Donna McKay

@onceuponadonna

Animator, Storyboard Artist, comic maker, Artist in general. Creator of comic: The Vampire On Our Block Creator of retired webcomic: Once Upon a Donna.

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Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· 29d

While there's no helium in this image; those marshmallows could very well explode if the Ghost Hunting Team drop them in the fire! Sasquatch to the left of them, vampires to the right, here they are! #CRAZYSummerBlowup @jonscrazyblues.bsky.social @lollipopcomics.bsky.social #TheVampireOnOurBlock

Top of the picture reads "The Vampire On Our Block", at the bottom is the hashtag CRAZYSummerBlowup.
A group of seven teens sit around a campfire at night. Alex, in the middle is just finishing telling the others a scary campfire ghost story. Four of the teens are reacting to a dark figure that has risen from the bushes behind Alex. Fred and Gabe who are sitting beside Alex, do not see the creature.
In the foreground, a pale hand, unknown who's or what's, is pulling a branch down to get a better look at the scene.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Jun 28

Wanna catch up on #TheVampireOnOurBlock but can't read it all in one sitting? You can use the Archive button at the top of the page to take you to the last chapter you read, OR these handy Bookmarks at the bottom of the page! Click one to save your place, and the other to load where you left off!

Image of a two bookmark icons, over top of the first bookmark icon is a mouse-over text box reading "Save my Place"

Image of a book mark two bookmark icons. Over top of the second bookmark icon is a mouse over text box that reads "Load my Place"

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Apr 29

Advertise your account in one Simpsons image: (Alternatively, nearly any image from the Dracula halloween episode)

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Feb 11

Show us your vampire art! 🩸 I run an ongoing webcomic #TheVampireOnOurBlock about vampires (and monsters, and ghosts, and teenagers) Here are some snippets from it, featuring Jarek, the main vampire character of the series. thevampireonourblock.thecomicseries.com #vampire #comic #art

3 panel comic from The Vampire On Our Block, Ch 1 part 02, "The New Neighbour"
Panel 1: Fred and Alex peek out from a broken window, inside an abandoned house. Alex is holding up an old camcorder and whispering "Is it... EATING that person?"
Panel 2: Jarek, the vampire, having heard the whisper suddenly turns towards the noise with a snarl! Blood is dripping around his mouth, and his eyes are glowing red in the darkness. We can just make out the lifeless body of his victim on the ground.
Panel 3: Inside the house, Fred and Alex quickly duck. Outside, Jarek has turned towards the house.

3 panel comic from The Vampire On Our Block, Chapter 2 part 2 "Who Do You Think You Are?"
Panel 1: Interior, pitch black room, only light source is from a flashlight Fred was holding. Fred is thrown backwards onto a couch. He impacts it with such force that he drops the flashlight.
Panel 2: Jarek advances towards Fred, clawed hand outstretched, eyes glowing in the darkness. He says to Fred in a black and red speech bubble "What did I tell you about interfering with my-"
Panel 3: Fred, recoiling as far as he can into the seat cushions, reveals a two sided picture frame he had brought with him and cries out "WAIT!! WHY DO YOU HAVE THE SAME FAMILY PORTRAITS AS ME!?"

Comic from Chapter 4 part 1 of The Vampire On Our Block, "Life's a Stage"
Panel 1: Close on Jarek, who is now very serious.
Jarek: “Fredrick, there’s more going on in this town then the presence of one vampire...”
Panel 2: During this conversation the two have gradually moved into the living room area. Jarek places a hand on Fred’s shoulder, and pushes him down so he is sitting on a chair as he continues speaking.
Jarek: “So for my own safety, I need you to stay alive while your mother is away.”
Fred, looking up and a bit confused: “YOUR safety?!”
Panel 3: Close on Fred and Jarek. Jarek places both his hands on the arm rest of the chair Fred is sitting on, so that he and Fred are face to face. Fred sinks back into the chair as far as he can go while Jarek speaks.
Jarek: “Your mother told MANY people that the nice, new neighbour would be watching her precious child. If you were to die a mysterious death, who do you think would be the first person the police would investigate?”
Fred, quietly, and mostly as an after thought says “oh.”
Panel 4: Jarek leans back away from the chair, standing up straight.
Jarek: “So until your mother comes home, you need to be more careful at night. And report any strange occurrences you see to me.”
Panel 5: Close on Fred, he looks up at Jarek.
Fred, defiantly: “Why should I?”
Panel 6: Close on Jarek and Fred. Jarek is angry and gets into Fred’s face. Fred tilts his head up in defiance but doesn’t want to be too close to Jarek all the same. Jarek points a clawed hand at Fred while speaking in the dark voice.
Jarek, angrily: “BOY, YOU NEED TO STOP CHALLENGING ME! Now I’m planning on keeping you alive, but if you keep pushing me, then I won’t worry about keeping you happy!”

Exterior house, night. Fred is inside his room, light illuminating from it. He locks his window.
Unseen by him, Jarek is clinging to the side of the house like a lizard, just below the window frame.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Dec 17

The #CRAZYHolidayFashionShow is here. Fred is sporting a new "Spirit" of the Season sweater... and is a bit concerned that Jarek (who is totally not a vampire) is wearing a Krampus themed sweater. @jonscrazyblues.bsky.social @lollipopcomics.bsky.social

Fred has just finished putting on a new Christmas Sweater. It's red and white, classic knitted pattern Christmas sweater with snowflakes and trees. However there are ghosts across the top of his chest and arms in the pattern. Fred is looking at the sweater Jarek is wearing, and is a little concerned. Jarek is looking at Fred, amused (he is in his regular human form). Jarek's Christmas Sweater is blue and white, with a large stylized Krampus pattern, stalking across a snowy field and carrying a sack on it's back. There are snowflakes and chain patterns on Jarek's Sweater.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Nov 19

The Ghost Hunting Team take a break from the supernatural shenanigans to watch the #CRAZIESDayParade, and eat pizza and popcorn! (That's Aloysius, The Cheerful Ghoul on the tv. Legally distinct from Casper The Friendly Ghost!) @jonscrazyblues.bsky.social @lollipopcomics.bsky.social

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Nov 17

Did you know that if you read #TheVampireOnOurBlock on desktop; I have hidden text appear when you let your mouse hover on the page? (I don't know how to make it appear when viewing on a phone 😅)

Comic panel from The Vampire On Our Block.
Fred and Alex are keeping watch while Lily picks the lock on a door.
Alex is saying "Fred, now that we're here... I can't help but think, that this is a TERRIBLE idea!"
On top of the image is a black box with white text, this is the hidden text that reads: "This plan is bad and you should feel bad!"

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Nov 10

If you see this, post your bird art #birds

Drawing of a Magpie standing in front of a gold ring, framing a blue sky with white clouds. The gold ring is slightly circled by pussywillow branches.

A red-wing black bird stands on a branch. Behind it is a gold ring, framing cattails.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Nov 1

Well I dropped the ball for Halloween art. The seasons have been tricky for me emotionally, so I'm kinda ignoring them 🤷. I will instead share this drawing I did promoting my comic. (originally this was posted over on Cara) thevampireonourblock.thecomicseries.com

At the top of the page is a link for https://thevampireonourblock.thecomicseries.com/
Below that it reads in a gothic font: "The Vampire On Our Block"
The picture is of 7 teenagers huddled in a group, sneaking around in the dark and looking off to the left. In the front, Fred holds a flashlight. Behind them is Jarek, the vampire, arms crossed, leaning against the wall and watching them, amused.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Oct 25

The Vampire On Our Block Chapter 01-The New Neighbour Part 3 Chapter 1 End Page Chapter 2 Cover page From here on, all updates will be up on the website: thevampireonourblock.thecomicseries.com

Mostly empty page, in the corner is one panel from the chapter. Fred is teasing Alex for giving Lily two thumbs up. Fred is imitating The Fonz and Alex is embarrassed and telling Fred to "SHUT UP!"

