HUGE SPOILER WARNING: This is intended as the first installment of an Unabashedly Unofficial Sequel to the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale graphic novels "Batman: The Long Halloween" and "Batman: Dark Victory." So here's some friendly advice: Don't read this script unless you either have already read both of those graphic novels, or else you've long since decided that you don't mind if their major plot twists get thoroughly Spoiled for you. But whatever you do, don't keep reading this script if you're unfamiliar with those previous stories and then come crying to me about how I ruined two of Jeph Loeb's tales of mystery and suspense for you! You'll get no sympathy from me after this warning I just gave you!
One other note: This tale's opening scene occurs approximately one decade after the final scenes of "Dark Victory." In other words, it's set roughly at the time of "modern continuity" (although probably in its own little alternate timeline, as some people have reported TLH and DV were!). Dick Grayson has long since grown up, left home, and started calling himself Nightwing. Jason Todd has presumably become Robin, died, and later come back from the dead (although I don't intend to touch upon the subject of Jason Todd at all in this story). Tim Drake has been Robin, on and off, for quite some time now.
As with the first issues of "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory," "Double Dealing #1" is written to have 48 pages of story in order to start things off with a bang. What I'm posting here is the first 24 pages' worth. At some later time I intend to post the second half of "Double Dealing #1" in this same thread.
BATMAN: DOUBLE DEALING #1
PAGE ONE (one panel)
Panel 1.
Splash page. Establishing shot of FRED BILINSKY (hereafter just FRED), the researcher who's been hired to write a book about the notorious "Holiday" and "Hang Man" killing sprees of many years ago. Fred is standing tall and facing us directly; we're seeing him, in effect, through the eyes of the lady he is speaking to. Fred is a male Caucasian, average height, average build, sandy hair in a crew cut, wears glasses. Youthful, about 28 years old, clean-shaven, Slavic features (his ancestry is predominantly Ukrainian, although that may never be mentioned in dialogue; it isn't terribly important to our plot). For the purposes of interviewing people, he is wearing a suit and tie to suggest he takes the subject matter seriously. But he doesn't look incredibly stylish or anything like that -- he doesn't really like wearing suits and ties; he just regards it as a painful necessity sometimes.
FRED:
Will you tell me about it?
PAGE TWO (five panels)
Panel 1.
Long shot. Fred is standing in the middle of a large office, facing the desk at one end of the room. Sitting behind the desk is JULIA LOPEZ (hereafter just JULIA). Ten years ago she was a Hispanic police detective who was part of the top-secret team that reported directly to Commissioner Gordon during the investigation of the Hang Man murders. (Check "Dark Victory" to see what she looks like before you try to draw her.) She's older now; about forty, but well-preserved. Her large office is not part of a police headquarters; she's moved on to other things. One side of her office is mostly window; stenciled on the outside of it (so that it looks backwards from our perspective) is the name:
SLEEP-TITE
SECURITY CO.
JULIA:
I don't know what else I can tell you, Mister Bilinsky. The Hang Man killings are ancient history. Whatever I saw and heard, I wrote down in official reports at the time. You can probably get a look at those.
Panel 2.
Fred is looking calm and polite at this largely useless and redundant suggestion that doesn't really tell him anything new.
FRED:
Thanks, I already have copies.
JULIA:
Then you certainly know that Sofia Falcone Gigante was the Hang Man, although she died -- killed by Harvey Dent -- before we ever had to prove it to a jury of her peers.
Panel 3.
Julia still seated, Fred still standing a respectful distance away, as they speak.
FRED:
Yes, I know that. And I know that forensic evidence suggested she even killed her own brother, Alberto Falcone, as well as hanging an awful lot of cops and ex-cops, before she was stopped.
JULIA:
Then you know practically everything I know about the Hang Man. I never had a heart-to-heart conversation with her, so I can't offer any brilliant insight into what was going on inside her head.
Panel 4.
Close-up on Julia, looking wary, as Fred speaks from off-panel.
FRED (OP):
But you did have such conversations with Detective Wilcox?
JULIA:
Laureen Wilcox?
FRED (OP):
Yes. Your partner. One of the Hang Man's victims -- along with three other members of your team.
Panel 5.
Close-up on Julia, looking a tad impatient, exasperated, that sort of thing.
