANCE.
CAPTION: However, the time of magic, just like any other, came to an end. A very disgraceful end indeed.
PANEL FOUR: THE SHADES TAKE FORM: WOLVES, BEARS, AND OTHER CREATURES THAT ARE NOT POSSIBLE TO DEFINE, ALL WITH CLEAR BLUE EYES. THIS PANEL IS CUT ON THE BOTTOM HALF TO SHOW LEONA’S EYES AS SHE GAZES THE ENEMY.
CAPTION: Even facing its likely demise, magic never ceased. In fact, it’s more likely that magic was ready to be reborn again, and again, and again…
As I mentioned above in the general note, this is a page that was literally unchanged from pencil to inks, but I won't hide the fact that straight lines are not my strong point (hahahaha), so yes, the lines of her magic in the first panel were digitally added by a friend who did digital inking. The colors definitely follow a similar art direction to Chris Bachalo's X-Men and Spiderman stories, which were a strong influence on me at the time.
PAGE TWO – PAGE THREE (DOUBLE SPREAD)
PANEL ONE, LARGE: PANEL THAT MUST OCCUPY MOST OF THE TWO PAGES. ON THE BACKGROUND IS THE FULL MOON, NO CLOUDS ARE COVERING THE MOON, SO THE LIGHT IS ON ITS FULLEST, MAKING THE CREATURES LOOK EVEN MORE LIKE SHADOWS. A LITTLE BIT OF THE SURROUNDINGS IS SHOWN, MOUNTAIN, EARTH AND ROCKS, WITH NO VEGETATION.
LEONA USES “TRUST” (HER POCKET CLOCK - MAGICAL FOCUS) TO MAKE THE ENEMIES STAY FAR FROM HER. SOME OF THEM, ON THE BACKGROUND, VANISH DUE TO THE STRONG LIGHT “TRUST” EMITS. OTHERS STILL TRY TO FIGHT HER, BUT LEONA’S EXPRESSION REMAINS CALM AS SHE STANDS STILL.
CAPTION, TOP LEFT: Because time, you see, is a mere illusion, after all.
PANEL TWO, SMALL, TOP RIGHT: CLOSE ON LEONA’S HAND. SHE PULLS HER ARM WHILE ONE OF THE CREATURES INTERRUPTS HER SPELL.
PANEL THREE, SMALL, LEFT: TOP HALF OF LEONA. RIGHT ARM. ONE OF THE CREATURE TRIES TO BITE LEONA ON HER LEFT ARM. SHE DOESN’T LOOK SURPRISED. BEHIND HER, IT’S POSSIBLE TO SEE THE OTHER CREATURES’ SHADES AS THEY MOVE AROUND HER.
PANEL FOUR, SMALL, LEFT: LEONA’S FACE. SOME CREATURES ARE BEHIND HER. LEONA IS HALF SMILING IN A DEVILISH WAY.
PANEL FIVE, SMALL, RIGHT: THE CREATURES ADVANCE ON LEONA. SOME ARE JUMPING FROM AROUND HER, OTHERS ARE ROARING ON THE GROUND. THE MOON CAN’T BE SEEN, ONLY MOONLIGHT.
CAPTION, BOTTOM, RIGHT: This world is doomed.
Although I defined a lot of things in the inks, I left the colorist free to define some textures for the scenery and creatures. These contrasting flat backgrounds were the result of some conversations we had about "leaving the background with an ABSURDLY SATURATED color to focus ONLY on the foreground".
PAGE FOUR
PANEL ONE, BIG, LEFT: LEONA’S FULL BODY. SHE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE MONSTERS, WITH “TRUST” ON HER HAND. THE BACKGROUND IS BLACK..
CAPTION: Mádika Leona.
PANEL TWO, SMALL: LEONA’S EYES. FULL MOON ON THE BACKGROUND.
CAPTION: Right, that is the name she has given herself.
PANEL THREE, SMALL: SHOW’S LEONA’S HAND, SHE IS STILL HOLDING TRUST.
CAPTION: She is the Midnight Witch. The owner of midnight, the darkest hour of all.
