AMERICAN DOOMSDAY PREP_0019

 

  

 

Unrecognizable United States flag - Old Glory. Digital collage by Rick Arthur.

"'We The People' used to mean the entire group of us, collectively..."

F%$#& Around Find Out.

What we are living through is the strategic, decades-long dismantling of the justice system and the obliteration of the legislative branch of government. What is so impressive is that this campaign to crush justice/legal fairness is always advanced by lawyers who get paid to do the bidding of their clients, wealthy clients who use them as attack dogs set loose to rip and tear at the flesh of the law.

What is government for? 

Hammer. What kind of tool is government and how is it supposed to work? Note: I once used a hammer to smash scorpions sunbathing in my living room. Image from internet for teaching purposes. Rights by creator.

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This is the fifth draft of this blog post. I have wiped the previous ones. Too dark. Too cynical. Too depressing. AND not really what I want to focus on with the overall theme of my blog space. I want to talk about creativity and process. After this post, I am going to try to leave overtly political stuff to my other accounts. I am not giving up on America but if I feel so passionately, I will just write more CAPTAIN AMERICA posts to explore my ideologic interests. Here, in this space - the Billion Hero Blog - I will refocus on the truly important stuff in life: ART, which gives everything else meaning.

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Scribble. Cross outs. Arrows. Rewrites. Full digital trash cans of writing efforts, wasted. Image from internet for teaching purposes. Rights by creator.

Now, without ado, the sixth draft - a day after a sitting U.S. president and vice president foisted a photo-op ambush on a man who needs our help killing a deranged Bear who broke into his house.

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HEY! Look at MEEEEEEEE! I eat CHEEEEEESEburgers in the White House and TEXT non-sense in the middle of the night! Yes, we all know. As a matter of fact, the whole vulgar act is rather dull and boring except that the bully who weaseled his way into being in charge of other bullies, now has real power at his disposal.

We got into this predicament because a ton of people WANTED to tear down government for a long time. By people, I don't mean the mislead, deliberately disinformed voters. I mean people with money. They funded think tanks, lobbying groups, and political action committees. They built radio and TV empires. Bought up newspapers. Marched legions of lobbyists to Washington. Wrote OP/EDS and white papers. Peer reviewed their own "science". Took over boardrooms. Bought and sold shares and bet on things to fail and break. Secretly penned legislation. Created smear campaigns against opponents. Engaged in soft and hard "leverage" to influence outcomes. Among other things, perfected the art of, gasp, deception in the political and business arena by creating something called The Wedge Issue. Divide, conquer, and distract seemed to work pretty well in other facets of business life so it has been applied vigorously to politics for at least fifty years, and we are seeing the fruits of all that relentless labor.

What is really kind of insane, is that during this multi-decades-long run up (I see you Mitch McEvil), the world has changed and changed rapidly. As a matter of blunt fact, change has accelerated so quickly that society as a whole has shown very little wisdom in terms of how to manage this change. We can't even keep track of all the innovations that are popping up. There is no time to think and absorb. The "innovation" that the current office holders wield is something that takes The Wedge Issue and puts it on steroids. The strategy that has found its purest disciple is - Flood The Zone. Basically, stir up so much controversy that people's heads spin. Aided by new tech and algorithms, The Wedge Issue AND Flood The Zone have simply obliterated what passes for reasoned or even impassioned debate. Those who care about civility have been left stammering and flat footed.

As always, we are presented with the question of what to do now. How do we move forward?

If WWIII broke out, which side would the United States be on? Things don't begin and end on certain dates like they do in textbooks. Out in the ever-changing, messy world, The Cold War never ended; Vietnam never ended; WWII never ended; WWI never ended; the goddamn Civil War never ended; the stupid Crusades never ended... They just took a break and then morphed into something else.

See a trend? The problem with "WWIII" is that an enabled, entitled, elitist man who has the attention span of a nine-year-old is not mouthing off to classmates at a military prep school. He is willing to hold the world hostage with his finger on the nuke-you-ler button just to get people to say that they love him. The more pain he inflicts and still gets people to say they love him is where he gets his rocks off. AND this powerful combination may kill us all.

What kind of danger are we in?

Grave danger.

Is there any other kind?

Cheeseburger. Ah, charred meat, melted cheese, onions, and maybe some bacon... Some say gluttony, others lunch. Who is to say? Image from internet for teaching purposes. Rights by creator.

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Saw a post which tried to gaslight what happened during the Zelensky meeting and somehow spin it as "high-level chess," which coincidentally is the SAME talking point FOX News was trying to inject into media discussions in weeks previous to this event in an effort to spin ANYTHING that happened as a bold move. My reaction was as follows - and I chose not to hit the send button and just copy it here. Re: "Alleged High Chess Moves"

Stop. Stop now. Stop if you can. Stop sharing these excuses. There is NO MASTER CHESSING PLAYING going on. Period. Full stop. If you feel he, JD, and Elon are ten moves ahead, you could not be more wrong. The action he took squarely and unequivocally weakened the United States and the World last night. I take no glee in this. Having even a rudimentary understanding of how evil and dangerous Putin is makes playing with the lives of people in such a cavalier manner totally unacceptable. Please block me. I do not want to ever hear these kinds of excuses for this kind of behavior again. This is not a game. Quit pretending that it is. Lives are at stake. I am flat out ashamed and embarrassed for anyone that keeps falling for these things.