JULIA:
Of course I shared confidences with my partner. But even if I were both willing and able to repeat every word we ever spoke to each other -- and I'm not --
JULIA:
-- I doubt it would add much to your proposed book about the Holiday and Hang Man killings.
FRED:
Well, that's the thing. One source told me she received large cash payments from Sofia Gigante -- spread out over a couple of years before she died.
PAGE THREE (five panels)
Panel 1.
Julia is giving Fred a baleful look without responding immediately to what he just said.
Panel 2.
This time we're focused on Fred, looking bland as he reacts to what Julia is saying from off-panel.
JULIA (OP):
That's an interesting allegation. Did your source offer any "proof" -- or just idle gossip?
FRED:
I don't think I should go into that right now. I just wondered if you'd care to confirm or deny any of it? To set the record straight?
Panel 3.
Julia and Fred are now staring at each other with just a couple of feet of space between their faces; he has moved up to look at her directly across her desk, and she has risen to her feet to have her eyes at about the same level as his. I figure we're seeing both of them in profile.
JULIA:
For the record? I NEVER saw Wilcox do anything criminal -- and she died in the line of duty. Beyond that, I'm not interested in reacting to anonymous smear tactics. I think this interview is over, Mr. Bilinsky.
FRED:
If you say so, Ms. Lopez. Thanks for your time!
Panel 4.
JULIA, still standing, is staring at the closed door now that Fred has vacated her office.
Panel 5.
Julia is settling back into her chair and reaching for the telephone on her desk.
PAGE FOUR (five panels)
Panel 1.
Julia's got her desk phone's receiver up to her ear. When we weren't looking, she has already dialed the number she wants. Throughout this page, we only see and hear her end of the conversation.
JULIA:
Yes, this is Julia Lopez. Is Sherry Wilcox available?
JULIA:
Sure, I can hold.
Panel 2.
Julia still has the phone to her ear.
JULIA:
Sherry? Julia Lopez. I need to talk to you about something delicate. Face to face. When can we get together?
Panel 3.
Still focused on Julia, on the phone.
JULIA:
Let me put it this way. If a man named Fred Bilinsky comes around asking nosy questions about your sister, tell him "no comment" -- at least until we've talked it over.
Panel 4.
Close-up on Julia's right hand, which is holding a ballpoint pen. The hand is writing something on the "Tuesday" page of an appointment book.
JULIA:
Sure, we can meet at the Taco Whiz near campus, noon tomorrow. Take care!
Panel 5.
We pull back to a long shot, similar to what we got on Page Two, Panel 1, except that Fred's nowhere around. The entire room is darker than it was a few minutes ago (perhaps we're near sunset, if we need a rationalization). No electric lights have been turned on yet. We see the shadowy form of Julia setting the receiver back down where it belongs as she broods over what she'll say to Sherry tomorrow.
SFX (telephone):
KLICK
PAGE FIVE (five panels)
Panel 1.
New scene begins. Fred is now sitting across a table from Julian September, the Calendar Man.
FRED: Will you tell me about it?
Panel 2.
Focus on the Calendar Man. We can't see Fred in this panel; he isn't saying anything anyway, and we need the space for the Calendar Man's remarks.
CALENDAR MAN:
It seemed a good idea at the time. Alfredo Falcone was Holiday. His killing spree, coinciding with various noteworthy dates on the calendar, eclipsed my own more artistic -- and nonlethal -- efforts.
CALENDAR MAN:
So I let myself be persuaded to join forces with Dent, Crane, and others I met in Arkham, to try to drive him into madness -- suicidal madness, by preference -- while Dent was masterminding the effort to bring down the staggering carcass of the once-great "Roman Empire."
Panel 3.
Fred is facing Calendar Man across a desk.
FRED:
"Seemed a good idea." But your piece of the group effort didn't work out so well, did it?
CALENDAR MAN:
Are you referring to Alfredo's breaking my jaw when I confronted him directly?
FRED:
Among other things.
CALENDAR MAN:
Well, you're right. He caught on to our little game and bludgeoned me within an inch of my life even as I shot him in the thorax.
Panel 4.
We still see both of them, seated, eyes at a level, talking.
FRED:
And how do you feel about that? Would you do it all over again if you had the chance?
