Felix Hughes is the Eisner Award nominated writer of the critically acclaimed “Fire of the Pendragon,” a fantasy comic book published by the small imprint, Blam! Comics.

A lifelong comics fan and aspiring creator, getting “Pendragon” published two years ago was a dream come true for Felix.  And to make things even better, shortly after his first issue was released, he met Faith Robbins. Beautiful, smart, funny…everything he had ever been looking for in a woman.  He found “The One.”

Or so he thought.

It’s been more than six months since Faith left him.  Felix has been cooped up in his house, not returning calls from his friends, family, or even Skate, his artist partner on “Pendragon.” Instead, he’s been working on a passion project.  And much to the dismay of Tony Tuttle, his publisher at Blam!,  the project is not the script for the now two month’s late twelfth issue of  “Fire of the Pendragon.”

As Felix prepares to finish the final page of his masterpiece, he’s confident his life is about to change.  And he’s right.  Just not in the way he expects…

Faith Robbins is in love.

Again.

But this time, it’s the real thing.  It has to be.  So what if it’s only been six months since she got out of her last relationship?  Blake Sterling is the man of her dreams, her knight in shining armor.  After all, he’s smart (a lawyer!), successful (drives a Lexus!), funny (does THE BEST Borat impression!) and handsome (So. F’ing.  Gorgeous!)  And what’s more he’s crazy about her and has big dreams for their future together.

In fact, it was Blake’s idea that Faith run for the open seat on their local town council.  After all, she’s a well-liked and respected member of the community, serving for several years as a teacher and now Assistant Principal at the Blue Ridge Elementary School.

Everything is falling into place…

Writing Over has been quite an adventure.

It started out as a graphic novel and evolved into a screenplay.  After countless hours and more than four rewrites of the script, I finally got Over to a point where I was happy with the story.  Only then did I begin to translate it back to a comic…the very graphic novel you’ve been reading and hopefully enjoying thus far.

Writing a feature length screenplay has long been a goal of mine.  While I’ve had The Screenwriter’s Bible for years and took a class in 2002 that involved some screenwriting, I just never found the inspiration (and more importantly the dedication) to actually sit myself down and write one.  The fact that I’ve now got a spec script in Over is something I’m very proud of.  The experience of writing a feature length script, putting it out for feedback, and revising and rewriting and revising again, has probably been the most rewarding experience in my life as a writer.  I feel like I’ve grown in leaps and bounds by committing to this process.  I hope it shows in both this story, and in everything I write going forward.

While I’d love to be able to update with a new page every day, I simply can’t draw that fast.  But I am committed to frequently (daily if possible) updating this site with interesting content relevant to both the story and themes presented in Over. One of the regular features at this site will be the presentation of the screenplay.  Now, I won’t be spoiling the comic by giving away things in the screenplay.  Rather, after a scene or sequence is posted in comic form, I’ll include that scene as written in the screenplay.

In some cases, the screenplay and the comic are different.  Some scenes will be added for the comic and some omitted.  What works in one medium doesn’t always work in the next.  Certain montages or visual tricks that were written for the screen need to be handled differently in comic form.  Hopefully, the screenplay will provide enjoyable, complimentary reading material for those days I’m not updating with a new comic page.

I want to give a special acknowledgment to the incredible website and (more importantly) community at TriggerStreet.  I posted several version of Over on that site and got some incredibly helpful critiques from people there.  It is a much better script thanks to Trigger.

So, tune in tomorrow for page 1 of Over, the first feature length screenplay by Tyler James.

Over

By
Tyler James

c. 2009                  tylerjamescomics@gmail.com

FADE IN:

INT. FANCY RESTAURANT – NIGHT

FAITH ROBBINS, 27, beautiful, well-dressed, and composed, sits at a two-top. Logs burn in the fireplace behind her.

FAITH
I know you’ve been trying to fix
things. But I don’t think they can
be fixed. I realize relationships
take work, but I don’t think
they’re supposed to be this hard.

Faith rubs the rim of her nearly empty glass of wine.

FAITH
I don’t think we were meant to
spend the rest of our lives
together. Why drag this out any
longer?

Faith takes a deep breath.

FAITH
I know you don’t agree, but I
believe this will all be for the
best. I think we can both do
better. This doesn’t even have to
be that hard. We’re adults.
There’s no reason we can’t end
things responsibly. This is a good
thing.