In the back of your head, I want you to tuck away the idea that TAX CUTS are coming, and they are NOT going to be for you, but you will be paying for them with cuts to programs you never saw coming and consequences that are going to make your head spin. Face reality, there is no "master stroke" of genius behind what he does. He saw an opportunity to try to humiliate Zelensky on live TV and he took it. That was the extent of the plan. He is not sitting around hashing out pros and cons, he is tweeting 45 times a day. He is winging it. Has always been winging it. Because that is what a con man does. He tells you what you want to hear.

I stand with sovereign nations.

I stand with Ukraine.

I stand against hostile aggression.

I stand against Russia.

Not a hoax. My feet are firmly on the ground.

High-Level Chess. Nope. Nadda. Not in a million years if a million monkeys were moving the pieces on a million chess boards. No way. Image from internet for teaching purposes. Rights by creator.

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Doomsday prep in the modern era.

Snippet from a post discussing buying guns and stacking up MREs in order to feel safe. My response as follows:

Best of times. Worst of times.

The current round of fear will be nothing compared to what happens in the NEXT 50 years as society at large is transformed beyond recognition by technology. This wave is coming whether we want it to or not, whether we wear red caps or not, whether we complain or not. There is no "going" back to a better time. No "Great Again." No safe places. No comfort zones. AND, people convinced that we are headed in a "good direction" right now are fooling themselves. They WANT to be lied to because it makes them feel comfortable.

Society will be wrestling with a steep influx of technological advances we cannot now comprehend. People have a limited ability to absorb changes, but change is going to come at an accelerated rate from now on. We are at the very, very starting point of massive upheaval on grand scale. Slogans won't stop the future. More guns and some MREs won't make you safe.

Side note, the rule of law has been chipped away for decades by THE RICH who have always ignored it except to protect themselves from lower classes. The RICH have their own clubs and organizations devoted to reinforcing their wealth and dominance. This is not new at all. This is old and well known. Old boys' networks. Money. Self-interest. Law "makers" and law breakers are predominantly lawyers. Lobbyists are lawyers. The fifty-plus year plan to transform government was hatched by lawyers and used the law to gerrymander, disenfranchise and block voters, craft legislation, push agendas that were/are unpopular, and divide people that otherwise agree.

Eggs for Breakfast. Technological change will/has outstripped our ability to control or understand what we have created. And the pace will do nothing but accelerate. Rights by creator.

Meanwhile, the march of technology continues.

Our ability as a whole, as a group, to understand what is coming next is limited at best. Our imagination has been deliberately dimmed. We fear each other and fight amongst ourselves. COVID should have taught us something important. We are all connected in deeper, more complex ways than we believed. We need other people in ways that are more profound than we can express. There are problems in front of us that need to be solved AND we cannot solve them in isolation. We need to cooperate, collaborate, and build consensus. We don't make good decisions when we are afraid, or angry, or exhausted but here we are, right now, and there is a tsunami of problems and opportunities growing we are not ready for. Meanwhile... shower, shave, walk the dog, eat breakfast, breath, think, dream...

Just my opinion.

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

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SUCCEEDING AT COMICS_0018

 

  

Question - Is it possible to make money use POD to print comics? Not DJ money. Not limo money. Enough to scrape out a living or side hustle?

"Shake your fist at the universe. Curse. Fail."

Financial profitability? Get used to the idea that you will fail. Almost all fail. You will too. The learning curve is nose-bleeding steep, vertical-cliff steep. The obstacles are so numerous and will come at you so fast it will make your head spin. You cannot compete in any area or aspect of the process - writing, drawing, inking, coloring, lettering, production, marketing, fulfilment, or financing. After you have been working IN the business for ten years, THEN you will realize how little you know.

"What is an artist/writer to do when the odds are so stacked against them???"

Work. Work tirelessly. Work feverishly. Work until you are bleary-eyed and then work some more. Take your craft seriously. Read. Study. Learn. Ask questions. Listen. Absorb. Be curious about how everything works. Fail. Get rejected. Get ripped off. Get disappointed. Fail. Shake your fist at the universe. Curse. Fail. Fail. Fail. Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off.

To be profitable, you must devote yourself to a simple proposition - consistently provide MORE value to the customer than the price they pay at a cost to you which allows you to pay ALL expenses in time and money. Artists forget about the "time" part. I have seen artists charge $5 for a book that cost $3 to print and they think they are making a profit.

"What's ONE thing every indie comic creator should do to be more profitable?"

Take the time to learn the basics of finance and marketing and apply those principles to all your work.

On the flip side...

Now is the very best time in all of human history to be involved in creative work. There are more tools, more resources, more tutorials, more groups, more information, more markets, more platforms and more possibilities available at your fingertips than in the last two centuries combined. The present and the future are dazzling. Still, you will fail. It is hard. There are no short cuts. No single answers. There are no sure-fire pathways. Some success is just dumb luck, being in the right place at the right time.

Be kind to yourself. There will be many bad days and bumps in the road ahead. Keep your head down and chin up. Continue working and learning. Good luck.

The world needs more storytellers.

Share.

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

If you love storytelling, be involved, engaged, and informed.

