Two Shy Guys
Chapter 2
Sixth Avenue Stalker
Page 1: (Starts with title panel of some sort on tier 1)
Panel 1: Long panel covering all of tier 1 not covered by title panel. Craig scampering into the 8th Street N/R station as if he’s just heard a train arriving. Headphones on, No Doubt blaring. He’s carrying some kind of courier bag.

Conductor: This is Eighth Street...

Cap: It’s not that I’d really plan just to have nights alone...
Headphones: I’m holding signs up... on your street corner stops

Panel 2: Tier two. 2 panels. Craig swiping card at turnstile.

Cap: ... I mean, a boyfriend of something would be kinda nice...
Headphones: excuse me mister, I’ve been waiting in line...

Conductor: Next stop on this downtown...

Panel 3: Craig just making it into the train through closing doors.

Conductor: Step in and stand clear of...
Headphones: I’m very anxious, eager, willing

Cap: But another part of me knows...

Panel 4: Craig standing in the middle of a semi-crosded train, skinny, older guitar player in the background

Cap: This is my time.

Headphones: Please make room for me in the time yet to be... Excuse me...

Conductor: This is Canal Street

Guitar player: “Have you ever seen a robin weep...”

Panel 5: Craig standing in the middle of a crowded Chinatown street near Canal stop, headphones off, qiet smile.

Cap: My time alone in the city.

SFX: Honk (etc.)

Page 2:
Panel 1: Top tier. 1 panel. Craig sits reading Finder in a chinese restaurant called Spicy Sweet while eating orange chicken with chopsticks.

Cap: If there’s one reason to keep my shit job...

Panel 2: 2nd tier. 1 panel. Craig, walking up toward the Lower East Side, looking at a folded copy of The Daily News, drinking a bubble tea, passing a Chinese woman on a bike.
Cap: It’s because it lets me be here.

Panel 3: 3rd tier. 1 panel. Craig passes through the East Village, the newspaper stuck in his bag, the bubble tea tossed away. He’s passing a gay bar with a neon sign. A tres East Village gay couple is walking away from him, holding hands. Street singer off to one side.

Cap: Nights like this, I think nothing could blow my cool.

Singer: He was married when we first met, soon to be divorced. Helped him out of a jam I guess but I used a little too much force...

Sign: Grope

Page 3: Craig flashes back to seeing and almost meeting Brian.

Panel 1: Top tier. Two panels. At NW corner of 2^nd Ave. and Saint Marks, Craig stops to grab a copy of The Vocal Villager (with the headline, “10 Politicians Who Really Bite”). Her catches something out of the corner of his eye coming up the west side of the street, approximately near the SW corner under the scaffolding.

Cap: Almost nothing.

Cr (to self) 1: What?

Panel 2: Closeup of Brian standing on SW corner.
Craig (to self off panel) 1: Oh crap!

Panels??: Tiers 2-3. Montage of Craig seeing Brian scenes, including accidentally getting his phone number. The scene of Craig getting Brian’s phone number should break into the middle of the fourth tier. These could get slightly cartoony as Craig is idealizing them. Maybe some floating hearts or something… Maybe these can be 3-4 scenes forming a triangle or diamond in the center of the page, the visual variation will help indicate they are flashbacks. One should show Craig unable to make himself speak to Brian.

Panel ?: Tier 4. 2 panel. Craig is half holding the newspaper in front of his face.

Craig (to self) 1: It’s that cute guy...

Craig (to self) 2: Brian!

Panel ?: Shorter panel. Brian standing on opposite. corner, oblivious, starting to cross the street, slightly diagonal

Craig (to self, off panel) 1: I gotta hide!

Page 4: Craig starts to follow Brian through the East Village, past Washington Square, to 6th Avenue.

Panel 1: Tier 1. 1 panel. The POV is from slightly behind Craig as (from behind the Vocal Villager stand) he watches Brian veer down St. Mark’s Pl.

Cap 1: (Top left) Of course, I’ve no idea what I’m hiding from.

Cr 1 (to self): Where’s he going?

