depravity comics: galvanized!
ao3 mirror
click for full image description
COVER:
TITLE: DEPRAVITY COMICS.
The title is bleeding, and the picture is a full-page drawing in black and white ink. (All pages, including this one, are inked sharply in black and white.) It's night in Gotham, the full moon is out, and Hugo Strange is out on the rooftops dressed as Batman, proudly standing with hands on hips. His cowl envelops an androgynous adult dressed as Robin and saluting the camera, but holding a machine gun.
SUBTITLE: Introducing MANIKIN. Hugo Strange's toy wonder!
CONTENT WARNINGS:
- Sexual abuse
- Transphobia
- Violence and torture
- Brainwashing spoken about, like, incredibly lovingly
Mature audiences only!
DISCLAIMER: A Serpentine Malign Design. Transformative work, not for profit.
PAGE 1:
NARRATION: I didn't always believe in a god. Not until he made me from scratch.
FULL PAGE PANEL: Manikin is now kneeling invitingly in lingerie and stockings upon a tiger print rug, next to two other objects (houseplant and ottoman). They have plastic joints like a doll. In the lavish/tacky mirror behind them, Hugo Strange in a dressing gown, wielding a baseball bat.
PAGE 2:
NARRATION: Six months ago. Valentine's Day.
PANEL 1: Manikin in darkness, with a black eye and a bleeding nose. They wear a shock collar and are harshly lit against a light panel.
OFFSCREEN: "Fascinating."
PANEL 2: A hand gropes Manikin's crotch area - they're naked from the waist down.
OFFSCREEN: "Here I thought Falcone's men were all... well."
PANEL 3: Close-up on Manikin's bloody face, eyes cut off by the framing.
OFFSCREEN: "No matter, hm? Your instinct was right. Just not your destination."
PAGE 3:
Panels, in darkness.
PANEL 1: Hugo standing in a light doorway. He's holding something. "Who else knows you're here?"
PANEL 2: Close-up of what he's got in his hand: a shock button. "Answer quickly, now."
PANEL 3: Manikin's bloody face, defiant and disdainful. "Fuck you," they reply.
PANELS 4, 5: Close-up of Hugo's mouth, then him pressing the button. "A shame."
PANEL 6: Manikin is shocked, lightning surrounding them. Their eyes roll back and they sweat profusely.
PANEL 7: Hugo in the doorway, smiling. "I hate to damage perfectly fine goods. So let's try again."
PANELS 8, 9: The same profile shot of Manikin, sweat dripping off their face. In the second panel, they're smiling, saying "You don't know who I am, do you?"
PAGE 4:
PANEL 1: Hugo, silhouetted in the foreground, observing a glaring Manikin, who we now see is straitjacketed and restrained against an odd set of panels that seem more German expressionist, form over function. They're hooked up to a machine that seems to be measuring their vitals... or delivering the shocks, like an ECT machine. The speech bubbles weave around Manikin.
HUGO: "Why, yes. You are probably orphaned, but certainly lacking a stable father figure. You are attempting to craft one inside yourself. Quite impressive on your own, truly. You turned to men like Falcone to validate your efforts. He made you feel useful. Filled the hole inside. For years you have associated PLEASURE with the pain of contorting your body into weaponry. You hope this will prevent you from going insane."
PANEL 2: This panel is smaller than the other. Close-up of Hugo's grinning face, along with spiral flourish behind him. He says, "But let me ask you this. Do you know today's date?"
PAGE 5:
PANEL 1: Manikin, with some weird cables behind them that absolutely look like fucking. Whether the fucking is Hugo with his dolls, or Falcone and Manikin, is up to the reader. "Valentine's day," they reply. "He knew you'd be alone then."
PANEL 2: Hugo, silhouetted, shocks Manikin again, depicted as just a mess of scribbles of lightning. "How interesting. And wrong."
PANELS 3-6: Shots of Hugo which get increasingly close to his face. He is holding a glass now.
These panels envelop a shot of Manikin from behind, who envisions the interrogation as being at gunpoint.
"Do you remember being here before?"
"No."
"How I captured you?"
"No."
"Your name?"
"No." (This speech bubble is smallest and most claustrophobic of all.)
PAGE 6:
PANEL 1: Offscreen/past: "Then, allow me to help you remember."
Darkness. Hugo's full-moon glasses are visible. Stars and thin spirals in the void. A metronome ticks, ticks, ticks.
Caption: "Before?"
PANEL 2: Manikin's face with open mouth, looking a lot more docile, cupped by Hugo's hand. The rest of him is offscreen save for possibly his legs. Curtains fall behind them.
PAGE 6:
PANEL 1: Hugo's 'therapy room', with the metronome visible in front of him, silhouetted (only his glasses are lit). The whole room is bleeding with ink, including a fanciful column with liquor and serving glasses on top, and that tacky mirror that was visible on the first page.
HUGO: "Memory loss is an INEXACT science."
PANEL 2:
Manikin, eyes shut, looking down, back in the interrogation room, straitjacketed and hooked up to cables. They are surrounded everywhere by the mantra "Not a person. Just a doll."
