ALLIGATOR ALLEY: THE BAYOU VINDICATOR - Issue #1

Based on the “Alligator Alley” IP by [Your Name/Transmedia IP Development Team]

Writer: [Your Name] Artist: [Artist Name] Letterer: [Letterer Name] Colorist: [Colorist Name] Editor: [Editor Name]

THEME: Justice in a Lawless Land / Protecting the Underdog

LOGLINE: In the treacherous swamps and corrupt alleys of a world obsessed with reptilian bounty, a mysterious, gator-hide clad vigilante known only as “The Scaled Shadow” emerges to prey on those who exploit the weak – the poachers, the corrupt Guild agents, and the tyrannical Gator-Barons.

PAGE 1 (Splash Page)

PANEL 1 (Full Page Splash)

• Setting: EXT. KAI’MAN-HATTAN - THE GUTTERS DISTRICT - NIGHT
• Visuals: A dynamic, low-angle shot. Rain lashes down. In the foreground, a figure, THE SCALED SHADOW (30s, athletic build, gender ambiguous due to full covering), is perched atop a rickety, gator-hide-roofed shack. They wear practical, dark-colored, expertly crafted armor made from various ‘SWAMP TYRANT’ HIDES – perhaps Obsidian Scale for key protection, Mire Crocodile for flexibility. Their face is obscured by a mask fashioned from a stylized Kai’man skull, eyes glinting from within. They might carry specialized, non-lethal GATOR-HUNTING-DERIVED TOOLS (e.g., a weighted net, a barbed grappling hook made from a Tyrant’s claw, bolas made of sinew and polished gator teeth). Below them, in a dimly lit alley reeking of refuse and processing chemicals, two burly GATOR-BARON ENFORCERS are menacing a terrified, young SCAVENGER BOY. One Enforcer has the boy by the scruff of his neck.
• CAPTION (Narrative): Kai’MAN-hattan. City of scales and sorrow. Where the ‘Swamp Tyrant’ rules the economy… and fear rules the streets.
• SFX (Rain): SHHHHHHHH
• SFX (Distant Bellow): GRROOONNNK!

PAGE 2

PANEL 1

• Setting: CLOSE UP on the SCAVENGER BOY’S terrified face. Tears mix with the rain.
• SCAVENGER BOY (Small Balloon): Please… it was just a few scraps…
• ENFORCER 1 (Rough, sneering): “Scraps” belong to Baron Krayde when they’re on his turf, runt! Thought you’d learn after the last welp we strung up by his heels!

PANEL 2

• Setting: WIDER SHOT. ENFORCER 2 raises a heavy, gator-jaw club. The Scaled Shadow tenses on the rooftop, a coiled spring.
• ENFORCER 2: Time for another lesson, then.
• SFX (Club whistling): WHOOSH!

PANEL 3

• Setting: DYNAMIC ACTION SHOT. The Scaled Shadow LEAPS from the rooftop. Their movements are fluid, almost reptilian. A GRAPPLING HOOK (fashioned from a ‘Swamp Tyrant’ claw and gator sinew) shoots out, wrapping around a rusty metal pipe on an adjacent building.
• SFX (Grappling Hook Deploy): THWIP!
• SFX (Swing): FWHOOM!

PANEL 4

• Setting: The Scaled Shadow SWINGS down, KICKING Enforcer 2 squarely in the chest. The impact is solid.
• SFX (Impact): KRAK!
• ENFORCER 2 (Burst): OOF!

PAGE 3

PANEL 1

• Setting: Enforcer 2 stumbles back, winded. Enforcer 1 turns, surprised, dropping the Scavenger Boy.
• ENFORCER 1: What in the blighted bog—?!

PANEL 2

• Setting: The Scaled Shadow lands lightly in a crouch between the Enforcers and the boy. Their mask is intimidating.
• SCALED SHADOW (Voice distorted, low, resonant – perhaps via a device in the mask): Krayde’s lessons are over for tonight. Scavenge elsewhere, bullies.
• CAPTION (Scaled Shadow, Internal): They never learn. The strong prey on the weak. It’s the law of the swamp… but not my law.

PANEL 3

• Setting: Enforcer 1 draws a WICKED-LOOKING GATOR-GUTTING KNIFE. He’s big and angry.
• ENFORCER 1: You picked the wrong alley, freak! There’s a bounty on masked vigilantes in this district!

PANEL 4

• Setting: CLOSE UP on The Scaled Shadow’s hand. They deftly unclip two POLISHED GATOR TEETH (perhaps ‘Whispering Mire Crocodile’ fangs, known to be sharp) attached to cords, like small, sharp bolas or darts.
• SCALED SHADOW (Internal): Bounty? I collect a different kind.

