A little while ago I picked up all the issues of the initial Image run of The Red Star, due to hearing lots of priase for it over many years. However, this past weekend I finally got around to sitting down and reading it, and by Brian Blessed's beard, I wish I'd done it sooner. This comic is a prime example of how comics can be good without being all tights and capes like Marvel and DC.
The Red Star is a sci-fi/fantasy story set in a world where Russia was once the dominant super power in the world, and the tale of the battle that proved to be their downfall - the battle of Kar Dathra's Gate, provides a great introduction to this world. Told through the eyes of Maya, a war widow who lost her husband in the conflict, it really hits home (despite its sci-fi/fantasy setting) just how much war can tear apart people's lives. As the story progresses, further elements are added, highlighting other issues of war; children as soldiers, the loss of innocence, sacrifice, all things which, in the right hands, can strike a chord with the hardest of hearts. Bradley Kayl's writing is both informative and touching, at times you feel like you're reading a historical text, and then suddenly without realising you've switched to the intimate diary of someone still living through that war.
The art is truly amazing, in a medium that is abundant with the aforementioned tights and capes and the abundance of bright colours that come with it. The people at Team Red Star really managed to create something special, that can capture both the feeling and the mood.
All in all, if you're looking for something a little different to the usual stuff put out by the big two and even a little different to what some of the other companies put out, then hunt around for The Red Star. There's the trades, or if you're like me and love owning the individual issues, you can have a hunt around and see how much you can get them for (trades and issues available from the website www.theredstar.com).
Note; this post would have been longer and will be edited, but I'm currently working on a laptop that overheats the second you go onto more than two webpages. This is all Richard's fault!
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