PANEL FOUR, SMALL: LEONA’S FULL BODY. SHE IS STILL WITH HER RIGHT ARM UP AND “TRUST” GLOWS IN A GOLDEN LIGHT THAT MAKES ALL THE CREATURES AROUND HER FADE.
CAPTION: This world is doomed. And she is not here to save it...
PANEL FIVE, SMALL: CLOSE TO THE GROUND: ROCKS AND EARTHLY COLORS. THE MOON CAN BE SEEN IN THE DISTANCE. ONLY LEONA’S FEET CAN BE SEEN. LANDNG ON THE GROUND.
CAPTION, BOTTOM, LEFT: ...or, maybe, she is…?
On this page I honestly felt lost in the last frame, I eliminated two panels that honestly just polluted the narrative, I changed the position, the angle and even the setting I initially imagined (a plain or something like that). It ended up being 100% defined during the pencil. Note that frame 2 in the layout is almost a final drawing, as I had already done this drawing in a sketchbook years ago, today I think that perhaps I should have given it more prominence.
PAGE FIVE
PANEL ONE, SMALL: LEONA’S HALF BODY. SHE IS WALKING ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE, ONLY THE BIG FULL MOON ON THE BACKGROUND. SHE IS INEXPRESSIVE.
PANEL TWO, SMALL: BACKGROUND: AN UPSIDE-DOWN CASTLE IS HANGING IN THE SKY. IT LOOKS MUCH DEGRADED, WITH VEGETATION ALL AROUND IT. THERE IS NO LIGHT INSIDE IT, AND IT SEEMS NO ONE IS THERE. LEONA’S BOTTOM HALF, STANDING STILL.
PANEL THREE, SMALL: BACKGROUND: FULL MOON. LEONA’S FACE, SHE SEEMS EXPRESSIONLESS, BUT THERE IS A HINT OF EMOTION IN HER EYES.
CAPTION: So… it still subsists (endures?).
PANEL FOUR, SMALL: LEONA’S EYES. FULL MOON ON THE BACKGROUND.
CAPTION: After all this time, it’s like no time has passed at all.
PANEL FIVE, LARGE: LEONA’S FULL BODY. SHE IS FLYING TOWARDS THE CASTLE. NOW IT’S POSSIBLE TO SEE THAT THE CASTLE IS HANGING IN THE SKY, WITH NOTHING ATTACHING IT TO THE GROUND. THE MOON IS NOW IS ALMOST AT ITS ZENITH, IT’S ALMOST MIDNIGHT.
CAPTION: It’s that time again.
PANEL SIX: LEONA’S FULL BODY. SHE IS OVER THE CLIFF, LOOKING DOWN.
This transition from panel 3 to panel 4 was a challenge, I wanted to convey the sensation of a spin demonstrating that she had "landed" on the island in the sky, so much so that you can see the difference between the layout and the final art that in panel 3 I slightly rotated the character to give this idea of camera orientation in panel 4 through something that Will Eisner called a meta-frame (a separation of the narrative without the aid of gutters, using only the drawings).
PAGE SIX
PANEL ONE, SMALL: LEONA’S FEET. SHE PUTS ONE OF HER FEET IN THE FRONT.
PANEL TWO, SMALL: LEONA’S FEET, SHE IS WALKING ON AIR NOW.
PANEL THREE, BIG: LEONA’S FULL BODY. AS SHE WALKS, THE WORLD SEEMS UPSIDE-DOWN. THE MOUNTAIN IS NOW WHERE THE SKY WAS, AND LEONA IS WALKING ON THE SKY, WITH THE MOON BENEATH HER. HER FACE REMAINS EXPRESSIONLESS.
PANEL FOUR, BIG: LEONA’S TOP HALF. LEONA’S BACK. SHE IS FACING THE CASTLE, AND NOW THE PANEL IS ON THE RIGHT ORIENTATION
PANEL FIVE, SMALL: BLACK BACKGROUND. LEONA’S FACE. SHE IS WITH HER EYES CLOSED.
PANEL SIX, SMALL: BACKGROUND: FULL MOON. LEONA’S FACE. SHE OPENS HER EYES.
PANEL SEVEN: LEONA REACHES THE CASTLE BIG WOODEN DOORS. SHE STOPS AT A GOOD DISTANCE FROM THEM.
