Steemian vs. The Bear
The idea for this comic came to me during the darkest of times for the Steemit community. Almost a year ago, when the future of our platform was uncertain and we were already pummeled by a two year bear market. STEEM was closing in on an all time low and enthusiasm for the development and direction of Steemit reflected the price. I was venting with @lovejoy and @mada about how “The Bear” would be the perfect comic book villain, and then imagined a relentless fight scene against a representation of Steemit, embodied as a sympathetic hero.
I drew that first page for myself, more than anyone. I’ve been an active author and creator on Steemit for over three years, and cycled through the occasional optimism and far more frequent pessimism we’ve all experience. Drawing that first Steemian vs. The Bear comic was therapeutic for me and it seemed to resonate with the community. Maybe because it gave all of us someone to root for, or maybe just the chance to laugh about genuinely depressing. I decided to continue the comic and made a decision about how it would go forward.
Life Imitates Art
I made a decision that I wouldn’t get involved in the story of Steemian vs. The Bear. I wanted to let the market and STEEM’s standing determine the pace of the fight, which would be endless. That’s right. Like an epic Dragon Ball Z battle that lasts for three straight episodes, there’s no plan to end Steemian vs. The Bear. Sadly, since it’s inception, the story thus far has only been The Bear getting the upper hand. I’ve been waiting for turn around in the price, eager to sketch the first Steemian super kick, but as of now, he’s still the underdog according to market cap listings.
Price isn’t everything, though. Probably the most satisfying thing about this comic is finding opportunities to subtly include Steemit cultural references and current events within the comic. As the platform implemented Hive Mind, there was an opportunity to turn that in to Ironman-style defense grid. Even more recently, with the announcement of EOS Voice, an acknowledgement for Steemit to stay focused on the hard work being done on our own project whilst not getting distracted. I feel these nods to the real world make the comic unique and even more entertaining.
Steemian vs. The Bear Can Break the SPS Mold
When I first read about the STEEM DAO, I saw it as a chance to better the community. There aren’t many institutions in place to allocate funds for moonshots and passion projects short of taking a loan. Most of us are in the blockchain trenches and take for granted the immensity of what a DAO can be for developers. I haven’t coded in 15 years, so I assessed my other skillsets. Photography, as most of you know, is my living. Comics, though, has been a lifelong dream that I’m still trying to realize. DAO’s and SPS aren’t meant for comics, though. Or are they?
I told a close friend in the Steemit-verse my idea to propose Steemian vs. The Bear through the DAO and he laughed. It wasn’t an insulting “…it’ll never happen” laugh. It was that it was SO far out of left field he had no idea how it’d be received. That’s fair. I don’t think a continuous comics was on the short list of hypothetical proposals when the DAO was being built. The dev community building on STEEM is nothing short of remarkable, but we also have world class artists, which I’d argue is as big and as talented.
A Perfect Fit for Steemit
It’s my belief that artists should be taken seriously for SPS work proposals. Steemit Inc. has done the impossible in pulling the platform out of a death spiral. We are stable and growing. During the golden age of Steemit, circa 2017, we broke the top 1,000 sites globally on Alexa rankings and that is, in part, because there was something for everyone. I wholeheartedly believe that the artists, writers, musicians, poets and so on, were the backbone of Steemit at its best and should be valued as contributors.
I have several comics and writing projects in development, but Steemian vs. The Bear, I feel, meets all the criteria for a STEEM work proposal. It’s extremely STEEM centric and my hope is, it bolsters the progress and above all, enthusiasm within the Steemit community. Alt coins are still taking a beating, but think of how satisfying it’ll be when STEEM again breaks $1 and then read the first page of Steemian ass kicking! This comic gives a cultural commentary of Steemit.com as a platform and community.
Allocation and Use of Funds
The average independent comic book artist is paid $125 per page and a typical comic is 22 pages. That’s what I’m asking for in this Steemian vs. The Bear work proposal. $2,750 in a 30 day period. The funds would be used for work hours illustrating the comic and creative development. Once the first issue is finished, assuming it was received well, I’d love to submit a second proposal to continue the comic indefinitely. A PDF digital download would also be available for free to all Steemians and a print edition could be distributed through brick and mortar comic book shops across the world.
Daily pay request: 91.66 SBD for a duration of 30 days:
Start payments: October 1 2019 [Voting is already live]
End payments: November 1 2019.
Assuming this comic proposal meets the SPS threshold of support for funding, my hope is to further develop the comic, bringing industry level artists and colorists to the project. I want to faces of the characters to become iconic and synonymous with Steemit. A cultural representation of the victories we’ve celebrated and agonizing defeats we endured, still managing to dust ourselves off from and continue fighting. Additionally, to encourage more visual artists to consider SPS and DAO proposals for their work.
Credentials
I joined Steemit in August of 2016. I’ve been a consistent creator and contributor for over three years. I began initiatives such as Trial by Comics, a comic and art based contest on the platform and Trial by Comics: Exposé, which interviews comic book artists, writers and creators. I’ve spent much of the last two years curating and supporting the comic book community here on Steemit. Creators such like @drwatson, @la-fumettista, @veryspider, @scrawly, @bryan-imhoff and many others.