Cap 2: (Bottom right) He doesn’t even know I have his number...

Panel 2: Tier 2.2 panels. Craig, obviously following Brian, ducks behind a car bumper near the 8^th Street NR stop. Maybe we see an incense/hash pipe seller in the background somewhere (like near the KMart?).

Cap: I feel like Audrey Hepburn chasing Cary Grant in Charade!
Panel 3: Brian in foreground, on 8^th Street, looking at a sex shop (including a sign for “Prussian Ticklers”) near NYU. In background, Craig is peering out at him from behind a nearby doorway. An NYU coed, dressed in some strange blend of urban hip and private school prep clothes give Craig an odd glare.


Cap: Or that cowboy chasing Casey Donovan in The Back Row.

Panel 4: Tier 3. 2 panels. Craig has followed Brian down the South Side of 8^th Street. We see Brian from near Craig’s POV, starting to veer downtown onto 6^th Ave. Craig is passing an abandoned storefront window with darkened, reflective glass. We catch a brief glimpse.
Cap: God, I’m derivative.

Panel 5: Craig’s reflection in the glass – obviously he’s turned to check himself out for a second.
Cr 1 (thinks from off panel): This shirt makes me look fat.

Page 5: Craig follows Brian into Lola Rhythm.
Panel 1: Tier 1. 1 panel. Craig sees Brian ducking into Lola Rhythm on 6^th Ave (where the Sam Goody is in real life).

Cr 1 (thinks) : At least he has good taste in music stores

Panels 2-3: Tier 2. 2 panels. We see Craig snooping over Brian’s shoulder. (Go ahead, get whacky!)

Brian (muttering, in panel 3): Where is?

Panel4: Tier 3. 3 panels. From near Craig’s POV, we see Craig near the edge of a music display as Brian turns in his direction from about 10-15 feet away.

Br (to himself, quietly): Ah ha!

Cr (thinks): Ooops

Panel 5: Craig sitting/ducking behind the edge of a shelf/display for the Chickenhawks’ “Tastes Like Chicken.”

Clerk (off panel): Can I help you?

Panel 6: Craig’s POV of a female clerk with a nose ring, plaid skirt, and dyed black hair looking down at him, her arms crossed.
Cr (from off panel): Uhm

Page 6: More Lola Rhythm.

Panel 1: Tier 1. 2 panels. Large panel of Craig up on his knees pleading with clerk.

Cr: The guy in section D-I.... what’s he looking at?
Panel 2: Clerk gives Craig a withering glare, close-up.

Cl: Dude…

Panel 3: Tier 2. 3 panels. Similar to above, though she’s sorta rolling her eyes.

Cl: Grow a pair!
Panel 4: Clerk POV. Craig looks up at her and makes puppy dog eyes.
Panel 5: Clerk storming off in Brian’s direction.

Cl (mutters): Queer boys!

Panel 6: Tier 3. 2 panels. Half tier panel of Craig looking worried, still ducking/sitting behind shelf end. Clerks’ head is jutting back in.

Clerk 1: Indigo Girls

Cr: Old or new?

Clerk 2: Go away.

Panel 7: Craig still in same position, clerk gone, shrugs.

Cr: At least it’s not Brittney…

Page 7: Craig follows Brian out of the music store, up 6th Ave.

Panel 1: Tier 1, 1 panel. Brian in foreground walking north on 6th Ave away from Lola’s, in background we see Craig peering out from the doorway of Lola’s.

Cr 1 (thinks): There he goes...

Panels 2-4?: Tiers 2-3. Craig sneeks after Brian, as above. In panel 4, we see him gasp in surprise. Last panel shows Annie and niece passing by.

Panel 5: Last panel of tier 3. From Craig’s POV, we see Brian to check out a book vendor

Cr 1 (thinks, off panel): Ooops... Hide!

Panel 6: Craig, hiding behind a potted tree in front of building, obviously while Brian purchases his book only a few feet away. In the background some passerby giving him an odd look.

Cr 2 (thinks): Why don’t I just say hi to him?

