NightRunner

[John Helmer]

Night runner is the story of a man who was murdered during a convenience store robbery that went horribly wrong, only to find that he walks the earth, chased by dark creatures trying to claim his physical body, as he searches for the truth of his murder and whether he really died that fateful day.

Concept art by Rodolfo Maximiliano Buscaglia

Scheduled to appear in Red Leaf Presents #4, October 2011.

[John Helmer]

NightRunner in “Teaser”

May 2010 By Michael Sacal

Page 1

Vignette 1 Aerial shot looking down at Jon lying on the floor of a convenience store over a pool of his blood that is pouring from a wound on his chest. Mary is on her knees next to Jon covering the wound on his chest with her hands, the blood seeping between her fingers. Mary is in tears, hysterically nodding her head back and forth, while Jon is in pain. We see the shadow of a gunman cast on the floor as he runs out the door of the store.

JON [Dialogue Box, Ethereal Design]:
“I had a good life that came to an unexpected end when a lowlife thug took it away with a bullet during a convenience store robbery when I tried to save my fiancé, Mary, from his grasp.”

Vignette 2 Wide-exterior establishing shot of a frozen wheat field, night. Jon stands in the middle of the snow-covered field looking up at the dark skyline perplexedly with his hands on his chest holding open his torn t-shirt to reveal that his chest has no gunshot wound and there is no blood. In the distance, we see Dennis coming into view with a flashlight on his hand.

JON [Dialogue Box, Ethereal Design]:
“I awoke a 1,000 miles away from home in a wheat field in Manitoba with no memory of how I got there.”

Vignette 3 CU on Jon and Dennis inside Dennis’ kitchen in his farmhouse. Dennis is in the background seated at a kitchen table looking exhausted, while Jon is in the foreground holding a phone receiver on his hand a few inches away from his face. Jon looks stunned as a chill runs down his spine. The phone is on the wall of the kitchen.

JON [Dialogue Box, Ethereal Design]:
“Though to my friend Dennis I appeared to be alive, when I called Mary her father told me that I had died a year earlier, which sent a chill down my spine.”

Vignette 4 Wide shot on Jon running towards the reader pursued by a dozen or so supernatural creatures. It is night, and the moon hangs over them in the sky. The inhuman creatures that chase Jon look like something out of Defiant’s Dark Dominion or The Real Ghostbusters cartoon series of the 80s and 90s. Jon has a horrified expression on his face.

JON [Dialogue Box, Ethereal Design]:
“All I want is to get back to Mary and convince her that I am alive, but, every night, monstrous supernatural beings relentlessly chase after me to stop me from figuring out what happened that fateful night a year ago.”

Vignette 5 Wide shot on Jon standing over his grave with his back toward us holding a shovel in his left hand. It is raining and lightning bolts streak across the sky in the background. The headstone over the grave has Jon’s name, date of birth, date of death, and inscription *.

Headstone: John James Jensen
Born June 6, 1990
Died July, 10, 2009

JON [Dialogue Box, Ethereal Design]:
“I must find my grave and open it to see what truly lies inside –”

Vignette 6 CU on Jon facing the reader while the Grim Reaper stands behind him with its scythe in his left hand and his right hand hanging over Jon’s shoulder.

JON [Dialogue Box, Ethereal Design]:

“– before the Grim Reaper catches up to me and reclaims my soul!”

[John Helmer]

Concept art from 1993

By M. Danver

[John Helmer]

Here's a teaser!

Rodolfo's thumbs of the 1 page preview...

[John Helmer]

Rodolfo is done!

The one page preview is complete!

His art and concepts are Fantastic!

Check out Red leaf Presents #2 for the fully inked version by Rodolfo and words by Michael Sacal!

Make sure you read it with someone present...Its scary!!!!