Customer Reviews

Red Star, Vol. 1 - The Battle of Kar Dathras Gate

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd like to reply to the reviewer who claims that our book is not of value because it contains four issues of content.

What he does not say is that this is a Special Edition, meaning that the pages are in large format, much larger than your typical comic book size. This shows off our unique computer enhanced art in a way that no other edition does.

Nor does he mention that there are thirty pages of extra content in the back of the book! And I'm not talking simple pinups. I'm talking about a technical breakdown of our innovative, award-winning art process, behind the scenes sketches of the original line art and blueprints of the vehicles that were built in 3D for use in the story, in-depth interviews with every creator on the team, a Glossary of Terms so that readers can truly familiarize themselves with the characters, environments and history of this brand new story-universe we've created, and a bibliography of our sources, so that anyone else interested in Soviet History can follow beyond our work and into the actual material that inspired it.

I've been creating comics for 16 years, and there are very, very few graphic novels that offer such an extensive examination of their process. We were inspired by Japanese Anime analysis books, which offer their fans the same 'look behind the curtain' opportunity. This is not hype, these are tools for young creators to learn how the work is done. It is not only entertainment, but also introductory education into today's state of the art graphic novel techniques.

Anyone who actually knows what it is to publish something would take one look at The Red Star: Battle of Kar Dathra's Gate, or it's sequel The Red Star: Nokgorka (which also has the extra content in the back of the book) and immediately see the value. Especially at Amazon's discount price.

Thirty extra pages of graphic design costs a great amount of money, as does the resizing of 120 pages of art and lettering files into a larger format than that which was originally published in comic book size. Obviously the phylopyre or whatever his name is has no such experience.

In closing, I'd like to say please decide for yourself, don't take my word for it. There are professional reviews of our work all over the net for you to make an informed decision.

Thank You,
Christian Gossett
Creator
The Red Star

THE RED STAR is one of the most ambitious comics published today. The story is an allegorical retelling of the fall of the Soviet Union, set in a science fiction/fantasy setting. This is a story of a noble people betrayed by a leadership that is unworthy of them, a story of love and hope and war and sadness; a story with grace and style, and subtle moments interspersed with scenes of savage devastation.

RED STAR would be notable for its story alone, but it blends traditional pencil illustration with the latest in 3D computer imagery to lend a whole new scope and grandeur to the project -- the huge skyfurnaces that dominate the skies convey raw power in every panel, for example. The book is as beautiful to look at as it is to read.

This trade paperback collects the first four issues of THE RED STAR, the story of the Battle of Kar Dathra's Gate. It is an oversized book, which makes the art look even better than originally published. There is also considerable supplementary material, including links to online resources, sketchbooks and production info, and interviews with the creators. (Full disclosure: I conducted one of those interviews -- but I was a fan of this book long before then.) This is one of those books that show what a special art form comics are -- you won't want to miss it.

The best book of it's kind. This puts most " Art Of " books to shame, including Star Wars. Anyone with even a remote interest in sci-fi, fantasy or historical drama will get a lot pleasure from this. 3D rendered skyships and architecture blend with hand-drawn characters and outstanding computer color (by the one and only Snakebite) into a stunning, cinematic presentation. Beyond the beautiful artwork, the story is appealing, literate, and exciting. Printed on oversize glossy sheets with tons of behind-the-scenes art, THIS BOOK IS HUGE. This is the kind of story that would translate perfectly into an animated feature or mini-series; just add animators. It's a safe bet that this book will make a big splash in Europe and Japan, as well as the already established manga markets. America is ravishingly hungry for more from Team Red Star, as nobody else in the world of print is doing work quite like this. Image MUST print more of these if they know what's good for 'em!

This story is a romantic tale...Even the creators make this point clear within the foreward. This is a tale of what could have been and what it actually became. This visual masterwork guides this fictional tale of events based on the USSR and their invasion of Afghanistan. It's a wonderful piece that breaks up the montony of the comic medium now.It's a wonderful value at the price now. Back issues exceed the price of the TPB, plus it contains a brillant sketchbook and outlines to this extraordinary medium. Plus, for you completists (after all, you are buying the TPB instead of sold out individual issues), Team Red Star has special URLs to let you more aware of the story. Most of the links are rather like summaries, but the Makita piece is exceptional and well needed, considering the site has nothing on her dossier. All and all, this is a great story for history and comic fans alike.

This creative team has done an incredible job at everything that makes a comic great. They invoke a "clash of the titans" of the grandest scale, but one that a modern reader can believe in: a nation like the the pre-fall USSR vs. the world. Myths aren't remembered because of the huge, invisible forces, though. We remember the mortals that struggle on against those forces, and live or die as heroes. Maya and Marcus Antares are two of those heroes - she lives, he dies. Even widowed and defeated in battle, she carries on. More of these majestic elements enter this modern saga, too, but I leave you to experience them for yourself.

Unusual artwork also distinguishes this comic. It combines CGI backgrounds and hardware with figures in a more hand-drawn style, making the most of what both styles have to offer.

My only complaint is that the story ended too quickly (but "It ain't never a problem when your audience is screaming for more of what you're puttin' out"). The titanic story calls for titanic images. Most pages contain a single image, bled out to the edge of the page, and two-page spreads appear often. As a result, each magazine ends quickly, even if this comic has more illustrated pages than most. Extra material at the end includes sketches, artist interviews, and even a bibliography. Maybe the true fan likes such things more than I do - I'm just here for the comic, and that is exceptional.

