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.

Subscribe via the email newsletter.

Share your favorite posts.

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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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STR8 OUTTA COMIC COMPOSITION_0006

Logo with apologies to rappers from NWA. Shout out to all my peeps from South Central Working that J.O.B. trying to stack up the Benji-mans at that Staple factory. Julio, you da man. Yo, Dolores and crew.

The Spider and The Mountain copyright Rick Arthur. All rights reserved. Nyra becomes sick and a demon grows. Thumbnail sketch for layout with notations on 8.5x11 inch bond paper.

A former student asked a variation of the following question in an email. I have copied my response (lightly edited) for others interested in the process of comic making and storytelling.

"At what point do you consider composition in making your comics?"

That is a very good question, and I will do my best to answer it here.


First, the way I work and the way that I think about story and composition has changed dramatically over time as I have tried new things to see what is working best for me. This will also be the case for you. As you move forward and do more pages, your style of working will change. So, keep that in the back of your mind as I discuss story and composition.


I am a very firm believer in creating and modifying working processes. There is always room for improvement and experimentation. An artist needs to be open to change while at the same time trying to streamline their approach.


Story always comes first.

Story is the thing that makes comics, TV, or film important. There are many occasions where I see artwork that is of lesser execution but has a compelling story and I prefer that, and most people react to that before anything else. The flip side is that really nicely rendered work that does not tell a good story will not connect with viewers/readers. There are even occasions where an excess of gloss and polish hurts a story.


For composition,
I usually go scene to scene thematically and page by page in practicality. What does this mean?

When I started producing comics and stories, because I struggled with the actual act of drawing, inking, writing, and one hundred other elements I thought I had to master, I usually constructed stories by building one panel at a time and asking myself "what goes next?" Often, I did not know what was happening in my story as I built it. This works or can work for smaller pieces. What I came to realize was that this has a very strong limitation in longer stories.


We have talked about the use of thumbnails a lot. The primary purpose of the thumbnail is to get the ideas out of your head, one drawing at a time and one page at a time. However, a great benefit of using a thumbnail system is that if you are thinking about it properly as a transitional step in creating the artwork, the thumbnail now becomes a place where you can test out different layouts, camera angles, and story techniques without wasting time producing finished work that does not satisfy what you are looking for.


I am actually in this process now, right now, as I build my story for The Spider and The Mountain. Thumbnails allow me to play around with the composition and placement of panels without committing. There is nothing more frustrating than being halfway into inks or colors and deciding that the story is not clear, and that the composition should have been changed.


I will work based on a script, notes, sketches, diagrams, photo reference, or other aids in the following manner:

IDEA
SKETCH/WRITE
THUMBNAIL/WRITE/REVISE
PENCIL ART
INK ART
LETTERS/WRITING REVISIONS
COLOR
PRODUCTION

Once I get through my scene or story in a first go through, I lay out the thumbnails of the pages to look over and compare to one another. After I see everything, I go back and make adjustments by moving panels, combining panels, changing the shape or size of panels. Since each page can be anywhere from one to ten sketches each (or more), I have a lot of drawings to consider.


NOTE: I know that a lot of people are producing thumbnails on the computer and then using layers to build up the artwork. This is valid and if it works for you, then I say fine. However, one limitation with the computer is that the very ability to make change after change effortlessly means that you are never looking at comparison sketches side by side and considering them against one another. It is a flaw I feel.


Still further into the idea of page layouts and composition. Your panels should always support your story. ALWAYS.


When I look at composition as a whole, the entire story - I usually have an idea of where I want my impact panels to be. I am thinking about my full, half, and two-page spreads.


When I look at my scenes (which I usually make from one to five pages in length), I am again considering the story and also looking at what kinds of variety I have. Do I have enough closeups in the scene to connect with readers? Does the scene feel anchored by enough establishing shots? Are there silhouettes needed? Does the story move? Etc. Having the thumbnails allows me to make adjustments before pencil art and inking start. I am thinking about composition here at this level too.


When I do individual pages, everything is composition! Usually I will think of my page with one main idea in mind and build around it. This allows me to concentrate on making sure I communicate that idea with everything else I put on the page. It is hard and takes practice but worth the effort and all the comics that have inspired me over time are those that take page design seriously.


When I do single panels, I just want my framing to be clear so that information can be easily absorbed. If the importance of the shot is the guy reacting to his phone, I usually don't show that with a wide establishing shot. In comics, individual panels and single drawings have less importance than the whole story. People will read through and fill in details using their imagination to create movement, sound, and emotional impact. Composition is still important at this level but I usually think of it in terms of clarity. Am I being clear when I show this panel? Or page? Or scene?


