Page 1 (three panels)
Panel 1
From a bird’s eye view, a vast, intricately designed labyrinth is seen from above that seems to stretch for miles across a desert landscape. At the center of the labyrinth is a large building that would almost resemble a palace or skyscraper in comparison to its surroundings but it’s dull, rectangular shape and lack of windows would suggest that it is nothing more than an a large prison. A helicopter pad can be seen on the roof of the building. Much smaller buildings can be seen scattered throughout the labyrinth.
Caption:
Welcome to the beautiful penal colony of Theseus’ Crown. Also known as the “Labyrinth City”. Also known as the “World’s Ultimate Maximum Security Prison”.
Panel 2
A large red helicopter is perched on the rooftop of the large building. Five men in bright red jumpsuits and glowing blue shackles and collars are seen being corralled off of the chopper into a line by two armed guards with rifles in hand and batons at their sides. The prisoners are obviously unhappy but the guards who flank them maintain an air of authority and smugness. The pilot of the helicopter may also be seen and another guard stands in the doorway of the air transport pointing at one of the prisoners and apparently barking out orders to the other guards standing on the roof and guiding them.
Caption:
Prisoners are transported here by air partially because the maze which surrounds the prison is about 40 miles in diameter. Mostly because it is actually closer to about 100 miles to navigate, and anyone with common sense knows that that’s WAY too much of a trip.
Panel 3
Some other prisoners dressed in the bright red jumpsuits are seen walking along a dark, chrome covered hall with cell doors on either side. The doors are swinging outward as the prisoners approach, as if in greeting. The new prisoners are staring warily at the doors. Two jet-shaped robotic sentries hover just above the prisoners in the hallway. Two red lights centered on the front of the machines would indicate eyes or some other form of sensors
Caption:
There are no actual guards who work within the prison. No human guards, anyway. Officers only escort prisoners into the grounds. Everything is remotely operated from somewhere far away by one man…
Page 2 (4 panels)
Panel 1
A crowded mess hall is shown now with long cafeteria-style tables and benches where large numbers of prisoners are seated and conversing. Dozens of the robotic sentries are seen floating overhead and darting about through the air and observing the prisoners below. At the far back wall, a large monitor displays the image of a heavyset, thick jowl, pale man with a pockmarked and scarred face sitting back in a desk and staring maliciously down on the prisoners. The man has thin black hair, light blue eyes and he wears a dark red suit with a black vest, black tie and white shirt underneath it. Only the upper shoulders to the head of the man on the image can be seen.
Caption:
The only overseer is the Warden, who also just happens to be the owner of Theseus’ Crown. Not the most handsome or the most gracious fellow you’ll ever meet.
Panel 2
A shot from behind a group of silhouetted figures who are seated in front of a what looks like a 124” screen that depicts a man in a red jumpsuit running into the screen with a look of intense horror on his face.
Caption:
It’s even rumored that some sadistic rich boys and so-called friends of the Warden actually pay to watch prisoners of their choosing die in the labyrinth… from whatever it is that happens in that Godforsaken maze.
Panel 3
A single man flanked on either side by two of the hovering robotic sentries is standing in a doorway in front of two large double doors that are half-opened. The room he stands in is dimly lit (as most rooms in the prison are) but the daylight flooding from the outside through the narrow opening bathes everything in the room, casting long shadows across the floors. Two monitors on either side of the doors, display the Warden’s smug face with a sinister grin stretched from ear to ear.
Caption:
Any prisoner who crosses the Warden, or gets sentenced to death, or even tries to escape is taken outside the prison walls…
Panel 4
Copy Panel 4. The Warden’s smile has receded slightly to resemble more of a grimace and the doors are now closed. The sentries and the prisoner are no longer seen.
Caption:
And they’re never heard from again.
Page 3 (six panels)
Panel 1
A man in a red jumpsuit is seen sprinting through the maze, pumping his arms vigorously. His face shows that he is clearly satisfied and feeling victorious.
Caption:
It’s said that many have tried to escape Theseus’ Crown before… Men have tried running straight through the hundred-mile maze of traps…
Panel 2
A skeleton wearing the same red jumpsuit is shown stretched out on the ground. The skin may still be clinging to the bone, making the man look more emaciated but obviously dead from dehydration. Some small flies may be buzzing around the head of the dead man.
Caption:
…and failed.
Panel 3
Another man in a red jumpsuit is seen in a narrow tunnel moving in an army crawl with a spoon in each hand. The tunnel appears uncomfortable but the man has the same look of delight and satisfaction as the man in Panel 1.
Caption:
Some have tried digging under the walls…
Panel 4
Another skeleton is shown wearing a red jumpsuit in the tunnel still clutching the spoons in both hands. Two mice are seen skittering over the skeleton, possibly picking at the remains.
Caption:
…and failed.
Panel 5
Three men in red jumpsuits are grappling with three guards on the helicopter, which is still in flight. One guard may already be standing with his baton in half-swing. The others are in a sitting position, either trying to fend off the attackers or attempting to pull out their sidearm or baton from their hip. All of the prisoners are bound with their energy handcuffs and collars but they are fighting ferociously in the small space. One may be grabbing at the baton on the guards hip. Another has his hands clasped together and hammering one of the guards across the face with his fists. The last prisoner is attempting to wretch the other guard by the neck.
