Paul's Storyboard: 'DDT'
If you've read my previous stories, you'll know that Paul was very creative -- during the years 1974 to 1977 he seemed to be bursting at the seams with ideas. Whether it was calligraphy, sculpting, painting, or drawing, he always had something going on.
In high school, Paul came up with the idea for a character he named Dexter Dylan Trifle. Where he got this from, I have no idea, but Dexter (or DDT as he called him) was a friendly space alien who arrived on earth via his one-man tiny spaceship. As it turned out, DDT spoke perfect English, and so did the animals in the barnyard where he landed. They became fast friends.
There were about 6 stories, conveyed via pictures and content that Paul hand-drew on paperboard. After their initial meeting, the animals did their best to help DDT get his spaceship back into space -- but with limited resources and knowledge, all their efforts were for nothing. DDT appreciated their help, and by the 6th story, the animals told DDT that they had helped as much as they could -- but they liked DDT and were glad to have him stranded in their home.
During senior year of high school, Paul showed these panels to his German teacher. As a final project for the class, Frau Schmidt asked him to translate DDT's adventures into German, which Paul did. It was humorous to read the stories in German, and Frau Schmidt kept them as a momento of his time in her class.
Five years later, I saw Frau Schmidt at Paul's wake -- she was distraught, but she told me that she still had Paul's translated DDT storyboards, and would always treasure them.
It would have been interesting to see where Paul would have taken DDT's further adventures. Would DDT have gotten home -- or would he have stayed with the friendly farm animals who had tried to help him, but then welcomed him to stay when it didn't work out? I'm sure whatever DDT's future held, Paul would had made it exciting and fun.
In high school, Paul came up with the idea for a character he named Dexter Dylan Trifle. Where he got this from, I have no idea, but Dexter (or DDT as he called him) was a friendly space alien who arrived on earth via his one-man tiny spaceship. As it turned out, DDT spoke perfect English, and so did the animals in the barnyard where he landed. They became fast friends.
There were about 6 stories, conveyed via pictures and content that Paul hand-drew on paperboard. After their initial meeting, the animals did their best to help DDT get his spaceship back into space -- but with limited resources and knowledge, all their efforts were for nothing. DDT appreciated their help, and by the 6th story, the animals told DDT that they had helped as much as they could -- but they liked DDT and were glad to have him stranded in their home.
During senior year of high school, Paul showed these panels to his German teacher. As a final project for the class, Frau Schmidt asked him to translate DDT's adventures into German, which Paul did. It was humorous to read the stories in German, and Frau Schmidt kept them as a momento of his time in her class.
Five years later, I saw Frau Schmidt at Paul's wake -- she was distraught, but she told me that she still had Paul's translated DDT storyboards, and would always treasure them.
It would have been interesting to see where Paul would have taken DDT's further adventures. Would DDT have gotten home -- or would he have stayed with the friendly farm animals who had tried to help him, but then welcomed him to stay when it didn't work out? I'm sure whatever DDT's future held, Paul would had made it exciting and fun.