Thank you for considering Steemian vs. The Bear for SPS voting. This is only a proposal. If the threshold of support isn’t met for the STEEM DAO, the comic will continue, just at a gradual pace compared what it would be with funding. Every day when I log in to Steemit, the comics and art are what keep me most engaged. I’d love the opportunity to give Steemian vs. The Bear the time and attention it deserves. I hope you’ll consider voting on this project and make it a reality. Voting instructions are below. Thank you!
- Official Steemit Proposal: https://steemitwallet.com/proposals
- SteemPeak: https://steempeak.com/proposals
- SteemProposals: https://steemproposals.com/proposals
- SteemConnect: https://steemconnect.com
Awesome illustrations but i dont see this benefiting Steem in any way beyond the regular quality content necessity.
See this is the thing. Your illustrations should be voted to top of trending and stuff like steemworld should be funded by the SPS.
Your content should be showcasing the variety Steem should have and dev projects like Steemchillers should be getting funding from SPS.
Unfortunately since this doesnt provide much value outside showing what steem should be i cant support this for SPS and i dont think any stake holder should, but i can support it in the sense that content like this should be trending and supported by votes much more frequently.
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Ultimately, I'm happy to have any support I can get. Whether this finds support with the community or not, I do hope it expands the scope of what SPS can be. I think it's accepted to be a dev work funding platform, but in my opinion, it should be more than that.
I'd argue that this work proposal being funded would most certainly bring people to the platform. If I was able to turn out a monthly Steemian vs. The Bear comic, it shows there's a center of gravity around Steemit as a community [...much of which includes artists]. A print copy of the book, which I mentioned, could sit on shelves in brick and mortar comic stores like @blewitt's, and with as much as I travel potentially all over the world.
This is going to have to a be a community debate so I'm happy to start it. STEEM DAO is brand new and the community will vote accordingly. I won't be offended if it doesn't find funding, and I'm not offended that you'll passing on funding it yourself, @lordbutterfly. Like I said, I'm more than grateful for general content reward support. Unless I'm making $100 in rewards per page, though, it'll be months if not years before I can finish an actual book or graphic novel.
I unapologetically represent the artist community here and there needs to be a distinction going forward between what is "content" and what is a "project". Off the top of my head, I think about things like a Steemit documentary, for example. A podcast? Would any of these qualify for a SPS proposal? If so, why? If not, why not? As a stake holder myself and someone who has come to value the principle that I have a say in what this blockchain should be, I do want to see the STEEM DAO support creative initiatives, in addition to the development based projects...regardless of if this succeeds or not.
I appreciate the kind words on the work and the comment, @lordbutterfly.
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I definitely vouch and support for your project. You are one of the most talented, dedicated, supportive, and generous Steemians around, and I do think your comic deserves to be funded by the community.
If it is successfully voted, this project will bring buzz and excitement to artists inside and outside of Steemit, making it a good advertisement to people outside that it is financially beneficial to join Steemit and also to maintain talents inside this community.
And it's a pretty good looking comic as well, with interesting real take about how Steem is doing. It might also work as an introduction of Steem for the casual mainstream audience. I really think it should be made :).
Good luck Lars!
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I love this idea, and it appeals to me cuz of a few reasons:
I absolutely 100% support this!!!
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Thank you, @veryspider! @arseniclullaby made a pretty good ranting post about the heavy influence on the tech side and dev ecosystem of Steemit and how it has it's place, but it isn't what brings "normal people", normies is what I'm going to say, to Steemit. I think something like that could. It's therapeutic for me, and surprisingly for a lot of other Steemians...even if for the time it's just our hero getting the shit beat out of him. As @bryan-imhoff said, this is a real edge case of the potential utility of the SPS, so we'll see. I was definitely going to try it, though :P
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Yep, I'm all for it :D For sure! Voted and also tweeted about this through the OCD external curation initiative! :D Good luck, Lars!!! :D
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Yes to all that!
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Not a day goes by when I don’t have to explain what Steemit is...
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You know you’ve got my support! It really is an interesting first “edge case” test of the DAO! It’ll be really interesting to see what support you garner! I’d like to see a bit more in your proposal about marketing and how this will be an outreach for Steem. After all, posted here it’s just preaching to the choir! Maybe you could release the pages on WebToons, or target some other online communities that could be intrigued and recruited with this awesome narrative!
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At its heart it really is just a marketing sponsorship which is well within the range of things the DAO should support. I seem to recall the Dogecoin community funding a bit of a NASCAR sponsorship at one point...
So the trick will be getting some solid exposure, excitement, and press out of Steemian vs. the Bear in both the crypto and comics worlds!
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It is sad to see how apparently they do not give enough importance to long-term projects. It is necessary to continue calling attention to steemit and I believe that this initiative could engage a constant audience that visits to see your work and stays to know more.
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Make sure you've made the correct differentiation between Steemit and Steem. Steem is the whole blockchain and ecosystem. Steemit is an application on top of it.