Caption:
Others even tried hijacking their air transports…
Panel 6
From below we see the three prisoners are falling from the open helicopter door, with their hands still bound and looking pathetic, panicked and regretful. The guards may be seen in the helicopter door looking down and watching the men in freefall. A low-flying vulture passes one man in the air, looking half-startled by the heavy falling body.
Caption:
…and fell to their deaths.P
age 4 (five panels)
Panel 1
The whole prison is shown again from the outside.
Caption:
Escape from Theseus’ Crown is impossible… So they say…
Panel 2
A medium shot of two men are facing the camera. One is JESSE J. JOHNS, a Caucasian, about 5-foot-8-inches tall with bronze skin, slicked dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, an average build, and a well-groomed beard with connecting sideburns. Jesse gives a double thumbs-up. The other man is BUTCH CAUDILL, a statuesque 6-foot-5-inch tall, coffee brown skinned African American with a short frohawk, small dark brown eyes and an athletic build. Butch stands confidently with good posture and his arms are folded across his chest. Behind them is an open cell door.
Caption:
But Jesse J. Johns isn’t a coward! And my best buddy, Butch Caudill, and I are going to test that theory… because we’re thieves of honor and certified geniuses!
Panel 3
A teenage Jesse, skinnier and sans beard, is shown running out of the front door of a fast food restaurant carrying an armful of what looks like flour tortilla wraps with chocolate nuggets spilling out of them. A young, pimple-faced boy wearing a dark brown collar shirt and a stupid looking chocolate brown hat shaped like a taco shell is running close at his hills and trying to reach out and catch him. A teenage Butch, still a head taller than Jesse but slimmer, is standing in front of the restaurant holding two smaller boys up by their collars menacingly. The two captured boys are obviously scared and their feet dangle a few inches from the ground.
Caption:
Like most guys, we started off as small-time thugs, robbing Choco Bells (man, I love their chocolate tacos!) and hustling on the streets.
Panel 4
From a front view, an angry man in a dark suit flanked by two enforcers with expressionless faces armed with automatic rifles stand in front of a large building, which appears to be an armory, scanning for something. At the top of the building the shapes of Jesse and Butch in black leotards are seen with night vision goggles glaring against the dark background of a starry night sky. The man in the suit is the stereotypical mafia crime boss with slicked back salt-and-pepper hair, a clean shaven face, an aquiline nose, sunken eyes and a red flower pinned to the front of his suit jacket. The two soldiers are young and wear the usual fatigues. Red lights are glowing along the edge of the roof, indicating sirens blaring and thick black smoke is billowing from somewhere off screen.
Caption:
Eventually we moved up to big-time scores, like breaking vaults, conning multibillion dollar business owners, and even breaking into a mobster’s warehouse, just for the fun of it. But we never harmed anyone (not PHYSICALLY anyway) and everyone we stole from was a crook themselves in some form or another.
Panel 5
Jesse and Butch are seen in a large warehouse, apparently tending to their “stash”. A line of fancy sports cars and a Hummer are seen parked along one wall of the warehouse and a large open vault is seen up against the adjacent wall, filled with bars of gold, jewels, cash and weapons. Butch, wearing a dark t-shirt, sits in the front seat of the Hummer, inspecting a rocket launcher and Jesse, wearing a white t-shirt and dark jeans, peers into the open vault holding a notepad and pen, apparently taking inventory.
Caption:
What makes us geniuses, though you may ask?
Page 5 (five panels)
Panel 1
Jesse and Butch are seen standing in the middle of a highway wearing dark suits, smug grins, and holding their hands up in surrender. The pair is standing next to a crimson red sports car and they are surrounded by multiple police cars. Some police have already exited their vehicles and positioned themselves behind their doors with their guns drawn and aimed at the two.
Caption:
Just the fact that we were never caught for our crimes until we allowed the authorities to capture us.
Panel 2
From a bird’s eye view, the red sports car can be seen speeding across a highway in the desert with at least five cop cars a hundred yards away with sirens blaring and kicking up clouds of dust in their wake.
Caption:
Of course, we gave them a nice run for their money… about 200-miles worth of a run across two states.
Panel 3
A close up of a front-page newspaper clip shows Jesse and Butch’s mug shots grinning into the camera from the page with the headline “Infamous duo finally brought to justice” stretched above the photos.
Caption:
After all, we are the best and brightest…
Panel 4
Jesse and Butch are seen now walking side-by-side, being escorted down a narrow hallway by four of the flying sentinels, one in the front, one on either side and one at the rear. Both men wear the bright red jumpsuits as the rest. Jesse is yelping, grabbing his butt with one hand and raising his other arm in protest, as the sentinel at the rear emits a small blue beam from its single eye right into his backside. Butch is walking casually with a calm expression on his face, ignoring his partner and scrutinizing the sentinel nearest to him.
Caption:
And we learned everything we know from one man… The very same man who we came into this crapper to bust out…
SFX:
BZZZT!
JESSE:
YEEEOW!
Panel 5
In a large room, which is meant to suffice as a prison yard but resembles a dungeon with some sunlight streaming through the high windows, we see CASUAL AL, a pale and portly forty-something-year-old man with receding gray and black hair and two long, identical scars running down both cheeks stands with his arms outstretched and a broad smile on his otherwise intimidating face. He wears the same bright red uniform as the other prisoners. Some of the prisoners are milling about behind him, working out with weights or standing around talking. At least a pair of the flying sentinels may be seen hovering nearby.
Caption:
The original gangster known as Casual Al.
CASUAL AL:
BOYS!!