Salutations, Reader.
The ‘EPOCH of TBH‘ starts in Amsterdam in 1985, when your humble Game-Smith picks his final Nom-de-Guerre at age fifteen. What follows are decades of voluntary-defacement-of public-property and flat-out vandalism until your narrator moves outside the city-walls and settles down. This point in history one-way-or the-other seemed inevitable for our youngster, proficient in the five-finger-discount and considered a juvenile delinquent. Racking up markers, ink, and at first easy-to-sleeve mini model aircraft spray cans, and later full-sized cans, led to our anti-hero ‘Writing‘ at the tender age of ten. Back in his home village, ‘Bombing‘ did not get serious until his migration to the Graffiti-Capital of the Netherlands in 1983.
To be clear with firsthand information and direct from the source: There are those who continuously claim graffiti is art? I do not subscribe to such declarations and leave such statements to quasi-intellectual beings and proudly side with the Vandals! This crazy cherub got into the ‘Writing Game‘ to soothe the daredevil within and not to paint pretty-pieces on picnic-walls! The aim of the game, according to Angel, is to ‘Get-Your-Name-Up‘ and establish dominance, much like dogs marking their territory. So the act of tagging and bombing is extremely territorial and continuously raises the bar in thrill-seeking and defying danger.
80’s: They Bomb Hard!!
Those who tagged in the same areas and did not become your nemesis would likely form a pack or crew. The TBH crew held some notorious and immortal Heavy Bombers in order of acquaintance, like: Lino-One, Zap, Shoe, and Bando. Meanwhile, the start of the eighties saw the rise and globalization of early Hip-Hop, including electric-boogie, break-dancing, and graffiti. What attracted me to this music-stream was the competitiveness and willingness to Battle-It-Out among the crews in a public arena. Always more the Vandal than an Artist, I did not nurture my Creative-Talents until 1990 when I started drawing Babies.
90’s: The Origin Of ‘The Baby Hype!’
The Baby characters were a product of the close friendship between Angel, Ice, and Arson that formed the third evolution of the TBH crew. To them, Looney Toons were their gods and religion, and together vowed that; One Day They Would Rule The World! Their master plan to achieve this conquest and immortality was to convert their TAGS into TOYS!! The first step in their brilliant scheme and larger-than-life aspirations was to draw comics featuring their alter ego comic characters. Only then did I start practicing and training my drawing skills, which had been left unattended in previous years.
Years earlier, say 1987, your narrator had discovered a Japanese-Bookstore underneath the Okura-Hotel and stumbled upon the phenomenon of Manga! These monthlies, thick as a phone-book on colored pulp paper, became the inspiration for our experimental Baby-Hypes or TBH Manga’s. These were published under the banner of Designer-Violence as an A5 mini supplement in Hype Magazine, hence the name: Baby-Hype.
During this era, me and my mate and partner-in-crime, from childhood started a Comic-Craft and Design-Studio in 1992 named: TBHead-Quarters. Which took on the form of a mixture between a clubhouse and the command-center of the War-Babies in the making. During this time between 1990 and 1999, all effort on my side was committed to making Gods-Vicious-Babies into must-have Toy-Baby-Heroes! Alas, creative differences about the ‘Battle-Mettle’ installed in the Card and Board Game caused discord and made the crew crumble before the end of the century.
00’s: An Emperors Game For The New Millennium?
What was once the Baby-Hype had gradually transformed into the StarArena® while operating solo for a while, keeping the dream alive. For some reason or another, my love for drawing had ebbed away, and I preferred earning my coin through carpentry. All illustrative and graphic projects were boxed and shelved.
10’s: Balancing Wood & Game-Smith!
This is a highly productive decade!! After living through Mysterious-Pains the year before, supposedly due to overexertion on the work floor, it is decided to take more downtime. Not taking every carpentry job that crossed my path leads to a more healthy 50-50 split between graphics and woodworking. This steers toward the complete overhaul of the Baby-Universe and the intricate restructuring of the StarArena® MiniVerse for the Story-Design. From this sprouts a game-expansion that better balances out the elemental-powers gifted by the Gods that govern the StarArena® MetaVerse. Which can only be topped by a can-do attitude to create a Mega-War-Game and introduction of The Arcade known as the StarArena® MegaVerse. All that remains from the original Manga-Mayhem is the intent to draw Game-Gore-Galore and to satisfy your Hack & Slash appetite! The quenching of blood-lust and the boiling of atomic-adrenaline causing a ‘Battle-Rage’ the infantry troops refer to as the; !!BABY-HYPE!!
A welcome Battle-Booster in the Mega-War of 2520 against Demon-Invaders!!
20’s: Tormentingly Bloody Horrible… (TBH)
Basically, these years completely suck, for your o-so-adorable Seraph endures a four-year streak of agonizing, excruciating, and tormenting bad luck. The long and short of it is they finally figured out he has Discopathy and he be up for Surgery! Hopefully ANGEL can return back to the drawing-board and start those War-Stories he has been planning… Let’s Hope 2025 will bring you more Bang for your Buck!!
Note: Over the years I have ‘Sold, Traded and Gifted’ all material from above period to the Librarians.
Primarily to fund further Game-Development in which they have always been Power-Patrons,
but also because I believe in their Quest; To Preserve Graffiti Heritage.
They are now the custodians of The-Baby-Hype!
If you want to know more?
Contact the Dutch-Graffiti-Library, I’m sure they will be a lot more accommodating than I will ever be.