I got in touch with Alexander, a talented Ukranian visual artist, through Victoria Van Eyk who interviewed Troy Fearow from Cryptoart for Issue 21 (Spring/Summer 2014). Alexander agreed to design the next cover, and I gave him full freedom to do whatever he wanted.
He came back with a draft that had two naked women having sex, with the dominant women forcefully biting the lower woman's mouth.
There was blood all over the place.
Alexander said this image represented some of what he felt when he thought about the history between Russia and the Ukraine.
My team saw the image and the vote came back saying we needed a different less violent version.
When I look back, I'm not sure if I made the right decision.
Here is a sketch of the second draft he sent me.
He described the two women behind the first as Hecate, the greek god who could bring people back to life. With Hecate being able to revive the dead came at a steep cost. Some other person would have to die.
Alexander said this was the next best image that reflected his experience as a Ukrainian.
It was the edgiest cover we had published, and even though I would love to travel the multiverse to see the reaction from the first cover, I am happy with that entire issue.
Here is a video with part of my old team where we introduced Issue 21 and answer questions for Bitcoin newbies.
Notes:
The image is from the youtube video. The people with me from left to right are: MK Lords, Julia Tourianski, John Bush( @sovereignbtc ), and Ryan.