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Arthawk Entertainment Launches The AEON Kickstarter to Bring Affordable Entertainment Back, And Help Get Professional Creators Out of Development Hell

Published Sun, 08 Jun 2014 19:00:41 -0500

Company Name: Arthawk Entertainment Inc.

Project Title: The AEON (The Arthawk Entertainment Online Network)

Creators Involved: Alex Simmons– Writer/Creator of "Blackjack" (Co-Founder/Editor-In-Chief). Christopher M. Taylor- Creator/Writer/Artist of "Space Station Orbiter: Cloud 99" (Co-Founder/Creative). Derrick A. Richardson-Co-Creator/Artist/Writer: "Action Angels International", & "I Am Power Unlimited" (Founder/CEO). James H. Allen (Posthumously)- Co-Creator/Writer: "Action Angels International", & "I Am Power Unlimited". Jessie Lasaten Founder & CEO, Cutting Edge Productions- (Animation Co-Production Partner). Mike Kunkel (Animation Consultant). Jean-Francois Jézéquel Founder & CEO-Challeng2Media- (Technical Consultant). End of Kickstarter: July 2, 2014 10:00am. Beta Site Launch: June 2014. Global Site Launch: Summer 2014

Pitch: Arthawk Entertainment launches Kickstarter for The AEON Transmedia Platform: Stories Combining Animation, Comics, & Games, by Professional Creators (we've worked for Disney, Time Warner, Sony, etc.) On Any Internet Device, For Free. We're Starting a Revolution :)

Empowering users. Freeing Professional Creatives from Development Hell. Affordable Entertainment Available Anywhere, Anytime, In Any Language. Globally.

Derrick A. Richardson writes,

Tiger-Man, Planet of Vampires, & C.C. Beck's Shazam comic from the 70s.

These were my first comics ever. They set off a chain reaction explosion of awe, joy, & creativity that lasts to this day.

It powered my efforts, and success at becoming a comic book artist. Working with my friend & mentor Paris Cullins' Maximum Overtime Studios, I was fortunate to do art on books from Marvel, DC, Malibu, Omni, & Comico. I also was an art assistant for my friend & peer Christopher M. Taylor, on DC's Bloodpack, and Legion of Superheroes and Marvel's Power Rangers.

Now both myself, and my team want to bring that sense of awe, joy and imagination to others. We're combining the digital distribution power of the Internet, an elegant user interface, & an international team of animators, comics professionals, & game developers. The end results will introduce a platform that is literally a first of it's kind.

We're building worlds… The AEON is here! And we've launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring it fully online!

Under the old adage that "you have to crawl, before you can walk", we want to get the first comic, animated episodes and mini-game done first, so people can actually see it all.

We decided to take this platform concept directly to the people who'll use it. We don't want outside investors, if we don't have to do so. We want the people who get this, YOU, to help us build it.

There were two main ideas that started me down the five-year path leading to this moment.

One, "The internet enables distribution of content to anyone, anywhere there's an Internet enabled device".

And two, "Entertainment has gotten way too expensive".

We all know this. I know I'm dating myself, but in 1975, comics at the newsstand I went to were 25 cents. I could, and did, buy ten comics at a time, with more than enough money to go to the double feature at the Ritz, AND get popcorn & a soda.

Now? Now, to get ten comic books runs you $39.90 a week. $159.60 a month, $1,915.20 a year.

And from what I'm seeing, they're about to go up to $4.99. For around 15 minutes or so of entertainment value, per comic.

Movies? The day of the double feature is long gone. In it's place? To go see the latest 3D Summer blockbuster here in Philadelphia, PA. where I live, will set you back $15.50 per adult, $12.50 per child. So for a family of four to go to the movies these days, it's going to cost them $56.00. Factor in popcorn, nachos, soda, parking, & gas, and we're easily looking at over $150.00. A movie.

We used to go to the arcade. One quarter a game. If you were good (and we got REALLY good), you could stay in the arcade all day with less than $5.00. Now? Games for the new consoles from Sony & Microsoft cost $ 70.00 a pop retail.

The entertainment industry is pricing itself out of an audience.

Now I love animation, comics, films, & games. LOVE THEM. I want to see them prosper and thrive … 30,000 print comics sold in a nation of over 300 million, is not thriving.

Enter…The AEON.