Cover Page: In gothic red font, at the top of the page reads: “The Vampire On Our Block”. At the bottom of the page in yellow lettering reads: “Ch 2: Who Do You Think You Are? by Donna McKay.”
The image features a squat, dark brown table. Placed near the back of the table is an open, double picture frame, made of a gold metal. In the circular portraits; on one side of the frame is a photo of a young man, with wavy, blond hair just touching his shoulders. His eyes are of a light, greenish blue. He is wearing old clothing, from the 1700’s. On the opposite frame is a picture of Fred. Likely a school photo.
At the edge of the table is an old looking Journal, bound in a reddish leather. Resting on top of the journal is a photo of Alex and his three siblings. It’s the type of photo where someone says “Ok everyone get in close! Say cheese!” The photo is a bright day, and there are tree leaves in the background. The photo features, Daphne (the oldest), Andrew (The second child), Alex, and the youngest sibling, Cassie. (Daphne and Alex wear glasses) All four siblings share have curly, dark hair and brown eyes.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Oct 25

The Vampire On Our Block Chapter 01-The New Neighbour Part 3 Pages 13-16 Official Website: thevampireonourblock.thecomicseries.com

Panel 1: Continuing from previous page, Jarek continues to approach Fred, who in turn keeps backing away. Fred responds to Jarek’s comment: “Well I swear you showed up on our camera!”
Jarek: “Everyone will say it’s fake.”
Fred: “WE’RE COUNTING ON IT!”
Panel 2: Fred explains his plan: “The internet loves to debunk paranormal evidence! The more people want to tear it down, the further the footage will spread...”
Panel 3: Fred is right in front of his wall now, as he continues, smirking “-Until people start flocking to town to get a glimpse of you! You’ll be as big as Bigfoot!”
Panel 4: Jarek suddenly rushes forward, a blur emanating from him shows that he used vampiric speed to close the distance between himself and Fred. Fred’s eyes are shut tight and he reactivity grips Jarek’s arm from the sudden action. Jarek is furious and pinches Fred’s face in one clawed hand (thumb on one side of Fred’s cheek, fingers on other side), and turns Fred’s head to the side. Jarek angrily demands: “So what’s stopping me from killing you right here and now?”

Panel 1: Continuing from the previous page, Jarek is still gripping Fred’s face. Fred tries to turn his head back to answer Jarek’s demand from the previous page, moving his hand onto Jareks wrist in an attempt to free himself. Fred (in a wavering voice): “Because my friend will know what happened and sound the alert!”
Panel 2: POV Jarek. Jarek turns Fred’s head back to the side and up, exposing his neck. Jarek’s other hand is gripping Fred’s shoulder. Fred continues: “An’ knowing him, he’s probably BEEN telling his friends online what we saw! S-so even if you went after him next-”
Panel 3: Cut to close-up of Jarek’s face, as he listens incredulously to Fred.
Fred: “Others will take his sudden death as proof of your existence and THEY’LL spread the word!”
Panel 4: Fred shuts his eye’s tight, coming to the conclusion he can’t break free, and waits for what’s about to happen. Continuing, he says: “We’ve already put our plan into motion! Your actions decide if it goes through or not!” Jarek starts to move forward, with his mouth open slightly.
Panel 5: Close on Jarek, angrily, he pulls Fred close and is focusing on his neck. Fred is somewhat obscured by the panel. The background is dark and red in hue, a heavy shadow falls on Jarek. A small “sssss....” sound effect comes from him as he bares his teeth.
Panel 6: Jarek let’s go of Fred’s face and holds him half an arms length away. The room is no longer that dark red, though still not quite normal. Holding Fred by both arms, Jarek, still vampiric in appearance, but speaking in a normal voice (white speech bubble, black lettering): “Ok Fredrick. Let’s make a deal.” Fred looks up at Jarek, wide eyed, and not sure what to expect.

Panel 1: Continuing from last page, Jarek looms over Fred, still holding him by the arms. Jarek tells Fred: “I won’t harm you, your mother, or you friend. And YOU will keep my presence here a secret.”
Fred replies, simply: “Okay.”
Panel 2: Jarek continues “But if you get any funny ideas, or even THINK of interfering in my business...” Still holding Fred, Jarek lifts him off the ground seemingly with no effort at all. Fred is wide eyed, as he is now just above eye level to Jarek.
Panel 3: Close-up. Jarek leans in very close to Fred’s neck, mouth open, exposing long canine fangs. His eyes are bright red and focused on Fred’s neck. The room seems to grow darker, and a red hue lines everything. In a dark voice (black speech bubble, red lettering) Jarek continues: “Then I will make short work of you or ANY fool who comes looking for me. Have I made myself clear?”
Fred tilts his head up slightly, the only means he has of staying away from Jarek. Petrified, in a small, shaky voice, Fred replies “yessir.”
Panel 4: Jarek suddenly shifts into a dark cloud of smoke, and exits through the open window. Fred unceremoniously drops back to the floor, uttering a small “oof” as his feet hit the ground.
As he exits, Jarek says “GOOD.” The light in the room returns to normal.
Panel 5: POV outside. Fred SLAMS the window shut after Jarek.

Panel 1: Continuing from previous page. Fred stands before the closed window, his back to us. Rubbing his neck with one hand he quietly talks to himself: “F***. Okay... That’s fine. It’s fine.”
Panel 2: Fred turns to his bed, and grabs the top blanket. With his other hand, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cellphone.
Panel 3: “Fred sits on the floor with his back against the wall, at the end of his bed, and drapes the blanket around himself. Covering his head, but not his face. He begins to type on his phone. There is a “tap tap tap tap” sound effect.
Panel 4: “Close up on what Fred was typing on his phone. It’s a conversation between himself and Alex.
Fred: So good news bad news...
Alex: Ok
Fred: Good news: Our plan worked! So long as we keep our mouths shut, Jarek won’t off us.
Alex: Great!
Fred: Bad news: There’s an actual vampire on our block!
Alex: ...Crap!

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Oct 19

The Vampire On Our Block Chapter 01- The New Neighbour-Part 3 Pages 09-12 (New Website now up!!: thevampireonourblock.thecomicseries.com )

Panel 1: Continuing from previous page, Eloise takes Fred’s head in her hands as she pleads with him: “Please my darling, I just need you to be safe!”
Panel 2: Eloise lets go of Fred and points at him, adding “And no ghost hunting until I get back!”
Fred: “WHAT?! But mom-”
Panel 3: POV Fred, Eloise has her arms folded and is looking at him, with a waiting expression. She has put her foot down on the matter, and nothing Fred could say would sway her.
Panel 4: POV Eloise as Fred opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.
Panel 5: Fred lowers his head, glancing away. He says to Eloise “Siiiigh. Fiiiiiine....”
Eloise gently touches Fred’s arm and says “Thank you. Ricky.”
Panel 6: In one swift move, Eloise has taken Fred’s backpack and shoves him towards the living room. Fred, not expecting this, stumbles forward.
Eloise: “Now you two talk among yourselves... I need to grab something from upstairs.”
Panel 7: Fred barely stops his stumble right in front of Jarek, who is still sitting in the living room, and smiling at Fred.