CALENDAR MAN:
No. I was spitefully foolish. I didn't even mean to shoot him, but I thought my gun would keep him at bay.
Panel 5.
CALENDAR MAN:
If I could do it over, I'd just forget about him and design a more elegant campaign of calendar-related crimes that would leave him as just another dusty example of YESTERDAY'S news.
FRED:
Er, right. Well, Mister Day, let me thank you again for taking the time to answer some questions.
PAGE SIX (one panel)
Panel 1. Splash Page. We now get a good look at the walls behind The Calendar Man and off to his right. They are COVERED with . . . calendars. On his desk is a big book. The front cover and the spine both have the title, but I'll leave it to you the artist to decide which one is clearly readable in this shot. The book is titled: "Birthdays of the Rich and Famous."
CALENDAR MAN:
No trouble at all, Mister Bilinsky! I'm well ahead of schedule in researching the birthdays of notable cartoonists for a special calendar, and I already wrapped up the one about the birthdays and inaugurations of all the Popes. It was good to take a break and talk about old times!
PAGE SEVEN (four panels)
Panel 1.
New scene begins. Remember: Implicitly, Fred's various interviews have all been going for awhile before we ever enter in the middle of things and hear him following up on one point or another by asking "Will you tell me about it?" We aren't getting the entire texts of any of his interviews; just cross-sections of them. In this one, we see that Fred is speaking to someone who is only a shadowy silhouette -- female, old-fashioned conservative hairstyle -- in this panel (that will change in the next one).
FRED:
Will you tell me about it?
Panel 2.
Close-up on GILDA DENT (hereafter just GILDA), as seen from Fred's own perspective. She is staring at him, looking very wide-eyed and innocent. She must be getting into her late thirties by now, but she still has something of the ingenue about her -- very delicate-looking, as if she ought to be played in a movie or stage production by an actress capable of passing herself off as a "Sweet Young Thing."
GILDA:
What can I add, Mr. Bilinsky? For the past twelve years, what I've seen of my husband has principally been newspaper stories. The last time I went to see him, he ordered me not to take a seat in the courtroom -- said it would be all wrong. I've honored his wishes since then. Sometimes I send him letters at Arkham . . . even when he's not IN Arkham. They hold mail for him until he returns to his cell.
Panel 3.
Gilda's looking downward, sadly. Fred's looking at her, but the way her head is lowered, they obviously aren't making eye contact right now. Around now we may get a better look at the setting -- they are in what appears to be a hotel room with a single big beds, but they are both seated on wooden chairs. Gilda is by a chest of drawers; Fred is several feet away, closer to the door.
GILDA:
If you've already been researching it, then You probably know just as much about this Two-Face . . . aberration . . . as I do.
GILDA:
Everything's been tried. Plastic surgery. Psychotherapy. Mood-altering drugs. Taking away his silver dollars to force him to make decisions on some other basis. Sometimes he improves for awhile, but eventually . . . Two-Face again.
Panel 4.
Gilda's looking at him again.
FRED:
And you still love him?
GILDA:
I'm still his WIFE -- I could have gotten a divorce years ago, if I wanted one. I never bothered. What does that tell you?
FRED:
I see.
PAGE EIGHT (four panels)
Panel 1.
Focus on Fred as he changes the subject.
FRED:
By the way, Mrs. Dent -- I understand your friends were worried about you when you vanished from Gotham after your husband's first arrest.
GILDA:
They needn't have been. I didn't want to leave a trail for the paparazzi. I found a quiet place to live. I prefer not to divulge the details.
Panel 2.
They're looking each other straight in the eye again.
FRED:
But now you're back. Can you give me some idea of how long you will be in Gotham?
GILDA:
I want to see Harvey again. Speak to him. When I know where he is. How long do you think it will take the authorities to catch him, this time?
FRED:
I have no idea.
GILDA:
Then that answers your question. Neither have I!
Panel 3.
Fred is rising to his feet. He is picking up a portable tape recorder we didn't see before from a nearby small lamp table.
FRED:
You've been very gracious, Mrs. Dent. Especially considering that I'm a total stranger who wants to retell the story of the events surrounding your husband's . . . injuries and subsequent changes.
Panel 4.
Focus on Gilda again. I think Fred is off-panel, but I'm prepared to be flexible about that.