I noticed that the free to play business model has taken the world by storm. The phenomenal success of titles like "Candy Crush Saga", "Clash of Clans", & "League of Legends", show the power of allowing players to choose what & if they spend for games. Free to play is steadily dismantling the paid games industry.

And then I had an idea. What about free to read comics? Free to view animation & film? What about COMBINING ALL THREE?

The concept went off in my head like a supernova.

Through hard work, and more than a little bit of luck & fate, I've been able to gather an amazing team. Our launch series Blackjack has that seat of your pants Action/Adventure reminiscent of the best pulps, & movie serials that movies like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" were influenced by.

Our other upcoming series, like Christopher M. Taylor's "Space Station Orbiter: Cloud 99", "Action Angels International", and "I Am Power Unlimited" both Co-Created by myself and my friend & writing partner, the late James Allen, all have the same Summer blockbuster spectacle, with solid story philosophy, without the blockbuster price.

All of our series are transmedia. "What the heck is transmedia?" you ask? Combining different media to tell different parts of the same story, is what's known as "Transmedia".

So you'll not only read Blackjack's comic book adventures monthly, you'll also view bi-weekly animated shorts, and play mini-games, and then full games. All of which tell different facets of the same story, or series universe.

And you can read, view, & play it all for free. If you want to purchase in-game items, and exclusive content, you can. But you don't need to in order to enjoy each series.

To our knowledge, this has never been done before. This is the power of transmedia at work.

All of this will be on our global site, to be completed in Summer of 2015. The site will not only allow for streaming of our content worldwide, but it will also have the ability to be viewed & read in 10 of the major languages of the world. Our technical consultant, Jean-Francois Jézéquel, of Challenge2Media, has over a decade of experience building digital media & OTT distribution systems for some of the biggest media companies in Europe.

Our animation, both 2D & 3D CGI, will be done by Jessie Lasaten's Cutting Edge Productions, based in the Phillipines. Mike Kunkel introduced us, and we all hit it off from the beginning.

Besides heading a kickbut animation/VFX/Music production company, Jessie's also an award winning composer. He created the pulse-pounding theme you hear during our Blackjack teaser on our Kickstarter.

We're in discussions with a game developer familiar to lovers of quality indie games. They've been a massive help so far and the success of this campaign will allow us to add their name to our team.

Our programming plans also include fun and eye-opening productions for kids and families. Imagine helping children from different countries learn more about their commonalities as well as the positive side of the differences.

The AEON will not only benefit fans though. Our creative peers, professional animators, comics creators, filmmakers, game developers, etc. will reap major rewards from our platform.

If we approve your concept, we approve it period. We will publish your game. We will distribute your film. And if we mutually decide to give you a transmedia series, you now not only get your comic, you also get your cartoon, your game, AND your movie, distributed globally.

We want to start a revolution for both fans and creators of genre entertainment. But to do this, we need your help.

We greatly appreciate all of the thanks, kudos, tweets, & retweets. But we need your help. we need your support. Whatever you can do. Because none of this becomes a reality without you.

Our Kickstarter is here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/695708507/the-aeon

Please go to it, and take action.

Our Beta site, which will launch later this month, is here: http://theaeonishere.com/

We want to start a global revolution. But we canNOT do it without YOU.

Help us make it happen! Cheers!

Limited to 500 People – $50.00

To show our appreciation to Rich, and the readers of Bleeding Cool, we're offering The Bleeding Cool Mack Daddy Richie J. Pledge.

FOR 48 HOURS ONLY our first four series AD FREE for 5 years, a listing in the first episode credits of our first 4 series, an 8 page Blackjack short story, The Space Station Orbiter: Cloud 99 Online Manual, The Action Angels International New York Branch Online Agency Book, The I Am Power Unlimited Online Tourist Guide to Atlantic City, a choice of 1 t-shirt from the first four series, ringtones from all 4 series, digital postcards from all 4 series, their name placed in The Book of AEON as an Earth Immortal, an exclusive forum section, with monthly vidchats with series creators, & behind the scenes news, and their name used in a series! You also get a set of 4 one of a kind wallpapers sent to you. And a digital version of "Blackjack, Buried Secrets!"

Let's make this happen! Cheers!

*International backers, please add $20.00 for shipping. We apologize in advance. International shipping is killer !