The Red Star: Sword of Lies #1-3 (Of 5)

is the continuation of the comic series that brings readers back to the events in the previous Red Star Trade Paperback, 'Prison of Souls'. With unforgettable pencils by multiple Eisner nominee Christian Gossett and extraordinary digital painting by the world famous Weta Workshop Design Team of New Zealand (known for their film work on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong, and The Chronicles of Narnia), this series and graphic novel not only continues the adventures of the Skyfurnace Konstantinov, it also takes readers back into the time of the Great Revolution, to the origin of The Red Star saga. This run is currently on issue #3. Issue #3 premiered at Comicon International San Diego 2008. Perhaps this tells you volumes about the quality of this title and series: nobody seems to mind the wait for issues #4 and #5. I do not mind, either.

The Red Star is a world much like our own, except that Military Industrial Sorcery has made the armies of the many different nations capable of incredible destruction. Every soldier is a trained sorcerer, armed with weaponry engineered to amplify their power. The dark secret of this world is the source of this godlike power: The Imprisoned Afterlife. The leaders of the world's nations have discovered the secret of containing the souls of the dead and transforming these souls into a new form of energy. Unknown to the majority of humankind, the death of every human being means the imprisonment of another soul, and therefore the birth of another unit of Post Human Energy or PHE. PHE, human souls, are the source unit of Military Industrial Sorcery, as well as the foundation of the true world economy. The spirit world has been transformed into a damnation of mankind's own design. The Heroes of The Red Star have discovered this secret and have taken it upon themselves to descend into the Imprisoned Afterlife, lay siege to its prison fortresses and liberate the souls of their ancestors. Inhabitants of the world of The Red Star also commonly use abilities which we would find quite unusual. From Telepathy to Telekinesis and Teleportation, inhabitants of this sometimes harsh and overpowering realm are well-equiped to deal with its dangers and opportunities. Still, epic power leads to epic dangers, and even the most confident of PHE users often find that they who live by the sword... well, you know the rest. --

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