Panel 1: POV Fred. Jarek smiling, says: “Your mom told me you and your friend went ghost hunting last night. See anything interesting? Any ghosts?”
Panel 2: POV Jarek. Fred, having pulled himself together, watches Jarek as he walks into the room. He answers: “Yup.”
Panel 3: Fred has walked the long way around the living room so he didn’t have to cross in front of Jarek. Fred casually walks towards the corner of the couch, closest to Jarek.
Jarek asks: “Really?”
Fred: “Yup. A ghost...”
Panel 4: Fred drops down onto the couch, looking directly at Jarek as he calmly continues “... and a vampire.”
Panel 5: Fred and Jarek stare at eachother. Fred has a neutral expression, waiting for Jarek’s response. Jarek, in turn, is staring at Fred with a serious expression. Not quite a glare.
Panel 6: Eloise comes back downstairs, carrying her cellphone in her hand. She interrupts: “So... What’re we walking about?”

Panel 1: Continuing from previous page, Fred answers Eloise: “The ghostly orb Alex and I saw last night.” Both Fred and Jarek are smiling as if the incident on the previous page had not happened.
Panel 2: Eloise joins Fred on the couch, on the corner furthest from Jarek, as Fred has purposefully taken the seat closest, putting himself between Jarek and his mom. Eloise asks Fred, a little jokingly: “And you’re sure it wasn’t just swamp gas?”
Fred, a little annoyed: “We don’t have any swamps in our area, Mom.”
Panel 3: Exterior, Fred’s house. A yellow text box in the corner reads: “Shortly...” Jarek is leaving, he waves over his shoulder to Eloise who waves back and goes to close the door.
Panel 4: Interior, Fred’s room. Fred walks into his room, rubbing his face and making a noise like “FFFFFF” tired and flustered from the evening.
Panel 5: Fred looks up, and realizes his window is open.
Panel 6: From behind Fred, Jarek speaks in a dark voice (speech bubble black, lettering is red) from off panel: “So what are you hoping to gain here, Ricky?”

Panel 1: Continuing from previous page, Interior Fred’s room. Fred quickly turns around to face Jarek, who is leaning with his back against Fred’s door, arms crossed over his chest, watching Fred. Jarek’s fangs are prominent, his ears are pointed and his eyes are glowing red.
Panel 2: Fred defiantly answers Jarek’s question from the previous page. “Only my mom calls me Ricky! And what I want- is to keep her and my friends from getting eaten by the vampire next door.”
Panel 3: Jarek starts to walk forward from the door. In the dark voice (black speech bubble and red lettering) “And you thought calling me out would accomplish that?” Fred replies from off panel “No...”
Panel 4: Fred starts to back away while keeping his eyes on Jarek and continues: “But I need you to know we got footage of you feeding off that mafia guy. And if you try anything, then we’ll plaster that footage all over the internet!”
Panel 5: Jarek pauses for a moment “Vampires don’t appear on camera.”
Note: As Jarek moves closer towards Fred, the room gives the illusion that it’s gradually growing darker.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Oct 14

Hi #PortfolioDay! I'm Donna, an animator, storyboard artist, illustrator. For the past 5yr I've been working with "Why Am I?" Productions Inc. And am seeking #work again now that the show has ended. I have an ongoing horror comic called #TheVampireOnOurBlock ko-fi.com/donnamckayart

Cover page to Chapter 1 of The Vampire On Our Block. The title of the comic is written in a red gothic font across the top of the image, and at the bottom reads in yellow CH1: The New Neighbour by Donna McKay.
Fred and Alex are crouched below a broken, dilapidated window frame in an abandoned house. Their backs are pressed against the wall as they nervously glance back at the window. Alex is holding an old camcorder. Outside the window, it is night time in a wooded area that we can barely make out in the darkness. Stalking towards the building is a figure mostly in shadow, with eyes glowing bright red through the darkness.

Cartoon drawing of anthropomorphic, grey, mouse looking out into the horizon, standing among a bunch of ivy. He is holding a walking stick and is preparing to head out.

Background design for Asa's house. A secluded wizards hut in the Marshlands. The room is clean, and small. In the back is a set of shelves loaded with doo-dads, and softly illuminated by glowing lights, suspended from the ceiling. There is also a plant, a rocking chair, and a small stove in the back. In the middle, opposite each other is a small bed, and a table and chair. Above the bed is a narrow window where light is streaming in from. Around the window is a chalk design, meant to keep people from scrying on Asa. At the foot of the bed is a large trunk, and opposite that is the bathroom, which is a small closet looking room.

Cartoon action scene of Giant Red Snake man vs Space Rabbit Man, with a knife! In Space! Or rather, on a moon-like gray surface with a starry, wispy, night sky, with two additional, bright moons in the background.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Oct 11

The Vampire On Our Block Chapter 01- The New Neighbour- Part 3 Pages 05-08

Panel 1: Continuing the song “Feed Me” from “Little Shop of Horrors” being performed on the high school theatre stage. We can see the small audience who have shown up for the mock viewing before opening night, we see an old man, presumably a teacher or principal, two unknown students, and Fred and Alex, watching the play as the characters ‘Seymour’ and ‘Audrey 2’ continue the intro to the song.
Seymour: “Twoey that’s disgusting!”
Audrey 2: “Must be fresh!!”
Seymour: “I don’t wanna hear this!”
Panel 2: The song “Feed Me” starts proper, and Fred and Alex glance nervously at each other, listening to the lyrics of the song and thinking about what they saw in the ravine last night.
Audrey 2: “Feed Me!”
Seymour: “Does it have to be human?”
Audrey 2: “Feed Me!”
Seymour: “Does it have to be mine?”
Panel 3: Narrow panel showing that the sun has fully set and it’s now dark outside.
Panel 4: Interior, Fred’s house. Fred standing in the foyer, removing his shoes, calls out “I’m HoooOOOme!” Eloise calls back from off panel “You’re LaaaAAAte!”

Panel 1: Continuing from previous page, Fred walks into the house, calling out to the direction he heard his mom talking: “Yeah, sorry. Lily, ya know the girl Alex has a crush on? She asked us to help with-”
Panel 2: Fred, passing the corner that obscured his view of the living room, see’s Jarek sitting on the chair next to the couch. Jarek is watching him, listening, his appearance is that of a normal person, no pointed teeth or ears, and his eyes are brown. Fred has stopped talking.
Panel 3: Jarek, smiling politely: “Good evening.”
Panel 4: Cut to Fred, who has a confused and worried expression. He does not respond to Jarek.
Panel 5: Eloise appears next to Fred, she was in the kitchen behind him, and is carrying a bowl of potato chips. She asks Fred: “What were you saying, Ricky?”
Fred, keeping his eyes on Jarek, responds to his mom: “Umm.. Nothing. Sorry I’m late.”
Panel 6: Eloise, smiling to Fred and walking into the living room tells Fred: “Honey, Jarek is going to help keep an eye on things while I’m away.” Fred’s eyes go comically wide, in disbelief.

Panel 1: Continuing from previous page, Fred follows his mom into the living room, where Jarek is still sitting on the chair, watching Eloise as she places a bowl of potato chips on the coffee table in the middle of the room for people to snack on. Fred frantically tells his mom: “WHAT?! MOM! I can take care of myself!”
Eloise: “I know...”
Panel 2: Eloise stands next to Jarek, who is watching Fred with a neutral expression. Eloise faces Fred (and also the reader), with a concerned look on her face she says: “It’s for my own peace of mind. I need to know there is someone nearby you can go to if there’s a problem!” She adds “He won’t stay here. But he’s agreed to help watch the house.”
Panel 3: Jarek chimes in “And it’s no trouble! Fredrick can show me what all the cool kids do for fun here!”
Panel 4: Cut to Fred, who doesn’t say anything. He is looking at Jarek with that concerned and confused expression.
Panel 5: Cut to close up of Jarek who gives Fred a significant, half smirk.
Panel 6: With that, Fred has made up his mind on how to respond. He shoulders his backpack, turns to walk up the stairs and coldly says “Tch! Whatever.” Full teenage: I’m-not-doing-this mode.

Panel 1: Continuing from previous page, Fred starts to make his way up the stairs, when Eloise darts towards him. His ‘teenage tantrum in front of guests’ has triggered her ‘strict mom mode’. Approaching him at the entrance of the stairway she says to Fred: “HEY! No attitude on this! I need you on my team here!”
Panel 2: Close on Fred and Eloise as they talk. Eloise places her hands on Fred’s arms to stop him from going upstairs, as he listens to her. Eloise: “There’s been a massive uptick in violent crimes, and things are already nuts after they announced that mafia guy’s death! I need to know there’s an adult close by if there’s an emergency!”
Panel 3: Fred angrily points off panel (though not pointing directly at him, Fred is indicating Jarek)
Fred: “What do we even know about this guy?! He just moved in! For all we know he could be a serial killer!”
Panel 4: Eloise looks seriously at Fred, placing both hands on her hips stubbornly. “Fredrick! I’m not an idiot! I’ve gotten to know Jarek really well over the past few days!”
Panel 5: Fred, shocked, mouth agape: “MOM!!”
Eloise: “We’ve just been talking, Ricky! Jeeze, it’s not as if we’re dating!”

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Oct 4

The Vampire On Our Block Chapter 01- The New Neighbour- Part 3 Pages 01-04

Panel 1: Interior, Morning, Fred’s room. Sunlight pours in. A text box reads “Next morning...”. Eloise calls from downstairs: “FREDRICK! YOU’RE GOING TO BE LATE!” Fred is still in bed and pulls the covers up higher over his head, groaning in response.
Panel 2: Eloise is sitting on the couch in the living room. She’s holding her coffee cup and watching the news. Her eyebrow is raised, suggesting she doesn’t quite believe that what the news reporter is speaking on is the full truth.
The news reporter from the TV: “...Acquitted of all charges pertaining to mafia activity, Raul Russo was found dead this morning by hikers exploring the ravine. Police had this to say...”
Panel 3: Shot of the TV, on screen we see a representative for the police, speaking in front of a number of microphones at a press conference: “We do not believe foul play was involved. The wounds Mr. Russo suffered from are indicative of a large predator...”
Panel 4: Cut back to Eloise who still finds this whole report suspicious. The police officer on TV continues: “At this time of year we do sometimes see bears or even mountain lions closer to the city.”
Panel 5: Wide shot as Fred runs past his mom, and frantically hops towards the front door, trying to quickly throw his shoes on. He has his backpack on and calls out “I’M GONNA BE LATE! BYE-MOM-LOVE-YOU! (note for those using audio translate: the last sentence is said so quickly that it is almost one word)
Eloise: “Have a good day ‘Ricky. Love you-”

Panel 1: Continuing from previous page, Eloise just manages to say “-too!” before Fred slams the door behind him in his dash to get to school on time. As she finishes speaking, the news reporter on TV continues it’s report: “-our viewers to give wildlife it’s space. And to avoid exploring the ravine at night when alone.”
Panel 2: After hearing that line from the reporter, Eloise leans forward, holding her head in her hands she mutters to herself “Gnnnn.. Why is all this scary stuff happening when I’m about to leave for a month?”
Panel 3: Cut to school cafeteria, interior. Fred and Alex are already sitting down and eating at a lunch table, when Lily joins them. She has a tray of french fries, and a thermos which she drops on the table with a “WHAM”, startling Alex and Fred. She leans over the table addressing the two boys seriously, with her hands spread on either side of her lunch, she says “Ok guys. I need a favour.”
Panel 4: Alex: eager “Sure!”
Fred: cautious and speaking on the heal of Alex: “what KIND of favour?”
Panel 5: Lily waves her hand around as she replies to Fred: “An easy one. We’re getting into the Final days before opening night. But we’re having some... Some difference of opinions on how much fake gore is too much fake gore.”

Panel 1: Continuing conversation from previous page, Alex asks Lily “You’re doing Little Shop of Horrors, right?” She picks up a fry from her lunch and replies “Correct.”
Panel 2: Fred asks: “Isn’t there a teacher who’s directing? Shouldn’t they be the ones to draw the line?”
Panel 3: Lily replies, pointing with her french fry: “It’s the director that’s making things too gory!”
Panel 4: Fred and Alex are shocked. Fred: “Well that’s not what I expected to hear!”
Alex: “Yeah! I for sure thought the teacher would be against pretend violence!”
Panel 5: Lily: “Yeah, it’s weird. He’s always been pretty cool about letting us use fake blood in past shows.. But this time it’s like he’s trying to somehow get an ‘R’ rating on the show! It’s starting to really mess with the cast and crew!”

Panel 1: Lily continues from the previous page: “So we’re asking our friends, some teacher, and the principal to come for a mock viewing. Get some outside opinions.”
Panel 2: Lily closes her eyes and clasps her hands together in a pleading way: “So Pleeeease can you come? You’re like, the only non-theatre kids I talk to!”
Panel 3: Fred and Alex are smiling.
Fred: “Well, when you put it like that, how can we say ‘no’?”
Alex: “I wanna see how much gore it takes to make a bunch of theatre kids balk!”
Panel 4: Narrow panel showing that outside the sun has set.
Panel 5: Interior, school theatre. Two students are on stage. One is playing the role of “Seymour”, a slender, nerdy individual. He address the student who is playing “Audrey 2”, the alien, talking, Venus fly trap-like plant. The student is sitting on what resembles a large terracotta pot, with green fabric draped around them, resembling leaves. They are controlling a large puppet head of a monster plant mouth. They are performing the intro to the song “Feed Me.”
Seymour: “I got an idea! I’mma go down to the corner and pick you up some nice chopped sirloin!”
Audrey 2: “Must be Blood.”

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Sep 27

Chapter 01-The New Neighbour- Part 02 Pages 17-19 (End of Part 02)

Panel 1: Exterior a diner at the edge of the ravine cliff, it’s a smallish, brick building with a sign above the door reading ‘Marvin’s Diner’. Bright blue lights glow in the darkness from large windows showing the diner is open late into the night for travellers. There is a lone, battered old truck in the parking lot. Fred and Alex hop the metallic rail fence from the ravine side.
Panel 2: Interior diner. Fred and Alex, exhausted from their mad dash, walk into the diner and look towards the grey haired waitress who addresses them as they enter: “Sit anywhere you like boys.” She is currently serving a lone customer who the truck outside belongs to. Otherwise there isn’t anyone else in the diner. The diner itself is neat, with old, green and white booths lining the front windows. In the day time, the diners would have a nice view of the ravine, but at night, there’s not much to see.
Panel 3: Alex and Fred have just sat down at one of the booths by the windows, and the waitress has already come up to them. She briskly asks: “What’ll ya have?” Fred, not missing a beat replies “Couple pieces of pies please.”

