Double Cross Scene Compilation - CH2 Pgs 1-10

Hi, everyone!

Time for another scene compilation with "DVD-style" commentary, which I'll be posting weekly until I start getting the pages from Gabriel and Vero for Fallen Chapter Two in November.

In terms of personal updates, I'm now more than halfway through the climax of the urban fantasy novel I've been working on and really hoping I can get it drafted by the end of the month. My mother's health hasn't been great, but she's hanging in there. And I went to the wedding of a comic book friend over the weekend, and it was on a moving boat (the USS Potomac), so that was kinda cool. But for the most part, things have been fairly chill for me.

What's not chill is this next scene compilation, because we are officially starting Chapter Two of Double Cross, and there's a lot going on!

In the last scene comp, Flyboy got trapped on the other side of a magic portal and now he needs to figure out where exactly he is (or when!) so he can save both his friend AND his mentor. All while staying off of the government's radar.

Check out what happens under the fold!

These pages were first published way back in November-December 2019. If you want to read the previous scene compilations (and, even better, read the whole first chapter all at once), you can find them on the TYP:DC Scene Compilation Collection page. 

My DVD-style commentary is below the comic pages. And the pages themselves are full-resolution here on Patreon, so feel free to zoom-in, especially on that double-page spread!

Let's get to it!

It's been a long time since I've re-read this scene and while there are certainly times when I cringe reading my own writing, I have to admit I got a big kick out of re-experiencing the dialogue here. And I'd forgotten a bunch of stuff I was trying to do in these pages. But now I get to talk to y'all about it!

Spooky is Spooky at any age

As we'll find in later scenes, Teen Spooky has a lot to learn before he becomes the kick-ass adult version of himself. But I wanted to establish some real continuity between who he used to be, and who is now. Some of that has to do with his humor (see below), but if there is one defining characteristic of Spooky Jones, it's his heart. And we see it on the very first page when he notices Flyboy is in pain, because he immediately is moved to want to help him feel better.

We'll also see it in his willingness to help Flyboy save his friend, but first:

We get some humor

The last scene was pretty intense and, while overall you want to build tension throughout the whole story, it's important to give readers breaks. Ideally, fun breaks. (Superhero comics are supposed to be fun, right?)

I had forgotten the little exchange between Flyboy and Teen Spooky where Mitch asks him to lie to ExSec and fully expects him to do it. It definitely made me smile to re-discover exactly how rightfully crazy Spooky makes that request sound. Likewise, I also enjoyed Teen Spooky getting annoyed about Mitch calling him young—something that we see he gets a lot in his line of work. (And I love that circular panel Adam uses when Mitch makes the decision to trust this younger version of Spooky. Humor scenes can be even trickier than action scenes sometimes, and the timing of the beats here worked out even better than I expected.)

There's a lot I was trying to do with these humorous exchanges in addition to bringing the mood up. For one, we get to see that Teen Spooky is wrestling with some of the same issues Flyboy is struggling with—that is, being taken seriously by adults despite showing considerable talent and maturity. Overall, this exchange is meant to bring these characters together quickly. Flyboy gets to recognize some of himself in Teen Spooky and Spooky gets to feel seen by Flyboy 's awareness of his character: that Spooky will always choose doing the right thing over playing by the rules. Even if it means lying to the feds.

Speaking of which:

We finally get to see some adult heroes

In the Engaging the Enemy arc, we did get to see Hunter and Killer in action (trying to apprehend The Annihilator), but they felt more like rogues than team players. This is a true ExSec team—the "Deschutes Defenders" who are responsible for protecting Oregon. We don't actually get to know their names in the comic, but in the script I was going for things that sounded militaristic, so we have Overwhelming Force, FlashBang, and Merkava (which is a tank, don't you know...)

(In my notes to Adam as we worked on these pages, I kept referring to Overwhelming Force as O-Force, so I guess she had her porn name baked in. :) )

We also get a mention of Spooky's "handler", which is a shout out to a short story I had recently published here on Patreon about Spooky at this age.

Anyway, as we soon see, the grown-up superheroes are kinda dicks which makes them into some fun, short-term antagonists. Adam and I had a good time setting up the height difference between Teen Spooky and O-Force and in showing how little these grown-up heroes respect him.

Which sets them up perfectly for

Teen Spooky being awesome in his own, snarky way

Even reading this scene five years later, I still love how Teen Spooky puts them in their place. We already know from Chapter One that the superheroes of ExSec are afraid of magic and that, for all intents and purposes, Spooky is all that is standing between Earth and the forces of Hell. (At least until he joins the team of young heroes his friend, Amanda, will create.) And even if he does take credit for Flyboy's KO of the magic user (to protect him!), I think the comeuppance is well deserved.

This exchange also gave me a chance to show that 15-year-old Spooky can be professional when he needs to be. He gives real answers to the Defenders' questions that are straight and to the point. This is not his first rodeo. O-Force might have been worried she was going to have to deal with an amateur, but when it comes to magic, this young wizard is the Subject Matter Expert.

On top of that, we also get to see Flyboy being impressed with how well Teen Spooky handles himself with the adults. As we'll find out in the upcoming scenes, the two junior heroes do have different styles, but there is definitely a part of Mitch who would love to have the confidence of this young Spooky. So, that's another reason for him to get close to this other boy.

Some other things:

We get to see there is something going on with Flyboy's arm

That blue glow will become more important later, right?

Flyboy realizes how out of his depth he is

which sets him up for his growth arc throughout this story. This is a coming of age growth arc and by the end, Mitch will have a lot more confidence and awareness of what he is capable of (and not capable of). But we need to start him on the floor before we can get him to the roof. At this point, he's still just a kid, even in his own mind.

Flyboy losing Cory reminds Spooky of Anaado

This was another call out (to Spooky Jones: Past Sins) and a subtle one at that, but at 15 years old, it's been less than two years since this Spooky left his friend back in Hell. Flyboy losing Cory brings that back for him—and makes him commit hard to helping this mysterious boy from the future, no matter what.

Even with a mention in the first chapter, the reason might not be perfectly clear to brand new readers, but I don't think it has to be here. And after posting over 1000 pages in this world, it's fun for me to throw in Easter Eggs for y'all. :)

Our young heroes get their mission

Flyboy realizes he has a way to find the Sphere Celestial, which is going to drive the action until we meet the real villain of the story, a certain wizard in shades.

Finally:

Spooky and Flyboy get to share the Joy of Flying

Part of that is again to reset and lighten the tone from the horror of the end of Chapter One. But it's also a chance to show these teen boys just being teen boys and, in that sense, it's also a reset for Flyboy with this version of Spooky. This isn't the adult mentor he left behind. This is a guy his own age, and that means their relationship is going to be something different. Something new.

Maybe even something romantic... :)

Let me know what you think!

Anyway, those were the things I was trying to accomplish with these first pages of Chapter Two.

Please let me know your own thoughts below. It's your feedback that makes it fun for me to create these, so please jump in and share!

And thank you, as always, for making this comic possible. Sharing these scenes with you helps remind me of how much I love creating this story. And it's only possible because of your support.

Y'all totally rock. I'll post the next set of pages next Tuesday! I hope to see you there! :D