Here in panel 5 of the narrative, I imagined the scene to be completely dark, so I experimented with a brief pause in the sequential art to transition to the lower panels. I would MOST LIKELY make these lamps with a different design today, as the inspiration for them was a scene in the Queen of Spain's star room in "The Fountain", a film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky that I highly recommend. I still plan to bring this concept back in the future.
PAGE SEVEN
PANEL ONE, SMALL: LEONA’S TOP HALF THE HER BACK TO US. THE CASTLE’S DOOR IS NOW OPEN.
PANEL TWO, SMALL: LEONA’S FULL BODY. SHE RESUMES WALKING.
PANEL THREE, SMALL: LEONA IS NOW INSIDE THE CASTLE. THE FULL MOON IS ON THE BACKGROUND.
PANEL FOUR, SMALL: THE DOOR CLOSES BEHIND LEONA, BUT DOES NOT MAKE ANY SOUND.
PANEL FIVE, LARGE: BIG BLACK PANEL.
CAPTION: There shall be light.
PANEL SIX, LARGE: LEONA’S FACE. SHE IS LOOKING RIGHT AT THE READER. SHE IS REFLECTING A PALE GOLDEN LIGHT.
LEONA: Don’t be afraid of the dark.
PANEL SEVEN, LARGE: IT SHOWS THE TORCHES LIGHTING UP, ONE BY ONE.
In the dark corridors scene, I tried to convey a little more of the character's loneliness. I recognize that both the dialogue and the way I present the narrative have already been conveying this feeling for a few pages, but subtly, we try to show the reader how deep the character enters her own temple or, in other words, into herself. Towards the inner darkness.
PAGE EIGHT
PANEL ONE, LARGE: ALL TORCHES ARE LIT. THE FAINT FLICKERING LIGHT ILLUMINATES ONLY THE CORRIDOR’S FLOOR, EVERYTHING ELSE IS STILL DARK. LEONA’S BACK IS SHOWN, A LITTLE ILLUMINATED BY THE TORCHES’ LIGHT.
PANEL TWO, SMALL: LEONA’S TOP HALF (WIDE PANEL). BACKGROUND: TORCH LIGHTS, WITH THE DARKNESS STILL HOVERING OVER HER.
CAPTION: It’s chaotic. It’s pure madness.
PANEL THREE, SMALL: THE GROUND: IT’S COMPOSED OF STONES, LOOKING YELLOWISH DUE TO THE TORCHES’ ILLUMINATION. THE DARK CORRIDOR CONTINUES ON IN FRONT OF LEONA.
PANEL FOUR, LARGE: BLACK BACKGROUND, ONLY LEONA’S FACE IS SHOWN. SHE LOOKS A LITTLE TAKEN ABACK BY WHAT SHE SEES.
CAPTION: It’s that time again.
Here's a curiosity: from here on out, you'll find the first pages produced for Neverending Nights (9/10/11/13), which are unfortunately the only pages that didn't have layouts. I can explain, as I mentioned in Entry#01 of Book of Shadows, that this story was the result of my state of mind at the time, which ended up being translated into these pages, very similar to what I felt when I heard the lyrics of the song that later served to inspire me even more to draw the full story. We notice that the character is surrounded by people who stopped in a moment in time and take us back to her old memories.
PAGE NINE
PANEL ONE: LEONA’S HAND IS SHOWN, FIRMLY HOLDING “TRUST”.
CAPTION: Everything that once was is back again.
PANEL TWO: LEONA’S BACK. FULL BODY. SHE IS PARTIALLY ILLUMINATED BY THE TORCHES IN THE ROOM AHEAD. THE ROOM IS NOT BRIGHT ENOUGH TO SHOW MUCH, BUT SOME STATUES CAN ALREADY BE SEEN.
CAPTION: Like a clock on a counterclockwise motion, it’s back again.
PANEL THREE: LEONA’S HAND IS SHOWN. SHE LETS “TRUST” GO A BIT FROM HER HOLD, ONLY GRIPPING IT BY ITS LACE.
CAPTION: Everything that once was is back again.
