A while back I was asked by Dario Carrasco to pen a script for a project he was putting together called "Comics for a Cause". You can read more about it at the link provided, but it was basically a way for me to do my part to help a friend in need. We decided to collaborate on something tentatively called "Banana Gang", a story about an 800 pound gorilla named Kongo that runs around a city inhabited by anthropomorphic animals and regular humans that co-exist in relative harmony with one another. Kongo does the hero thing, but he's not very good at it. So he decides he needs a sidekick, and the one he chooses ends up being Bud, a small, frail, brainy kid that's pretty much the polar opposite of Kongo in every way. The series has a lot of humor to it, but it also has a lot of heart. Below is the 6-page script I wrote for the "Comics for a Cause" anthology, as well as some sketches and designs done by both Dario Carrasco and another talented artist named Fernando Sosa of the main players.
*
COMICS FOR A
CAUSE PRESENTS
BANANA GANG
“IT’S A JUNGLE
OUT THERE”
Mike Exner III
PAGE ONE
Panel 1. Kongo
is hanging from the ledge of a building by his toes. He’s looking up in
desperation at Bud, who is doing calculations on a calculator in his hand.
KONGO:
Bud, help me up! I’m slipping!
BUD:
If you hadn’t mistimed
your jump, we wouldn’t be in this predicament, Kongo.
KONGO:
You were riding
on my back!
Panel 2. Billy
and Bobby Goat (two of the Gruff Goats) are running out of the building with bags
of loot.
BOBBY GRUFF
GOAT:
This job was easy,
Billy Goat.
BILLY GRUFF
GOAT:
You said it, Bobby
Goat. Think of all the empty cans we can get for this loot! I’m
starting to drool.
Panel 3. The
Gruff Goats are heading for an idling SUV with Turbo Tortoise behind the wheel.
TURBO TORTOISE:
C’mon… guys.
TURBO TORTOISE:
Hurry… up.
Panel 4. Bud
reaches down toward Kongo. Kongo is reaching desperately for Bud.
KONGO:
Finally! Get a move on, Bud! I think the Gruff Goats are making a break
for it!
Panel 5. Bud
takes a banana off the belt of Kongo.
KONGO:
Wait--
KONGO:
What do you
think you’re doing?
PAGE TWO
Panel 1. Kongo
is flipping out while Bud tosses the insides of the banana over his shoulder,
leaving only the peel.
KONGO:
Hey! That’s my lunch!
I can’t fight on an empty stomach. I get cramps!
BUD:
Think of it as a
favor, Kongo. You could stand to lose a few pounds.
KONGO:
It’s a banana,
Bud! Not a chocolate cake!
Panel 2. Bud
drops the peel off the side of the building.
BUD:
It’s for a good
cause. Trust me.
Panel 3. The
peel hits the ground right in front of the SUV with the ani-men in it.
SFX:
Plap!
Panel 4. The
ani-men speed off in the SUV, but the tire of the car is headed straight for
the banana peel.
BILLY GRUFF
GOAT:
Step on it,
Turbo Tortoise!
TURBO TORTOISE:
Here… we… go.
Panel 5. The car
skids out of control, and crashes into something (streetlight, mailbox,
whatever), but there’s not a lot of damage done to the SUV.
SFX:
SCRRREEECH!
SFX:
SKRASH!
PAGE THREE
Panel 1. Bud is
finally helping Kongo up. Kongo is not happy.
BUD:
See? I told
you.
KONGO:
Waste of a perfectly
good banana, if you ask me.
Panel 2. Bud
starts running for the fire escape on the side of the building, but Kongo is
lamenting the loss of his poor banana sitting on the roof of the building.
KONGO:
Wait, maybe we
can save it. Five-second rule!
BUD:
No time,
Kongo. C’mon!
Panel 3. Bud is
running down the fire escape, and Kongo is climbing down the side of the fire
escape like an acrobat.
BUD:
What’s the
five-second rule, anyway?
KONGO:
What’s the--?
KONGO:
Your people made it up! Food on the ground for less than five seconds is
safe to eat.
Panel 4. The two
heroes run out of the alley on the side of the building. Bud is still looking at
Kongo. Kongo is rolling his eyes at Bud in annoyance.
BUD:
That sounds gross.
Who would eat food from the floor?
KONGO:
Humans.
Panel 5. The SUV
is beginning to speed away. Kongo is looking at Bud with an accusing glare, and
Bud is pointing in the opposite direction, toward the street.
KONGO:
Look what you
did! Answering all your weird questions winded me, and now they’re
getting away!
BUD:
But look there,
Kongo!
PAGE FOUR
Panel 1. Bud is
on the back of Kongo with his arms wrapped around his neck, and Kongo is
jumping on top of a yellow taxicab.
KONGO:
You’ve got eyes
like a hawk, Bud. Let’s go!
HUMAN CABBIE:
Hey, what the
heck are you doing?
Panel 2. Kongo
is pointing in the direction the SUV went.
KONGO:
By authority of
the Banana Gang, I order you to follow that tortoise!
HUMAN CABBIE:
Yeah, yeah.
Panel 3. The
yellow taxicab is gaining on the SUV, and Bud is asking Kongo a question.
BUD:
So how come
Turbo Tortoise drives fast but does everything else in slow motion?
Panel 4. The yellow
cab is nearly on top of the SUV now. Kongo is preparing to jump from the
taxicab onto the SUV. Bud has a hand up with his finger extended behind Kongo.
KONGO:
How should I
know, Bud? Maybe you should ask his mother. Now stop distracting me!
BUD:
Wait! I have one
more thing to say.
Panel 5. Kongo
turns around to look at Bud. He’s angry.
KONGO:
What, Bud? What
is it this time?
Panel 6. A bag
of money hits Kongo in the face. Bud is wincing.
SFX:
WHAM!
BUD:
Duck.
PAGE FIVE
Panel 1. One of
the Gruff Goats jumps on Kongo.
BOBBY GOAT:
You won’t stop
us, Kongo! We’re eating like kings tonight! Tin cans will flow like
wine!
KONGO:
Oomph!
Panel 2. Bud
hits Bobby Gruff Goat over the head with (whatever Bud uses as a weapon).
BUD:
Would you settle
for being crowned?
Panel 3. Kongo
kicks Bobby Gruff Goat off of him, and off of the taxicab.
KONGO:
Nice work,
Bud! See, that’s how a sidekick is supposed to act.
Panel 4. Kongo
jumps on top of the SUV.
KONGO:
Now let me show
you how a hero does things!
Panel 5. Kongo
reaches into the driver-side window of the SUV.
KONGO:
Hey, Turbo
Tortoise. I think this is your turn.
TURBO TORTOISE:
No…
Panel 6. Kongo
yanks the steering wheel.
TURBO TORTOISE:
…don’t.
PAGE SIX
Panel 1. The SUV
swerves off the road and crashes again, and Kongo is thrown from the roof.
KONGO:
I’m an ape,
not a flying squirrel!
Panel 2. Bud is
tying up Billy Gruff Goat while Kongo tries to recover from flying off of the
SUV. Kongo is pretty woozy from his fall. Tortoise is trying to run away, but
he’s going really really slow.
BUD:
You did
it, Kongo! But look--Turbo Tortoise is getting away!
KONGO:
Not to worry,
Bud. He won’t get far. I’ll just take a little catnap and catch him down
the block in a couple of hours.
*
The heroes of our tale... Kongo and Bud.
The primary foes of our tale. The Gruff Goats steal to maintain their lavish lifestyle... and support their habit of eating empty cans.
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