The Old Crow Plot Outline

As with Fast Friends and Brawl, I took the breakdown and turned it into a plot outline very similar to the Marvel Method of writing comics.

The Old Crow: a road to god knows adventure!

1. Page One: The opening of the story features an interplay between Li’l Marie, returning home school, and a neighbourhood crow.  So the first panel shows a close-up on the crow’s foot as it perches on the “no parking” sign in front of Marie’s apartment building.  We pull back for an over-the-shoulder shot of the crow, strongly in the foreground, and Li’l Marie walking towards it (backpack, jacket, coming home from school clothing).  The next panel shows the same shot, but this time Marie is much closer and is staring up at the crow.  “Hello, there” she says cheerfully.  Cut to a close-up on the crow’s face, inscrutable in expression.  Panel five shows Marie, waist-up, smiling up at the crow.  “Be that way, then.”  Cut back to the crow as it has now opened it’s wings, getting ready to fly.  The final panel on the page is an over the shoulder shot of Marie, in the foreground, watching the crow fly off onto the horizon.

2. Page Two: Marie is inside the apartment, taking off her jacket with the backpack around her feet.  Next panel has her standing in the doorway of the living room, backpack in one hand, as she realizes that her Mom is laying on the couch, asleep.  It should be subtle, but on the coffee table beside her are a collection of pills and an open pill canister (with the lid laying beside it).  Don’t hit anyone over the head with it, but it should be there.  Panel three is a close-up on a groggy Betty (“shouldn’t you be at school, sweetie?”).  The fourth panel is a close-up on a quizzical Marie, looking at her mother oddly.  “Uh, mom, I’m just getting back…school’s done for the day.”  Betty props herself up on the couch, rubbing the back of her head thoughtfully.  “Oh, sorry.  I must have fallen asleep for longer then I meant to.  Figuring out money stuff always makes me sleepy.”  The last panel has Marie, looking worried, asking her Mom, “Are you…ok?”

3. Page Three: Betty is standing in front of the couch near her daughter.  Not quite in each other’s personal space, but it would only take a sec to fix that.  We should see both of them in this panel, stretching across the top of the page.  This is basically a beat panel, so they’re kinda of eyeing each other.  Marie should be looking away from her Mom, nervous about the situation.  In the next panel, Betty smiles at her daughter, “Just tired.  So, you want some break- oh, um, I mean a snack or something?”  Marie is still unsure about all of this and kind of hugs one arm to her body with her other arm.  “No, I’m not hungry.”  Betty, oblivious to her daughter’s confusion, says, “well, I’m going to scoot to the kitchen and start getting supper ready.  How does spaghetti sound to you?  I’m sure when you start smelling the aromas your belly will start grumbling.”  That helps breaks Marie’s confusion and she smiles broadly at that, “Sure, mom, that would be great.”

4. Page Four: This is a very quiet page design-wise.  It should echo a bit of what I did in Brawl with Marie falling asleep in the kitchen.  So, in the first panel, Marie is sitting on the couch as she begins to watch TV.  Her backpack is lying on the couch, near the envelopes and pill bottle.  The next few panels show her slowly getting comfortable, laying on a pillow and stretching out.  The last panel should stretch across the bottom of the page and show a loud “damn it.”  Marie, startled, has sat up and is looking towards the kitchen (out of panel).  

5. Page Five: Marie is sitting up straight on the couch in the first panel, looking very nervous.  Panel two has her Mom leaning against the far door frame, forcing a smile.  “Look, sweetie, I, um, I forgot that food is a little tight right now.  I-I’m just waiting to get a cheque in the mail and it…it hasn’t come in yet.  So, I think…I think we’ll have to make do tonight, ok?”  Marie bites her lower lip.  “Sure, that’s ok.”  The fourth panel has her Mom smiling a bit more.  “Well, we still some odds and ends.  I’ll put something together.  It just won’t be spaghetti this time around.  A bit of a ‘Mom’s Special’ instead.”  Pull back to see the two of them as Marie says “ok” once again.   Panel six has Marie laying back against the pillow, returning to watch her show.  Panel seven has her Mom leaning against the door frame once again.  “Actually, sweetie, I, uh, need to make a quick run to the corner store.  I won’t be long.”  In the last panel we pull back to see the two of them again with Marie, worried about her mom, offering to come along.  “I don’t mind coming with you.”  Betty looks nervous about this.  “Well, uh, ok…”