Subscribe via the email newsletter.

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WILL A.I. CRUSH US (IN OUR SLEEP?)_0017

 

  

 

Not understanding how Artificial Intelligence worked, most people treated it like a genie that granted wishes. Not understanding what power had been unleashed against them by governments and tech giants, they wished for a pile of Big Bills, hoping that AI would somehow conjure every material thing they could ever want for free - at the push of a button and at the cleverness of a prompt. Note: The girl in the middle figures out that she is NOT getting a pony. Photo collage by CoPilot Designer (2024_0602) with additional work added by a human.

"Yeah, we're kinda doomed."

Before I begin talking about Artificial Intelligence, I need to confess that I am of two (or more) minds about it. When I think of AI, I think of my dog. She is currently just a few weeks away from being 19-years-old and is losing all of her brain power, sight, smell, and hearing. Her hips and spine hurt. She naps a lot. Soon, a decision will have to be made to put her down to keep her from suffering. It is a hard choice. I love that dog. We communicate primarily through body language and a few voice commands which are mostly dependent on my tone. I "speak". She "listens." While I have spent a good deal of time with my dog, love my dog, and am invested in her happiness, comfort, and success, my dog definitely evolved from wolves. She will always have that as her prime background and context. She has physical and behavioral limitations. By comparison, what are the physical and behavioral limits of machines using artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence. Computing power sufficient to "understand" people. What was once long relegated to pulpy science fiction novels has now become a reality that will be rapidly changing every single aspect of life on the planet in real time. Machines "learn" to be more independent, and humans "teach" themselves to become more dependent. This shift in the balance of power is something that is happening right before our eyes.

The first chunk of this post is copied from a response to a discussion I recently had to my pal Ben who is a gifted filmmaker and runs Runic Films in Los Angeles (Hashtag, Cowboy Creed). The discussion was about the use of seals or logos to indicate "Human-Made" products or services in the film industry. As follows -

Benito,

I might go for the "real" approach. No QR code. Definitely not. If I look at the rest of the world and ask myself what really means anything, a seal of approval is a form of social proof.

Think about it.

What is more compelling? A signed document OR a signed document with a picture of a group of people standing around it (think Declaration of Independence)?

You will have to come up with clear instructions that are easy to follow for someone to apply to use the seal. You will have to come up with clear rules about how, when, and where the seal can be used and in what manner. You will need to devise a way to make the process as self-sustaining as possible and work at scale - probably the most impossible task.

Your best bet is simple.

Use an internal seal. This is branding that you ALONE use to distinguish your products and services. You may even want to incorporate it into your mission statement or even parse it out as its own manifesto. You use the seal whenever and wherever you need to remind people that products made by real, creative humans are a damn good idea.

Now if someone approaches you about your seal and wants to use it, you will have to come up with a permission system and go case by case. In this manner, the best way to go is to convince an organization or group to adopt the seal system that you are ALREADY using and extend it to their members. It is easier for the group to see how it works after you have been first with it. Plus, they can take on the role of administering the seal and enforcing it with their members. Seals don't mean anything unless they are used, understood, and stand up to economic and social challenges. Seals only carry value if they stand the test of time.

"The purpose of the seal IS SOLELY to create awareness."

I recall when the words - Made in USA were added to most clothing. It was in direct response to floods of knock offs from foreign shores. Consider the "AI wave" to be the knock offs. The Made in USA label worked, until it didn't. Longer term, there is nothing to hold AI back. Nothing. It will be used and abused in ways we cannot imagine and generally follow the trend of the big subjugating the small. AI is inherently anti-Democratic and anti-competitive.

In the case of "Made in USA", that pivot by business made cheap foreign brands look exciting, low cost, and grab market share. Consumers held up two blouses. liked them, and then looked at the price tag - a comparison of fanciful wishes that is then checked by the terminal reality of cost (and then instantly justified in real time to create or negate a purchase). It is happening right now with the clothing site Temu for example. Market share is a nasty way of saying - we do NOT want competition. Business is about DOMINANCE. Period. And look where that got us in the world.

Back to AI. BACK to film and other creative tasks.

It is important to understand what AI can and cannot do in terms of filmmaking. Currently, AI is not put in charge of every aspect of the creative pipe. Comprehensive use can only be afforded by those rich enough to pay for the inlay of infrastructure. This is where we will find shocking, disturbing, and swift change if AI builds a total pipeline, ideation to financing to work product to marketing to merchandising.

"...the directive is simply to "maximize profits"..."

Imagine a "studio" where the directive is simply to "maximize profits" when making films and the AI is left to figure everything out. It will build a process that is dedicated to that principle, and we can expect marketing that pitches movies that are not even made yet and then creates them in almost real time to get "feedback" from consumers. It will do away with film as an event, a block of time, and turn it into a personal, mutable lifestyle. And suppose YOU like happy endings.... you will get those. AI will cram them down your brain. Most likely, this power will be used to generate CONTENT that makes you CRAVE CONTENT - psychologically driven wedges that manipulate you at every turn. This is real nasty mind "control" type stuff, and we are just at the edge of it.