PANEL FOUR, BIG: LEONA’S FULL BODY. SHE PUTS HER RIGHT ARM UP AND “TRUST” TICKS: TICK-TOCK. THE ROOM IS STILL HALF DARK.
Here we can understand a little better what was going on in my head at the time. In the dialogue, the character finds herself overcome by thoughts of guilt, something that has been stuck in her mind for so long that she no longer feels pain. Despite being surrounded by people, none of them would respond to a call for help or an apology. Despite everyone being there, none of them were actually there, and this made the memories even more vivid, because they had a face. In fact, several faces. I believe that many people have felt lonely, even when surrounded by a crowd of people.
PAGE TEN – PAGE ELEVEN (DOUBLE SPREAD)
PANEL ONE, SMALL: LEONA’S TOP HALF. SHE IS STANDING AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE ROOM, LOOKING INTO IT, THIS TIME SHE IS EXPRESSIONLESS AGAIN.
PANEL TWO, LARGE: PANEL TAKES PAGE 10, AND 1/5 OF THE NEXT PAGE. IT SHOWS A LARGE BALLROOM, NOW FULLY BRIGHT BY THE MOON’S LIGHT. THE WHITE MARBLE FLOOR IS COVERED WITH MANY FIGURES PAINTED IN BLACK, FORMING AN ENOURMOUS CLOCK, WITH STRANGE MARKS IN PLACE OF NUMBERS. LEONA IS TINY IN COMPARISON TO THE ENORMOUS CLOCK PAINTED ON THE GROUND. THERE IS A ZENITHAL OPENING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CEILING THAT ILLUMINATES THE CLOCK PAINTED ON THE GROUND. LEONA IS STANDING AT THE CENTER OF THE IMPERIAL ROOM – ONLY HER BACK IS SEEN FROM ABOVE – LOOKING DIRECTLY TO THE WINDOW THAT SHOWS THE UPSIDE-DOWN WORLD (SHE SEES THE EARTH BENEATH THE CASTLE AND THE CLOUDS ABOVE – IT’S NIGHT TIME, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE CLOUDS OF A STORM THAT IS ABOUT TO COME). THE WINDOW IS ADORNED WITH SEVERAL ART NOUVEAU SWIRLING MOTIFS, WITH FLOWERS AND LEAFS. THE ROOM IS COVERED BY PLANTS WITH SMALL COLORED FLOWERS ILLUMINATED BY THE MOON. THIS MAKES THE ROOM LOOK LIKE AN ABANDONED GARDEN, SINCE THE FLOWERS COVER ONLY PARTS OF THE FLOOR. SOME COLUMNS ARE COVERED BY GREEN LEAFS, OTHERS ARE HALF DESTROYED, HAVING FALLEN TO THE GROUND.
CAPTION: This is not a dream. This is a nightmare.
PANEL THREE, SMALL: LEONA’S TOP HALF. ONLY LEONA’S BACK IS SHOWN, AS SHE LOOKS AT THE THRONE. THERE IS SOMEONE SITTING THERE. THE UPSIDE-DOWN WORLD CAN BE SEEN THROUGH THE WINDOW, THE MOON IS PARTIALLY COVERED BY THE CLOUDS.
CAPTION: Destruction.
PANEL FOUR, SMALL: THE SOUND OF A CLOCK CAN BE HEARD: TICK TOCK TICK TOCK.
BACKGROUND: THE IMPERIAL ROOM. FOCUSES ON LEONA’S PROFILE WHILE SHE LISTENS TO THE SOUND.
PANEL FIVE, SMALL: BLACK BACKGROUND. THE PANEL FOCUSES ON HER PROFILE WHILE SHE HEARS THE SOUND. SHE CLOSES HER EYES.
CAPTION: It’s that time again. And again. And again.
PANEL SIX, SMALL: LEONA’S FACE. AS THE CLOCK SUDDENLY STOPS TICKING, LEONA OPENS HER EYES TO SEE A FAINT LIGHT START GLOWING IN THE ROOM.