PAGE 4

PANEL 1 (Horizontal Panel - Action Sequence)

• Setting: The Scaled Shadow MOVES with incredible speed and agility. They DODGE a wild slash from Enforcer 1.
• SFX (Knife Slash): SHWIIING!

PANEL 2 (Horizontal Panel - Action Sequence)

• Setting: In the same fluid motion, The Scaled Shadow FLINGS one of the gator-tooth darts. It WHIPS through the air.
• SFX (Dart Throw): FTTT!

PANEL 3 (Horizontal Panel - Action Sequence)

• Setting: The dart STRIKES Enforcer 1’s knife hand. He CRIES OUT, dropping the weapon. The tooth seems to have embedded slightly or wrapped tightly. (Non-lethal, aimed to disarm).
• ENFORCER 1 (Pain Burst): YEEARRGH! My hand!
• SFX (Impact): THAK!

PANEL 4

• Setting: Enforcer 2, recovered, charges with a roar, swinging his gator-jaw club.
• ENFORCER 2: I’ll crack your shell!

PAGE 5

PANEL 1

• Setting: The Scaled Shadow sidesteps the clumsy charge, then uses their momentum to deliver a swift ELBOW STRIKE to Enforcer 2’s temple.
• SFX (Elbow Strike): THWOCK!

PANEL 2

• Setting: Enforcer 2 staggers, dazed. The Scaled Shadow quickly deploys a small, weighted NET made of tough gator sinew.
• SFX (Net Deploy): FSSSHHH!

PANEL 3

• Setting: The net ENTANGLES Enforcer 2, who tumbles to the muddy ground, struggling.
• ENFORCER 2: Get this… off me!

PANEL 4

• Setting: The Scaled Shadow stands over the two subdued Enforcers. The Scavenger Boy watches, wide-eyed with a mixture of fear and awe.
• SCALED SHADOW: Tell Baron Krayde… the shadows have teeth too. And they don’t appreciate him feeding on the desperate.

PANEL 5

• Setting: The Scaled Shadow glances at the Scavenger Boy.
• SCALED SHADOW: Get home. And stay out of the Baron’s sight. They then turn and, with another expert shot of their grappling hook, swing up and disappear into the rainy, labyrinthine rooftops of the Gutters.
• SFX (Grappling Hook): THWIP!
• SFX (Swing): FWHOOM!

PAGE 6

PANEL 1

• Setting: The Scavenger Boy, alone now, looks up to where The Scaled Shadow vanished. A small, almost invisible GATOR SCALE (perhaps an Obsidian Scale, hinting at the Shadow’s armor) lies glinting in the mud where they stood.
• CAPTION (Narrative): Some say it’s a ghost. Others, a rogue Guild agent. Some even whisper it’s a ‘Swamp Tyrant’ in human form…

PANEL 2

• Setting: INT. HIDDEN LAIR - LATER
• Visuals: A small, concealed space, perhaps in the under-structure of Kai’MAN-hattan or a forgotten sewer tunnel. It’s utilitarian but shows signs of ingenuity. A few maps of the city and swamp regions are pinned to a damp wall. Tools for maintaining their gear are neatly arranged. There’s a small shrine with a single, perfect, WHITE GATOR EGG on a bed of moss. The Scaled Shadow is carefully cleaning their gator-tooth darts. Their mask is off, but their face is still in SHADOW or TURNED AWAY from the reader, maintaining mystery. We see glimpses of their expertise.
• CAPTION (Scaled Shadow, Internal): …They don’t understand. It’s not about being a ghost, or a monster. It’s about balance. In a world built on the flesh of the hunted, someone has to hunt the hunters.

PANEL 3

• Setting: CLOSE UP on The Scaled Shadow’s hand placing the cleaned darts back. Their knuckles are scraped.
• CAPTION (Scaled Shadow, Internal): Kai’MAN-hattan is a swamp of its own. And I am its apex predator.

PANEL 4 (Final Panel)

• Setting: EXT. KAI’MAN-HATTAN SKYLINE - DAWN
• Visuals: The rain has stopped. A sliver of grey dawn breaks over the sprawling, chaotic city of stilts and smoke. From a high vantage point, The Scaled Shadow’s silhouette is visible, watching over the waking city.
• CAPTION (Narrative): For in Alligator Alley, where the only gods are hunger and the bellow of the beast, even a shadow can fight for a sliver of justice. The hunt… continues.
• FINAL CAPTION: NEXT: THE CRIMSON TAIL CONSPIRACY!