GILDA:
So? I strongly doubt you could write anything embarrassing about Harvey that hasn't already seen print a thousand times before. I just hope you remember to include one or two of the NICE things I described about the life we used to have.
FRED (OP, probably): Count on it. They'll be in the manuscript I submit.
One other note: This tale's opening scene occurs approximately one decade after the final scenes of "Dark Victory." In other words, it's set roughly at the time of "modern continuity" (although probably in its own little alternate timeline, as some people have reported TLH and DV were!). Dick Grayson has long since grown up, left home, and started calling himself Nightwing. Jason Todd has presumably become Robin, died, and later come back from the dead (although I don't intend to touch upon the subject of Jason Todd at all in this story). Tim Drake has been Robin, on and off, for quite some time now.
As with the first issues of "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory," "Double Dealing #1" is written to have 48 pages of story in order to start things off with a bang. What I'm posting here is the first 24 pages' worth. At some later time I intend to post the second half of "Double Dealing #1" in this same thread.
BATMAN: DOUBLE DEALING #1
PAGE ONE (one panel)
Panel 1.
Splash page. Establishing shot of FRED BILINSKY (hereafter just FRED), the researcher who's been hired to write a book about the notorious "Holiday" and "Hang Man" killing sprees of many years ago. Fred is standing tall and facing us directly; we're seeing him, in effect, through the eyes of the lady he is speaking to. Fred is a male Caucasian, average height, average build, sandy hair in a crew cut, wears glasses. Youthful, about 28 years old, clean-shaven, Slavic features (his ancestry is predominantly Ukrainian, although that may never be mentioned in dialogue; it isn't terribly important to our plot). For the purposes of interviewing people, he is wearing a suit and tie to suggest he takes the subject matter seriously. But he doesn't look incredibly stylish or anything like that -- he doesn't really like wearing suits and ties; he just regards it as a painful necessity sometimes.
FRED:
Will you tell me about it?
PAGE TWO (five panels)
Panel 1.
Long shot. Fred is standing in the middle of a large office, facing the desk at one end of the room. Sitting behind the desk is JULIA LOPEZ (hereafter just JULIA). Ten years ago she was a Hispanic police detective who was part of the top-secret team that reported directly to Commissioner Gordon during the investigation of the Hang Man murders. (Check "Dark Victory" to see what she looks like before you try to draw her.) She's older now; about forty, but well-preserved. Her large office is not part of a police headquarters; she's moved on to other things. One side of her office is mostly window; stenciled on the outside of it (so that it looks backwards from our perspective) is the name:
SLEEP-TITE
SECURITY CO.
JULIA:
I don't know what else I can tell you, Mister Bilinsky. The Hang Man killings are ancient history. Whatever I saw and heard, I wrote down in official reports at the time. You can probably get a look at those.
Panel 2.
Fred is looking calm and polite at this largely useless and redundant suggestion that doesn't really tell him anything new.
FRED:
Thanks, I already have copies.
JULIA:
Then you certainly know that Sofia Falcone Gigante was the Hang Man, although she died -- killed by Harvey Dent -- before we ever had to prove it to a jury of her peers.
Panel 3.
Julia still seated, Fred still standing a respectful distance away, as they speak.
FRED:
Yes, I know that. And I know that forensic evidence suggested she even killed her own brother, Alberto Falcone, as well as hanging an awful lot of cops and ex-cops, before she was stopped.
JULIA:
Then you know practically everything I know about the Hang Man. I never had a heart-to-heart conversation with her, so I can't offer any brilliant insight into what was going on inside her head.
Panel 4.
Close-up on Julia, looking wary, as Fred speaks from off-panel.
FRED (OP):
But you did have such conversations with Detective Wilcox?
JULIA:
Laureen Wilcox?
FRED (OP):
Yes. Your partner. One of the Hang Man's victims -- along with three other members of your team.
Panel 5.
Close-up on Julia, looking a tad impatient, exasperated, that sort of thing.
JULIA:
Of course I shared confidences with my partner. But even if I were both willing and able to repeat every word we ever spoke to each other -- and I'm not --
JULIA:
-- I doubt it would add much to your proposed book about the Holiday and Hang Man killings.
