The Unsung Hero’s Journey: What comics, online content, and cyber security have in common
How do you teach people to understand, much less care, about cyber security if they don’t know about it in the first place? This is the problem that a duo of out-of-the-box thinkers set out to solve…
The Unsung: Volume 1 story begins with an admission that “cybersecurity is its own world…that most people don’t see or even know if it’s there.”
This is the very problem that security professionals lament. How do you teach people to understand, much less care, about security if they don’t know much about it in the first place?
Glenton Davis and Kirsten Soelling set out on a mission to educate sales teams about cybersecurity, not through a webinar series or another slide deck…but through a comic series. In Volume 1 of The Unsung, the IT pros of Anyco face a myriad of foes attempting to breach their organization’s defenses, resulting in lost customers, fines, lawsuits, and broken trust. Through an interactive comic book, readers follow the Unsung heroes as they despair, regroup, and fight back. A few months after the release of Volume 1, Glenton and Kirsten reflect on why comics resonate with audiences of all ages, and why effective storytelling remains the most effective tool for change.
Let’s first talk about your choice to tell this story through the medium of comic books. Why comics?
Glenton: I have no innate love for comic books, but I do have an innate love for customers and wanted to find mediums that resonate with them. If I needed to launch a pop up circus, I would have done that!
Kirsten: To generalize, comic book culture is a niche group . There is a sense of belonging within this culture — people who appreciate excitement and creativity, and share a desire to believe that the greater good will triumph. Security is also a niche topic, and so comic books seemed like a great way to create a sense of community and belonging, rather than appealing to our audience based on their job titles and responsibilities. We wanted to connect with people as people — and comic books have always done that.
We wanted to connect with people as people — and comic books have always done that.
Did you draw inspiration from stories that are significant to you?
Kirsten: X-Men was a beloved comic for me. I loved and appreciated the concept that the people who don’t belong end up being the salvation.
Glenton: Stories that mean a lot to me are stories about the hero’s journey: Zootopia, The Secret Life of Pets, etc. What those stories have in common is a protagonist that is underutilized, slept on, or marginalized, and whether through external factors or their own grit, struggle and find their way to the other side. This is classic Joseph Campbell — the hero or heroine gets the call, struggles to answer the call, and then embarks on a journey to manifest their potential. I imagine that’s how our IT pros feel.
The hero or heroine gets the call, struggles to answer the call, and then embarks on a journey to manifest their potential. I imagine that’s how our IT pros feel.
Developing a comic about security was a creative, but potentially risky project. Why did you choose to make this “big bet”?
Glenton: Content deluge is real; the internet produces so much noise, and consumers are wary of being sold to. We have no choice but to be transformative and highly credible right out of the gate, to overcome distrust in a world of content overload. Our message about security is important and urgent, but overcoming content deluge also demands urgency. We had to be really good.
Overcoming content deluge demands urgency. We had to be really good.
Kirsten: For me, it’s about credibility. We are asking people to suspend the reality of their everyday job to come on this unexpected journey with us. In comics, superheroes fly and have all sorts of powers — so the medium allows us to get outside the constraints of reality. We had to do our very best with the story, to be responsible with that creative power. If we had told this story through a training film with live actors, we would have a tough time transporting people.
Can you share an example of a creative challenge you faced as you developed the story?
Glenton: We intentionally did not give The Unsung [characters] names, because we wanted the audience to “be” them, to see themselves as part of the storyline — not “Azure AD Girl” or “Microsoft 365 Man”. But then, the Sage [a wise mentor character to The Unsung] shows up when The Unsung hit their very bottom and need an external force to get out of their situation. I really struggled with whether the Sage needed a backstory or not. I am so grateful for Kirsten’s genius that helped give credence to the Sage’s arc.
Kirsten: I felt that The Sage didn’t need a backstory. Think about the stories we knew as kids and still love into adulthood — what makes the magic possible is your optimism and willingness to go along with the imagination. Disney doesn’t explain Jiminy Cricket and the Fairy Godmother; they are just part of the story. Does anyone know where Yoda went to college? We just trust there are good people and good forces, and that there is help out there.
What makes the magic [of stories] possible is your optimism and willingness to go along with the imagination.
What lessons about storytelling have you taken away from this experience?
Glenton: So often, companies equate storytelling with instruction giving. Storytelling cannot be a selfish act! Too often people try to take business goals and shove them on their audience. With “The Unsung”, we never lost sight of connecting and empathizing with our recipients.
So often, companies equate storytelling with instruction giving. Storytelling cannot be a selfish act!
Kirsten: Our initial goal was to train our sellers — so it was very meta. We had to lead by example, using storytelling to teach people how to tell stories. More than structure or medium, storytelling is about bypassing the rational brain and tapping into the emotional aspects of who we are as people. You might remember facts, but what sticks is how you feel — that’s where excitement and engagement comes from.
You might remember facts, but what sticks is how you feel — that’s where excitement and engagement comes from.
Glenton: We didn’t start by telling a security story. We started by reverse engineering “what makes a good story” and then put security in it. Neither of us were comic book aficionados, but we realized how resonant “The Unsung” was when an engineer showed up to discuss our plans for Volume 2 in a full superhero costume.
Kirsten: That’s how you know if it’s a good story, when the message is clear in its retelling.
Check out The Unsung: Volume 1 to learn more. You can follow Glenton on LinkedIn and Twitter, and Kirsten on LinkedIn.
