Golden Gate Comic Con, Chapter 6: Pages 11-12
PAGE 11
PANEL 1: Cut to a shot of the boss in question in the distance, standing in front of Renee's booth. He wears a red and black buttoned-up T-shirt and jeans, which wrap around the body of someone who would qualify as a Bro whether in 2018 or in 2038, though he's not chubby at all. You can see someone dressed in a massive Yeager suit from "Pacific Rim" walking past at that point in time.
BOSS [Cont., to Renee]: Unless you're selling the game...or that firm little ass of yours, I want that mouth of yours shut!
PANEL 2: Back to Michele in the same setting and layout as the last panel of the previous page. She's finished signing the book, placing the ePen back in its little holder at the top of the closed book; her eyes glancing over in the direction of the yelling boss.
MICHELE [knowing/sympathetic whisper, to Renee]: Fuckin' tool...How many times do you have BDFs about this guy? EXPLAINER CAPTION [bottom right of the panel]: Beat Down Fantasies
PANEL 3-4: A two-part set of panels that moves back to Renee a short time later; the setting and layout similar to what we saw in Panel 5 of the previous page. In Panel 3, she grabs the book with her left hand and starts to place it back in her purse. In Panel 4, just as the book slips back inside, the woman cringes upon hearing another command from the boss.
RENEE [quickly, to Michele; Panel 3]: It's my fifth Con with this company, and fourth with that jackass. So--114 times...give or take. BOSS [Off-Panel, Panel 3]: Move that pudgy ass! RENEE [correcting, Panel 4]: 115 times... MICHELE [Off-Panel, Panel 4]: Have you tried telling his boss, get him canned somehow?RENEE [Panel 4, Bubble 2]: His boss is just as worst. I'd have bolted four years ago, but I need the Pats and...[sighs] makes me wish we had a Union for freelancers in this country!
PANEL 5: Back to Michele moments later in the same setting/layout as Panel 2. She looks on with a deal of sympathy toward the woman's plight, watching as she walks back to the booth; the sound of her heels on the concrete floor off-panel signifying this movement to the reader.
MICHELE [encouragingly]: If you do leave the guy, give me a call. I'm always looking for an assistant, especially if I land a proper broadcasting job somewhere. Till then though- nut shots are an acceptable form of self-defense if he tries to come onto you sexually. RENEE [Off-Panel]: Thank you...have a great day!
PAGE 12
PANEL 1: Cut to Ms. McKinney a short time later, going over a back catalog of comic books in a box; a tote bag gripped in her right hand to the reader filled with an unknown group of objects. The person behind it, and the other boxes that are lined up on the table, looks on with a nervous anticipation over what the young woman will decide next.
MICHELE [looking over each book, flipping through it; to the Owner]: Hmm...you have anything from the Ultimate Universe reboot years? OWNER [looking for more info, to Michele]: Sure, we do. Which title in particular are you looking for?
PANEL 2: We move to a close-up on the young woman a few moments later, looking up from the comics to reply to the woman's questioning. In the background, you can see part of a sign to a booth that sells custom skins for robotic cats (aka Feli9s) along with a few people walking behind her in both directions.
MICHELE: I was hoping for anything from Ultimate Captain America, with Peggy Carter Jr. as Cap. It was the first Marvel book I ever bought- adore that series! OWNER [Off-Panel]: Hahaha, me too...any particular arc in the run you're gunning for? MICHELE [Bubble 2]: Anything after issue 15. That's as much as I've been able to get through online auctions and the labyrinth of Hell that is Amazon.
PANEL 3: Cut to a shot of the Owner in a similarly framed shot, showing her head and a little bit of her shoulder down to the top of the breasts. She smirks, trying to piece together where in the story the issue was at that point in time.
OWNER [trying to remember]: Ah, that was right in the middle of when Peggy was in the Bronx alongside Luke Cage fighting agents of HYDRA who had infiltrated the NYPD trying to start a race war in the borough...right?
PANEL 4: A two-part set of panels that moves back to Michele in the same setting and layout as Panel 2 along with the same background. She nods at the question, adding a touch more context to the previous explanation.
MICHELE: Yep, that's the one. The writer stumbles a bit at the start of the arc, but the action toward the end--not to mention the focus on implicit bias and highlighting some of the racist divisions going on in the country at the time--pretty ballsy (for a white guy).
PANEL 5: We move back to a shot of the Owner in the same setting and layout as Panel 3. She shakes her head, showing a degree of remorse to the request and giving a shrug that connects to the words coming out of her mouth.
OWNER: Sorry. I checked my inventory before the doors opened, and I've got it only to issue 9 or 10.