To this, I reflect on the decision to prop up the corn market and win votes in fly over states. Corn, the history of corn, and must notably corn syrup is public record. The government subsidizing corn production has had the consequence that products were introduced that target the consumer's cravings and we have an epidemic of people addicted to sugar made from corn syrup. This is what the AI will bring - among other unintended, unforeseen consequences.

On the other hand, AI is a tool.

How many times have you had shots or sequences that you wanted to do but could not figure them out, couldn't make them practical? I am not even talking about special effects. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to explain a movie shot to an AI tool, have it understood, and then map out or even create the shot? No lost time in pre-production or post-production. It can suggest the best ways to shoot the live principles and live sound. It would be an enormous step in the storytelling process. 

"The tool could act as a gigantic, untiring, assistant."

The tool could act as a gigantic, untiring, assistant. I think that computers were actually meant for this role - as servants and assistants. They are not equals. Why are we trying to make them "create?" For what reason?

On the engineering side, making machines that think and create is a natural extension of searching for how the brain works and what life means. To put this in Star Wars context... we should be designing R2D2 and C3PO rather than the Death Star. We should be designing AI as an assistant. That should be the default role. It should not be designed to be a "smart tool" that comes to life and crushes us.

"A.I. as a tool in artwork..."

Since AI art generating tools have been trained in an illegal and unethical manner, they should not be used for any reason. Human color flatters for comics exist. I have met a few in my time. I know that the pressure to use the new tools is enormous, but I am not in favor of stepping on the backs of artists who had no choice or consent in allowing their copyrighted materials to be batch sampled. I have spoken with several artists and creators in different fields including print, music, and film who want to use a seal to indicate that works are 100% human made. Not sure if this will catch on but the sentiment is that "dirty tools" should not be accepted by creative industries. Not now. Not ever. Pay for a human colorist or painter.

"we should not accept these tools until "clean" versions can be made from scratch using only public domain or compensated images as source material."

Part of the great appeal of artwork - even artwork prepared for mass consumption - is that it is authentic and the result of a creative process. The copyright offices are correct to not to want to protect AI generated works. As creators, we should not accept these tools until "clean" versions can be made from scratch using only public domain or compensated images as source material. If material cannot be protected against unapproved use, no intellectual property is safe.

"How does the use of AI imagery corrupt the art marketplace?"

ONE - illegal sampling, called scraping, of copyrighted material. The base images AI is trained on and regurgitates are scraped-without-permission-or-payment artworks created by flesh and blood creators. Not limited to public domain or "free to use."

TWO - flood the market - Human-generated content will get pushed out by AI-generated content in the marketplace just by sheer speed/volume alone. This is achieved because images can be generated in fractions of a second compared to the time it may take a human to create an equivalent image.

T H R E E - the ubiquity of images will coat the market and warp the expectations of audiences and viewers will not be sophisticated enough to tell the difference.

FOUR - FREE STUFF (not free at all...). AI-generated images will become so instant and so "free" that real artists and creators will be unable to compete financially. The audience does not realize that they are being roped into an "engagement" environment where they will be force-fed advertising and have digital psychological profiles built (and sold and re-sold) out of their behavior online. The use of AI images, video, chat, etc., is just the crack/fentanyl used by the corporations and governments to control minds and persuade passions.

If you don't think this is a real concern, ask yourself how often you get pop-up windows now that beg for your attention. How bad will this be in five years' time or less? Is AI-generated imagery unethical? YES. Anything that scrapes copyright materials without permission for any reason is BOTH unethical and illegal. Is it here to stay? Will it crush us in our sleep?

Just my opinion. Just a thought.

Buy HUMAN-MADE, now and for the future!

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

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BEHIND the SCENES_THE PROMISE_PART 01_0014

 

  

Colorized version (detail) of panel from TMNT: The Shredder, The Promise. Artwork by Rick Arthur.

Traditional pen and ink on Bristol paper with digital colors.

"We lost him. He's gone."

Raphael and Lucindra. In a race against time, Raph must deliver some grave news to his sparring partner. I am going to use some of my blog space to detail how this project came to be and what some of the hurdles were that needed clearing before it could be completed. For those engaged by the process of creativity, I will break down each page with explanations on how I navigated this story.

Completed BW version of PG 01 from TMNT: The Shredder, The Promise. One chapter out of a graphic novel featuring Jim Lawson. Lucindra c. Rick Arthur. Artwork by Rick Arthur. Pen and ink with digital grey tones. 

Raph scrambles over the rooftops of the city for an urgent meet-up with his long-time sparring partner, Lucindra. She hasn't heard from him in a few years and wastes no time letting the reader know about it in voice-over narration. It soon becomes obvious that Raph is holding onto some serious, emotional news.

This is the first page in my chapter which would become The Promise. It was intended to be a follow-up to a previous 5-page tale from the graphic novel, TMNT: Odyssey set in a future Ninja Turtle storyline. Both TMNT: Odyssey and TMNT: The Shredder showcase the fantastic cartooning of the legendary Jim Lawson and I cannot express how fantastic it is to be sharing some space with him in this publication. I was fortunate enough to get a chapter out of the book, primarily because my character was one that only I could write and draw.