PANEL 3: Close-up of one half of Hugo's face, smirking. "It's easier if the mind has something to fill the gaps."
PANEL 4: Manikin, distraught and close to screaming, still surrounded by the mantra. It's as though they need to yell over the noise in their head.
"What did you... what did you do to... WHAT DID YOU DO TO IT?!"
Page 8:
PANEL 1: Closeup of Hugo's face, eyebrow raised, nothing behind him. He grins malevolently. "'IT'?"
PANEL 2: Manikin open-mouthed, nose bleeding. Eyes cut off by the panel once more.
PANEL 3: Manikin's face, much smaller in the frame, surrounded by darkness save for the panel they're restrained against, now somewhat coffin-shaped. They are distraught, not quite sure how this is possible.
"It-- it means... it's..."
PANEL 4: Close-up of Hugo, showing his forehead down to his nose. His glasses are classic anime glasses - they reflect all the light, while his eyes are invisible. The background is completely dark.
"Stop fighting. Accept it and find peace."
PANELS 5-7:
Various shots of Manikin accepting their training. Caption, repeated across each of these panels: "Not a person, just a doll."
The first is a closeup of them looking vacant, seductive, wearing the lace collar they wore with their lingerie. Their eyes water, and Hugo's hands (wearing signet rings) cup their face and neck. The caption here covers their forehead.
The second is Manikin sitting in Hugo's closet, surrounded by rejected plastic dolls. They are posed awkwardly as though discarded like a ragdoll, and they listen to their mantras through a tape recorder. The caption here covers their mouth.
The third is Manikin aiming a gun at their prior employer, Don Falcone. The caption here covers their entire face.
PAGE 9:
PANEL 1: Pulling out from the last shot of the previous page, another shot of the same action, Manikin aiming the gun at Falcone's head. The Gotham night skyline looms through the floor-to-ceiling window, while the frame is enveloped by thick curtains, pulled back with spiral clasps. Three boxes sit in front of him, labelled "Mar", "Apr", "May". Something looking like... hair? pokes out of each box. We now see Manikin's other hand holds a phone to Falcone's ear.
HUGO (OVER THE PHONE): "Thank you for your GENEROUS gift, Don Falcone. Please accept this gift of my own: that some weak links have been excised from your organisation... and that I have not directed ONE OF THEM to dispatch everyone in the building."
PANEL 2: Close-up of Falcone, frowning.
Hugo, over the phone: "Now, I trust that you'll leave us to our peace."
PANEL 3: The same close-up, but Falcone now looks more defeated. He replies: "Consider our business terminated. But... one favour."
PANEL 4: Hugo, in darkness, sitting in his big armchair atop his ugly fucking tiger rug. He talks on his home phone. "Yes?"
PANEL 5: Top-down view of the contents of the boxes, on Falcone's polished wood desk. Confirmation that yes, they are indeed severed heads.
FALCONE: "Get these fucking heads out of my office."
PAGE 10:
PANEL 1: Hugo and Manikin, cuddling on the couch, a houseplant behind them. Manikin's mouth is out of shot.
HUGO: "It's your six-month anniversary, Manikin. That feels good, hm?"
MANIKIN: "Yes."
PANEL 2: A new shot of the same scene. Hugo tilts Manikin's chin. "How fortunate that you fell into my lap."
MANIKIN (SMILING): "Yes."
PANEL 3: Close-up of a lovestruck Manikin. They literally have heart pupils!
HUGO: Come to bed.
MANIKIN: "YES." (the speech bubble is a heart, even!)
PANEL 4:
CAPTION: "Then."
It appears we've stepped back in time. A top-down shot of Hugo and Manikin in the 'therapy room', once more. Hugo has the metronome setup. Manikin reclines on the couch, naked, saying, "I keep having this dream."
PAGE 11:
PANEL 1: Nearly takes up the entire page. The dream world, swirling with shadows. A chandelier hangs above. Manikin is literally a doll in a box, tied up with plastic cable ties with a 'try me' slit between their forcibly spread legs. A smile is plastered on their face.
Hugo is in the foreground, approaching the doll box.
OFFSCREEN: "In the dream, I'm a doll. Looking out at the world through a plastic window. And you're always there. In the dream. Ready to try me."
HUGO: "Well, a MANIKIN is a tutoring instrument. A tool with purpose. Much like a gun. Is a DOLL closer to your self-image? a NEEDLESS PLAYTHING?
PANEL 2: Close-up of Manikin's smiling dollface, idealised. They seem to be wearing makeup, and a spiral is behind them. "Dolls have more fun than weapons."
HUGO (OFFSCREEN): "Then..."
PAGE 12: Full-page panel. It appears they have indeed gone to bed. Hugo sits Manikin atop his lap on the bed, cupping their ass in one hand and holding the small of their back. with the other. They embrace him with their arms, wearing lacy lingerie. The spiral of the previous panel is in the background, as are two discarded manikins behind the bed, both of them headless.
OFFSCREEN: "A doll you shall be."
END.