6. Page Six: The first panel should be reasonably large and dominate the page.  Not a full splash but perhaps half the page.  The two are walking up the street holding hands but their conversation is a little stilted.  Betty: “Did you have a good day at school today?”  Marie: “Yeah, it was ok.  Kelly and I hung out at lunch.  I’m thinking of going to her place on Saturday if that’s ok.”  Next Panel is a close up on Betty, looking a little haggard.  “Sure, sweetie, that’s fine.  Oh, wait, are you seeing your dad this weekend?”  Pull back to the two of them, still walking, with Marie looking quizzically at her Mom.  “No, that’ll be next weekend, Mom.  I just saw him on Sunday.”  Betty, forces another smile.  “Oh, right, of course.  Sorry, sweetie, I’ve got a headache and it’s making thinking a little hard.”  Close up on Marie, head down. “Oh.”

7. Page Seven: The first panel has the two standing near the entrance of a little corner store.  The panel should be wide enough to see the wise sign above the door, “Sam’s Grocery.”  Inside, we see Marie standing in front of the magazine rack while her Mom is in the background, partially obscured by a rack of potato chips.  The third panel has her Mom standing in front of the cashier with a the makings of spaghetti on the counter in front of her (so pasta, can of tomato sauce, a few vegetables, etc…).  An older man is the cashier and says, “that’ll be $8.67.”  Cut to a medium shot of Marie, holding her magazine but looking up off-panel.  The next few panels should all be from Marie’s point of view as she watches the exchange between her Mom and the cashier.  So Marie is solidly in the foreground with the exchange going on in the mid-ground.  The next panel has Betty leaning in towards the cashier, conspiratorially-like, whispering, “I, uh, was hoping I could put this on my tab, Mike.  I’m just waiting for my cheque but it hasn’t come in yet.”  Panel six is pretty much the same shot as the previous panel.  Mike, the cashier, says, “Well, Betty, you’ve already got a few things on it.”  

8. Page Eight:  Still going with “the Marie in the foreground design” here.  The first panel has Betty, still whispering, “I know, but this will be the last time.”  Panel two is, once again, a similar set-up, but this time Mike looks over at Marie (so basically right at the reader) and then says “yes.”  Panel three has a clearly relieved Betty saying, in a louder voice, “Oh, thanks Mike, that’s great.”  Panel four breaks the Marie/foreground design and is a close-up on a smiling Betty looking over towards her daughter, “Time to go, sweetie.”  Panel five shows a close up on Marie’s eyes, looking worried.

9. Page Nine:  First panel has the two back on the street, walking home holding hands.  Panel two has Marie looking up and see spots the same crow, circling in the sky high above.  Panel three has the two in front of their building.  Betty is already up a few steps while Marie has stopped at the bottom.  The two are still holding hands.  Panel four is a medium shot of Marie, her Mom’s back in the background, with Marie half-turned towards the street and watching the sky.  Panel five has both of them at the top of the stairs.  Betty is standing near the door to their apartment with her daughter a step or two behind her.  Panel Six is a close up on Marie as she says softly, “I love you, mommy.”  

10. Page Ten:  The first panel has Betty, smiling broadly, looking down at her daughter.  “I love you too, sweetie.  With all of my heart.”  Panel two should drop all panel borders and background details (so just white space).  The groceries are on the ground near Betty’s feet as the hold hands facing one another.  Betty says, “Now let’s get inside and get some spaghetti in your belly after all.”  The last panel, about half the page, is an over-the-shoulder of the crow, perched once again on the “no parking” sign, looking towards the house.  The porch is empty of people and the apartment door is closed.