Kalinka Blog - Intros.
Entry best listened to this song?
So, now that the Lord hath set me free from AP classes from now till next year (BAAAAAAWWWW), I've been wanting to do this project for a while, and now I can DO IT YAAAY!
It's this little series of events and stories that take place on the eastern front of WWII (or the Great Patriotic War if you want to get all technical with names) during 1942, a year after Hitler invaded Russian fronts, breaking the Nazi Soviet pact. I always imagined what it'd be like to be a stone cold Russian, out there fighting in the bitter cold against people who pretty much betrayed your whole nation, and defending your homeland through the harsh winter. Stalingrad, the works. The Soviet army, however debatable their actions were, were without a doubt a kick a$$ army. They would and wanted to END YOU IF YOU TRIED ANYTHING AGAINST THEM.
SO I decided to finally flesh this project out. I call it "Kalinka," both named after a really famous 1800's Russian song and a type of snow tree found commonly in the winter landscapes of Russia, since the comic both deals with the Soviet army and the way they all interact with each other as a battalion in the winter.
But before I'd start in on any story work or art, I thought you might as well know the characters. There's five main in total, but here's the main kick-off/profile I'm done with.
(I like how I have like five different designs of an ushanka. DERP DERP. And the Russian she's saying on the bottom is the Russian equivalent of "lolwhut." CYRILLIC IS FUN!)
The main female lead, Adrine. I took a lot of personal sentiment with this one, since I'm trying to make this story multicultural and historically in the ballpark.
First of all, yes, there were women in the Soviet military. A LOT OF THEM. At one point there were EIGHT HUNDRED FRICKIN THOUSAND WOMEN constituting the army, with special divisions of women bomber pilots that dropped over 3,000 TONS OF BOMBS ON ENEMY TERRITORY. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUDGE, MAN- THAT'S A LOT!
And when their planes weren't farting bombs on enemies, they were trained to be snipers, spies, and espionage agents to infiltrate enemy lines and pick off entire battalions of soldiers. WEMIN POWAAAHHHH. So I mused with myself at the idea of a Soviet girl - not even 20 - already being semi hardened by battle. And an excellent sniper at that. She hides up in those tall, tall trees, sees a German spy patrol of about 15, and slowly picks them off one by one without ever being seen.
So another thing you might be asking yourself, why isn't she Russian? Well, the Soviet Union wasn't just called the Soviet "Union" just for kicks. The whole thing was made up of about 15 countries including the Baltics, Georgia, and Armenia. They all fought for the Soviet Union, and fought for not only the Union but their specific motherland (AAAHHHH MOTHERLAND). Fighting alongside Russians - whether some wanted to or not - was not unusual in the Soviet Army. And, since historically Russia has been Armenia's "big brother" type figure, I thought it fitting to have Adrine look up to Piotr.
And yes, those anti-communist raids really did happen, and continued about till 1923-28. Before that period was a calamity known as the Armenian Genocide, which historians call the "first real act of genocide of the 20th century." Read about it here; it makes me sad to talk about. The fact that Piotr was on campaign in that area and saved Adrine was a pure Godsend, and one she'll always be thankful and indebted for.
So that's Adrine for now. Piotr is next with Neils right after. WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTUUUUUREEEE!
So, now that the Lord hath set me free from AP classes from now till next year (BAAAAAAWWWW), I've been wanting to do this project for a while, and now I can DO IT YAAAY!
It's this little series of events and stories that take place on the eastern front of WWII (or the Great Patriotic War if you want to get all technical with names) during 1942, a year after Hitler invaded Russian fronts, breaking the Nazi Soviet pact. I always imagined what it'd be like to be a stone cold Russian, out there fighting in the bitter cold against people who pretty much betrayed your whole nation, and defending your homeland through the harsh winter. Stalingrad, the works. The Soviet army, however debatable their actions were, were without a doubt a kick a$$ army. They would and wanted to END YOU IF YOU TRIED ANYTHING AGAINST THEM.
SO I decided to finally flesh this project out. I call it "Kalinka," both named after a really famous 1800's Russian song and a type of snow tree found commonly in the winter landscapes of Russia, since the comic both deals with the Soviet army and the way they all interact with each other as a battalion in the winter.
But before I'd start in on any story work or art, I thought you might as well know the characters. There's five main in total, but here's the main kick-off/profile I'm done with.
(I like how I have like five different designs of an ushanka. DERP DERP. And the Russian she's saying on the bottom is the Russian equivalent of "lolwhut." CYRILLIC IS FUN!)
The main female lead, Adrine. I took a lot of personal sentiment with this one, since I'm trying to make this story multicultural and historically in the ballpark.
First of all, yes, there were women in the Soviet military. A LOT OF THEM. At one point there were EIGHT HUNDRED FRICKIN THOUSAND WOMEN constituting the army, with special divisions of women bomber pilots that dropped over 3,000 TONS OF BOMBS ON ENEMY TERRITORY. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUDGE, MAN- THAT'S A LOT!
And when their planes weren't farting bombs on enemies, they were trained to be snipers, spies, and espionage agents to infiltrate enemy lines and pick off entire battalions of soldiers. WEMIN POWAAAHHHH. So I mused with myself at the idea of a Soviet girl - not even 20 - already being semi hardened by battle. And an excellent sniper at that. She hides up in those tall, tall trees, sees a German spy patrol of about 15, and slowly picks them off one by one without ever being seen.
So another thing you might be asking yourself, why isn't she Russian? Well, the Soviet Union wasn't just called the Soviet "Union" just for kicks. The whole thing was made up of about 15 countries including the Baltics, Georgia, and Armenia. They all fought for the Soviet Union, and fought for not only the Union but their specific motherland (AAAHHHH MOTHERLAND). Fighting alongside Russians - whether some wanted to or not - was not unusual in the Soviet Army. And, since historically Russia has been Armenia's "big brother" type figure, I thought it fitting to have Adrine look up to Piotr.
And yes, those anti-communist raids really did happen, and continued about till 1923-28. Before that period was a calamity known as the Armenian Genocide, which historians call the "first real act of genocide of the 20th century." Read about it here; it makes me sad to talk about. The fact that Piotr was on campaign in that area and saved Adrine was a pure Godsend, and one she'll always be thankful and indebted for.
So that's Adrine for now. Piotr is next with Neils right after. WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTUUUUUREEEE!