Page 21 (8 panels)
Page 21 panel 1
Medium shot of the Bogeyman behind his slide projector, looking evil in the light it directs up at him.
Bogeyman: So you see, ladies and lords, he killed me. Isn't that the darnedest thing? Lights please, Carter.
Page 21 panel 2
Carter the butler enters behind him, lighting a huge torch mounted on the wall, and the room becomes brighter.
Bogeyman: Now, wasn't that fascinating? And I haven't even shown you the part where he creates the Dream Zone and nearly destroys the world!
Crowd: Oh, won't you? Please, do! That would be fantastic! Yes, do it!
Page 21 panel 3
Bogeyman: Now, now...we have to save a few surprises for the sequel, don't we?
Page 21 panel 4
Dream Lord (lunging forward as Lullaby tries to restrain him): What are you talking about? You bastard, what do you mean?
Bogeyman: Don't ruffle your feathers, poor rooster. Remember...
Page 21 panel 5
Bogeyman (more demonic and sinister than ever): ...curiosity killed the cat.
Page 21 panel 6
Dream Lord (raging, ready to attack--his body glowing with surging golden energy): You liar! You liar!! You won't say another word!!
Bogeyman: Quit hamming, you noisome troll! I specifically warned you that the truth would cause you an enormity of pain--and you signed on for the cruise anyway. Stop your ridiculous dither.
Page 21 panel 7
Dream Lord: I'll kill you!!
Bogeyman: Never! Lightning never strikes twice in the same spot, ignoramus!
Lullaby (grabbing at Dream Lord's shoulders, trying to hold him back): Dream Lord! Dream Lord, calm down! Don't do it buster! Don't go after him like this! Dream Lord!!
Page 21 panel 8
Dream Lord: You've tried everything to destroy me--but you can't! I'm the Dream Lord!
Lullaby: Stop it Dream Lord! He's freaking you out, so he can get you for good! Stop and think for a minute!
Page 22 (8 panels)
Page 22 panel 1
Dream Lord (pushing Lullaby violently away from him): Nooo!! No more! I'm sick of this! I came here to kill him and that's what I'm doing!
Bogeyman (smiling benignly at the Dream Lord, enjoying every moment of his rage): Well then, would you mind getting on about it? I've already tarried long enough with you imbeciles, and I have a manicure set for ten minutes from now.
Lullaby (frantically shouting at the Dream Lord as he prepares to attack): Dream Lord! I told you...
Page 22 panel 2
The Dream Lord begins to run forward. Lullaby sends a beam of energy from her glowing hand, causing a tripwire to materialize from thin air right in front of his feet.
Lullaby: ...settle down...
Page 22 panel 3
Dream Lord topples over the wire, plunging straight to the floor.
Lullaby: ...and think for a minute!
Bogeyman (clapping and laughing): Oh, bravo! Will the surprises never cease? Now, we have fighting among the ranks! Author, author!!
Page 22 panel 4
From the floor, the Dream Lord whirls around to look angrily up at Lullaby.
Dream Lord: Stacy! What the hell are you doing?!?
Lullaby: I'm stoppin' you from killing yourself! Take a good look, buster! (She points at a mirror which has just appeared in the air before his face.)
Page 22 panel 5
Dream Lord gazes into the mirror and sees his shocking image. He is disheveled, crazed, sweating, animalistic--reduced to a seething, mindless madman.
Lullaby: You see that? That isn't the Dream Lord anymore--it's some crazy nut who wants to go chargin' in after somebody who practically slaughtered him once before! It's some guy who's so upset that he doesn't realize what's really happening--that he's reacting exactly the way that old Bogeycreep wants him to!
Page 22 panel 6
Lullaby (crouching down to put her arm around the Dream Lord while he continues to stare into the mirror): Buddy, he's not your friend! I am--and I want to help you! You can't beat the Bogeyman this way--all whacked out and blinded! He will put you away before you even touch him! And he knows it! He wants it that way! He'll be able to play with you some more, flip you around like a stupid puppet, the way he's been doing since you met him!
Page 22 panel 7
Lullaby: You're angry now because he showed you something about yourself that isn't very nice--but it's true! You can't change what you did, but you have to live with it! Don't let him use it to drive you crazy! Don't let him use it to kill you!
Page 22 panel 8
Lullaby: Don't do it, Dream Lord...don't charge after him like a dumb rhino! You don't have enough power to get rid of him--yet--but you do have the power to change what he's done! Remember the dreamers, Dream Lord...remember the Dream Dimension. You have a job to do, don't you?
Page 23 (9 panels)
Page 23 panel 1
The Dream Lord, now somewhat calmer, responding to Lullaby's comments, just stares into the mirror at himself.
Page 23 panel 2
The same closeup of the Dream Lord staring at the mirror.
Dream Lord: Yes. I forgot.
Page 23 panel 3
The Dream Lord crawls to his feet, with Lullaby helping him.
Dream Lord: Bogeyman!
Bogeyman: Yes? Ha ha ha! What, oh what do you have in store for me now? May I issue my will as of yet? Shall I select pallbearers and compose my elegy?
Page 23 panel 4
Dream Lord (grim, defiant, but no longer crazed and furious): Not yet...but I recommend you do it soon. Next time, I will pull the strings.
Bogeyman: There'll be no next time! Do it now! Pretty please, mighty Zeus--unmatchable King Kubla Khan! I'm beside myself with torrid suspense, agog for the spectacular finale--the apocalyptic coup de grace! And you simply can't disappoint my guests!
Page 23 panel 5
Bogeyman: Come on, maestro, don't let us down! See if you can kill me again!! What have you got to lose? You've already murdered once!!
Page 23 panel 6
Dream Lord (walking toward the door with Lullaby): I'll be back. Don't wait up.
Bogeyman (off-panel): Kubla! Adams, you don't dare leave!
Page 23 panel 7
Dream Lord and Lullaby walk off down the hall of the castle, heading outside. Bogeyman frets and quivers behind them, insulted and angry that his toys have not performed as he wanted them to.
Bogeyman: Get back here! You party-poop! Wet blanket! Not only did you murder me, but now you've ruined my get-together!
Page 23 panel 8
Bogeyman (furious now, screaming and looking demonic): Dream Lord!! I told you to come here!!
Lullaby (off-panel): Hey, Bogeycreep..
Page 23 panel 9
Medium shot of the Dream Lord striding through the hall. Behind him, Lullaby has turned, and jabs her middle finger in the air at the Bogeyman. She smiles impishly as she delivers the Bronx cheer.
Page 24 (7 panels)
Page 24 panel 1
Wide shot of the Dream Lord and Lullaby flying up and away from the Bogeyman's Disney-esque castle. All around, the sky is still black, the land tangled with dead, scraggly brush.
Dream Lord: Stacy...
Lullaby: What?
Page 24 panel 2
Dream Lord and Lullaby soar, side by side, through the dark, roiling skies over the corrupted fields of the Dimension below.
Dream Lord: Thank you. You were right.
Lullaby: Well, hey--I knew you couldn't tackle that jerk right now. You were in sad shape, bucko.
Page 24 panel 3
Dream Lord: No. I mean I think you might really be my guardian angel.
Lullaby (a little embarrassed at the praise and affection): Oh.
Page 24 panel 4
Lullaby (recovering her sassy attitude): See? I told you so!
Page 24 panel 5
; Wide shot of the two flying high above the chaos. Below is the same scenery they passed over and through on their way to the Bogeyman's castle--the fires, the crumbled Dreamwalls, the thorny, tangled trees, the crazed jumble of sick dreamers. It is still a living hell.
Dream Lord: It'll take a long time to fix all this--to help all those suffering dreamers. Even if we eventually purify them again, many will be beyond hope--insane or crippled or dead. Their lives in Reality will be ruined, maybe forever.
Lullaby: At least they'll have an inside man on the job. There's hope for some of them. You know, they really need you.
Page 24 panel 6
Dream Lord (as they continue flying through the darkness): I wonder if I'm up to the task. I can barely hold myself together these days. The Bogeyman's still here, and God only knows what he'll do next. There's the Night Brigade, and Project Dream Lord...and there's still so much I don't know yet--about my life, and the Dream Zone, and even you. I feel...confused.
Lullaby: It's called growing pains, buster. We'll figure it out.
Page 24 panel 7
Wide shot of the Dream Lord and Lullaby arriving at the edge of the dark corruption. There is a distinct line across the land below; on one side is the tangled, chaotic area, and on the other are the sunny Fields of Sleep, with their Dreamwalls intact and reaching into the blue sky. The river on the pure side is sparkling and golden; on the other side, it is black and curdling.
Dream Lord: There it is--the border between the corrupted lands and the rest of the Dream Zone. It's still moving forward, defiling more minds and siphoning more power for the Bogeyman.