I did have a tricky story proposition to navigate, however. While The Promise would stand alone as its own chapter, yet could not conflict with the larger narrative which I would have no involvement in. I got a basic premise but no other restrictions. I then had to write and draw something which could be inserted into a space somewhere in the larger script. Set a few years after the "flood" events of Odyssey, the Ninja Turtles would take on a new, lethal incarnation of their most powerful enemy, The Shredder. I just began to put pen to paper, sketching to see where my ideas would roam and tended to focus on the characters meeting.

Unused sketches for TMNT: The Shredder, The Promise. One chapter out of a graphic novel

featuring artwork by Jim Lawson. Lucindra c. Rick Arthur. Sketches by Rick Arthur.

Standard office pen on 8.5x11 inch bond paper.

My first concern is always "how much space do I have to tell my story?" I have a pre-disposition for world building which usually means that my stories are "big" and sweeping. You cannot tell the entire Galactus saga in just six panels without leaving out all the nuance and detail, for example. I also wanted to up the ante. In my previous outing, I used five pages to tell the short story - The Lesson. So, this time, I wanted to expand and create seven pages. Why not more? My working methods can be very explorative and exacting. To shoot for a higher page count might mean impacting the overall length of time on the project. I wanted something I could finish and not have smashing into other projects. After extensive sketching, I mapped out the story at a robust nine pages - which I was not 100% sure how long it would take to complete. I began layouts and pencil art with that page count cemented and had a few other freelance projects trying to finish up before I could start in earnest. I was about ready to begin inks, which is my favorite part of the process. Artwork really comes alive in the inks, and I can see how close I get to my original vision for the story.

That's when a problem cropped up, just before inks. Raph appeared in the rest of the story outside of my chapter wearing a trench coat. It was firmly established by Jim Lawson but not communicated to me until I was many weeks into the project. I wasn't about to redraw my completed nine pages of pencils. The addition of a trench coat would have ruined the fight scenes, for example, as the choreography had been meticulously worked out. I was stumped for a week before I decided to bite the bullet and add two brand new pages at the beginning that would transition Raph and his trench coat. My new page count stood at eleven, hefty for a short piece. Little did I know that my schedule was about to be pushed beyond its limit.

My problems were just beginning...

More "Behind the Scenes" in upcoming posts. Keep an eye open.

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

If you love storytelling, be involved, engaged, and informed.

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COMICS WILL BREAK YOUR HEART_PART 1_0013

 

  

What's in a name? Newest test shirt promoting independent comic creators who paved the way

for a revolution in comic storytelling. Merch - T-Shirts by Billion Hero Studios | TeePublic

"Comics will break your heart kid." - Jack Kirby

Will wonders never cease? New production equipment and drop shipping have combined to create a revolution in Print On Demand products that could never have been foreseen by comic creators of old.

Jack Kirby has been quoted as saying that "Comics will break your heart." He worked and struggled inside a broken, corrupt system where the playing field was always tilted toward the big publishing houses. Artists could be easily blackballed, denied work or opportunities to advance. Publishers used their power of scale to crush artist studios and divide comics into replaceable tasks and used something called "work for hire" to grind freelancers into the ground. Innovation and creativity were not rewarded. Meeting impossible deadlines combined with low pay in a race to the bottom. How could any artform hope to survive?

Without countless individuals dreaming that comics could be an artform, no progress could ever be made. Will Eisner was a pioneer. Kirby, along with collaborator Joe SImon, also challenged the system. They dared to expand the boundaries of what comics could be, especially after the chill that the Comic Code Authority had on comic publishing.

What is painful to understand is how small and weak the comic industry has always been. While valuable IP first finds its way into the public sphere through the gateway of comics, untold billions have been earned on merchandising and licensing. Little of that wealth has trickled down to the creators who have found themselves out-matched and out-lawyered at every turn. Page rates for artists have been pretty much stagnant for decades. The industry itself continues to shrink while simultaneously film, merchandising, and "legitimate" booksellers profit. Graphic novels and trade paperback collections enjoy year after year of growth. Crowd funding for comic projects has also exploded in popularity - bringing projects directly to fans.

New genres seem to bubble up from the ground.

Still, despite an expansion of tools to produce comics and get them in front of fans, making a living in comics is next to impossible. Not too much has changed in the last few decades since Kirby and others fought the system. Fraud still exists. Artists are still exploited. Wages are still pushed down. After the recent death of a well-liked young cartoonist, a trend appeared on social media in the form of a hashtag - #ComicsBrokeMe. Hundreds of artists poured out their stories about getting ripped off by comic companies, having their artwork or IP stolen, and suffering long hours with no benefits or health insurance.

Artists have been conditioned over time to expect poor treatment. A wave of fresh young talent always threatens to wash away any advances artists can make working for established companies. Why should they pay higher wages or offer royalties when a hundred newcomers are eager to take the spots of established pros? Downward pressure.

Perhaps the biggest threat to the status quo came in the form of Image Comics. When the top talent at Marvel decided to quit working for the majors and strike out on their own in the 1990s, publishers scrambled to secure their remaining talent. Over time, however, the backlash has been severe. Deeply hurt by the exodus of top selling names, the big comic companies decided that they would no longer "promote" artists to "star" levels ever again. Writing was now emphasized. Comics became much more text heavy. Writers could easily be replaced. Art chores were increasingly being farmed out to workers in foreign countries.

