A Tragedy in Paradise
Page 1: Cover, a Right Page
Page 2: Copyright page, a Left Page
Page 3: a Right Page, 2 rows
Top ¼ of page
Establishing shot of the city
In the paradise city of Weed where the bud flows like rain and everyone gets along there is a tragedy.
A cop has shot an unarmed black man.
Bottom ¾ of page
Bloody hand in the foreground, tilted cop in the upper right pointing a smoking gun
Overlaid panel in lower right
Shocked cop lowering gun and head
Everyone is heartbroken. Everyone shows up to the funeral.
Page 4 and 5: a 2-page splash, 2 rows
Quadruple wide, 3/5 of page
“BLACK LIVES MATTER” in front of people in turmoil protesting carrying “I can’t breathe” protest masks.
4 panels, 2/5 of pages
Obama speaking
Ashes of Little Ceases
Cop on Trial
A Funeral
The city must come together to heal and to address its problems.
Page 6: a Left Page, 4 Rows
Two across
As your mayor I have failed you and I feel I can no longer serve
We must come together to solve our problem of inequality
Two across
We will use discussion and debate to find a solution
We will have a special election
Two across
Mary, you’re a pillar of the community and a friend of both candidates
You must smoke-out with each one and help us decide who the police union will endorse
Double wide extra tall
Ok, I’ll do it
Page 7: a Right Page, 3 Rows
Double Wide
*Mary walking, and talking to another cop*
The first guy is a spiritual leader
Two Across
*Preacher in front of a congregation*
He Preaches on Sunday
*Preacher on his knees in an empty sanctuary*
Spends a lot of time talking to God
Two Across
*Preacher ladling soup at a soup kitchen>*
Helps the homeless
*Preacher with a bouquet of flowers knocking on a hotel room door*
And he pays women to pretend to love him
Page 8: a Left Page, Full Page Splash
*a mid-level erotic scene of the preacher having sex with a woman.*
*They are mostly covered by the blanket but it’s still a sexy picture.*
*There is wine and candles on the night stand.*
Everyone knows about the prostitutes and no one really minds funding it
Sometimes it adds a little spice to his sermons
It can be fun to listen to him allude to his beautifully romantic evenings filled with candles and poetry
Page 9: a Right Page, 3 rows
Two across, First panel is extra-large
*A shot looking down the cylinder of a glass bong filled with swirling smoke*
*The Preacher is holding the bong to his mouth as he is breathing in*
Two across
*The preacher passes the bong to Mary as he breathes out smoke*
*Mary begins to light the bong while the preacher lies back on the couch looking at the ceiling*
Three Across
The cop said the kid was grabbing the gun
Said he felt like he was getting tossed by Hulk Hogan
I don’t buy that for a second
Page 10: a Left Page, 3 Rows
Two Across
What I think happened was the kid started with his hands up and then changed his mind
Maybe he was running at the cop,
Two Across
Probably he was just trying to run and did so in an unfortunate direction
Either way it was exceedingly stupid considering the situation
Three Across
Once the cop thinks he’s getting rushed, what’s he supposed to do?
Would the cop really expect the kid to change his mind again mid-stride?
*Rolling his eyes*
“Oh that’s right you have a gun pointed at me. I forgot.”
Page 11: a Right Page, 3 Rows
Three across
Here is what I say we do
we can loosen the racial tension on that hair trigger some cops have
and train cops to disarm situations without relying on their guns
Three across
But ultimately some police work is a delicate ballet.
We will punish any screw-up
but we must accept that out of the whole country there will be a few screw-ups.
Double wide
Hire good people, train them well and get the hell out of their way. That’s my solution.