Page 25 (6 panels)
Page 25 panel 1
Wide shot of the Dream Lord hovering in the sky, spreading his arms wide over his head. His body glows golden and he frowns in concentration. Lullaby hovers nearby, watching.
Dream Lord: I have to stop it now.
Page 25 panel 2
The Dream Lord continues to hover in the air, his whole body enveloped by the golden aura. Waves of golden energy flow outward in lazy circles.
Dream Lord: Before we can help any of the others--before we can battle the forces of Bogeyman--we have to keep the darkness away from anyone else! I have to use all my power...all of the strength I would have otherwise wasted in the castle...
Page 25 panel 3
Dream Lord: ...to build a dam...
Wide shot of the Dream Lord above the land. The energy rippling out from him is flowing toward the ground, forming layers of a metallic surface.
Page 25 panel 4
Very wide shot revealing the growth of a wall, rising quickly from the ground to separate the dark area and the pure area. The wall seems to be made out of shimmering silver.
Dream Lord: ...a huge...barrier...
Page 25 panel 5
The Dream Lord floats before the finished wall now, which rises straight into the sky and rolls off in both directions as far as we can see. The dark side is completely hidden.
Dream Lord: ...the biggest Dreamwall in existence! Until we can cleanse it, the darkness is now cut off from the light. The pollution cannot spread any further, and the Bogeyman won't be able to extend his kingdom.
Page 25 panel 6
The Dream Lord collapses, exhausted by the incredible effort of constructing the Dreamwall. Lullaby catches him with her arm; she is tired but happy that her friend has made it through his trials.
Dream Lord: And the Dream Lord...is going to sleep.
Page 26 (9 panels)
Page 26 panel 1
Back in the castle of Bogeyman, the party has resumed. Only Bogeyman himself remains silent, standing with his back to the crowd and gazing sullenly out the entrance where the Dream Lord left.
Quote: "My days among the dead are passed..."
Page 26 panel 2
Bogeyman turns to walk toward the crowd--still dressed in their garish old costumes and powdered wigs, still drinking and singing and having a grand time.
Quote: "Around me I behold,
Where'er these casual eyes are cast,
The mighty minds of old..."
Page 26 panel 3
Bogeyman waves his arm in the air and the crowd disappears with a flicker.
Quote: "My never-failing friends are they,
With whom I converse day by day"
Page 26 panel 4
Bogeyman walks across the empty, littered ballroom. It is shrouded in darkness, lit only by the torches on the walls; it looks like a cavern.
Quote: "With them I take delight in weal, And seek relief in woe..."
Page 26 panel 5
Bogeyman stands by the huge, elegant windows, looking out on his dark, infested hell.
Quote: "And while I understand and feel
How much to them I owe..."
Page 26 panel 6
Bogeyman (looking directly out at the reader): I really am going to kill him, you know.
Page 26 panel 7
Quote: "My cheeks have often been bedewed
With tears of thoughtful gratitude."
Bogeyman (wildly, evilly): HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!
Page 26 panel 8
Bogeyman is suddenly silent, just gazing out the window.
Quote: "My thoughts are with the dead, with them
I live in long-past years,
Their virtues love, their faults condemn,
Partake their hopes and fears..."
Page 26 panel 9
Another shot of the silent, thoughtful Bogeyman, as he sits down on the long window seat.
Quote: "And from their lessons seek and find
Instruction with an humble mind."
Page 27 (1 panel)
Page 27 panel 1
This page will consist of a single, small panel set in the center, or slightly off-center, of a field of empty white space. The entire page will be blank except for the one, small panel.
The panel shows the Bogeyman, seated on the window seat, facing the darkness outside. He is lit from behind by the eerie light from the torches in the ballroom. He is silent, making a simple gesture which reveals his loneliness and tiredness: he lifts one hand and rubs the bridge of his nose between the thumb and forefinger. His eyes are closed, and his face looks strained. Without the Dream Lord to toy with and enjoy, his existence--even his ultimate corruption of the Dream Zone--is empty. The Bogeyman really is a tragic and complex being, and he truly needs his enemy.
Quote: "My hopes are with the dead, anon
My place with them will be,
And I with them shall travel on
Through all futurity..." -- Robert Southey
THE END
*****
Afterword: A Tale of Two Dream Lords
What's the best way to break into comics? Publish your own webcomics or print-on-demand volumes? Set up a Kickstarter project? Self-publish your comics in e-book form through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or iTunes? Self-publish direct to comiXology or another digital comics outlet? These are all viable paths and can lead to success in the field.
Mr. Sandman Page 16