-- wiredweird

I had the same experience as B. Ruppel. I love the Red Star story, the art blows almost every other comic book's art completely out of the water, and even the paper used in this book is of high quality and really does the artwork full justice. The problem is the glue that holds the inner pages to the rigid (if still technically soft) cover. I purchased it brand new, and when I opened it for the VERY FIRST time to enjoy my purchase, I could hear the glue failing and the cover separating from the binding. It's now fully separated in the front, with just the back side holding on for dear life. I am VERY disappointed with whoever is responsible for the ASSEMBLY of this otherwise magnificent and enjoyable book. It's a damn shame to have to rate such a great book anything other than 5 stars.

If I could rate different aspects of this book independently, I would rate it as follows:
Story: 4.5 stars
Drawing: 5 stars
Coloring: 5 stars
Lettering: 5 stars
Design: 5 stars
Materials: 5 stars
Manufacturing: *1 star*

I love the story of the Red Star. It seamlessly combines historical, mythological, political and spiritual elements into a plot that seems simultaneously fantastical and down-to-earth. My only complaint is that, as a writer, I wish they had gone a bit more into the nitty-gritty details of the story. Clearly, the artwork was the main focus in producing this book. The great thing about this particular edition of the book is that the larger pages (and great quality of the pages themselves) really shows off just how detailed and vivid the artwork really is. The 3-D modeling adds a level of realism and an epic scope that is really hard to accomplish by drawing alone. The detail of the coloring is fantastic. The lettering is great. The overall design of the book itself is spectacular; even the title page, table of contents, and credits pages look great. The fact that all of this can be so well-done, that so much effort and talent and (I'm sure) money went in to every other aspect of this book, and yet be so incredibly poorly bound is bordering on the absurd... This is like buying a Lamborghini and having the steering wheel fall off! If I were Gossett, I'd be pissed!

On a related note, does anyone know what the best kind of glue would be to repair this book before the cover falls off completely?

These days, with all the tools and software commercially available to artists, mixing hand-drawn art with CG imagery is a commonplace in comics. Back in the late 90s, however, Chris Gossett's Red Star series was a genuinely revolutionary concept - heavily-layered CG art complementing the hand-penciled characters, a grand cinematic vision (how many double-page scenes are there?), and a thrilling alternate take on Russian history and symbolism. Let's face it, this was never going to appear in DC or Marvel.

And The Red Star was, unsurprisingly, very influential. Brian Bendis admits as much in his foreword to this collection of the first story arc: "I ripped off the Red Star two-page logo design," he says, referring to the opening sequence of his own Powers comics. Other comics had never dared to use the limited space of their layouts in this way before. True, the narrative suffers as a result: the storyline of these first four issues could be condensed down into one if Team Red Star had not been so ambitious, but to do that would have ripped the atmosphere, the scale, the industrial immensity of this alternate universe, from the heart of the book. To read The Red Star is to immerse yourself in this world.

And a word on the art itself - Gossett's characters are stunningly drawn. He has a real eye for the human figure, and that makes them even more sympathetic and life-like. My partner, an artist herself, usually can't stand comics (or the cheesecake representations of women therein), but Gossett's skills have hooked even her.

If your comics feel stilted and cramped, and you're sick of looking at eight frames per page, check out The Red Star. If you want to know where today's artists and creators find their inspiration, check out The Red Star. Believe me, you won't be sorry.

I was simply blown away by the world that these authors have created for The Red Star series. The mix of Fantasy sorcery with Science Fiction technology is very well done. The art is gorgeous. The characters well rounded and well written. This whole plot has a wonderful sense of the epic that BEGS it to be made into a movie or at least a well funded HBO mini-series. This book is so good that it makes you forget that you are championing a fantasy version of the Soviets.

That being said, this book does not promote Communism. It promotes the idea that the Communist dream was once beautiful, but was quickly corrupted. That the average Communist was a sincere person that merely wanted to make the world a better place, but was naive and made a pawn. This novel is about those people on the ground level of war that suffer for the corruption and manipulation of those leaders sitting far away in comfort. By the time this novel opens, The United Republics of the Red Star are in decline due to a horrible defeat in the small desert nation of Alistaan <A fantasy Afghanistan>. The bulk of the novels action happens in the memory of Maya Antares, who is visiting the grave of her husband who died in the horrors of the last battle of the Alistaan war. Maya finds she must balance her mourning for her fallen husband and her anger at her corrupt leaders, with the her love for her people and their dreams of Utopia.

I can't oversell this book. It's my new obsession.

Great art, good story, although I wish there were more of it in this collection. My main gripe is with the actual workmanship of the book. The cover and outer pages separated from the inner pages upon my reading it. The inner pages are still stuck together (fortunately), but they are just floating between the covers.

I have kept the book in an air conditioned room since purchasing it. I did not spread the pages out or otherwise abuse the book. I carefully flipped through, spreading the pages maybe 60 degrees apart, holding the thing in my hands so as not to stretch it. I am pretty disappointed that it would fall apart even when I was so careful.

This book is great. The story is very interesting, as it deals with an epic story of a revolution. There are many parallels to the Soviet Union, and this makes the story somewhat more realistic. The art is fantastic. I have not seen such splendid art in a comic book in such a long time. I definitely would say, "you NEED to read this book."