If I am breaking down a written script, I usually look at what the main plot points are going to be and how I can translate them visually into comic storytelling. This also takes practice and usually an author will overload a reader with information in prose that needs to be made much more dramatic and simplified in the art phase. For myself, I like to work with piecing the visuals and the concepts together while including key dialogue. The text and dialogue take up physical space in the final version, so I usually block that in on my thumbnail also. I change my dialogue while I am working. Lettering can be done on a separate layer so it can be edited easily.


Composition and comics go hand in hand. Still, it is probably best to not worry too much about the composition. It will come with time and practice. Place your emphasis on making sure that you are getting your ideas out on paper where you can edit them. Once the story is built, you can go back and revise and move things around knowing that you have the story you want, and revisions will just make it stronger. Clarity in storytelling is a top concern.


By the time you get to pencils and inks, there should be very little problems with composition to mess around with. At those stages, you are more interested in the actual drawing and making your black plate.


This is all I have time for this morning. This topic is a big one and I can only show you some of my struggles and what works for me. I will only try to show you processes that make sense but you are more than welcome to disagree or try different combinations until you get your own working methods. My recommendation is to do original short stories of five to ten pages. This will teach you how to set up scenes. A longer-form story will simply be composed of a string of scenes. Making comics and narrative art is challenging and fun, like a puzzle that you create for yourself to solve.



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 in the space below.

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.

Rick Arthur, founder
Billion Hero Studios

The power of storytelling

SUBCONSCIOUS HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER_0005

The Spider and The Mountain copyright Rick Arthur. All rights reserved. Page layout. Pen on 8.5x11 inch bond paper. WIP. Artist: Rick Arthur. A lone samurai runs in freshly fallen snow while facing an unstoppable demon. From the upcoming graphic novel originally inspired by a failed 24-hour Comic Challenge.

"The Brain Is A Funny, Funny Thing..."

We sail into history.

Many creative artists have encounters with all different types of "creative blocks." White paper or canvas, a blank screen with the subtle, blinking cursor, and job specs pile up mocking your existence. Anyone who has faced artistic tasks has all been there. Honest artists that push themselves to achieve more with their work than just making a buck or two will know this gut-wrenching feeling.

Just how damaging can "blocks" be for creative types?

Ideas tumble, fall, drift, sharpen, and are coaxed from hiding in a large number of ways. There are indeed numerous tricks for starting and finishing creative works. Creativity is not just a function of memory directly but of insight. When a jumble of disconnected ideas presents itself, you need to be able to both decipher and place them into context.

As I continue on my art making and storytelling journey, I feel as though it is really the flood of possibilities that becomes the real problem. When I discover a block, usually it is because there are actually too many variables, and I become stunned by the complexity of my potential choices. It can be both numbing and paralyzing. I will complain about not being able "to see" the idea. I should be grateful.

Thousands of hours of problem solving in art has not given me the ability to solve all problems, but it has given me confidence that there is usually more than one solution.

"Here, I'll make it easier for you."

In the film Searching for Bobby Fischer, a perfect illustration of problem visualization is conducted in a single scene. Ben Kingsley tutors a young chess prodigy named Josh who must picture chess pieces and their moves in his head and not rely on his physical senses. In order to perform this mental feat, distractions must be swept aside, and his stern chess teacher then sweeps the pieces from the chessboard and onto the floor.

What we as an audience witness is a physical representation of creating an ability to focus on the main problem and not on a host of smaller problems that block our thinking. While it is shocking to watch the pieces dramatically crash to the floor, the real breakthrough is achieved when Josh stops staring at the chaos and returns his attention to the now-empty chess board. In that moment, he accepts the challenge of becoming a great chess player, one who can concentrate.

Searching for Bobby Fischer (3/10) Movie CLIP - Learning From the Master (1993) HD - YouTube

Jack Ryan, as played by Alec Baldwin, is shaving and thinking out loud in a scene for the action thriller, Hunt For Red October based on the popular Tom Clancy novels. He is desperately trying to figure out how the rogue Russian sub commander, Ramius, will get his crew off a nuclear submarine in the middle of the ocean. The consequences of not solving this riddle is at the core of the film. Is Ramius trying to defect and how can Ryan deduce what actions to take?

We get to follow Ryan's thought process from the point of being stumped to his "aha" moment of finding a solution. Script by Larry Ferguson.

"The average Russky, son, don't take a dump without a plan. Wait a minute. We don't have to get the crew off the sub. He would have had to do that. We just have to figure out what he's going to do. How is he going to get them off the sub? They'd have to want to get off. How do you get a crew to want to get off a submarine? How do you get them to want to get off a nuclear sub... I know how he's going to evacuate the sub."

Red October Soliloquy - YouTube

What is it that STOPS you from starting?

