The Ink Thief

The show's bible, which has surfaced online, includes Paul Springer's ambitious 13 episode outline that wildly deviates from the final product. It features Jim and Samantha befriending a gang of local children called The Village Idiots (Squirt, Stumbles, Kris, Bobo, Mal and a mute black boy called The Quiet Child), some of whom are corrupted by Toddy and Aloysius; the local village is a thriving hub for all sorts of activities centered around balloons; and a merry-go-round is used as the base of the machine for The Ink Thief's sinister plans. The 4 Bumps of the Aplopalypse were not included. Plans were outlined for books, music videos, a soundtrack album, and spinoff feature film; it featured some of Steve Hanson's color sketches that inspired the story; and several of Murti Schofield's illustrations for the episode treatments were used (and reworked) in Springer's subsequent novelization.