Panel 1: The waitress has left the panel and Fred leans in to frantically whisper: “DID YOU RECORD ANY OF THAT?!” to Alex. Alex hurriedly opens the camcorder and whispers “I’m checking!”
Panel 2: Alex, watching the footage on the flip-screen part of the camcorder, excitedly replies “YES!! It’s all here! The orb! The-”
Panel 3: Alex stops talking and looks up at Fred with his mouth open in shock.
Panel 4: Alex leans over the table to whisper urgently to Fred “Was that- That wasn’t- Was that a VAMPIRE?!” Fred also leans over the table though he is glancing nervously behind him, answers “I think it was. Yeah.”
Panel 5: Alex grasps the sides of his head with both hands, flabbergasted. He exclaims “HOLY SH**! How did it know your name?!”
Panel 6: Fred replies “So... Remember what time my new neighbour moved in?”

Panel 1: Alex and Fred are still talking about Jarek being a vampire as well as Fred’s next door neighbour. Alex braces himself on the booth seat, exclaiming “No F***N’ Way!”
Fred: “When I think about it... I’ve never seen him during the day.”
Panel 2: Alex: “Dude! That is so COOL!”
Fred: “Uh! No it’s not!”
Panel 3: Close on Fred as he reminds Alex of the reality of the situation. “He KNEW we were there! What if he tries to off us to keep his secret safe?!”
Panel 4: Alex looks down, not excited anymore. “Oh. Right.”
Panel 5: Cut to a long view of the boys sitting in the diner booth, reflecting on their situation. Three dots hang in the air between them, indicating thinking or pausing.
Panel 6: Fred comes up with a plan, saying “Ok. Let me run this past you. If Jarek, that’s his name, tries anything, this is what I’ll do...”
Panel 7: Exterior the diner. We don’t hear what the plan is, instead we see Fred and Alex discussing it through the diner window. At the bottom of the panel, in a yellow text box, reads “To be continued...”

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Sep 27

Chapter 01-The New Neighbour-Part 02 Pages 13-16

Panel 1: Alex follows after Fred down the stairs to the main living area of the dilapidated (now confirmed) haunted house. He is still recording on the camcorder as he calls out “Fred! Don’t chase it! It could be a Will-O’-The-Wisp! Fred!”
Panel 2: At the bottom of the stairs, Alex spots Fred who is standing in front of the broken window, frozen in his tracks looking out said window. Both of their backs are to the reader and we no longer see the ghostly orb anywhere.
Alex: “Do you still see it? Where did it go?”
Panel 3: Still with their backs to the reader, Alex is now next to Fred as Fred places his hand on Alex’s shoulder, saying in a harsh whisper “GET DOWN!” as he himself ducks and pushes Alex down with him. Alex asks “What?!”
Panel 4: Close up on the pair’s faces. Alex, confused, asks “What’s wrong?!” Fred, scared, answers “There’s something out there!”
Panel 5: Exterior house. Fred and Alex peak out the broken window, so just the top of their heads and eyes show above the window frame.

Panel 1: Exterior, small open area in the woods in front of the house, where the boys were standing on page 11. In the shadows with his back to us, and obscuring the torso of a lifeless body; a vampire is kneeling on the ground, feeding off a victim.
Panel 2: Cut back to Exterior house, Fred and Alex are still watching through the broken window with just the top of their heads and eyes visible above the window frame. Fred is confused and upset at what he’s looking at, and Alex is shocked. Alex now has the camcorder up and is filming the vampire as he asks in whisper “is it... eating that person?”
Panel 3: The vampire seemingly heard Alex’s question as, with a SNARL, he stops feeding and whips his head around glancing over his shoulder towards the house. His ears are pointed, his eyes are glowing red, we see his fangs, and there is blood all over his mouth. The moonlight reveals that the vampire is indeed Fred’s new neighbour Jarek.
Panel 4: Interior house. The boys simultaneously duck back below the window frame, with an ‘oh sh**’ expression on their faces. We can see through the broken window above them, that Jarek, still kneeling on the ground outside, has turned to face the house.

Panel 1: Exterior, Jarek begins to stand up. He has blood all around his mouth, fangs still prominent, and eyes glowing red in the darkness. He is sniffing the air, and is glancing back towards the house.
Panel 2: Interior house. Alex and Fred are crouched below the window frame. Alex asks Fred in a whisper “There’s no way he can smell us over all this decay, right?”
Panel 3: From outside, Jarek asks in a dark voice (the speech bubbles are normally a white bubble with black lettering, but now a black bubble with red lettering) “Fredrick?” Both Alex and Fred are startled and press their backs into the wall beneath the window frame. Alex slaps his hand over his mouth in terror of being heard.
Panel 4: Close on the boys as they wait, frozen in fear below the window frame. We see through the window that Jarek is walking closer towards the house, eyes fixed on the window. He is mostly obscured in shadow, but his eyes are glowing red in the darkness.
Panel 5: Interior, birds eye view over Fred, as a pale hand with long, dark, clawed finger nails extending from long fingers, reaches in through the broken window above Fred. Fred is looking up at the hand, still frozen in terror. Jarek, in the dark voice, says “Why don’t you and your friend come out and-”

Panel 1: Interior house. An unknown voice interrupts Jarek’s words from the previous page. The voice calls out to someone else: “I think I see him up ahead!” We see that Jarek was standing right outside the window, just above Alex and Fred who have yet to move. Jarek stops reaching in and turns to face the direction the voice was coming from.
Panel 2: Same perspective as previous panel, but Jarek has suddenly vanished from view with no indication of which way he went. We can make out the lifeless body he was feeding off of a little ways back in the distance. Fred and Alex glance at each other as the unknown voice calls out “RAUL! RAUL!!”
Panel 3: Exterior, over at the body, which is still obscured in shadow, two men approach. Both are wearing dark clothing. One man is kneeling next to the body as another older man with dark greying hair approaches. The older man is holding a gun which is barely noticeable in the darkness. He asks: “Louis? Is he...” the kneeling man, Louis, replies “No. He’s dead.” as the other exclaims “DAMMIT!”
Panel 4: Interior house. Fred motions to Alex ‘let’s go’ with his hand. Outside we can hear the two men carrying on there conversation. Louis: “His throat’s been torn. Same as Caruso.” the other man angrily shouts “WHAT IS GOING ON?!”
Panel 5: Exterior, back of house, Fred and Alex have their gear and backpacks on as they run away from the house into the woods. In the corner of the panel, blending in with the forest, we see that Jarek is watching them flee.
Panel 6: Jarek watches the two run off. His eyes are still glowing in the darkness, ears and fangs still pointed, though he has cleaned the blood off his face. His expression is one of annoyance as he watches after the two boys. He does not pursue them.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Sep 27

Chapter 01-The Neighbour-Part 02 Pages 9-12

Panel 1: Continuing from previous page, Ben, the one who shoved Alex and Fred into the locker wall, walks away with a smirk on his face. Ben is stocky, African decent, and keeps his hair cut very short. He wears a dark, navy coloured tshirt, with green rims around the end of the arms and a green, pocket-square on the corner of the shirt. Fred calls after him, angrily: "WATCH IT, BEN!"
Panel 2: Ben reels around to snarl back "YOU SHOULD MIND YOUR OWN-" when he is cut off by someone calling his name, loudly.
Panel 3: Jo enters the scene, throwing his arm around Ben (who is annoyed) and addresses Alex and Fred. Jo is tall, slim, and friendly and African decent as well. He wears a green and white game jersey, and has a clean hair cut, though it's a little shaggy on top.
Jo: "Sorry guys! The team's just worked up for game day and got carried away."
Panel 4: Alex and Fred still aren't happy about Ben's actions, but Jo has diffused the situation. Alex: "You shouldn't have to apologize for him, Jo."
Panel 5: "Nah, If anything I'm apologizing on behalf of the team, not any individual.
Panel 6: Jo looks directly at Ben, very serious "And Ben should remember that coach said he'd be OFF the team if he didn't stop messing with people, and that would suck!"

