How do you tell a story? As an artist, as a designer? For me, storytelling almost always starts with a pencil. That’s my gut instinct: sketch it out, visualize, let the images drive the narrative.
But over the years, my approach has shifted. I’ve learned to separate pure ideation from conceptual development. (That’s a whole other story for another time.) What matters here is how those ideas are landing on the page for Bloodbath on Unholy Island.
Scene 1: The Beginning
Scene 1 of Book 1 plays out across four spreads—or eight pages. On paper, my script broke it down into just seventeen panels. But once I started drawing, I realized I needed to expand. The high concept grew naturally as I told the story visually. And that’s okay. It’s right.
The important part is knowing I’ll circle back. These first passes are explorations. I’ll keep refining and testing layouts, making sure I’ve thought as wide as possible about how the story unfolds, where the beats land, and what the reader feels as they move through each spread.
The Process Moving Forward
Over the next few weeks—maybe months—I’ll be sketching toward the first full section: thirty-two pages in rough form. Once that draft exists, I’ll revisit the story again, checking how it flows. Does the pacing work? Are the emotional moments landing? Is the story powerful on the page—or not yet?
That’s when the adjustments will happen. From there: ink, refine, and eventually publish. My plan is to release this as Comic Book 1, the first installment in a series that will ultimately build into the full Bloodbath on Unholy Island graphic novel.
What’s Next
I’m sharing the script for Scene 1 below. Think of it as a first window into the world I’m building. From here, you’ll see the roughs, the rewrites, and the revisions as this project slowly grows into the book it’s meant to be. Above is a preview of the first four spreads.
Enjoy this first look—the story is only just beginning.
Scene One: The Road to Inverness
Black panels. The faint glow of headlights. A caption bleeds across the dark:
CAPTION: Scotland. Just past midnight.
PANEL 1: A car rips down a narrow, forested road. Trees blur at the edges, swallowed by night. The headlights cut tunnels through the dark.
SFX (from car stereo): BLARING ROCK MUSIC — HEAVY, UNRELENTING.
PANEL 2: Inside the car, ROM leans forward in the driver’s seat. His jaw is tight. The glow of the dash lights his face in fragments. He stares into the illuminated void ahead.
PANEL 3: BANG! A tire explodes. Sparks flash as the car jerks violently.
ROM (shouting): “What the—?!”
PANEL 4: The car grinds to a halt on the shoulder. Rom sits behind the wheel, fists on it, cursing under his breath.
ROM (small text): “Shit. Shit. Shit.”
PANEL 5: Outside now. Rom crouches by the wheel with his phone’s flashlight. The tire’s shredded, rim bent. He exhales sharply.
ROM: “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
PANEL 6: He pulls out his phone — the screen glows NO SIGNAL.
ROM (muttering): “Perfect.”
PANEL 7: Long shot. Rom walking the roadside, swallowed by shadow. The forest looms, silent. His phone dangles useless in his hand.
PANEL 8: Headlights appear in the distance behind him, piercing the black. Rom turns, his face brightening with relief.
ROM (yelling, waving): “Hey! Hey!”
PANEL 9: The car rockets past him, wind whipping his jacket. His face twists into rage.
ROM (shouting after it): “Asshole!”
PANEL 10: The car’s brake lights flare red in the distance. Tires SCREECH. It halts a hundred meters ahead.
ROM (quiet, tense): “…shit. Shit. Shit.”
PANEL 11: The car reverses slowly, menacingly, until it rolls to a stop beside him. The passenger window hums down.
PANEL 12: Inside: a rough figure in military fatigues, patches across the jacket. A wide Mohawk. His teeth flash in a grin that doesn’t reach his eyes.
STRANGER: “Bad night, huh?”
PANEL 13: Rom leans down, cautious. The stranger’s gaze is steady, unblinking.
ROM: “Blew a tire. No spare. No signal. Guess I’m walking to Inverness.”
STRANGER: “Well… that’s your bad luck. Hop in. I’ll take you to the next garage.”
PANEL 14: Rom hesitates — then the door creaks open. He climbs in.
PANEL 15: Close on Rom’s face as he notices it: the cold gleam of a handgun resting casually on the stranger’s lap.
PANEL 16: The stranger’s hand flips on the radio. AC/DC TEARS THROUGH THE NIGHT.
SFX (radio): “HIGHWAY TO HELL…”
PANEL 17: Exterior wide shot. The car rockets down the dark road, swallowed into the forest.
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