In creating artwork, the blank page can be an intimidating force that crushes you down. It can be nerve wracking. Hidden somewhere in future of that blank expanse, there are lines, shapes, and tones waiting to communicate your idea. What freezes you in place at the half-way point between idea and action? I simply submit that the brain becomes transfixed by too many possibilities and associations. The real problem may be ill-defined focus making solutions seem impenetrable. Yet, the solution is always there.

I look at creative blocks as distractions where too many possibilities stifle an artist's decision-making prowess. The first trick to getting out of the block is acknowledging that you are in it and realizing that it can be overcome. Put something on the page, even if it is just a panel border or a squiggle that can be erased later. You need a prompt to not only clear your mind but to give yourself permission to start.

If an idea won't come, you can't force it.

Quit banging your head. Take a deliberate break and if you have to, set a timer for 15 minutes. Pick up the nearest book and flip to a random page. Look at a random word or picture. Train yourself to see associations between things that don't go together. Dig into some artwork you really enjoy and just try to think about why it inspires you. Is it the shape, the color, the style? Thinking too hard directly to solve a problem can actually create an art block because it builds anxiety around the problem instead of seeds for possible solutions.

Take a nap, a walk in nature, or a shower. Listen to music. What you want to do is allow the subconscious mind to do what it does best which is ideation. Relax. The subconscious brain, at the edges of our conscious decision-making, tugs and pulls at the conflict you have created and often steps in with solutions. That block really doesn't stand a chance. The only variable is time. How long will a block take to overcome?

A creative block can't last forever, can it?

I am a firm believer that where you put your effort and energy is important. If you strive and seek solutions and put in the effort, you will discover answers. Strengthen your visualization muscle and start understanding how to use your immense powers of association to solve problems. It is literally what your brain was designed for.

Subscribe to receive reminders of new posts and behind the scenes details by emailing "BHS NEWSLETTER" to: BillionHeroStudios@gmail.com

Share your favorite posts with other creative people who might enjoy them.

Comment and ask questions or make requests to stay fully engaged.

Thank you for participating and collaborating in this storytelling experience. Good luck on continuing your own creative journey.

RICK

PARENTS WHO BAN BOOKS: PERSEPOLIS_0003

  

 

Graphic novel Persepolis, The Story Of A Childhood is the highly acclaimed work of Marjane Satrapi and has also been adapted into an animated film.

"In today's edition of "Parents Who Want To Ban Books They Haven't Read..."

Pennsylvania is an odd place full of people struggling to find their way. Corporate America gutted it like a fish and left the farms and steel mills to rot. One of the pillars of our great country, founded on religious freedom of expression and personal liberty They have a rich history and yet somehow seem to be caught in a bit of a funk. They should decide, here and now, that dipping their toes into the water of banning books in classrooms is not a good idea. From the western part of the state, we have this:

PA school district pulls Marjane Satrapi's PERSEPOLIS from curriculum (comicsbeat.com)

Note: a preview of a few pages of this graphic novel are available on its Amazon page. Strong, wonderful cartooning with a very interesting story to tell. Should kids be learning this in school? It is much more preferable to learning nothing or only learning about one point of view of the world.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Pantheon Graphic Library): Satrapi, Marjane: 8601419944736: Amazon.com: Books

As with the controversy surrounding the acclaimed graphic novel Maus, these works easily belong in discussion in an academic setting as important works. Cartoonists should be encouraged to tackle the most complex and personal issues of the day - and anything else their creativity can muster. Creating these graphic works takes artistic courage and the kind of stubborn confidence that only other artists can understand.

Continue to be aware that protecting reading, learning, and thinking is a constant struggle but one with the very greatest of rewards. 

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

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

Subscribe to Billion Hero Studios Blog.

Share your favorite posts.

Comment and ask questions or make requests.

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

DREAMS ARE WAITING - SO BEGIN_0001

The Spider and The Mountain copyright Rick Arthur. All rights reserved. Nyra defiantly faces the rising sun in a tale of samurai, science fiction, and horror. Marker sketch on 8.5x11 inch bond paper. 

 

Storytelling is the most powerful method of communication that will ever exist.

We tell stories to make sense of the human condition.

We form complex bonds with family, friends, coworkers, and local communities. Storytelling confirms common beliefs and discovers the edges of what is accepted. Science fiction transforms into science fact. Fantasy mutates into reality. Dreaming sharpens into purpose. We are driven by our desire to see the world as it is and change it into what it could become.
Where we expend our brain power, imagination, and creativity, solutions emerge to problems that we consider from new angles.

We have an unquenchable curiosity and we are explorers in life, always asking, "what if?" We place a high value on liberty, justice, equality, honor, respect, dignity, and the common good.