There are two things to consider. First, as an artform, comics advances in fits and starts, often fueled by tremendously talented and ambitious individuals. The independents. The rebels. The rule breakers. Independent cartoonists with guts to navigate the labyrinth of corrupt publishing systems have always fought on the leading edge of innovation in comic publishing. They told new kinds of stories, in new ways, for new audiences. When everyone said "it can't be done," they sharpened their pencils, stirred their ink, and dug in. They pioneered new techniques, new attitudes, and new directions.

Who can forget the "grim and gritty" comics being produced after Frank Miller and Alan Moore kicked the doors in?

Secondly, money. The economics of publishing comics is still a crap shoot. The margins are slim, and the lead time is too great with little guarantee of reward at the end. The books themselves only make money if they come out on time or shatter sales benchmarks. It is really in the merchandising and licensing that the real money gets made, has ever been made. Selling individual copies will never get it done. Shirts, stickers, lunch boxes, pajamas, games, toys, cartoons, TV shows, and movies all rake in the money that sales of books never can.

What should keep publishers up at night...

...is the fact that a small handful of people, with the help of digital equipment, social media, and crowdfunding, can produce professional-level stories that are basically indistinguishable from works only able to be produced until recently on big presses, through big distributors, at big companies. Comics have oozed out of the panel shapes corporations have wanted to continue placing them in. Storytelling has become more democratized and decentralized. Creators are finding their own audiences and cutting out the middleman. It is happening right before our eyes. As Disney stoops to gobble up all the entertainment IP on the planet, the grass roots are finding a way. This should scare the crap out of executives.

At the top of the blog, you will see a sample of a test shirt. It is being produced using readily available POD services. The names on the shirt represent a tiny handful of troublemakers, stubborn idealists, and dreamers. There are countless others. They dedicated their time, effort, and energy to the idea that comics could be an artform, if given a chance.

Consider who you want to support in the struggle for artistic expression. Vote with your dollars. Take some risks with what you consume. Buy some oddball comics, some unique stories, and be open to the idea that changing the system is as easy as changing our minds.

T-Shirts by Billion Hero Studios | TeePublic

Persist!

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

If you love storytelling, be involved, engaged, and informed.

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CREATING COMICS_WRITING_PART 1_0012

 

Writing for comics is more about the FEELS than technical aspects and the visceral appeal of combining words and pictures in a collaborative medium has its own set of challenges not faced by other artforms. Image borrowed from the internet - copyright respective owner and used for educational purposes only.

"The script does not exist on its own..."

Response to a request by a writer...

This post about writing for comics comes from a request by a writer to review his work. I am posting a lightly edited version here so people can see/peer into the process a little. There are no right and wrong answers. 

xxxxx

I have had a chance to read a good chunk of the script for XXXXXXXX#0. I like the story and it moves right along in cinematic fashion.

I have a few observations I will share with you.

First, there is no right way or wrong way to write a comic script. The writer is the first leg in the collaborative process of getting the comic created. In a collaboration of this nature in a visual medium, a lot of the "writing" will simply go to give the art team context for what they will be creating. If I were looking at this cold (which I am), I would read it with an eye as to how the words will be interpreted into images and visual narrative. I like the fact that your writing seems very visual in nature. I feel this is the right approach. You may want to understand that once your words leave your hands, whoever picks them up will need to create the drawings that are going to move the story. To that end, I feel like the writing is very tight.

What do I mean by "very tight?"

From the writer's point of view, a tight script is quite direct, even demanding for an artist to produce. The descriptions are precise, detailed, and additive. What this means is that the script leaves little wiggle room for the artist to imagine the story and characters. It does not necessarily take advantage of what the artist can bring to the table in terms of telling the story. I noticed that every panel has camera angle descriptions, for example. I might only indicate angles when it is really needed in a few spots and let the artist imagine the rest. Right now, the script reads like a TV script or movie script with the writing serving as the guide for the director. You may be pleasantly surprised at what relinquishing control over the visuals will allow the art team to come up with and it will become more of a collaboration than a set of illustrations to be wedged into the script.

...not intended to be published as a stand-alone...

This is not a good or bad thing. What you have done is perfectly fine in its own context. The script does not exist on its own and is not intended to be published as a stand-alone. Whatever arrangement you make with the art team in producing the finished work of a comic is perfectly acceptable. Some authors use bullet points or summaries. Some draw stick figures in the margins of a script. Others want very specific references used. Some "sketch out" the narrative and leave more to the art team. All approaches can become valid if the team adopts them. My concern/advice is to always allow the rest of the team to do their job. From a writing perspective, this may be a difficult task since the writing may come first in the process and the urge to "dictate" what needs to be done in later stages of the process will be strong.

Comics are not TV, not film, not plays,

not videos, not music, not prose writing.

Remember that you are building a story where others are going to step in and contribute. The art team on any visual-based narrative form will have a great impact on how the story looks and feels in the end. One way you can understand this is to have multiple individuals or teams draw independently from the same script. You will immediately see that each has a unique approach to interpreting your words. Comics in particular have their own quirks which other mediums do not have in terms of composition and pacing. Always try to take advantage of these differences. Comics are not TV, not film, not plays, not videos, not music, not prose writing. Comics are a unique blend of words and pictures which the reader will create their own associations and make personal.

My other observation is also small, maybe even petty.

