Script: The Black Swan, Episode One, Page One
Episode One: Bedside Manners
Page OneA wealthy man lays in his bed, being attended by a doctor and a maid. The room is lavishly furnished. Above the bed is an elaborate coat of arms. The walls and shelves of the room are adorned with curios from around the world: Chinese vases, African masks, statuettes from the Americas. There are no books or any items of any practical use, with the exception of an opium pipe in the corner. The blinds are shut tight against the outside world.
The sick man, Master Higgins, is propped up on a pile of pillows. His skin sags, as though he had recently been fat but lost a lot of weight. His hair, already balding, is now falling out in clumps. Opulent rings adorn his skeletal fingers. He is wearing a silk bedrobe… or something, I don’t know, I should probably do some research.
The doctor is Tenval Swan, the antihero of this piece. He is a tall, gaunt man with thick mutton chops and a look of stern authority. He is dressed in a simple yet elegant black suit. Swan doesn’t wear rings or any other kind of ornamentation. He carries a leather doctor’s bag and a plain black cane, both of which are currently sitting near the door. He appears to be in his early 30s.
The maid is wearing a period maid uniform. She looks about as comfortable as you’d expect for a person attending the death bed of their employer, but she’s handling it. I was trying to decide whether she should be a young maid or an older matronly one, and I think she should be young- if older, this would imply that she and Master Higgins had known one another for longer, which might make her come off as callous regarding his death.
Panel one: Establishing shot of the bedroom. The doctor stands over the patient. He’s putting away all of his diagnostic tools- a stethoscope, a mirror, maybe a voodoo doll. The maid stands out of the way, watching things unfold.
Master Higgins: It’s gotten worse, hasn’t it? Be honest, doctor, what’s wrong with me?
Doctor: I fear this is a case of good news and bad news. The good news is that your new affliction is a common malady. The bad news is that it’s called death.
The reality of the situation is beginning to dawn on Master Higgins. This is a man who has never been refused before- he is genuinely shocked to realize that his aristocratic privilege doesn’t apply to death.
Master Higgins: What are you saying? Do I need bloodletting? Quicksilver? =kakk= I have enough money…
Doctor: Good sir, there isn’t enough money in the vaulthouse of the royal tea company.
Now, for the traditional quack doctor victim-blaming. Close up on Swan’s face- there’s a hint of satisfaction as he reprimands the dying man.
Doctor: The fault lies not in your treatment, but in your self. I’ve already administered every cure known to modern man, and several more besides. Maybe if you believed more strongly you could find the strength to overcome, but your faith has always been lacking. See how even now you carelessly drop those last few threads of life.
Master Higgins is staring off into space, possibly drifting into unconsciousness, or just shocked by the doctor’s words. The doctor is getting ready to leave, putting on his gloves. The maid, feeling like she should do something, speaks with him.
Maid: What should I do for him, sir?
Doctor: Keep him comfortable. Allow him as much opium as he desires, then when the coughing stops call for an undertaker.
Doctor Swan walks out the door.
Doctor: I’ve left my bill on the dresser.
“The Black Swan” is one of my attempts to write a story in the style of 2000AD. The protagonist, Tenval Swan, is a quack doctor catering to the upper class in either Georgian or Victorian England. I wanted a thoroughly reprehensible character who only gets to be the hero because he’s squared off against someone infinitely worse. Long time readers of this comic already know what I think about quack doctors, making this the perfect profession for him… his nickname, The Black Swan, is a play on the alias of a certain skeptical writer.
Later on in the series it will be revealed that Tenval has some reason to seek revenge against the upper class. It will be somewhat ambiguous as to whether he is merely an incompotent doctor or a cold blooded killer, dispensing harmful treatments to those he finds guilty. The antagonist of the series is one Mr. Saturn, another quack doctor. This one, however, provides treatment to the lower classes… if by “treatment” we mean “medical experimentation”, “vivisection”, and various retro scifi nastiness. A vast conspiracy involving tea will probably be involved.
A third doctor, Adam Wesson, gets mixed up in all of this. Unlike Swan or Saturn, Wesson actually wants to save lives. He’s respectable, knowledgable, and skilled. He wants to do good by his fellow man, but is severely limited by the circumstances of his time. His scientific medicine is only slightly more effective (less deadly?) than Swan’s treatments. His social position is contingent upon not disturbing the status quo. He’s kind of a tragic figure in this way- his desire for social justice is constrained, unlike either Swan or Saturn who are willing to do anything to reach their goals.
There’s also Lady Sabaragamuwa, who runs an import business selling medicinal materia from the colonies. She speaks with an exotic though unidentifiable accent, and is usually seen with a large snake draped over her shoulders. In reality she picked the name “Sabaragamuwa” from an atlas and can’t stand the snake, but does these things for the sake of her import business. Like Watson she’s constrained by her circumstances- an ambitious, intelligent, independant woman can’t expect to get ahead easily in her time or place.
The setting: I was thinking London, then later wondered if it could be moved to either Boston or St.John’s. I’m not sure of a year yet- the Georgian period has more interesting politics, while the Victorian period has more interesting medicine. I could easily go the steampunk route, but I don’t know if I want to do that.
Comments? The dialog needs work, I know, but I think it’s a fun concept. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. If any artist out there would like to collaborate on this project, that would be even more appreciated. Come back Monday for more voles.
April 2nd, 2010 at 6:44 pm
I have to say, this is a very interesting story. Victorian era medicine has always had a bit of horror attached to it, or at least that’s the impression I get reading about some of the things doctors thought were cures back then. I do wonder how a doctor whose patients were always dying would be able to find and keep any work though >.> In any case, I can easily see this as a rather dark comic, both storywise and artwise ^^ I’d like to contribute, though impending motherhood may not allow for much…
April 5th, 2010 at 1:43 am
No worries, that’ll give me a year or so to iron out the script.