Storytelling is powerful. We join in. We create. We think. We collaborate. We set sail on our own personal seas of imagination and tell stories that ring true. We give ourselves permission to live and build our dreams. Storytelling binds us together in common experience and shared understanding.

American writer Joan Didion is quoted:

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live...

We look for the sermon in the suicide, for the social or moral lesson in the murder of five. We interpret what we see, select the most workable of the multiple choices. We live entirely, especially if we are writers, by the imposition of a narrative line upon disparate images, by the "ideas" with which we have learned to freeze the shifting phantasmagoria which is our actual experience.”

From master of horror author Stephen King in his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft: 

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.”

Literary icon John Steinbeck is quoted:

“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”

From comic legend Jack Kirby:

"Nobody ever asked me to do anything.

Nobody knew what to do.

When comics were brand new,

nobody knew what kind of comics to make.

So, you were mostly on your own."

The BILLION Hero Studios Blog is devoted to promoting stories, ideas, creativity, authenticity and unique creators. If you feel like life should be beautiful, interesting, and inspiring, engage with these posts and share them with people you know who will appreciate this point of view.

Subscribe. Enjoy. Browse. Comment. Engage. Respect. Renew. Opt-In. Discuss. Reflect. Create. Delight in the differences and surprising common ground all people share.


Discussions include any topic running in tangent with storytelling.

The future belongs to those who tell the stories that shape dreams.

Subscribe to receive reminders of new posts and behind the scenes details by emailing "BHS NEWSLETTER" to: BillionHeroStudios@gmail.com

Share your favorite posts with other creative people who might enjoy them.

Comment and ask questions or make requests to stay fully engaged. 

Thank you for participating and collaborating in the storytelling experience.

What are your dreams waiting for? Begin.

Rick Arthur, founder
Billion Hero Studios

The power of storytelling

PROOF OF CONCEPT_UKRAINE EDITION_0000

 

  

 

The sunflower is the national flower of the Ukraine. It doesn't take a stable genius to see what naked aggression looks like. War is hideous.

"How can one man be so wrong?"

December 23, 2015 - two days before Christmas, Russia uses cyber warfare to attack the Ukraine power grid plunging thousands into darkness in frigid cold temperatures. Later, Vlad gets caught in a blood doping scandal at the Sochi Winter Olympics (2016) in what is described as a "culture of cheating."

July 25, 2019 - The topic of investigating the dealings of Joe Biden and his son Hunter in Ukraine is first floated in a phone call by then President Donald Trump in an effort to dig up dirt and smear his political opponent in an election.

January 6, 2021 - failed insurrection by Vlad's pals and admirers in the U.S. goes off the rails, but the goal of tarnishing the west and eroding democratic institutions succeeds. This is a proof of concept for large scale asymmetric psychological warfare. 

April, 2021 - Russian dissident Alexi Navalni ends a 24-day hunger strike after being poisoned by the Kremlin.

In 2022 - a Russian skater is caught and thoroughly exposed on the world stage using a banned substance during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Ukraine - Vlad dreamed this invasion for a long time, moving satellites, troops, and creating a massive, long-running disinformation campaign to mask what he was doing. He desperately wanted it to look like a response to aggression by Ukraine as a pretext to invasion. The ultimate goal: consolidate power, secure seaports, and expand territory.

The Ukraine response -

"$%#& You! We are NOT going to roll over!"

The World response, "We are not going to be bullied."

Vlad did this. He built it over a career of resentment toward the West. He is finished.


When approached by the West and asked if he wanted to be evacuated in the time of war, Ukrainian president Zelensky is quoted as saying: "I need ammunition, not a ride." In a remarkable display, he stood up to an advancing thug. How can we do anything less?


We all make mistakes, and no one is perfect. Each of us has our flaws. Each of us carries the burden of our regrets and mistakes. Vlad has been stewing in his own ambition and resentment for so long that he truly believed that the world would sit idly by and do nothing, NOTHING. He believed that there would be no consequences. He believed that it would be easy.

How wrong can one man be? Vlad needs to be brought before the world to answer for war crimes and whisked off the world stage. Bullies like him need to be taught a hard lesson that naked aggression will create a swift response. There must be consequences and anyone enabling him must also face the music.

It is better to stop a fire when it is small than when your house has already burned down.

Americans need to grow up and constantly evaluate their place in the world. It is a burden but with great power comes great responsibility. We helped secure decades of stability after World War II ended the myth of isolation as a way to insulate ourselves from the horrors of war. The temptation to retreat, hide our heads in the sand, and build a wall to keep the rest of the world out must be soundly, irrevocably rejected.

What should the response be when a bully invades its neighbor?

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Billion Hero Studios
The Power of Storytelling