Write the script so the letterer can easily copy and paste the script into a visual program. What does that mean? I like to use a structural format that has text on separate lines. I will explain.

EXAMPLE #1 - less letterer friendly

Description: Joseph hands the documents over to Maria and her eyes grow wide. Camera overhead shot. Dialogue: "These are for your eyes only."

EXAMPLE#2 - more letterer friendly

[Joseph hands Maria documents and we see her reaction. She is surprised]

Joseph (balloon):

These are for your eyes only.

EXPLANATION:

In the second example, I have used brackets [  ] to indicate action or description. It is just enough information to get the art team started. They may decide to break this action down into two or three panels for example depending on the visual pacing they establish on the page and in the rest of the story. I use a [bold] to show where text is indicated and who is talking.

I put the actual text/dialogue that will appear on the comic page on a separate line.

This allows the letterer to swoop in, find the bolds, then copy and paste just the full line below instead of "searching" for the start and end of dialogue in a paragraph. [Added] When working with a letterer as part of your creative team, it may be helpful to discuss formatting your comic script in ways that allow easier workflow.

Always consider who comes next in your collaboration

All authors work differently. Always consider who comes next in your collaboration.  It is certainly okay to indicate just about anything when you are writing. I even include some color or production notes where appropriate. The idea is to get the team on the same page so they are in harmony as to what the project should look and feel like.

For the reader, combining elements in their head in real time and at their own pace is a subjective experience. In the end, the goal is to make memorable characters that make the readers FEEL something. Writing and comics are both visceral experiences and not a string of plot points threaded together in daisy-chain fashion. It is about provoking thought, feeling, and curiosity.

My own comic writing style is done through thumbnail layouts which look very different. I never expect my artists to follow them exactly (unless indicated) and want them to MAKE GOOD COMICS. The script should not be so focused that it does not allow for the imagination and innovation and sometimes spontaneousness of the art to shine through. Comics are visual.

I hope this makes a little bit of sense.

I like your script and the action seems to move along at a pretty good clip! Mastering comic scripting takes time and patience. Each one will turn out differently. When I have more time, I will look even further into your writing. My observations are actually not too important. You are definitely on the right track and the main thing is to get the scripts done and the art completed and out to the readers. Producing as much quality work as you can, as often as you can, is the way to build your confidence and experience.

As always, good luck and if possible, keep me in the loop. I want to see you growing over time!

Best always,

RICK

I have decided to use my comments here as the basis for a post on my blog so others interested in the comic making process can get a bit of insight. I will edit my remarks and remove your name. I think you should be proud of the work you are doing and push on and do more of it. Think of your storytelling skills as a muscle that needs reps and increased difficulty over time in order to grow.

Persist!

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

If you love storytelling, be involved, engaged, and informed.

Subscribe to this blog to receive notifications (so you never miss a post!).
Share your favorite posts with like-minded creatives.
Comment and ask questions or make requests.

Sign-Up for the unofficial Billion Hero Studios Newsletter by sending an email with the word "Newsletter" in the subject line to: billionherostudios@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting, participating, and collaborating in the storytelling experience.

THE FUTURE IS VERY BRIGHT_0011

 

  

We have been waging a war in our everyday lives between safety/security and freedom. This unchecked discussion plays out in the headlines of newspapers, on the internet, and on TV news programs. We see poverty, disease, mass shootings, religious freedom, voting rights, immigration, prison reform, police reform, tax reform, mental health, drug addiction, sexual assault, gender identity, political corruption, monetary policy, the stock market, Bitcoin, the entire legal profession, healthcare, jobs, the price of gas, the price of food, homelessness, the role of the police, the military, religion, science, and more... Covid has killed more than one million Americans and we are lucky to have a vaccine. We grapple with the right to own a gun in this society and the apparent lack of restrictions or responsibilities attached to that right. Where are we headed?

"The future is very bright - - - and the food is delicious there"

Rights. The right to own firearms. The right to Life and Liberty. We are told by those who value the right to a gun that their right to do so carries no restrictions and NO responsibilities. We are told that there would be no freedom without unrestricted, unregulated gun ownership. That the government would move, at any moment, to TAKE AWAY guns and pacify its citizens into submission. We are told that tyranny is the exact opposite of open carry. We are told that there is nothing that can be done to curb violence and that it is the price we pay for freedom in this country. We are reminded constantly that guns do not kill and that we should compare these deaths to car accidents or the flu. We are told that mentally ill people kill. We are told that ONLY criminals will be able to get guns. We are told that the good guys just need to arm themselves. We are told that, paradoxically, we need to worship the police AND take matters into our own hands. We are told that armed insurrection is equivalent to political discourse and a redress of grievances. We are told that our FEELINGS don't matter and then offered thoughts and prayers. We are meant to be written off as morally empty and evil if we disagree or want these topics opened up for discussion.