Page 12: a Left Page, Full Page Splash
*The teacher is presenting a new review mechanism to a class room full of well-dressed people. He is standing in front of a black board filled with equations.*
Therefor according to this metric, teachers who score well have taught low income students more effectively and should be paid more even if there overall cohort scores are lower
Page 13: a Right Page, 3 Rows
Double wide, 3/8 page high
*A woman is shaking his hand*
(Balloon 1) You always know how to craft good policy
(Balloon 2) Well I try to listen to everyone
Two across, ¼ page high
I do my research and dig as deep as I can
All children deserve an education and a family
Double wide, 3/8 page high
*Mary is entering the class room*
Nice work there teach, you wanna get high? “Sure, I would love to!”
Page 14: a Left Page, 4 Rows
Double wide
I’ve just got to finish up making these forged documents so immigrant children can get an education
Double wide
(Balloon 1) You know you’re not supposed to let me know about that
(Balloon 2) Don’t worry about it
Two across, first panel ¾ of page width
No one has called 911 on me so you don’t have to do anything
That’s how the system works
Double wide
Yeah I guess so, just try to be careful
Page 15: a Right Page, 4 Rows
Two Across
*The teacher is holding a joint*
The problem is that most people think cops
are just donut munching clock punchers
Too often we throw up our hands and
assume that’s just the way things are.
Two Across
To change the world we need a weapon
to defend ourselves from apathy
That weapon is quantitative analysis of our results
Double Wide
With hard work and iterative investigation,
we will create a roadmap for change
Two Across
I’m talking about radical citywide action
All the systems will need to be adjusted
It’s insane to think we will get
Different results re-trying the past
Page 16: a Left Page, 4 Rows
Double Wide
For example we may need to boost the foster care system and increase
public defender pay with a tax on gated communities and private colleges
Two Across
This will be scary because change is scary
A lot of people won’t like it at first
But people are good.
Two Across
They will believe the truth
if we give it to them.
Even if it’s hard to see.
Double Wide, Extra Tall
As a whole people want to live in harmony but without clear direction some will make mistakes
Page 17: a Right Page, 2 rows
*Mary is looking out at the city*
(bubble 1)both candidates seem legit
(bubble 2)Anyway, time to ride
*A homeless man is talking to Mary, in the background a homeless woman is talking to another cop (Mary’s partner)*
She said if I don’t give her my money she’ll accuse me of rape
Page 18: a Left Page, 4 rows
Three across
That’s mine and you know it
Don’t make me do it
Three panels stacked on the right of row 1
*Woman with her hand upturned, saying nothing*
I’ll do it
I’m warning you
Two across, panel one is ¾ page wide
Officer this man raped me
You’ve got to be kidding
Double wide
I’m sorry sir but I’m mandated to take you to booking now
Double wide
I’ll be very clear about what happened here in my report
Page 19: a Right Page, 3 Rows
Two across
*Mary is in a homeless camp throwing stuff into an orange bag*
I hate doing this. It leaves a mark on my soul
I wonder where this guy is anyway
Double wide
*Mary and her partner are now under the shadow of a bridge.*
*Hints of the bridge are in the background*
*Mary’s partner is looking down at a body off camera*
(Balloon 1) Well we found him
(Balloon 2) Probably died this morning
Double wide extra tall
This is so tragic, I wish to God there was something I could do
Page 20: a Left Page, 3 rows
Double wide, 2/5 of pave height
*Sunset, Mary approaches a man in robes.*
(Balloon 1) I’m sorry my friend, but you can’t sleep in the park.
(Balloon 2) I’m not sleeping I’m meditating.
Two across, panel 1 is ¼ page width
I guess there’s no law against that
And since no one in the park is breaking the law, that means I’m done for the day
Double wide
(balloon 1) Hey, I’m going to get baked, you wanna join me?
(balloon 2) Let’s do it my sister
Page 21: a Right Page, Full Page Splash
You must let go of the world in order to save it
Page 22: a Left Page
Two across, ¼ page height
*Back at the precinct*
We need to go with the Preacher
The answer is not in the policy, it’s within us
Double wide, Background spread
(balloon 1) We need to trust our cops to respond to the 911 call they are given
(balloon 2) At the same time body cams are a good idea
Page 23: A Right Page
About the writer and artist
Page 24: Back Cover, a Left Page