EZRA & THE TIME SCROLL

Adventures Through Bible Time

Series 1 — Episode 2

THE TOWER IN THE SKY

A forecasterman Comic

Bible Focus: Genesis 11:1–9
Theme: Pride • Humility • Dependence on God
Format: 18 Panels • 3 A5 Portrait Pages • 6 Panels per Page

PAGE 1 — THE TOWER

PANEL 1 — TITLE

Visual:
A vast ancient city spreads across the Plain of Shinar. In the center, workers construct an enormous stepped tower. Ezra and Sam stand in the foreground with the glowing Time Scroll.

EZRA & THE TIME SCROLL

Adventures Through Bible Time

Series 1 — Episode 2

THE TOWER IN THE SKY

A forecasterman Comic

PANEL 2 — THE SCROLL CHOOSES

Visual:
The Scroll glows with a new image: a towering structure reaching toward the sky.

Sam:
“That’s definitely not an ark.”

Ezra:
“A tower…”

Sam:
“Babel?”

Ezra:
“Looks like it.”

PANEL 3 — THROUGH TIME

Visual:
Ezra places his hand on the central symbol. Sam touches the Scroll's edge. The ancient symbols rotate and golden light forms a circular portal.

SFX:

WHOOOOSH!

PANEL 4 — THE PLAIN OF SHINAR

Visual:
Ezra and Sam arrive on a broad, sunlit plain. An ancient settlement stretches across the landscape. Workers carry bricks and baskets. The unfinished tower rises in the distance.

Sam:
“Where are we?”

Ezra:
“The Scroll brought us to Shinar.”

PANEL 5 — BRICKS AND TAR

Visual:
Workers shape and bake bricks. Other workers use dark tar as mortar while building walls.

Sam:
“They’re making bricks.”

Ezra:
“And using tar for mortar.”

Sam:
“They’re building something enormous.”

Ezra:
“A city… and a tower.”

PANEL 6 — ONE LANGUAGE

Visual:
Workers coordinate smoothly. One calls for bricks and another immediately responds. People communicate easily throughout the busy settlement.

Sam:
“Everyone understands each other.”

Ezra:
“They share one language.”

PAGE 2 — WHEN PRIDE GROWS

PANEL 7 — BUILDING TOGETHER

Visual:
The tower is much taller now. Workers cooperate efficiently, passing bricks and materials. The city continues to grow around it.

Sam:
“They’ve built something incredible.”

Ezra:
“They really have.”

Caption:
The people worked together to build their city and tower.

PANEL 8 — SOMETHING CHANGES

Visual:
Leaders stand proudly before the growing tower. Workers celebrate their achievement.

Sam:
“They’re proud of what they’ve built.”

Ezra:
“That’s not the problem.”

Ezra:
“Listen to what they’re saying.”

PANEL 9 — “MAKE A NAME FOR OURSELVES”

Visual:
The leaders point toward the enormous tower while addressing the people.

Leader:
“Let us build ourselves a city and a tower.”

Leader:
“Let us make a name for ourselves!”

Sam:
“They want everyone to remember them.”

Ezra:
“They’re putting themselves at the center.”

PANEL 10 — THE LANGUAGES CHANGE

Visual:
Suddenly, communication breaks down among the workers.

Worker 1:
“Bring the bricks!”

Worker 2:
“What?”

Worker 1:
“The bricks!”

Worker 2:
“I don’t understand!”

PANEL 11 — CONFUSION!

Visual:
Workers gesture at one another, holding bricks and tools. Some point in different directions. Others look confused. Keep the humor gentle and respectful.

Worker:
“What are you saying?”

Another Worker:
“I don’t know!”

Sam:
“They can’t understand each other.”

Ezra:
“Everything has changed.”

PANEL 12 — THE WORK STOPS

Visual:
The organized construction site falls silent. Workers stop passing bricks. Some put down their tools.

Caption:
Their shared language was gone.

Sam:
“They can’t work together.”

Ezra:
“The building has stopped.”

PAGE 3 — SCATTERED

PANEL 13 — THE UNFINISHED TOWER

Visual:
A powerful wide shot of the abandoned construction site. The enormous tower stands unfinished against the sky. Bricks and tools lie around the site.

Sam:
“They’ve stopped building.”

Ezra:
“The city won’t be finished.”

PANEL 14 — STAY TOGETHER

Visual:
Ezra and Sam briefly lose sight of each other among the confused crowds. They use gestures to find one another.

Sam:
“Ezra!”

Ezra:
“Sam!”

They reunite.

Sam:
“I don’t understand a word they’re saying.”

Ezra:
“Then let’s stay together.”

PANEL 15 — SCATTERED

Visual:
Different groups gather belongings and leave in different directions. Families travel across the plain while the unfinished tower remains behind.

Sam:
“They’re leaving.”

Ezra:
“They were afraid of being scattered.”

Sam:
“And now they’re scattered.”

Ezra:
“They forgot what mattered.”

PANEL 16 — DID YOU KNOW?

Visual:
A clean educational panel showing the unfinished tower, bricks, tar and groups of people heading in different directions.

DID YOU KNOW?

Genesis 11 says the people shared one language, settled in Shinar, and used bricks and tar to build a city and tower.

They wanted to “make a name” for themselves. Their language was confused, and they were scattered.

Babel became the name associated with this confusion.

WHAT EZRA LEARNED

“Achievement matters—but pride can make us forget God and what truly matters.”

PANEL 17 — RETURN

Visual:
Ezra and Sam stand away from the abandoned tower. The Time Scroll glows brightly between them.

Sam:
“They had the ability to build something amazing.”

Ezra:
“But they forgot humility.”

Sam:
“So achievement isn't the problem.”

Ezra:
“No. What matters is what we put at the center.”

The Scroll displays:

RETURN

SFX:
WHOOOOSH!

PANEL 18 — NEXT JOURNEY

Visual:
Back inside the ancient cave. The Time Scroll displays a new vision: a young shepherd standing among sheep beneath a star-filled sky.

Ezra and Sam look at the image.

Sam:
“A shepherd?”

Ezra:
“And stars…”

Sam:
“Joseph?”

Ezra:
“I think so.”

The Scroll glows.

NEXT ADVENTURE

THE DREAMER IN EGYPT

A forecasterman Comic

TO BE CONTINUED…

EPISODE 2 — REVISED FINAL CHECK

Biblical story flow

One language → Shinar → bricks and tar → city and tower → “make a name” → confusion → work stops → scattering → Babel

Thematic flow

Achievement → Pride → Self-centered ambition → Confusion → Consequences → Humility

Ezra & Sam arc

Ezra observes the bigger meaning.
Sam asks practical questions.
They remain witnesses rather than changing events.
Their brief separation in Panel 14 is only a small comic-adventure moment and does not alter biblical history.

A5 Master Rule

Short speech balloons
One primary action per panel
Minimal captions
No overloaded educational panel
Adequate whitespace
No tiny-font compensation
Clear 2 × 3 panel composition

Visual tone

Pleasant • Colorful • Soft 2D • Biblical • Adventurous • Educational • Family-friendly

Important thematic safeguard

The episode does not teach that achievement, construction, teamwork, or ambition are inherently wrong.

The lesson is specifically about pride, self-exaltation, and putting human greatness at the center instead of maintaining humility and dependence on God.