Anyway, Good luck! 👍
~Smartsteem Curation Team
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Yeah, that's true @smartsteem. Whoever is winning the fight will be determined by the current price of STEEM, but things like the "NED defense protocol being unresponsive" will always be inspired by actual Steemit events, if you get me :P
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Awesome post
You really are a great artist's soul.
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Beautiful Story
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Supported! Good luck man :)
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Thanks, @midlet! We'll see what happens! :P
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Hello!
This post has been manually curated, resteemed
and gifted with some virtually delicious cake
from the @helpiecake curation team!
Much love to you from all of us at @helpie!
Keep up the great work!
Manually curated by @veryspider.
@helpie is a Community Witness.
For more information about our project,
please visit this month’s UPDATE post.
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I love the idea of this comic, and I wonder if it would make a good Fundition project...?
I'd definitely support it.
I'll resteem this.
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I have a project I'm doing with my co-creator @ghostfish called @coppercoins that's lined up for a @fundition launch, @shaidon. It's a horror anthology, and it doesn't really have anything to do with Steemit, which is why I felt it wasn't a good fit for SPS Proposal. Steemian vs. The Bear is entirely Steemit-centric, so I thought I'd try a proposal. As a friend of mine mentioned above, this is a very edge case scenario for the DAO, and it was going to happen eventually. I decided to be the first to try a creative project initiative that doesn't involve code or dev work. We'll see. Thanks for the support and the resteem!
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I look forward to seeing both projects come to fruition. I do think Steem vs Bear will be an awesome story, reflecting our moods along Steems journey, especially if decade from now it has done what Bitcoin has done in terms of pricing and Steem becomes victorious.
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Hello Lars, how are you doing? What a great comic. I think Steemit is the right media to promote your comic. You are very good at thinking for the future , Lars. Doing several jobs at the same time is really very profitable. I hope your comic will be successful. Have a nice day, sir
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These recent changes in the platform have aroused tremendous interest in those who want to continue fighting for steemit. But it has discouraged many people. I personally let myself be dragged by a wave of pessimism. I will take as an example your proposal, to continue developing me in the direction that I decided to take.
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This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
@c-squared runs a community witness. Please consider using one of your witness votes on us here
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Love your post!
Also, really dig your dynamic panels. Not only are the drawings great, but your flow and composition is rock solid. 👍
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Thank you, @secora! You have no idea how big of a compliment that is for me. I'm only a few years in to realizing the subtle differences between artwork that looks amazing and sequential artwork that clearly tells a story and portrays what's happening in the comic. Very different things and very different skillsets.
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You're very welcome! keep up the great work!
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Yes yes yes!! This sounds and looks amazing. Will help push as much as I can. I think it’s crucial this gets made (preferably at a quicker pace for sure) 🔥🔥🔥
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please consider using the #creativecoin tag on your creative posts! our curators are actively looking for and promoting creativity in all of its many aspects!
more information * server invite
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We definitely need more art on trending and not just posts about Steem. I'll give you some support.
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I wouldn't vote it as an sps proposal as I don't see the long term benefit to the eco-system but i will absolutely vote it for being quality and well created content. Great post, and a serious talent for drawing and comic creation.
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Wow, this is awesome, I can also remake using Stickman animator app
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Sup Dork?!? Enjoy the Upvote!!! Keep up with the dorky content for more love!!!
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I’ll totally support. I’ll read properly this weekend when I have a moment.
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I wholeheartedly support this initiative and will urge others to do so as well.
I mean, ask yourself... what other blockchain has its own comic?!
There is so much potential here on Steem and Steemit, and now with the introduction of the Steem Proposal System, we must not sheepishly follow the well-worn path of yesteryear.
Marketing related endeavors are definitely a part of the bigger SPS picture. What's needed is an open discussion on what portions of the SPS funds are being used to fund Marketing, Development, Business Development, and so forth.
Some while back there was a community marketing initiative which sort-of fizzled out, and NOW, here is a stake based funding mechanism to fuel whatever projects the community decides will bring value to the Steem blockchain!
What other blockchain-project can boast this level of community-directed funding? ...besides BitShares of course, the pioneer of "paid by protocol".
Do it! Be prudent but be daring! We don't have time to sit on our hands anymore and wonder what might be possible. Test the limits of what is possible and do it now! Help us tell the stories which will carry the Steem into the hearts and minds of the masses.
Also, I will personally vouch for @kommienezuspadt as one of the hardest working creative minds we have! As stakeholders and believers in the potential of Steem we should be so lucky to have such a tireless advocate for our community. Let's support this effort.
Sincerely,
@Lovejoy
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Wow! but this is FANTASTIC! I love each picture and the sounds you added to accompany all the action are incredible, I admit that I yelled each of them madly, it's exciting! I've seen the arrival of @bryan-imhoff since the beginning of his comic and it's great to see how it grows over time. The same goes for you, when you published the first page it was great and I know that the Steemians loved the proposal and these pages I know that it made many people vibrate.
Regards.
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You have my support and good luck with the project:) I saw some of the pages at previous posts and the technique and idea are top. I think it would be a great opportunity to advertise steem and an exciting graphic novel:)
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Done mofo!
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