The ‘Butterfly Effect’ of Nuclear War

Peace will have to wait. Now that Donald Trump has canceled the June 12 summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, the threat of a nuclear confrontation has increased.

Two young artists from Greece, Spiros Nobilakis and Eugenia Koumaki, created a graphic novel comic to show the interconnectedness of our world and how one small action can have disastrous consequences. The comic is called “Butterfly Effect” and can be viewed after our brief interview with Spiros and Eugenia.

What inspired you to create this graphic novel-type comic?

Nobilakis: Immigration has been an important topic in Europe during the past years. While traveling around, I noticed the lack of empathy most people showed toward Syrian refugees. A lot of these Syrian refugees used to belong to a thriving middle-class only a few years ago and could have never imagined their current situation. I wanted to have people around the world see that and make them understand that exactly the same thing could happen to them—to any one of us.

Koumaki: I was approached by Spiros and was immediately captivated by his script. This being his first comic script, I feel privileged to have worked with him on it and expect great things in the future.

Are you hopeful about the future?

Nobilakis: We have to be hopeful. Hope keeps us going. It is not the external signs that make me hopeful, but rather an internal need.

Koumaki: Have you read the comic? In all seriousness, I believe there are a few conflicting trends for the future. I see parts of society moving toward more tolerant and empathetic views, and I see others moving toward intolerance and cruelty. I hope that in the future the first fraction wins and is represented better in politics.

Is peace on earth possible?

Nobilakis: I doubt it. At least in our era. There seem to be strong forces against it.

Koumaki: On all levels? No. Conflict is part of the human nature, but we can and should learn to handle it productively. On national level? I sure hope so. But this will require a lot of changes I hope to see within my lifetime.

View the comic below.

Eugenia Koumaki was born in 1990 and has an honors BA degree in comic and cartoon animation. She has published art for Devin Grayson’s story in IDW’s “Womanthology,” the “Mine!” anthology and Mike Carey’s story in the “Femme Magnifique” anthology. She also has created her own comic, “The Great Coffee Conspiracy,” for Comicdom Press and a science fiction existential thriller, “Hubris,” for Webcomics Publishing.