PANEL SEVEN, SMALL: FOCUS FROM ABOVE LEONA. THE CLOCK STARTS LIGHTING UP AND YOU CAN SEE THE ROOM BETTER. THERE ARE MANY STATUES AROUND THE ROOM, ALL OF THEM IN DIFFERENT POSES. SOME SEEM SCARED, OTHERS SEEM TO BE DELIGHTED.
PANEL EIGHT, SMALL: FOCUS FROM ABOVE LEONA. LEONA STARTS PACING AROUND THE ROOM AGAIN, AND THE FIGURES SEEM MORE ALIVE. THE STATUES, DUE TO THE FAINT LIGHT OF THE ROOM SEEM TO BE JUST LIKE THEY WILL COME BACK TO LIFE AND START WALKING AROUND THE ROOM.
This page was added after I started thinking about the story as a whole, because I needed to give Leona some kind of guide during her thoughts, some kind of manifestation of her unconscious or, who knows, a lingering echo of ancient times in her world. I took advantage of a small detail from the previous page where she looks at something in the darkness, and here we show her a kind of prediction, indicating that, despite her journey being so far away, she was not adrift. You will notice on the next page that there are also some more personal symbols that I will discuss later.
PAGE TWELVE
PANEL ONE, LARGE: FOCUS FROM BENEATH, BEHIND LEONA. LEONA STOPS AT THE FRONT OF THE THRONE TO TAKE A GOOD LOOK TO THE LIGHT SOURCE. THERE IS A WOMAN SITTING THERE, NASTIA. BOTH OF HER HANDS ARE RESTING ON TOP OF HER LEGS, AND SHE IS IMPASSIVE, JUST LIKE SHE IS WATCHING THE BALL THAT WAS OCCURING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE IMPERIAL ROOM.
PANEL TWO, SMALL: FOCUS FROM BENEATH, IN FRONT OF LEONA. LEONA KNEELS IN FRONT OF THE THRONE. ON THE BACKGROUND THERE ARE SOME STATUES AND THE GLOWING CLOCK.
PANEL THREE, SMALL: LEONA’S BACK. FOCUS FROM ABOVE HER. THE THRONE IS ON THE RIGHT CORNER. LEONA IS STILL KNEELING BEFORE THE THRONE. THERE’S NO MOONLIGHT AT ALL, SO THE ROOM IS BARELY ILLUMINATED BY THE CLOCK’S DIM LIGHT.
LEONA: Master Nastia, how shall I live on?
PANEL FOUR, SMALL: BOTTOM HALF OF LEONA’S FACE. BACKGROUND: THE STATUES.
LEONA: Is this what you were planning all along? All this misery painted on these walls… it’s so unfortunate.
PANEL FIVE, SMALL: FOCUS FROM HIGH CEILING ABOVE. ONLY THE ROOM IS SHOWN. THE CLOCK IS STILL BRIGHT. THE STATUES ARE AROUND THE BALLROOM. LEONA IS NEAR THE THRONE, VERY TINY ON THE PANEL.
LEONA: You’ve talked of a Kingdom come… I can’t see that.. All I see is the decadence of time that has reached our walls.
LEONA (BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER): Time is disgrace, Great Mother.
PANEL SIX, SMALL: FOCUS ON LEONA’S RIGHT HAND AS SHE TOUCHES NASTIA’S HANDS THAT ARE RESTING ON TOP OF HER LEGS.
LEONA: I am not a saviour. I am the shame that has fallen upon us.
PANEL SEVEN: AS LEONA SAYS THOSE WORDS, THE CLOCK STARTS TICKING AGAIN ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PANEL. FOCUS FROM ABOVE, SHOWING THE WORDS [TICK-TOCK-TICK-TOCK] AND LEONA’S LOOKING TO THE CLOCK, AS IT’S LIGHT CHANGE TO A GOLDEN COLOR.
PANEL EIGHT, LARGE: LEONA’S TOP HALF. FOCUS FROM BEHIND AND BENEATH HER. SHE IS LOOKING AT A SET OF IMAGES THAT HAVE FORMED CLOSE TO THE THRONE. THE IMAGES ARE GOLDEN, SEEMINGLY PAINTED IN SAND.
THE SET OF IMAGES ARE:
- KARMEN AND HER MOTHER, WE SEE A LARGE SHADOW GLOOMING OVER THEM.