Girl (off panel): Aunt Annie, why is that homosexual hiding?

Page 8: Craig has a brief encounter with radio celebrity Aunt Annie.

Panel 1: Tier 1, 1 panel. From Craig’s POV, Aunt Annie, standing over him, not really looking at him (though her neice is still intently staring). Annie is talking distractedly to her neice.

AA: Probably plotting to overthrow the government dear.

Panels 2-5?: Tier 2(-3?). Mostly from Craig’s POV. Annie looks confusedly off in Brian’s direction. We see Brian still checking out books. Annie looks down at Craig as if seeing him for the first time. She rolls her eyes.

AA: Look...

Panel 6: Tier 3 (or 4?). Long view of Craig hiding, ignoring AA and girl, trying to see where Brian’s off to next, as the women stroll off, almost off panel, opposite direction of Brian.

AA: Look, if you’re going to flaunt your sinful, hellbound lifestyle in public, at least grow a pair and talk to him.

Girl: What should he grow a pair of?

Cr 4 (thinks - looking back toward Brian): Now where’s he going?

Page 9: We’re gonna move a Chelsea Clearview-like theater to 6th Ave and 22nd (north side). It’s called Chesea Riverview. This is the page where Brian stops into line and Craig is forced to follow him.

Panel 1: Tier 1, 1 panel. Craig’s head and upper body are facing into the panel from the lower left side. Fromnear Craig’s POV, we’re seeing Brian stand in an outside line (a little crowded, but overwhelming) to buy a ticket. It might look ambiguous about whether Craig’s in line or not... Leave Brian a few people into the line, but the following panels should definitely make it seem like Craig is getting closer to him.

Cr 1 (thinks): But what’s he going to see?

Panel 2: Low bird’s eye view of Craig shifting out of Brian’s line of site while standing in line.

Cr 1 (thinks, off panel): I guess, I could just walk up behind him and be like “hey, haven’t I seen you before?”

Panel 3: From slightly behind Craig, who’s now almost to the front of the line, we see Brian ordering a ticket.

Cr 1 (thinks): Then I could do something like, “So what are you here to see... Oh man! That’s what I’m going to see, too!”

Cr 2 (thinks): I am so pathetic.

Panel 4: Tier 3, 2 panels. Craig at the window, ordering from clerk, gesturing toward where Brian went. Clerk should be a tad cartoonishly queeny, so it’s kinda obvious that he knows what’s up.

Cr 1: One for the... uhm... (mutters) same thing he got.

Cr 2 (thinks): I hope he’s not going to something... girly.

Panel 5: Craig’s PoV of clerk handing him a ticket. Clerk is rolling his eyes, knowingly annoyed.

Clrk: One for Assault from Beneath II.

Cr 1 (thinks): Hmm... Kinda butch...

Page 10: Craig tries to find a place to sit, gets neurotic about it, and eventually ends up sitting right next to Brian.

Panel 1: Tier 1. 1 Panel. Craig standing outside the theatre door, looking in.

Cr 1 (thinks): Previews have started... So I’ll just slip in, watch the movie, and then “accidentally” notice him on the way out...

Panel 2: Tier 2. 2 Panel. Craig hunting the darkened aisles for a space to sit.

Screen (announcer): ... Like you’ve never seen him before...

Screen (woman): ... Ohhh... Ohhhhh JAME...

Cr 1 (thinks): I should probably sit somewhere behind him... but...

Cr 2 (thinks): Where is he?

Person (off panel, loud whisper): Asshole... Sit down!

Panel 3: Craig plops down in an aisle seat, but he’s craning his neck. We can’t see who he’s next to.

Screen (announcer): Coming this holiday...

Cr 1 (thinks): Oh man, where is he?

Brian (off panel): Uhm...

Panel 4: We see now that Brian and Craig are sitting right next to each other. Brian smiles weakly, Craig with a slightly manic/guilty look.

Screen (announcer): LICENSE TO DIE!
Br 1: Hi?

Cr 1: Hi!

Person 1 (off panel): Shhh!

posted by RR at 2:43 PM