Clockwise from upper-left: Red, Jen, Rocker, Bakesby, Matsumoto
Life is quiet for Jen Gurrera, whose only joy is catching glimpses of her crush, the stoic and mysterious Revonda Red – until she discovers that her flame is an undercover agent protecting the earth from intergalactic fugitives. Jen dives headlong into a world of aliens, deep sea bases, and dazzlingly attractive fellow agents in the hopes that, if she’s lucky, Red could feel the same way…
STARWARD LOVERS is a sci-fi action romance webcomic by Miki Brewster. The comic started in September 2016, and was completed in 2019.note It can be read online starting here.
Tropes:
- Amazonian Beauty: Matsumoto is by far the tallest in the main cast and is absolutely ripped.
- Amicable Exes: Bakesby tells Jen that she and Matsumoto used to date. They're still on good terms, though Bakesby seems a bit wistful at what might have been.
- Anime Hair: Both Red and Rocker have hair that stands up in long, gravity-defying spikes.
- Barrier-Busting Blow: While Jen and Rocker are making an Elevator Escape, a claw stabs through the floor, narrowly missing them. Then a whole bunch more claws start piercing through the walls.
- Betty and Veronica: The aloof, seemingly-perfect Red and the down-to-earth, friendly Rocker. As time passes it becomes very clear that Rocker is both a healthier and more intense relationship for Jen.
- Covers Always Lie: Red is featured in all the covers despite being absent from the cast much of the time and continues to show up in the "team shot" covers after she betrays the team.
- Covert Pervert: The no-nonsense and superfocused Matsumoto is revealed to have a secret stash of "sexy comics."
- Elevator Escape: Jen and Rocker narrowly manage to escape some enemies by getting onto an elevator, the door slamming shut just in time.
- Headbutt of Love: On the second last page, Jen and Rocker affectionately touch their heads together as they prepare to go on a date.
- Horde of Alien Locusts: Rocker is apparently a refugee from such a species, given what she says of her kind and "feast on the enemy!" is something she says in battle.
- Insectoid Aliens: Rocker's true form is huge, spiky and carapaced.
- Interspecies Romance: Jen gets together with Rocker, giving her a kiss while the latter is in her very non-human true form.
- The Reveal: Red is a Love-Interest Traitor. She got close to Jen so she could use her to open a Two-Keyed Lock.
- Smoking Is Cool: If her ashtray is anything to go by, Red smokes a lot. This is one of the traits that mark her as a cool, lone-wolf type. In the instant before Red betrays her, Jen notes that her lips taste like ash, revealing this to be a secret case of Smoking Is Not Cool.
- Token Nonhuman: Rocker is the only alien on the team, though she takes the form of a (famous) normal-looking human.
- Two-Keyed Lock: The door to the core module requires two agents to open; two switches set a distance apart must be pulled simultaneously.
- Underwater Base: The Earth-based Intergalactic Authority base in under the sea, which does make sense as one of their jobs is to make sure the rest of the world doesn't know intergalactic society already exists.