My life is very important. My family is very important. My way of life is very important. My life is more important than yours. I am special. I am privileged. I am unique. The rules don't apply to me, but they damn well better apply to you. I want what belongs to me. I want mine. I deserve everything and you don't matter. I don't care what you think, feel, say, or do. You are different. You don't belong. Go back to where you came from. I was here first. I am a real person, and you are not. You are a joke, a punchline, a meme. You are coming to steal everything and take everything away. I am a winner, and you are a loser. You smell. You look funny, talk funny, pray funny. You suck. You are stupid. You are evil. I don't trust you. You seem to be everywhere, and I wish I could snap my fingers and make you go away. You are lazy, shiftless, rapists, murderers, thieves, drug dealers, prostitutes, and deadbeats. You don't pay your own way. You want free stuff. You are leeches. You are not "real." You are here to lie, steal, cheat, and kill me in my sleep. You break into my house. You rape my daughters. You get my sons hooked on drugs. You deliberately destroy the economy, wreck schools, take away jobs. You don't want to work.

We need to go back to a simpler time of right and wrong. We need to go back to family values. We need to go back to church and put God in the classroom. We need everyone else to shut the $#%& up and go away. We need a strong leader who will make you pay for what you have done, who will crush you and put you back in your place...

I need protection. I need to be prepared. Everyone else is stupid. I am smart. I am never wrong because I know what is right and wrong. I can tell the difference. I have common sense. My bible tells me everything I need to know even though I barely read it. I don't have to. I was here first. You are an invader. You loot stores, burn cities, kill each other over drugs, and do nothing but whine. I need protection from you. You are different. You are not like me. You vote for the wrong guys. You have the wrong friends. You think bad thoughts. You are liars. The lying is constant and loud. The lies are everywhere. I need to make you go away and make everything go back to being right.

I have a right to defend myself. I have a right to own a gun. I have a right to my own opinion. I have a right to protect myself and my family. I have a right to carry a gun anywhere I want to, whenever I want, and shoot anyone who tries to harm me. I am in charge. I am in control. No one is going to tell me what to do. No one. Especially if you are not like me - and you are not like me. We are not the same. We are different. You don't belong here. I do. You don't agree with me? Then #$%$# you. I wish you were gone.

In our country we have lived through a great deal of violence. We wiped out 90% of the indigenous population and forced them from their lands. We brought slaves in to be chained, worked to death, and raped for generations, forced to toil in the fields and later in factories, ghettos, and prisons. We fought an open civil war.  We rounded up Asians and put them in camps. We discriminated against the Irish, the Poles, the Italians, the Jews, the Blacks, the Muslims, the Chinese and more, much more. You name it. 

We poisoned the water, the air, and devalued people in the name of progress and "freedom." We let big corporations take away our jobs and plunder our natural resources. We grew our military complex into something hideous that was too big to fail. We drew red lines on maps and told poor people where they could live, who to vote for, and what education they could get. We let lawyers and lobbyists run roughshod over every facet of our daily life. We held out the promise of an American dream and turned it constantly into a nightmare of moving goal posts. We divided each other into groups and then divided again and again and again - hoping that each time, we would come out on top.

"We assumed that everyone cheated, stole, lied, and would stab us in the back."

We talked about love but had none in our hearts. We talked about justice but had no empathy or compassion. We talked about being great but never wanted to put in the work. We let lawyers find ways to screw us out of everything. We assumed that everyone cheated, everyone stole, everyone lied, everyone would stab us in the back. We let it happen. We never read the fine print or understood what we were signing. We never understood what consequences would come and everything could be fixed with easy credit. We just wanted things to make sense again. We wanted to believe in something important and larger than ourselves. We wanted to believe in equality, truth, justice, hope, love, and we wanted it all now, the easy way. My way or the highway. Like it or leave it. Put up or shut up. Agree or go home. No compromise. No discussion. No surrender. Do not give an inch or they will take a mile....

A blend of fear and paranoia. When we talk about a melting pot society, we talk about taking all the best from everywhere in the world and letting it flourish here in a land of opportunity and freedom. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. People are generally good. People are generally hard working, generous, friendly, kind, caring, and open. They want good things for themselves and their families. They want to follow their dreams and build something for the future. They want peace, security, and cooperation. People want respect, dignity, and to be heard and seen. People want to freely express themselves. People want to be in love. People want to live and enjoy their lives, to share moments with family, with friends, with community. People want to achieve great things and feel valued. People want to live without fear of being shot while picking up groceries, while sitting at prayer, while sending kids to school.

People don't want to be alone. People don't want to be isolated. People don't want to be divided. People want to see other smiling faces. People want to be happy. People want to live. People have a right to live. People have a right to pursue their happiness. People have a responsibility to each other. People have a responsibility, a duty to their communities, their states, their nation, their world. People can solve any problem they put their mind to. People can work together to do just about anything and everything and where they focus their time, effort, and energy, seeming miracles can happen. Cures can be found. Space can be explored. Nations can be healed. Nature can be restored.

People can decide to respect each other. People can each decide to be kind to one another, to forgive one another their small differences. People can embrace a future made by individuals who treat each other fairly and expect to be treated the same. The future is very bright (and the food is delicious there). Think about being less cynical today. Think about what it means to be a friend to someone in need. Think about what you can do to help....... 

We can and must do better.

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

If you love storytelling, be involved, engaged, and informed.

Subscribe to this blog to receive notifications (so you never miss a post!).
Share your favorite posts with like-minded creatives.
Comment and ask questions or make requests.

Sign-Up for the unofficial Billion Hero Studios Newsletter by sending an email with the word "Newsletter" in the subject line to: billionherostudios@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting, participating, and collaborating in the storytelling experience.