Panel 1: continued from last page. Jo: "But don't worry about that. Are you guys coming to the game tonight?" (addressing Alex and Fred)
Panel 2: Cut-to Alex's house exterior. In word boxes Alex replies "Nah, sorry Jo, we got plans."
Panel 3: Interior, Alex's room. His room is realatively neat, at the end of his bed is an old travel trunk, and their are posters on the wall for spooky shows and books. His room is in the downstairs floor, and he has an old baseball trophy on his dresser. On his bed a small amount of gear is lined up as Fred runs a checklist out loud. Fred: "Ok... Flashlights have fresh batteries... back up batteries... EMF reader..." Alex enters the panel holding an old (though not outdated) camcorder case. Alex: "Hey! Check what I found!"
Panel 4: Alex shows the camera to Fred. It's an older digital model with a flip screen panel. Alex: "This camcorder belonged to my Great Uncle! My Dad said I could have it!"
Panel 5: "Fred takes the camcorder and inspects it. Fred: "Sweet! Does this mean we can stop borrowing equipment from the theater club?"
Alex: *shrugs* "Welll.... We'll see how it goes tonight."

Panel 1: Continuing the conversation from the previous page, Fred points the camera at Alex and says “Riiiight. Wouldn’t want to lose your one excuse to talk to Lily everyday.”
Alex, reaching for the camera: “DUDE! Don’t record that!!”
Panel 2: Exterior. Alex and Fred stand in the midst of a wooden area in a small clearing in front of a dilapidated, old house. It is small, the roof is covered with moss, there are signs of rot and moisture leaking. The two windows flanking the broken door, are both broken. There is a caption box that reads “Later...” as the sun is setting behind the mountains in the distance. Fred comments: “Ok, Yeah. That’s definitely haunted.”
Panel 3: Interior, the abandoned house. Fred and Alex begin setting up their equipment while they still have light.
Panel 4: Some time has passed and it has gotten darker out, both boys settle in for a night a ghost hunting. They both sit on a ‘clean’ part of the messy floor. Fred passes Alex a candy bar.

Panel 1: Alex, looking down at the camera, begins to close it, asks Fred: "It's 10pm. Do you wanna move to another room-" but Fred cut's him off with a loud whisper: "ALEX!"
Panel 2: Floating in the middle of the air, by the doorway, is a glowing, ghostly orb, about the size of the boy's heads.
Panel 3: The orb floats towards the boys in a wobbly sort of way. The boys are transfixed by it, Alex has the camcorder on and pointing at the orb.
Alex: *whispering* "Are you seeing this?"
Fred: *Whispering* "Yeah."
Panel 4: The Orb suddenly WHOOSHes away from the boys, who are surprised by the sudden action.
Panel 5: Fred leaps up and runs after it. Alex starts to follow Fred, but is still on the ground as Fred darts out of our view.
Alex: "FRED! WAIT!"

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Sep 27

Chapter 01-The New Neighbour-Part 02 Pages 5-8

Panel 1: Fred, still carrying groceries, introduces himself: "Fredrick. Everyone calls me Fred."
Panel 2: Still shaking Fred's hand, Jarek turns to address Eloise: "Oh. Not Ricky?"
Panel 3: Eloise puts her hands on Fred's arms: "Oh, I'm the only one who calls him that. He's named after his father so I started to call him Ricky to avoid confusion!"
Panel 4: Fred ends the handshake that's been going on this whole time and says "Granma and Grampa did too. Mom, I got stuff that needs to go in the fridge." (referring to the groceries)
Panel 5: Eloise: "Thank you darlin'."
Fred: "Mmhmm." he turns away from the pair and casually waves as he walks away, not looking at either of them, and clearly done talking.
Jarek: "Nice to meet you Fredrick."

Panel 1: Jarek turns to address Eloise: "Pardon me for asking, but does he (referring to Fred) have an injury to his leg? He looked to be favouring one side over the other."
Panel 2: Eloise doesn't answer, but turns to look after Fred with a concerned expression and whispers to herself "oohhh... Ricky..."
Panel 3: "A couple days later..." Interior, high school. Fred is at his locker when Alex excitedly runs up to him, clutching a couple pictures in his hands. Alex: "Ok, ok, ok! I know you wanna take a break from ghost hunting... But Please, please, PLEASE, let's do ONE place first!"
Panel 4: Fred half glares at Alex: "Alex..." Alex, still excited shows him the photos he's been holding: "Please! Just look at these photos Gabe sent me!"
Panel 5: Fred sighs and takes the photos.
Panel 6: Over Fred and Alex's shoulders, we see the photo. It's of a dark room with a light blue smudge in the center of the photo.
Fred: "It's blurry."
Alex: "No, no! Right there! That's a full-bodied apparition!"

Panel 1: Fred hands the ghost photos back to Alex. "Where did Gabe even find these photos?"
Alex: "One of his friends online shared them. The house is in the ravine."
Panel 2: Fred: "The RAVINE!?"
Alex: "Yeah! I got the coordinates, and my brother and I scoped it out!"
Panel 3: The two start walking to class. Fred: "Doesn't Andrew think our ghost hunting is "dumb"."
Alex: "Yes, but he's super in to hiking in the ravine."
Panel 4: Alex turns around and pleads to Fred, Alex: "So please, please, PLEASE! One last ghost hunt!"
Panel 5: Fred: "FIIIIINE!"
Alex: "YES!"
Panel 6: Coming from off panel we see the words of people loudly shouting "WOO!" "LET'S GO DEFENDERS!" Fred and Alex look towards the noise, but don't move from their spot otherwise. Alex: "Awww...crap. The football team."

The first four panels are of a group of different teens, all wearing green and white shirts, some are wearing their football jerseys, come baralling through the hallway and jostle Fred and Alex back in forth. In 2 of the panels, Alex's hair gets ruffled by 3 different people. They are all shouting "YA! WOO! LET' GO! C'MON! WHO'S GONNA WIN? WE GONNA WIN! WOO! GO DEFENDERS!" Fred and Alex just try to not get knocked over.
Panel 5: As the team leaves, still shouting "LET'S GO! WOO!" Fred picks up his book from the floor and Alex sorts out his hair.
Fred: "Man am I looking forward to the end of the football season!"
Alex: "Why do they always ruffly my hair?"
Panel 6: Fred and Alex are suddenly shoved into the locker-wall,hard, by a teen from just off panel. Unlike the earlier football players, this isn't "rowdy", but meant to cause harm.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Sep 27

Chapter 01-The New Neighbour-Part 02 Pages 1-4

Panel 1: Fred is still asleep in bed with the blankets pulled up around his face and his arm sticking out of the covers. Light streams in from the window. Off panel, his mom calls: "Ricky! Get up or you'll be late for school!" Fred groans in response.
Panel 2: Fred tiredly comes downstairs, just finishing getting dressed and still half asleep. Eloise sits in the living room watching the morning news on tv. From the tv, the news reporter says "...was found dead by police this morning... "Given Mr. Caruso's past history with local gangs..."
Panel 3: tv continues: "...we strongly suspect he was the victim of a drug handoff gone wrong." Meanwhile Fred is making toast for breakfast.
Panel 4: Shot of the tv, showing police tape in front of an alleyway. Tv: "The police do not believe there is a threat to the general public at this time."
Panel 5: Fred is sitting next to his mom on the couch, eating toast. Eloise is listening to the news still. Tv: '...Anyone with information is asked to contact..."
Panel 6: Cut to outside a high school. Students loiter on the lawn and enter the building, starting the day at school. On the school lawn is a sign that reads "GO DEFENDERS" and below reads the name of the school "St. Michael High School"
Panel 7: Interior, lockers, A tall girl with short, dyed fuchsia hair, and glasses looks up from retrieving her books from her locker as off panel Alex calls out "LILY!"
Panel 8: Alex and Fred enter the shot, their backs are to us as Lily says: "Oh! Hey guys! How was ghost hunting?"