FRED:
Well, that's the thing. One source told me she received large cash payments from Sofia Gigante -- spread out over a couple of years before she died.
PAGE THREE (five panels)
Panel 1.
Julia is giving Fred a baleful look without responding immediately to what he just said.
Panel 2.
This time we're focused on Fred, looking bland as he reacts to what Julia is saying from off-panel.
JULIA (OP):
That's an interesting allegation. Did your source offer any "proof" -- or just idle gossip?
FRED:
I don't think I should go into that right now. I just wondered if you'd care to confirm or deny any of it? To set the record straight?
Panel 3.
Julia and Fred are now staring at each other with just a couple of feet of space between their faces; he has moved up to look at her directly across her desk, and she has risen to her feet to have her eyes at about the same level as his. I figure we're seeing both of them in profile.
JULIA:
For the record? I NEVER saw Wilcox do anything criminal -- and she died in the line of duty. Beyond that, I'm not interested in reacting to anonymous smear tactics. I think this interview is over, Mr. Bilinsky.
FRED:
If you say so, Ms. Lopez. Thanks for your time!
Panel 4.
JULIA, still standing, is staring at the closed door now that Fred has vacated her office.
Panel 5.
Julia is settling back into her chair and reaching for the telephone on her desk.
PAGE FOUR (five panels)
Panel 1.
Julia's got her desk phone's receiver up to her ear. When we weren't looking, she has already dialed the number she wants. Throughout this page, we only see and hear her end of the conversation.
JULIA:
Yes, this is Julia Lopez. Is Sherry Wilcox available?
JULIA:
Sure, I can hold.
Panel 2.
Julia still has the phone to her ear.
JULIA:
Sherry? Julia Lopez. I need to talk to you about something delicate. Face to face. When can we get together?
Panel 3.
Still focused on Julia, on the phone.
JULIA:
Let me put it this way. If a man named Fred Bilinsky comes around asking nosy questions about your sister, tell him "no comment" -- at least until we've talked it over.
Panel 4.
Close-up on Julia's right hand, which is holding a ballpoint pen. The hand is writing something on the "Tuesday" page of an appointment book.
JULIA:
Sure, we can meet at the Taco Whiz near campus, noon tomorrow. Take care!
Panel 5.
We pull back to a long shot, similar to what we got on Page Two, Panel 1, except that Fred's nowhere around. The entire room is darker than it was a few minutes ago (perhaps we're near sunset, if we need a rationalization). No electric lights have been turned on yet. We see the shadowy form of Julia setting the receiver back down where it belongs as she broods over what she'll say to Sherry tomorrow.
SFX (telephone):
KLICK
PAGE FIVE (five panels)
Panel 1.
New scene begins. Fred is now sitting across a table from Julian September, the Calendar Man.
FRED: Will you tell me about it?
Panel 2.
Focus on the Calendar Man. We can't see Fred in this panel; he isn't saying anything anyway, and we need the space for the Calendar Man's remarks.
CALENDAR MAN:
It seemed a good idea at the time. Alfredo Falcone was Holiday. His killing spree, coinciding with various noteworthy dates on the calendar, eclipsed my own more artistic -- and nonlethal -- efforts.
CALENDAR MAN:
So I let myself be persuaded to join forces with Dent, Crane, and others I met in Arkham, to try to drive him into madness -- suicidal madness, by preference -- while Dent was masterminding the effort to bring down the staggering carcass of the once-great "Roman Empire."
Panel 3.
Fred is facing Calendar Man across a desk.
FRED:
"Seemed a good idea." But your piece of the group effort didn't work out so well, did it?
CALENDAR MAN:
Are you referring to Alfredo's breaking my jaw when I confronted him directly?
FRED:
Among other things.
CALENDAR MAN:
Well, you're right. He caught on to our little game and bludgeoned me within an inch of my life even as I shot him in the thorax.
Panel 4.
We still see both of them, seated, eyes at a level, talking.
FRED:
And how do you feel about that? Would you do it all over again if you had the chance?
CALENDAR MAN:
No. I was spitefully foolish. I didn't even mean to shoot him, but I thought my gun would keep him at bay.
Panel 5.
CALENDAR MAN:
If I could do it over, I'd just forget about him and design a more elegant campaign of calendar-related crimes that would leave him as just another dusty example of YESTERDAY'S news.