- SIDDHARTHA AND VISHNU, LIKE THEY WERE WORKING ON SOME CASE.
- CANACE SINGING TO A LARGE AUDIENCE.
- WOODSTOCK, WITH NITH-HAIAH ON HIS SHOULDER, WHILE NICOLE IS STANDING BEHIND HIM. THE BACKGROUND IS WARFARE.
- SAMAEL SIMMONS WITH MANY DOLLS ARE AROUND HER. SHERRIE POMME IS SEEN ON THE DISTANCE, COLORED IN BLUE, LIKE DEATH IS SURROUNDING HER.
- HELLEQUIN APPEARS ON HER ROOM, LOOKING LIKE SHE IS ABOUT TO CRY.
- EMERICH AND DIETRICH ARE PLAYING A PIANO TOGETHER, WHILE GODCHILD WATCHES THEM. THERE ARE PEOPLE DANCING AROUND THEM.
- URSULA, WITH RAVI AND BEAUMONT DISCUSSING IN FRONT OF HER. THEY ARE IN A LARGE LIBRARY, AND THE BOOKS SEEM TO BE FALLING AROUND THEM.
- A SMALL GLASS LILLY IS PLACED ON A TABLE, BY A HAND CRAVED BY MANY TATTOOS.
Here we go to something quite symbolic. Notice that at the top of the page, I put a slower and more detailed sequence, in which she looks away from the throne, which (in the initial version) we don't see who is sitting on it, and then she is threatened by an enormous monster from nightmares that Leona calls "scars of time". Personally, these "things" represent the ghosts that tormented me in moments when the only company I had was myself. I show them at the beginning of the story, trying to prepare the reader for this scene where, after an important moment of reflection in which she is guided by her mother, she is soon interrupted by the awakening of that wound that haunts her. However, regardless of how enormous it is, she advances against it again and faces it with bare hands.
PAGE THIRTEEN
PANEL ONE, SMALL: LEONA’S FACE, AS SHE LOOKS “TRUST” GLOWING IN HER HAND.
PANEL TWO, SMALL: LEONA’S TOP HALF. LEONA NOTICES MOVEMENT BEHIND HER. ON THE SECOND PIECE, LEONA’S FULL BODY AS SHE BEGINS THE TURN AROUND MOTION. DARK HANDS ARE COMING FROM BEHIND THE THRONE.
PANEL THREE, SMALL: TIGHT SHOT, TO SHOW LEONA BEING HOLD BY THE SHADES, FIGHTING TO KEEP STANDING.
PANEL FOUR, SMALL: CLOSE ON LEONA WITH AN ANGRY EXPRESSION, FACING THE DEVILISH MONSTER.
PANEL FIVE, LARGE: WE PULL BACK AND SEE MANY SPLASHES OF A BLACK SHADE ENCIRCLING LEONA WHILE SHE LANDS A DIRECT HIT ON THE THE CREATURE’S ‘FACE’
PANEL SIX, LARGE: WE SEE THE CREATURE’S FULL LENGTH. IT’S A HUGE MASS OF BLACK SAND, FULL OF ARMS AROUND IT. THE CREATURE HAS A SKULL FACE WITH SHIMMERING BLUE EYES AND A DEVILISH SMILE FULL OF TEETH. ON THE PANEL WE SEE LEONA’S BACK AS SHE FACES THIS NEW ENEMY. THE CREATURE LOUDLY SHRIEKING ON THE BACKGROUND. THAT DREADFUL AND WORN MASK WEAR BY ALL OF THESE MONSTERS.
LEONA: THIS IS A HUGE “TEMPORIS PLAGA” (SCAR OF TIME).
This double page spread caught me a bit, because I confess that I wasn't happy with it since the layout. As you can see, the original layout of the central drawing HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH the final result. The idea was to have frames orbiting around the central scene that needed to have a great impact of Leona freeing herself from that "thing" that devoured her whole. In the dialogue, excerpts from the lyrics of Neverending Nights perfectly describe this sequence. Frame 9 was only defined, in fact in pencil, because it didn't want to seem repetitive.