Panel 1: Alex starts answers the question Lily asked on the previous page: "Great! On the footage we-"
And is interrupted by Fred who shrugs and says: "We got nothin."
Panel 2: Lily: "Aw! That's too bad! Did the equipment at least work?"
Panel 3: Alex hands Lily the camera case. Alex: "Yeah! Thanks for loaning it to us!"
Lily: "Oh, no problem, no one was using it!"
Panel 4: Lily bashfully tucks her hair behind her ear and asks: "Hey um... Next time you go ghost hunting, I'd love to come with you!"
Panel 5: Alex awkwardly gives two thumbs up: "Oh! Uh, yeah! Next time we go somewhere cool, we'll let you know!"
Panel 6: The school tone (bell) goes off and the three teens depart for class. Lily: "Oh! There's the tone! We better get to class!" Alex: "Right! See you later!"
Panel 7: Teasingly, Fred mimic Alex's two thumbs up and grins widley at him. Fred: *imitating the Fonz* "eehhhh!"
Alex is blushing hard, thoroughly embarrassed tells Fred to: "SHUT UP!"

Panel 1: Fred heads home from school as the sun starts to set. He passes a sloping hill and hears two separate voices. Voice 1: "OW! HEY LET GO!" Voice 2: "C'mon twerp! Just fork over the bag!"
Panel 2: Fred looks down the hill to an old, makeshift, skating pavilion. Currently not in use as it's not winter. A group of teenage and young adult boys are ganging up on a high schooler, one of the delinquents is in a tug-o-war with the victims backpack. Voice 1: "I don't have any cash!"
Voice 2: "Then you won't mind if I check!"
Panel 3: Fred, angry, runs towards the group: "HEY! BACK OFF CREEPS!"
Panel 4: At the bottom of the hill, Fred flings his own backpack out of the way as he charges at the group. Only on of the delinquents is ready to fight, the rest are all surprised, and not quick to move. The sun is setting behind them.
Panel 5: Narrow view of the sun almost completely set behind dark pine trees.
Panel 6: Interior, Fred's house. Fred closes the door behind him and calls out "I'M HOOOOME!" He has scuff marks on his cheek and knuckles from the fight.
Panel 7: Fred enters the kitchen and calls out "Mom?" then spots a note written on the table "Oh."

Panel 1: POV Fred, reading a note left by him mom. It reads: "Ricky! Work called, had to run! Back shortly. Please, could you pick up these groceries (other list). Thanks *heart* Mom.
Panel 2: Fred, still a little roughed up from the fight on the previous page sighs and says "More walking."
Panel 3: Narrow panel showing that the sun has fully set and it is now nighttime.
Panel 4: Fred is on his way back from the grocery store, carrying a paper bag full of groceries. He sees something up ahead that catches his attention.
Panel 5: From the same distance as Fred, we see that Eloise is talking with the new neighbour. The two are one either side of their fence. Eloise sees Fred: "Oh, Ricky! Could you come here a minute, please?"
Panel 6: Eloise: "Ricky, this is our new neighbour."
A tall, pale man with short black hair, wearing a simple, dark, button up, shirt with half sleeves, and black pants grasps Fred's hand in a friendly, yet strong, handshake, introduces himself: "Jaroslav Wrona. But Please, call me Jarek." Fred glances back at his mom, not very happy to have to meet the new guy.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Sep 26

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Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Sep 19

#CRAZYPirateDay is today, and I nearly missed it! The Ghost Hunting Teens from #TheVampireOnOurBlock seem to be having more ghostly adventures during summer break! @jonscrazyblues.bsky.social @lollipopcomics.bsky.social

Scene depicting a pirate fight on a ghostly ship at night, on a choppy open ocean. Trudy is in the foreground dodging a see through sword, while Jo and Kristine try to scale some ropes to avoid ghostly pirates chasing them. Lily has squared up with the ghostly pirate captain, as she brandishes a sword that was concealed in a cane (that has yet to happen in the comic story). Tied to the mast of the ghost ship is Fred, Alex, and Gabe. Lilly yells "We're on a ghost ship! How did you get tied to the mast?!" Furiously, Gabe retorts: "You're sword fighting a ghost! Don't ask stupid questions AND UNTIE US!!"

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Sep 12

No problem Jon. Just noticed that for some reason Bluesky marked your replies as "spam" so I didn't get a notification from you 😨

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Aug 28

The Vampire On Our Block- Chapter 1-Part 01 Here is part 01 in one post-3/4 #TheVampireOnOurBlock #ghosthunting #vampire #comic #webcomic #horrorcomic #adventurecomic

Panel 1: Interior of Fred's room. Posters on the wall form various movies and bands. His bed is unmade, there are some clothes on the floor, despite there being a laundry basket in his room. Fred takes off his jacket as he walks in.
Panel 2: Fred is yawning, and we can see outside his window, a man in the house next door sticks his head out the window, looking away from Fred's room.
Panel 3: As Fred stretches, he catches something from the corner of his eye as he turns away from the window. We see that the man next door is now crawling downwards OUT the window.
Panel 4: Exterior of Fred's house, Fred looks back and forth out his window (still inside) as he tries to see what the movement was that caught his eye.
Panel 5: Unable to see what the movement was, Fred locks his window like his mom told him to do. Just below the window, in the shadows outside, and clinging to the wall like a lizard, is the man from next door. We can't see his face, but can just make out that he has claws at the ends of his fingers and pointy ears. At the bottom of the panel it reads "To be continued..."

