CDoS
Apparently it’s Comic Book Day on Substack.
This means that all of the creators who have monetized Substack to sell their independent comic books are putting up a few sample pages in order to entice everyone into a paid subscription.
Since Substack publishing The Shaolin Nun is Plan C, ONLY AFTER we get six issues finished, finding subscribers isn’t something I’m worried about. However, updating my backers and getting new ones is. So…
Here are eight pages of issue #3, drawn by the great Gregory Maldonado, inked by lovely Laurie Foster, and colored by the talented Lala Narita. Since we haven’t started lettering the pages yet, I’ve included my dialogue for each panel. ©2022 JC Carter & Gregory Maldonado, and all that.
Panel 1:
CAPTION: White Crane Temple, China - One Year Ago
MEI YIN: <... but all hard emotions have something that triggers them. Some thing makes you angry. Some thing makes you sad. Some thing makes you afraid. Often they’re attached to one of your desires, and...>*
CAPTION: * Translated from Chinese.
Panel 2:
MEI YIN: <Good! You blocked my attack. But remember, if you have the opportunity, strike at me as well.>
Panel 3:
MEI YIN: <Remember to keep your elbow close to your body, and pointed down as you begin your punch.>
Panel 4:
NUN:<Teacher? When I punch the bag, I always hurt my hands.>
MEI YIN: <You are likely rolling your punch downward. You need to throw it straight--Like an arrow.>
Panel 5:
MEI YIN: <Observe.>
Panel 6:
SFX: CRACK!
Panel 7:
MEI YIN: <Practice that. But test your punch against a punching bag before you decide to break a board. Otherwise the board might break you.>
NUNS (ALL):Ha Ha Ha Ha!
Panel 1:
BAI LIANHUA: <Please stop breaking temple property, Mei Yin.>
MEI YIN:<Bai Lianhua!>
Panel 2:
MEI YIN: <Amitoufo, my teacher.>
BAI LIANHUA:<I think it is you who are now the teacher, Mei Yin, more than I ever was.>
Panel 3:
MEI YIN: <Don’t say that! I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.>
BAI LIANHUA:<I may have placed the brush in your hand, Sister, but it is you who has painted such a beautiful portrait with it…>
Panel 4:
MEI YIN: <How was your journey this year, Teacher?>
BAI LIANHUA: <Good. I have learned much.>
MEI YIN: <I hope you will share it with me.>
BAI LIANHUA:<What I have learned, you already know. And that’s as it should be, because it is time for you to leave us.>
Panel 5:
MEI YIN: <What? So soon?>
BAI LIANHUA:<Mei Yin, I can teach you no more. I can only teach you to be me, and I want you to become the best version of you.>
Panel 6:
MEI YIN: <Thank you, my teacher.>
BAI LIANHUA: <We elders believe you would best serve us if you were to build a temple in another place and spread our teachings beyond these mountains.>
MEI YIN: <Where would I go?>
BAI LIANHUA:<America, Sister.>
Panel 4:
CAPTION: Arrow
Panel 1:
MEI YIN: I have a question. For my name, should I put my given name or my Dharma name?
WOMAN: Your English is perfect! Um…if you haven’t legally changed your name to your Dharma name, then we would need your given name.
CAPTION: U.S. Consulate - Chengdu, China. Three days later.
Panel 2:
MEI YIN: Does this look right?
WOMAN: Are you applying for a religious visa?
MEI YIN: Yes.
Panel 3: WOMAN: Grace Anne Douglass. Your name is Grace Anne Douglass?
MEI YIN: Yes? it--
Panel 4:
WOMAN: Would you mind waiting here a moment, Sister?
MEI YIN: Of course.
Panel 5:
MECHAM: Gracie? Is it really you?
MEI YIN: Mr…Mecham?
Panel 1:
AMBASSADOR: Grace Douglass. You disappeared without a trace. Where have you been for the past ten years?
MEI YIN: I was…lost…for a while. I was initiated at the Tongjiao temple and went on to study at a temple in Sichuan.
AMBASSADOR: That’s quite the journey.
MEI YIN: Yes.
CAPTION: United States Embassy - Beijing, China - the following day.
Panel 2:
AMBASSADOR: Well, some good news. Despite the fact that you were missing for a decade, you’re still able to claim the money from your parent’s life insurance policies.
MEI YIN: I don’t understand.
Panel 3:
MECHAM: Your parents each had a two-hundred and fifty thousand dollar life insurance policy through the State Department, with you listed as the sole beneficiary.
MEI YIN: Each? So Five hundred thousand dollars? Is that a lot?
Panel 4:
AMBASSADOR: It’s not a fortune, but you could use it for college, or invest it and have it make money for you.
MEI YIN: Material wealth is not something we Buddhists strive for, but I can use it in their name to open a Temple in the United States.
Panel 5:
AMBASSADOR: Of course. It’s your money, after all.
MECHAM: Uh...inside that packet are some photos we had of you and your parents, some uh...personal paperwork like your certificate of adoption, your social security card, and your new U.S. passport.
MEI YIN: Thank you.
Panel 1:
RECEPTIONIST: You wish to see Mrs. Yung?
MEI YIN: Yes. I was told she would receive me if I asked for her.
CAPTION: Nianching Tea Corporate Office, Los Angeles, California - six months later
Panel 2:
RECEPTIONIST: Mrs. Yung has retired, but she happened to come in today. Did she tell you she would be here?
MEI YIN: No.
RECEPTIONIST: Mr. Yung? I have a Shi Mei Yin of the White Crane Temple in China to see Mrs. Yung?
Panel 3:
RECEPTIONIST: Um…she’ll be right up. Would you like some tea while you wait?
MEI YIN: No thank you.
Panel 4:
MRS. YUNG: I have waited sixty years for you to pay me a visit! Welcome!
ROBERT: Mother? What’s--
Panel 5:
MRS. YUNG: Shush, Robert!
MEI YIN: Amitoufo, gracious lady.
MRS. YUNG: This old body welcomes you and your blessings, venerable one.
Panel 1:
MRS. YUNG: Thank you, Robert. Have I told you that if it weren’t for the sisters at the White Crane Temple, none of this would have happened?
ROBERT: You have, mother. Many times.
Panel 2:
MRS. YUNG: Had they not taken me in and taught me what they taught me, I would have likely been dead! And you would have never been born! Ha!
Panel 3:
ROBERT: Then we owe them much.
MRS. YUNG: More than could ever be repaid! Tell me, Sister, what can our worthless family do to repay our debt?
MEI YIN: Your debt was repaid by you living well, Mrs. Yung. But I do need your help.
Panel 4:
MEI YIN: I was tasked to come here and start a new temple. I think it should be here in the city, since I need to build my Sangha. I can’t do that if I’m hidden away in the mountains, can I?
MRS. YUNG: So, a new temple…I wonder--
Panel 5:
ROBERT: The old warehouse is vacant, Mother. We had considered selling it…perhaps the Sister could use it to start her new temple?
MRS. YUNG: Call Bob in here!
What happens next? You have to read it to find out! —and we have to finish it. We’re hoping to have this issue off to the printer this month. If you backed us on Kickstarter, it should be arriving soon! If you didn’t back us on Kickstarter, watch this space for the next Kickstarter launching in April or May* where you can pick up issues 1-3 while backing issue #4!
*Supply chain issues and hitting our completion date may push shipping back a month and delay the next campaign.