AWAKENING THE GHOSTS
When we’re making Gangs of London I’m always conscious of walking a fine line that balances the grounded, emotional family crime saga and the more graphic-novelized, heightened or ‘Gothamized’, genre heavy look, feel & tone that we frequently mix together to create the world of our London on screen.
I felt like there was a place for a natural companion to the episodes in the show to tell a series of additional ‘Gangs Of London Stories’ in graphic novel form that will reveal further insights into our characters and what they get up to before, during and after the events of Season 2.
I hope you enjoy the first of these, which picks up just before we meet Elliot in the second season & helps us understand the consequences of the deal he made with the Investors at the end of the first Season, before he gets sent back to help out in London.
Huge thanks to the incredible work of writer Rowan Athale for helping capture Elliot’s volatile state of mind and to my talented storyboard artist Ferenc ‘Freddy’ Nothof whose brilliant kinetic visualisations have been such a key part of designing the show - both helped turn this around in record time, and to Sky for backing crazy ideas like this!
And so finally, welcome to the first Gangs Of London Story, entitled ‘GHOSTS.’
Corin Hardy 15.11.2022
Where the fuck am I?
Storyby Corin Hardy Writtenby Rowan Athale Illustratedby Ferenc Nothof
What the fuck happened?
Based on characters created by Gareth Evans & Matt Flannery
Storyby Corin Hardy
Writtenby Rowan Athale
Illustratedby Ferenc Nothof
Is this Hong Kong?
The microchip Sean gave me...
No. Seoul.
Tokyo...
Before I shot him in the face, nearly a year ago.
I remember coming to Seoul.
I’ve been killing for these people nearly a fucking year. I don’t remember their names.
What the fuck do I do with it all?
Too many to count.
There’s no one here...
Don’t even remember how many I’ve killed.
But what am I doing here?
WHO SAID THAT? WHO’S THERE?
Show your face? I’m not fucking around!
no cordite. No blood
You haven’t killed anybody yet.
I haven’t killed anybody.
You know my face. You put bullets through it, made it look this way.
I must have just arrived.
You know mine too.
And mine.
Am I coming or
going?
And mine. And mine, Elliot.
They forced me to do it... MS Kane. The Investors. I didn’t have a choice.
There’s always a choice. You just never make it. You tell yourself you will. But you never do. This isn’t your path Elliot. When are you going to end this?
Every time you do it. You say you can’t do it again... But then She calls.
...
Understood.
You’re going to Prague. Name, location, and photograph incoming. Stand by Elliot.
It’s the same thing every time. You hear her words. Make the kill without question.
It’s like she’s the bell and you’re Pavlov’s dog.
And she says... And you reply...
out! GET OUT!
Get
CZECH REPUBLIC.
PRAGUE,
ST PETERSBERG, RUSSIA
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
BELMOPAM BEACH, BELIZE
NEW YORK CITY, USA
CAIRO, EGYPT
MIAMI, USA
TUSCANY, ITALY
I do it for them.
For danny.
For Shannon.
For my dad.
I’m am proud of you Elliot.
If only I could use this to figure a way to save them.
And when an assassin shows up to kill them, they’ll say they did it to save their loved ones. And on it goes. I’ll kill you!
You can’t escape your memories Elliot.
WHO ARE YOU?! WHO SENT YOU?!
You... You did!!
You ordered a bottle of Soju. We were out, we had to send some one to get it. I knocked quiet at first but no one answered.
Wait. Before you go.
Just you sir. Are you expecting guests?
No... No one else. Thank you.
How many people do you see in this room?
I’m sorry. Take this and my apologies.
HUH?!?? ...
Can’t get rid of your memories?
Is this his destiny?
Is this Elliot Carter’s legacy?
His whole life amounting to this moment?
Elliot. After this. I’ll find a way for you to see your father.
Understood?
Your father would be proud of you Elliot.
Seoul is off. You fly to Istanbul in three hours. It appears one of our associates has been trading illegally with a financier in London.
Name, location and photograph to follow. Stand by.
Understood.
Season 2 | Concept art - 2022
art and Storyboards by Ferenc nothof / Roxolid Studio
CONCept
Original sketches by Corin HARDY
SKY STUDIOS IN ASSOCIATION WITH AMC PRESENTS A PULSE FILMS PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH SISTER “GANGS OF LONDON” STARRING: SOPÉ DÌRÍSÙ, JOE COLE, LUCIAN MSAMATI, MICHELLE FAIRLEY, PAAPA ESSIEDU, WALEED ZUAITER, BRIAN VERNEL, PIPPA BENNETT-WARNER, NARGES RASHIDI, ASIF RAZA MIR, ORLI SHUKA, ERI SHUKA, VALENE KANE, AYMEN HAMDOUCHI, JAHZ ARMANDO, FADY EL-SAYAD CREATED BY: GARETH EVANS & MATT FLANNERY PRODUCERS: MIKE EAGLE-HODGSON, STELLA NWIMO SERIES EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: HUGH WARREN EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: THOMAS BENSKI, JANE FEATHERSTONE, HELEN GREGORY, TOM BUTTERWORTH, CORIN HARDY, GARETH EVANS, MATT FLANNERY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR SKY STUDIOS: GABRIEL SILVER WRITTEN BY: TOM BUTTERWORTH, LAUREN SEQUEIRA, STEVE SEARLE, DANUSIA SAMAL, ROWAN ATHALE, MEG SALTER DIRECTED BY: CORIN HARDY, MARCELA SAID, NIMA NOURIZADEH
“GANGS OF LONDON” IS A TRADEMARK OF SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE USED UNDER LICENCE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © Sky Studios Limited, © GOL Productions Limited