FRED:
Er, right. Well, Mister Day, let me thank you again for taking the time to answer some questions.
PAGE SIX (one panel)
Panel 1. Splash Page. We now get a good look at the walls behind The Calendar Man and off to his right. They are COVERED with . . . calendars. On his desk is a big book. The front cover and the spine both have the title, but I'll leave it to you the artist to decide which one is clearly readable in this shot. The book is titled: "Birthdays of the Rich and Famous."
CALENDAR MAN:
No trouble at all, Mister Bilinsky! I'm well ahead of schedule in researching the birthdays of notable cartoonists for a special calendar, and I already wrapped up the one about the birthdays and inaugurations of all the Popes. It was good to take a break and talk about old times!
PAGE SEVEN (four panels)
Panel 1.
New scene begins. Remember: Implicitly, Fred's various interviews have all been going for awhile before we ever enter in the middle of things and hear him following up on one point or another by asking "Will you tell me about it?" We aren't getting the entire texts of any of his interviews; just cross-sections of them. In this one, we see that Fred is speaking to someone who is only a shadowy silhouette -- female, old-fashioned conservative hairstyle -- in this panel (that will change in the next one).
FRED:
Will you tell me about it?
Panel 2.
Close-up on GILDA DENT (hereafter just GILDA), as seen from Fred's own perspective. She is staring at him, looking very wide-eyed and innocent. She must be getting into her late thirties by now, but she still has something of the ingenue about her -- very delicate-looking, as if she ought to be played in a movie or stage production by an actress capable of passing herself off as a "Sweet Young Thing."
GILDA:
What can I add, Mr. Bilinsky? For the past twelve years, what I've seen of my husband has principally been newspaper stories. The last time I went to see him, he ordered me not to take a seat in the courtroom -- said it would be all wrong. I've honored his wishes since then. Sometimes I send him letters at Arkham . . . even when he's not IN Arkham. They hold mail for him until he returns to his cell.
Panel 3.
Gilda's looking downward, sadly. Fred's looking at her, but the way her head is lowered, they obviously aren't making eye contact right now. Around now we may get a better look at the setting -- they are in what appears to be a hotel room with a single big beds, but they are both seated on wooden chairs. Gilda is by a chest of drawers; Fred is several feet away, closer to the door.
GILDA:
If you've already been researching it, then You probably know just as much about this Two-Face . . . aberration . . . as I do.
GILDA:
Everything's been tried. Plastic surgery. Psychotherapy. Mood-altering drugs. Taking away his silver dollars to force him to make decisions on some other basis. Sometimes he improves for awhile, but eventually . . . Two-Face again.
Panel 4.
Gilda's looking at him again.
FRED:
And you still love him?
GILDA:
I'm still his WIFE -- I could have gotten a divorce years ago, if I wanted one. I never bothered. What does that tell you?
FRED:
I see.
PAGE EIGHT (four panels)
Panel 1.
Focus on Fred as he changes the subject.
FRED:
By the way, Mrs. Dent -- I understand your friends were worried about you when you vanished from Gotham after your husband's first arrest.
GILDA:
They needn't have been. I didn't want to leave a trail for the paparazzi. I found a quiet place to live. I prefer not to divulge the details.
Panel 2.
They're looking each other straight in the eye again.
FRED:
But now you're back. Can you give me some idea of how long you will be in Gotham?
GILDA:
I want to see Harvey again. Speak to him. When I know where he is. How long do you think it will take the authorities to catch him, this time?
FRED:
I have no idea.
GILDA:
Then that answers your question. Neither have I!
Panel 3.
Fred is rising to his feet. He is picking up a portable tape recorder we didn't see before from a nearby small lamp table.
FRED:
You've been very gracious, Mrs. Dent. Especially considering that I'm a total stranger who wants to retell the story of the events surrounding your husband's . . . injuries and subsequent changes.
Panel 4.
Focus on Gilda again. I think Fred is off-panel, but I'm prepared to be flexible about that.
GILDA:
So? I strongly doubt you could write anything embarrassing about Harvey that hasn't already seen print a thousand times before. I just hope you remember to include one or two of the NICE things I described about the life we used to have.
FRED (OP, probably): Count on it. They'll be in the manuscript I submit.
) 