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Aug 28

The Vampire On Our Block- Chapter 1-Part 01 Here is part 01 in one post-2/4 #TheVampireOnOurBlock #ghosthunting #vampire #comic #webcomic #horrorcomic #adventurecomic

Panel 1: Car interior. Continuing her thought from last page, Daphne says to Fred: "I know... But a month seems-" she is cut off by Alex who exclaims: "WHAT THE-"
Panel 2: The car drives by a house with a "sold" sign on the front lawn, and unidentified moving men carry a couch out of an unmarked white moving van.
Panel 3: Daphne's car pulls into the driveway of the house next door to the the one that has the moving van. The porch light is on, and their is bright light on shining through one window. Alex, from inside the car says "Ok. That's weird, right?"
Panel 3: Alex and Fred exit the parked car (it's a two door vehicle so Alex has to get out so Fred can exit the back seat) Fred: "New neighbours moving in after 1am? Yeah not exactly normal."
Panel 4: Fred and Alex face the camera, quizzically regarding the situation. Alex: "What kind of person moves house after midnight?"
Panel 5: The two glance at each other and, smirking, simultaneously answer "VAMPIRES"

Panel 1: POV behind Fred and Alex, they look across the lawn to see the new neighbour is watching them, dimly lit from the house lights. Fred: "Oh! We've been spotted."
Panel 2: Same POV all three characters casually wave at each other.
Panel 3: Alex is back in the car and Fred begins to walk away, waving goodbye to Alex and Daphne, Fred: "Ok, my social batteries are not up to meeting new people after midnight. I better go inside."
Alex: "See you tomorrow!"
Panel 4: Alex opens the front door and walks into his house. The porch light is welcoming.
Panel 5: Interior. The foyer walls are painted a warm yellowy-orange. We see the kitchen wall in this pov, there are three photos on the wall, one of a woman and young Fred leaning against a railing of a large boat, one of an elderly couple posing with young Fred, and one photo of a man with brown hair. Fred removes his shoes as we see a speech bubble ask from off panel "Is that my only, darling child? Or a robber?"

Panel 1: Fred walks further into the room, answering the question from the previous page, jokingly says "Could be both!" Fred's mom is sitting on the couch, tv remote in her hand. She's wearing a purple night robe, blue pj's and slippers. Her hair is sun-bleached blonde, and she's shorter than Fred. She asks "So did you and Alex get to see any spookables?"
Panel 2: Fred:"No, but I did see the new neighbour just now."
Eloise: "WAIT WHAT?!" she starts to leap up off the couch.
Panel 3: Eloise and Fred are both, not very subtly, peaking through the closed blinds of the window. Eloise: "Creepy. I didn't even hear them pull up!
Fred: "Moving company's don't normaly work after midnight... right?"
Panel 4: Eloise: "Well, maybe he's ultra wealthy or something.
Fred: "PFfT! Why would he move here, then?"
Eloise: "For the ambience?"
Panel 5: The two walk away from the window and begin to head upstairs. Eloise: "But a mysterious new neighbour, hmm. This could be some hot gossip!
Fred: "TSK! Seriously, mom?"
Panel 6: Eloise: "I can't help it if my colleagues prefer gossip to stories about you, 'Ricky!"

Panel 1: Eloise and Fred are in the hallway of the upstairs. Eloise is entering her bedroom and continuing the conversation from last page, tells Fred: "And Dr. Molinksi said I'm not allowed to talk about deep sea bone worms during lunch, anymore."
Panel 2: Fred is entering his room, there is a 'keep out' sign taped to the door, and a name plate below from his childhood with his name on it. Fred: "Well that's his loss. I'm going to bed. G'night Mom."
Eloise (off panel): "G'night 'Ricky! Love you!"
Panel 3: Eloise: "And be sure to lock your window in case the new neighbour is a GHOOOOST!" She makes a face and wiggles her fingers as if to tickle the air.
Panel 4: Unimpressed, Fred replies: "Locks don't stop ghosts, mom!"
Eloise: "Haha, a vampire then!"
Panel 5: Eloise, serious now, points at Fred: "But seriously, I want you to keep your window locked. There's been a rise in violent crime lately."
Fred (off panel): "Ok, Mom."

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Aug 28

The Vampire On Our Block- Chapter 1-Part 01 Here is part 01 in one post-1/4 #TheVampireOnOurBlock #ghosthunting #vampire #comic #webcomic #horrorcomic #adventurecomic

Panel 1: An abandoned industrial site at night. A speech bubble from inside the building asks "Is there anyone here with us?"
Panel 2: Interior of the decrepit building. A soft light emulates from a dark room.
Panel 3: Inside the room, Fred sits on the floor with his back to the wall, while Alex sits on a chair. On a table is a small EMF reader. Alex says "If you're here, please walk towards the device on the table. It will light up the closer you get to it."
Panel 4: Panel within Panel, close-up of the EMF reader with the "all clear" green light remaining the only light.
Panel 5: Fred: "SIIIIGH. Sorry Alex, but I'm gonna call it here. We've been here for hours and haven't had any signs of ghostly activity."

Panel 1: Fred turns on his flashlight as Alex says "Siiiigh, Ok. Lets pack up the gear.
Panel 2: The boys put on their backpacks and begin to leave.
Alex: "Think we got any evidence on the recording devices?"
Fred: "Nope."
Panel 3: Alex: "But you'll still help me go through the footage, right?"
Fred: "yup."
Panel 4: Alex: "You know, most ghost hunters spend the whole night at a haunted house."
Fred: "I know."
Panel 5: Alex and Fred are on the other side of the chain link fence now, far away from the abandoned building. Alex dangles from the tree they have to climb to get out of the grounds.
Fred: "But most ghost hunters don't have a math teacher who plays pranks on anyone caught sleeping in class. So no 'all nighters' until summer, at least."

Fred and Alex walk away from the abandoned building and into the city proper. The street is empty, but is lit by many street lights.
Panel 1: Alex: (looking at a text on his phone) "Daphne just texted. She's done her thing and can pick us up.
Fred: "Cool"
Panel 2: Fred: "Hey, Alex? Can we ease up on the ghost hunting missions?"
Alex: "WHAT?!"
Panel 3: Fred: "I'm just getting tired of all the nothing we find."
Panel 4: A small green car has pulled up beside the boys and they start to get in the vehicle. Fred: "I'm not saying we should quit. But maybe we could take a break for a bit."
Panel 5: View, inside the car. An woman in her early 20's is in the driver seat. Her hair is pulled back in a tight bun and she has glasses.
Fred: "Thanks for the lift, Daphne."
Panel 6: Everyone is in the car and strapped in. Daphne begins to drive. Daphne: "No worries Fred! Sooo... See any Ghosts tonight?"

Panel 1: The lone car drives along an empty, but well lit street at night. From inside the car, both Fred and Alex answer Daphne's question from the previous page: "Siighh! No."
Panel 2/3: They travel along at speed, inside the car, Alex turns to ask Fred: "Oh! Fred! My mom wanted to know what day YOUR mom is leaving on her work expedition, again?"
Panel 4: Fred glances out his window: "The Monday after next."
Panel 5: Alex: "And she'll be gone for a month?"
Panel 6: Daphne: "A MONTH!? Oh Freddy, I'm sure our parents would be happy if you stayed with us!"
Panel 7: Fred: "Thanks Daphne, but I'll be fine. It's not the first time I've been left on my own, ya know!"

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Aug 17

Preview number 2 for the comic The Vampire On Our Block First comic page to be posted here and my cara site on Monday! #comic #TheVampireOnOurBlock #ghosts #ghosthunting #vampires #horror #adventure #preview

An abandoned industrial building at night. A speech bubble, indicating it is coming from someone inside the building reads "Is there anyone here with us?"

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Aug 16

Coming Monday! #TheVampireOnOurBlock #preview #horrorcomic #ghosts #hauntedhouse #vampire

Teenage friends Fred, and Alex stand with their backs facing us. They are looking at an old, abandoned cabin in a wooded ravine. The cabin has broken windows and moss covering the roof, with signs of moisture around the walls. The sun is just starting to set in the background.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Jul 30

Sooooon! Soooooooon! #TheVampireOnOurBlock #Comic

An image of the title of my upcoming coming "The Vampire on Our Block". The words are bright red and in a Gothic inspired font.

Donna McKay@onceuponadonna· Jul 18

Flats are finally done. Started shading. Gonna start posting soon!! #TheVampireOnOurBlock #comic #WIP