PAGE FOURTEEN - PAGE FIFTEEN (DOUBLE SPREAD)
PANEL ONE, SMALL: LEONA STANDS UP AGAIN, ONLY TO GIVE A FINAL LOOK TO THE CREATURE. ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PANEL, LEONA’S EXPRESSION IS SURPRISED.
PANEL TWO, SMALL: THE DRAGON IS ALREADY ON THE MOVE; ITS MOUTH ON TOP OF LEONA, READY TO KILL HER. LEONA IS STILL IN THE SAME POSITION.
PANEL THREE, SMALL: THE PANEL IS DIVIDED. WE SEE LEONA’S FACE PROFILE. ITS MOUTH ON TOP OF LEONA, READY TO KILL HER. WE SEE LEONA’S LIPS AS SHE IS SAYING SOMETHING.
PANEL FOUR, LARGE: THE CREATURE SEEMS TO HAVE SWALLOWED HER ENTIRELY.
PANEL FIVE, SMALL: THE DRAGON SEEMS DAZED SCREAMING LOUDLY, ITS THROAT IS GLOWING BLUE. IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING IS COMING OUT FROM INSIDE.
PANEL SIX (SPREAD): THIS PANEL IS LARGE, TAKING TWO PAGES, THE DRAGON DISSOLVE IN BLACK SAND. WE SEE MAJESTIC LEONA BLOWING THE DRAGON’S MOUTH UP WITH A MAGIC BLAST, WE CAN SEE THE CREATURE’S BONES BREAKING AROUND HER AND ALL BLACK SAND (LIKE VENOM’S SYMBIOTES).
PANEL SEVEN: LEONA’S BACK TO US, SHE LANDS ON THE GROUND, AT BACKGROUND WE SEE THE MONSTER’S DEMISE, DISSOLVING IN BACK SAND.
PANEL EIGHT: CLOSE ON LEONA’S FACE, SOMETHING ABOVE (OFF PANEL) CAUGHT HER ATTENTION.
LEONA: What is the meaning of all this?
PANEL NINE, SMALL: OVER LEONA’S SHOULDER. NOW WE SEE NASTIA’S ETHEREAL FORM HOVERING AND LOOKING TO LEONA AS A GUARDIAN ANGEL.
LEONA: Hatred. Pain. War. Death. Will anything good happen to me, Master?
PANEL TEN: IF POSSIBLE SPLIT THIS PANEL IN TWO, ON THE FIRST PART WE SEE LEONA’S PROFILE LOOKING ABOVE, ON THE SECOND WE SEE NASTIA PROFILE LOOKING STRAIGHT TO HER EYES.
And finally, the last page. Here I needed to provide a visible change of environment for the reader, so in the final lettering, I added the last part of the lyrics, which honestly, poetically concludes both the song and the sequence of this story. You can notice some details that call to the later story, such as the double-decker bus and the "wanted" poster flying in the wind. Neverending Nights is a story that can work very well on its own, but it also serves as an introduction to get to know the character. in the next story, we will realize that those details present on the last page are a perfect connection to the final scene.
PAGE SIXTEEN
PANEL ONE, SMALL: THE ROOM BEGINS TO FADE AWAY IN WAVES OF SAND. LEONA IS STILL IN THE SAME PLACE.
PANEL TWO, LARGE: THE ROOM BEGINS TO FADE AWAY IN WAVES OF SAND. ALL THE STATUES AND THE ROOM BEING REDUCED TO SAND.
PANEL THREE, SMALL: FOCUS ON LEONA’S FACE. LEONA CLOSES HER EYES. BEHIND HER THERE IS ONLY THE DARK NIGHT.
PANEL FOUR, SMALL: FOCUS ON LEONA’S FACE, AS SHE OPENS HER EYES AGAIN AND SHE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A CITY.
PANEL FIVE, SMALL: FOCUS FROM BENEATH, BEHIND LEONA. PEOPLE ARE PACING AROUND, TOO BUSY TO NOTICE LEONA.
PANEL SIX, LARGE: WIDE, BEHIND LEONA. SHE WALKS AWAY AMONG THE CROWD.
LEONA: Eternity it is. I take it. It’s my birthright, after all.
