Down and defeated,
The Red Star is a Historical Fantasy Graphic Novel by Christian Gossett and published by Image Comics. Set in a parallel Magitek world.
It features Maya, a former army sorceress with fire powers, on her way to pay her respects to her dead husband Marcus on their anniversary. She recounts the battle that destroyed the United Republics of the Red Star after its defeat at the hands of Al'istaan and killed her husband.
Received a video game adaptation in 2007. Unrelated to the Web Comic Red Star.
Tropes included:
- Abnormal Ammo: Army sorcerers fire themselves out of huge cannons while transformed into beams of energy and after impact reconstitute their bodies in the firing chamber. Predictably they have a high mortality rate from failing to accomplish the second part.
- Black Swords Are Better: The Grim Reaper's scythe.
- Commonality Connection: Soldiers are connected by their common experience.
- Dark Is Evil: The dark psychopomp revolts Marcus's instincts.
- Distressed Dude: Marcus is unable to fight the Grim Reaper.
- Due to the Dead: The train she travels on has a message about silence being respectful.
- Finger-Snap Lighter: A sorceress can light a cigarette. Soldiers think it's lucky to have one do it.
- Framing Device: It's all told by Maya.
- The Grim Reaper: One psychopomp who comes for Marcus.
- Happily Married: Maya and Marcus.
- Last Stand: Marcus had managed to survive one.
- Light Is Good: The Psychopomp who protected Marcus is bright.
- Living Shadow: Al'istaan's magic turns its soldiers to this.
- Magitek: The sorceresses use machinery to focus their fiery attacks
- Never Found the Body: Maya argues this when she is first told he's dead.
- No One Gets Left Behind: Alexandra forces Maya not to die with Marcus.
- Playing with Fire: the sorceresses' abilities.
- The Power of Love: Maya talks of how anyone who loved as she did Marcus, and he her, would never be the same.
- Propaganda Machine: Maya admits that the army was deluded by what they were told.
- Talking to the Dead: Maya is writing a letter to Marcus in the opening, and her friend Alexandra, having told her that Marcus was dead and forced her to safety, tells him that she knows he would have wanted it.
- Tap on the Head: Alexandra uses a punch in the jaw to overpower Maya.
- The Tragic Rose: Maya brings them to the grave.
- We Have Reserves: The attitude of the Republics' high command.