Faith smiles at her unseen soon-to-be ex. A long pause, then-

MAN’S VOICE (OS)
Fuck!

All eyes in the room turn to the table, where they see Faith’s smile fade and the man at her table doubled over, head in his hands.

BEGIN ANIMATED TITLE SEQUENCE

A black and white, graphic novel-style sequence of a couple bumping into each other, on a date, holding hands, having sex, moving in together, making out on the couch, snuggling on the couch, sitting farther apart talking, still farther apart ignoring each other, on opposite ends fighting, the woman getting up in anger, and the woman leaving the man.

Just wanted to point out that there is now an active Characters Page on this site.  Accessed from the navigation bar at the top of the page, it’s a great resource to find out more about the characters of Over.  Right now, there are only two characters on the page.  As characters are introduced in Over, so too will they be added to the characters page.

Fact: Were it not for music, 23% of all break-ups would end in murder or suicide.

(Okay.  That’s not a fact at all.  But we all know that 72% of all statistics are make-believe, so just go with it.)

The point I’m trying to make is that music helps.  It must.  While falling in love is the most popular theme found in music, falling out of it is probably the second most common.  Most of the cliches about music are true.  It does, in fact, soothe the soul.  And the soul does need soothing to get through the break up process.

And yes, getting over someone is a process.  There’s been much study about the grieving and mourning process when suffering the death of a loved one.  Most experts agree that there are at least 5 distinct “Stages of Grief” people go through when confronting the loss of someone dear.

While it’s not exactly the same thing, there is evidence that we mourn the ending of a relationship  in much the same way.  Hell, in some ways it can be worse.  When someone you love dies, you can find comfort in thoughts like, “At least he or she is in a better place now.”  But when someone you love dumps you, it’s not comforting in the least to imagine him or her in a better place…like someone else’s bedroom.

This all got me thinking…I wonder if all of the stages of grief do actually apply to breaking up.  And in thinking about music, I recognized that all break-up songs are not created equal, rather they often reflect the different stages of the break up process.  So then, I wondered if one could use apply the 5 stages to break up tunes in a rating system of sorts.

And thus, The Felix Scale was born.

Here’s the deal.  As a regular feature on the blog portion of this site, I’ll be analyzing break-up songs, and giving them a rating based on where they fall on the five stages.  The score will be on a scale of 1-100.  A handy diagram has been included to illustrate.

Now, I have no idea if all songs will be able to be classified this way, but I’ve tried a few and it seems to work.  So, what the hell, we’ll give it a shot.  Call it a research project.

If you have any suggestions for killer break-up songs that should be thoroughly analyzed with the patented Felix scale, feel free to comment, or send an email to tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, keyword: Felix’s Playlist.

It’s not easy being a beagle like  Stan Lee.  No one explains anything to him.

For example, there used to be two big ones living with him, the tall one with the stinky socks, and the pretty one who always smelled like flowers.  Now, it’s just him and Stinky Socks, and he doesn’t know why.

He used to get walks three times a day.  His food dish and water bowl were always full.  Life was good.

But for what seems like forever, Stinky Socks spends all his time at his table.  Stan Lee’s not sure what he does up there exactly, but one thing’s for sure, he’s not paying much attention to him.

Stan is seriously considering running away.  Now, if only he could learn how to turn a door knob…

EXT. SMALL TOWN – DAY

High above a small New England town on a summer morning.

EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD – DAY

Cars line both sides of a quiet street. Three pre-teen BOYS toss around a football.

INT. APARTMENT – DAY

FELIX HUGHES, 28, sleeps.

Roused by the boys’ CHATTER, Felix rolls over, still half asleep. He throws his arm around a mass next to him.

FELIX

(Groggily)

‘Morning baby.

Felix springs up, confused. He’s hugging a pillow.

Felix throws the pillow from his bed, which lands on STAN LEE, a beagle sleeping on the floor. Stan Lee BARKS in disapproval.

FELIX

Quiet, Stan Lee.

Felix flops back down. The PHONE rings. Irritated, Felix lets it ring several times before picking it up.

TONY (VO)

Look who answered his phone.

Felix gets out of bed, on the phone with TONY TUTTLE.

FELIX

Hi, Tony.

Phone to his ear, Felix stretches in the center of a bedroom containing two large bookshelves filled with graphic novels and comic books. A large drawing table covered in art supplies sits next to a computer.

TONY (VO)

Felix, I just talked to Skate.

Tells me he still doesn’t have the

script to issue twelve.

Framed copies of eleven issues of Fire of the Pendragon, a fantasy comic book, hang on the walls.

FELIX

Uh huh.

TONY (VO)

We’re going to have to move back

the solicitation date. Again.

Felix enters his living room, picking up a stack of dishes.

His apartment an unadorned bachelor’s pad. Stan Lee follows.

FELIX

It’s a comic book, Tony. They ship

late all the time.

TONY (VO)

It’s your book! Where the hell is

the script?

Felix enters the kitchen, tossing the dishes into a sink already brimming with dirty plates.

Felix removes a carton of milk out of his sparse fridge.

FELIX

The script is-

Felix sniffs the milk.

FELIX

(surprised)

Still good.

TONY (VO)

What?

Felix pours himself a bowl of Kellogg’s Corn Pops.

FELIX

I’m a little behind. I’ve been

working on something else.

Stan Lee stands next to an empty dog dish. He barks at Felix.

Felix sees he’s all out of dog food.

TONY (VO)

Felix, you’re under contract with

me for twelve issues of Fire of

the Pendragon. That’s your first

priority.

Felix fills up Stan Lee’s bowl with the rest of the cereal.

Stan Lee looks at him like he’s an asshole.

FELIX

And for eleven issues it has been.

I took a little break to work onlet’s

call it a passion project.

But you’re the first publisher I’m

taking it to.

Felix walks back to his bedroom with the bowl of cereal and sits down at the art table.

TONY (VO)

Pendragon is on a deadline, Felix.

FELIX

I’m finishing this other thing

today. Expect an email.

Felix takes a big spoonful of cereal.

TONY (VO)

Alright, Felix. But my balls are

in your hands, here.

Felix spits out a bit of cereal at that mental picture.

TONY (VO)

Blam! Comics can’t have late books.

Felix tosses his cell phone aside.

He takes out a sheet of pre-lined comic art paper. He sharpens a pencil.

ON PAPER

Felix labels the page Title: OVER, Page #: 250 of 250.

Felix stretches his arms over his head, shakes them loosely, preparing to draw. He focuses on the page.

Just as he is about to place the pencil to paper, Felix is jarred by a loud THUD, immediately followed by a CAR ALARM.

Today I’m kicking off Felix’s Playlist: The Ultimate Compendium of Break-up Songs, with three selections.

Everybody Knows by John Legend

Key Lyrics: ‘Cause everybody knows, that nobody really knows/ How to make it work, or how to ease the hurt

Felix Scale Rating: 56 (Bargaining)

Analysis: John Legend is one smooth dude.  He knows it too. (And has fun with it.  Check out his song from the Colbert Christmas Special if you missed it.  Funny stuff.)  But in this tune, even John seems to be baffled by getting dumped.  Just a silky smooth tune.  “Wish we gave it one more try,” is his line, even though it’s pretty clear he knows it’s not going to happen. 

Hate (I Really Don’t Like You) by Plain White T’s

Key Lyrics: You were everything I wanted/ You were everything a girl could be/ Then you left me brokenhearted/ Now you don’t mean a thing to me

Felix Scale Rating: 38 (Anger)

Analysis: This one was pretty easy to score.  The anger comes across right there in the title.  Too often romantic relationships deal in extremes of emotion, especially if there is not a solid base of a friendship prior to getting swept up in the romance.  It’s pretty amazing how someone can go from being the most important person in your life seemingly one moment to “not meaning a thing.”   

Better in Time by Leona Lewis

Key Lyric: Thought I couldn’t live without you/ It’s gonna hurt when it heals too/ It’ll all get better in time

Felix Scale Rating: 95 (Acceptance)

Analysis: First of all, I LOVE Leona Lewis. She is in my Top Five, no question. Exotic, sexy British accent, and a killer voice (always an X-factor for me) she is pretty freaking amazing. In fact, she’s the celebrity I modeled the character design for Faith after.  And in this song, Leona’s firmly in the last stage.  And she’s right.  Time does wonders.  Pretty much the only thing that does.

From time to time, I’ll be plugging other webcomics that readers of Over might enjoy.  Girls With Slingshots is one of them.  This daily strip by Danielle Corsetto is a consistently funny comic that deals with sex and relationships, both platonic and romantic.  It’s worth your time.  Trust me.