Propaganda, RATLINE and the Right to Exist
In my day job as creative director for a marketing agency, we spend a lot of time discussing the “right to exist.” What about your product or service gives it the “right” to demand the attention — and possibly money — of a target market, or anyone for that matter?
As I’ve worked on my first IndieGogo campaign, I’ve thought about this a great deal. There are definitely friends and family who will support simply because they dig me (at least I hope that goes for you, Mom). But this advantage doesn’t apply to strangers — from whom I need support if I’m to succeed.
So why does the graphic novel RATLINE have the right to exist? Why should YOU — and yes, I’m looking at you, you handsome, literate, comic-book-loving devil — care about it at all?
1. RATLINE tells an original story
Did you know the U.S. government smuggled known Nazi war criminals out of Europe after World War II? And I’m not talking just rocket scientists here. I mean Operation Bloodstone — a concerted effort to use some of the worst people on the planet (ahem, Klaus Barbie) against our next anticipated enemies: the Russians.
So imagine that a Jane Bond-type — totally sold on the righteousness of America — is assigned to smuggle a Nazi out of Europe during the shit-show that was April, 1945 Europe.
Might there be a moral dilemma in the making? Mix that with visceral action sequences, enigmatic villains, triple-crosses and a crumbling continent — it’s a pretty good recipe for entertainment.
2. Girl power
In this day and age, a female lead really shouldn’t be a selling point… and yet, as we know from the dearth of female-centric stories, it is.
Many folks don’t know how many women served as undercover agents in World War II — ladies like Krystyna Skarbek (aka Christine Granville), who escaped by biting part of her tongue off to mimic tuberculosis or Virginia Hall, who was considered the most dangerous of allied spies by the German Gestapo. Most people don’t know about hairpin daggers and peel-able playing cards that contain hidden maps. Cool stuff!
Lead Hanna is an amalgam of these women, showcasing their efforts and celebrating their heroism. And she does it all with panache and good looks, of course.
3. The story is ideal for a graphic novel
While other mediums are constrained by time, access and economics, graphic novels allow a fairly low financial barrier to entry and unlimited space to create and absorb.
Hanna is a character who, like so many Clint Eastwood favorites, is a person of few words. It’s hard to get inside her head in the conventional sense — she’s not going to Dr. Explaino her life, after all: she’s a SPY.
To stay true to Hanna’s character, a graphic novel — one in which we can show both what she’s thinking and feeling, as well as build additional non-linear content (like the text chapters in WATCHMEN) — is perfect. Add to this the ability to draw detailed tableaus of war-torn Europe and dynamic fight sequences, and the medium just works.
So if you love graphic novels, and are tired of everything being a sequel, prequel or remake, you might think Ratline has the right to exist as well. I sincerely hope you do.
After all, you vote with your dollars AFTER someone else has determined what you’ll be interested in… why not vote beforehand and help shape it?
The link:
