Heroes Fallen Studios Inc. News>>>>>>Well it looks like what I started in December 2008 is really catching on. Check out the Web Postings I have found on the net!
DARPA
SB112-003
TITLE: Online Graphic Novel/Sequential Art Authoring Tools for Therapeutic
Storytelling
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Human Systems
OBJECTIVE: Develop user-friendly authoring tools to help Service Members express combat-related experiences through personal narratives in a graphic novel/sequential art format that will enable them to process their memories and emotions through healthy, constructive activities.
DESCRIPTION: Art Therapy and narrative are both useful techniques for helping individuals traumatized by life experiences process memories and channel emotions through a healthy outlet. Narratives related to experiences do not necessarily have to be veridical representations of history. A good example of channeling emotion and memories related to combat experiences into storytelling is Joe Haldeman’s, “Forever War” published in 1974 and winning both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in which Haldeman translates experiences and feelings related to the Vietnam War into a Science Fiction theme. Graphic novels/sequential art have rich traditions of high-quality artwork and rich storytelling related to combat experiences as exemplified in the 1951 series, “Frontline Combat” and the 1966 series, “Blazing Combat”. Considered political in their day for their stark portrayals of war, both are now considered hallmarks of the genre both stylistically and in the emotionality of their content. Likewise the recent work of Garry Trudeau has chronicled the road to recovery following combat injuries with both humor and sensitivity. The current effort is aimed at providing authoring toolkits to allow Service members and Veterans to relate their own stories via a graphic novel/sequential art format of equally high quality.
The goal is to create web-based software with a simple interface that assists in both storytelling and graphical content creation that can relate experiences either directly or metaphorically. While providing simple-to-use authoring tools, the results should have the look and feel of a professional product and provide the flexibility of telling a wide range of stories. For example, content creation could relate to modern combat, historical combat, science fiction, or fantasy. But, the authoring tools MUST allow the user to draw from a library of artwork, icons, and other templates to assist them in telling a story related to combat experiences. The software tools must assist the user at every opportunity to tell a story and the end result should be a professional looking narrative comparable to the best graphic novels/sequential art. The tool should also include pre-prepared examples of full-stories that can be used for inspiration and guidance. Innovation is key to this program and software must be designed to inspire, encourage, and guide users in the development of their own storylines and to guide them to additional resources if they are interested in exploring and/or obtaining personalized support and services.
Proposals MUST reflect team expertise in developing professional narrative, especially web comics and/or graphic novels/sequential art. Preference will be given to teams who demonstrate expertise in content development, military expertise, and psychological health. One of the goals of this program is to determine the best way to use these narratives tools. Can they be a stand-alone resource? Can they be used as an aid to formal therapy? Is this approach safe and effective? Therefore, teams must be well-rounded.
Innovation in the program is seen in the areas of user-interface design, flexibility of tool to tell a wide-range of stories, and the quality of the artwork and storytelling produced by the tool. Metrics for success should be clearly specified and should take into account both usability and psychological health issues.
PHASE I: Develop a conceptual design and model key elements for art therapy and narrative authoring tools that will allow service members to tell their own stories related to deployment experiences in a simple, intuitive Web Browser based graphic novel/sequential art format. In preparation for Phase II, develop a robust methodology with clear metrics for assessing usability, user acceptance, and effectiveness of the web tool. It is important to note that there will be no human use testing in Phase I.
Test key hypotheses by developing, constructing, and testing prototype subsystems. Determine best methods for using the tool (online, integral part of therapy, or both). Phase I deliverables should include a Final Phase I report that includes: (1) a detailed design of the art therapy and storytelling therapy authoring tools with storyboards for user interface and design at a minimum, (2) experimental results from such toolsets, and (3) a Phase II plan.
PHASE II: Develop, demonstrate, and validate a proof of concept design of the web based art therapy and storytelling therapy authoring tools. Produce a prototype art therapy and storytelling therapy authoring tools on a standalone system with the expectations of integrating into a network deployable web based health care system to be identified at the Phase III timeframe. The required deliverable for Phase II will include: the prototype system, demonstration and testing of the prototype system, and a Final Report. The Final Report will include (1) a detailed design of the prototype art therapy and storytelling therapy authoring toolsets, (2) the experimental results from such toolsets, and (3) a plan for Phase III.
PHASE III: In Phase III, delivery of mature web based art therapy and storytelling therapy authoring tools that will allow service members to tell their own stories related to deployment experiences in a simple, intuitive Web Browser based graphic novel/sequential art format that would be delivered and integrated into a military medical health system would be expected.
Potential dual use of the toolset could be applied to the commercial medical health services for as useful techniques for helping “non-military” individuals traumatized by life experiences process memories and channel emotions through a healthy outlet. Tools can also be used to develop educational tools for children to include the development of language skills and narrative ability.
REFERENCES:
1. Andrews, D. H., T. d. Hull, et al. (2009). "Storytelling as an Instructional Method: Descriptions and Research Questions." The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning Vol. 3(No. 2): 18 pp.
2. Collie, K., A. Backos, et al. (2006). "Articles - Art Therapy for Combat-Related PTSD: Recommendations for Research and Practice." Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association 23(4): 8 pp.
3. Eisner, W. (1985). Comics & Sequential Art: Principles & Practice of the Worlds Most Popular Art Form, Expanded to include print and computer. Tamarac, FL, Poorhouse Press.
4. Eisner, W. (1996). Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative. Tamarac, FL, Poorhouse Press.
5. Goodman, A. (2010), Blazing Combat. Seattle, WA. Fantagraphics Books.
6. Haldeman, J. (1974). The Forever War, St. Martin's Press.
7. Haven, C. (2010). "Stanford Class Creates Graphic Novels, from Concept to Finished books." Stanford University News Retrieved 11-02-2010, 2010, from http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/october/graphic-novel-project-102810.html.
8. Kurtzman, H. (2008). The EC Archives: Frontline Combat, York, PA. Gemstone Publishing.
9. McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc..
10. Trudeau, G (2005), The Long Road Home, Andrews McMeel Publishing.
KEYWORDS: Graphic Novel, Sequential Art, Web, Therapy, Storytelling, Trauma, Life Experiences, Memories, Emotions, Combat Experiences, PTSD, psychological health, mental health
Defense Department to Use Comic Books as 'Art Therapy'
A mid-20th Century example of a war-themed comic book. Credit: Marxchivist, via Flickr.com
Carvings in ancient Egyptian temples paired pictures and words to illustrate the great battles of their days. Japanese wood block prints detailed massive samurai battles. Medieval European tapestries used sequential art to commemorate the combat between Normans and native Englishmen.
Throughout human history, people have used comic book-like art forms to document the horror and valor of war, and now American defense scientists think continuing that tradition by producing online comic books could help veterans overcome post-traumatic stress disorder.
On Tuesday, April 26, DARPA, the Defense Department's research wing, put out a call for "user-friendly authoring tools to help service members express combat-related experiences through personal narratives in a graphic novel/sequential art format." They believe that by producing their own personal comic books, servicemen and women can confront their wartime stresses in a productive and healthy way.
"Art therapy and narrative are both useful techniques for helping individuals traumatized by life experiences process memories and channel emotions through a healthy outlet," reads the online Defense Department solicitation. "The goal is to create web-based software with a simple interface that assists in both storytelling and graphical content creation that can relate experiences either directly or metaphorically. While providing simple-to-use authoring tools, the results should have the look and feel of a professional product and provide the flexibility of telling a wide range of stories. For example, content creation could relate to modern combat, historical combat, science fiction, or fantasy."
Called the "Online Graphic Novel/Sequential Art Authoring Tools for Therapeutic Storytelling," the finished product, as outlined in the document, would allow veterans to go online, mix premade images and icons with user-generated art, and produce a finished comic book the confronts their personal relationship to war either realistically or in a sci-fi/fantasy form.
The DARPA product request goes into unusually nerdy detail for a government document, mentioning Joe Haldeman's novel "The Forever War," the comic strip "Doonesbury," and the comic books "Frontline Combat" and "Blazing Combat" as inspirations for the program.
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Pentagon Plots Comic Book Therapy for Troops
- By David Axe
- April 29, 2011 |
- 7:00 am |
- Categories: Military Life
-
- Follow @daxe
The fighting was furious — and entirely one-sided. While on patrol in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia province in December 2002, paratroopers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division had taken a wrong turn and blundered straight into one of Paktia’s isolated villages. The villagers weren’t Taliban or even Taliban sympathizers. But they were heavily armed — and determined to keep the Americans out.
AK-47–armed men opened fire from inside mud huts and behind stone walls. The American commander, recognizing his mistake, ordered his men not to shoot back. Bullets pinged off the doors and roofs of unarmored Humvees. Still, the Americans held their fire. The paratroopers’ restraint, even in the face of mortal danger, was the most incredible thing that one 26-year-old Air Force controller had ever seen.
Eight years later, Tech. Sgt. Phoebus Lazaridis was back in Afghanistan on his third combat tour. He lived alongside soldiers in remote outposts, coordinating air strikes against the Taliban. By 2010, Lazaridis had seen as much war as any American combatant, and had a Bronze Star — pinned on his chest by U.S. House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2009 — to prove it.
It was on that third deployment, to Kunar province north of Paktia, that Lazaridis turned to a childhood passion, in an effort to understand himself and his war experiences. He began drawing comics again, years after the aspiring artist had put down his pens and pencils to join the Air Force. Lazaridis’ unpublished graphic novel Silver Shields, set during the ancient Greek invasion of Afghanistan more than two millenniums ago, is a metaphor for his — and America’s — involvement in the “Graveyard of Empires.”
Today the Pentagon is looking to expand on personal projects such as Lazaridis’. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — the military’s fringe-science wing — has launched an initiative meant to encourage U.S. troops returning from war to tell their own stories in comics form. They’ve given the the program a cumbersome, miljargon name, “Online Graphic Novel/Sequential Art Authoring Tools for Therapeutic Storytelling.” But the goal is fascinating: to help troops “process their memories and emotions” in a “graphic novel/sequential art format.”
If it survives Darpa’s sometimes fickle management process, the war-comics initiative could capitalize on, and even expand, a deep but mostly unheralded groundswell of comics written for, by and about veterans of the Afghan war. But the program also risks exposing the public to some of the ugliest emotional vestiges of the decade-old conflict.
Comics as Therapy
More than most recent conflicts, the Afghanistan war has been steeped in comics — a truth that Darpa seems to recognize.
Consider, for example, the art slideshow at the top of this post’s first page. The 10 pages recounting the Paktia ambush were drawn by acclaimed comics artist Greg Scott after I, a graphic novelist in my own right, dragged him to Kunar last year so he could see the war for himself.
Our work-in-progress, The ‘Stan, is a comic book about comic books about Afghanistan, featuring Lazaridis, his Silver Shields and other sequential art. And, like the Darpa program, it’s a kind of therapy for veteran troops (and reporters) seeking to understand their time at war.
“Art therapy and narrative are both useful techniques for helping individuals traumatized by life experiences process memories and channel emotions through a healthy outlet,” Darpa notes in its solicitation for the comics initiative. The research agency wants industry to produce “web-based software with a simple interface that assists in both storytelling and graphical content creation.”
“Content creation could relate to modern combat, historical combat, science fiction or fantasy,” the solicitation continues. “But, the authoring tools must allow the user to draw from a library of artwork, icons and other templates to assist them in telling a story related to combat experiences.”
The end result would be “instant” DIY comics that can be “integrated into a military medical health system.” Exactly how the comics will be integrated is still evolving. “One of the goals of this program is to determine the best way to use these narrative tools,” Darpa says.
Technically, it’s not a huge challenge. Commercial comics-creation software has been around for years. And thousands of creators publish web-based autobiographical and nonfiction comics every day.
Moreover, the U.S. Navy has already thought hard about how comics can help its sailors deal with combat stress. One result is The Docs, a Navy-published comic book meant to expose new medical corpsmen to some of the sights and feelings they might experience in combat. (See above.)
For the Pentagon, one risk in asking troops to create their own comics is that the results might clash with the military’s PR efforts. Thousands of military public-relations professionals work long hours putting the most appealing spin possible on the war effort … and on the reactions of individual troops to their time in combat. If the Darpa graphic-novel project works as advertised, it could produce stories that one Marine-turned-comics-creator describes as “very depressing.”
“Ready to Kill Anybody“
Robert LeHeup, now 29, joined the Marine Corps in 2000. He did two combat tours in Afghanistan — in Kandahar in 2001 and a stint in Kabul two years later. Today, several years out of the Corps, LeHeup (pictured above) is a Columbia, South Carolina, filmmaker and comics writer whose subject matter almost always deals with the war, whether directly or metaphorically.
In fact, it was during his violent, chaotic tour in Kabul that LeHeup decided to start creating comics. “The idea that I might not last made it so I had to get a legacy going,” he says.
His first completed graphic-novel script was an epic tale of revenge and self-discovery starring an amnesiac assassin named Odin. It’s not hard to see how much of himself LeHeup invested in the assassin character. “He’s trying to save the last vestige of hope,” LeHeup says of Odin.
“Everything I now write has to do with struggle,” LeHeup says. That’s something with which he’s intimately familiar — even today, years removed from the battlefield. Seeing and inflicting so much death and destruction during his time in Afghanistan transformed LeHeup in ways he’s not always proud of. “It was both one of the proudest things I’ve ever done and one of the most humbling things I’ve ever done,” he says of his war service. “Humbling because of what a straight-up horrible person I was, ready to kill anybody.”
Last year, LeHeup wrote a two-page autobiographical comic (Page 1 and Page 2), drawn by Robin Everett-McGuirl, that illustrates this duality. True and therapeutic, the black-and-white comic is precisely the kind of thing Darpa apparently has in mind — and also exactly the sort of thing that could embarrass the military if the comics leaked into general circulation.
Turns out, it’s one thing to hear or read about brutal combat and its psychological effects on combatants. It’s quite another to see them represented graphically. That’s a distinction LeHeup appreciates. “Ninety percent of perception is visual,” he points out.
Still, LeHeup thinks the graphic-novels-as-therapy project could help troops who might otherwise resist discussing their experiences. “People are not going to want to write poetry,” he says. “Comics might be dorky, but they’re cool dorky.” But the Pentagon will need to impose rigorous structure — “a class or something,” LeHeup says — to make sure troops actually finish their comics.
After all, not all combat vets will be as motivated to create comics as Lazaridis, LeHeup, Scott and myself.
Just don’t expect miracles from comics or any other method of teasing out troops’ stories, the former Marine cautions. “You can trim those bitches down,” LeHeup says of traumatic wartime memories. “But once it’s taken root, you can’t pull it up. You’d have to lose clumps of memory — good luck!”
Photo: Robert LeHeup (David Axe)
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David Axe reports from war zones, shoots television and writes comic books.Follow @daxe and @warisboring on Twitter.
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