Comrade Hero
- Promoting Visual Literacy through Sequential Storytelling.
"Ko taku reo taku ohooho, ko taku reo taku mapihi mauria."
My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul.
Comrade Hero is a bilingual English and Māori superhero and science fiction series set in and around Antarctica, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and Australia.
The aim is to produce a multimedia enhanced digital comic for the purposes of literacy skills development, and to encourage Māori language exposure through an entertaining reading and listening experience.
Comrade Hero will initially be published in English and Māori, but will have the capability to support additional languages. The reader will have the ability to listen to the audio in one language while reading the accompanying text and dialog in another language 
Comrade Hero Main Characters 2012.
Clockwise from left to right: Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Anderson, Operations.
Pencils by Felipe Watanabe.
Inks by Ambra Meneghen.
Flats by Joshua Wentzell.
Colors by Eddy Swan.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.- Environmental Concept Art
Southern Pole of Inaccessibility, Antarctica by Amit Dutta.
Environmental Concept Art by Amit Dutta.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.
Sydney Harbor, Australia (Post Ecocide) by Amit Dutta.
Environmental Concept Art by Amit Dutta.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.
Reactor Control, Thesan Project by Amit Dutta.
Environmental Concept Art by Amit Dutta.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.- Tāmaki Nui by Amit Dutta.
Environmental Concept Art by Amit Dutta.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Character Concept Art
- Comrade Hero - Main Characters
- Character Set One by Mark Williams.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.
- Comrade Hero
- Comrade Hero by Mark Williams.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard - Comrade Hero by Shane Braithwaite.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Comrade Hero
Comrade Hero is one of the primary protagonists of Comrade Hero.
Comrade Hero aka Aleksandr Alexandrovich Biryukov was born with latent metahuman potential but this did not manifest until he was in his mid-thirties.
Aside from being slightly healthier and fitter than most men his age, there was no indication that Aleksandr was anything other than a normal human.
It took massive exposure to lethal cosmic rays and radiation, exposure to the extreme environment of space, re-entry into Earth's atmosphere from Low Earth Orbit, and crash landing in Antarctica, to activate Aleksandr's metahuman potential.
As Comrade Hero, Aleksandr's powers and abilities are derived from his unique metahuman physiology and the unknown cosmic energies surging within him.
Comrade Hero is based on inspiration and concepts from the original television series The Six Million Dollar Man, Captain Scarlet, and the film RoboCop; the comic book characters Judge Dredd (2000AD), Captain Marvel (Fawcett Comics) and Ms. Marvel (Marvel Comics); and the computer games Freedom Force and City of Heroes.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Comrade Hero Digital Design Sheet #1.
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Shannon Brocas.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Comrade Hero Design Sheet #1
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Yamandú Daniel Orce.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Comrade Hero Design Sheet #2
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Yamandú Daniel Orce.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Comrade Hero Model Sheet #1
Created by James Hansard.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Comrade Hero Model Sheet #2
Created by James Hansard.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.
- Comrade Hero by Thony Silas. Inks by Elton Dias.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Four Five Two
- Four Five Two by Mark Williams.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Four Five Two by Shane Braithwaite.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Four Five Two
Four Five Two (452) is one of the main protagonists of Comrade Hero.
Four Five Two is a Thesan Protégé, the engineered 'daughter' of Comrade Hero and the main antagonist, Operations.
Like all of the Thesan Protégés, Four Five Two was tank-bred and accelerated to late adolescence over a period of weeks and days.
Four Five Two is a Fourth Generation Thesan Protégé and one of the few to survive the Ascension Protocols without permanent physical and psychological damage.
As an Ascended Thesan Protégé, Four Five Two has been enhanced physically and psychologically, and has only just begun to explore the potential she possesses.
The downside to being an Ascended Thesan Protégé is that the 'genetic memories' of Comrade Hero and Operations are more pronounced in Four Five Two, and directly affects her personality much more heavily.
As such Four Five Two exhibits traits and behaviours that are one part her own, and two parts those of her biological parents - Comrade Hero and Operations.
Like other Thesan Protégés, Four Five Two has a shared consciousness that links her with her sisters. As an Ascended Thesan Protégé, Four Five Two can telepathically communicate with her sisters, and experience their feelings and emotions.
However, Four Five Two is not restricted by distance or proximity and can actively shut out other Thesan Protégés from her own mind.
Four Five Two exhibits the same resistance to injury, regeneration from harm, and enhanced physical and mental attributes characteristic of all Thesan Protégé’s.
Since surviving the Ascension Protocols it is unknown how much further these metahuman abilities will develop and evolve.
The character of Four Five Two is a nod to Jessica Alba's character Max Guevara in James Cameron's Dark Angel. The Manticore designation of Max was X5-452.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Four Five Two Digital Design Sheet #1.
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Shannon Brocas.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Four Five Two Design Sheet #1
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Yamandú Daniel Orce.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Four Five Two Model Sheet #1
Created by James Hansard.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Four Five Two by Mark Thony Silas. Inks by Elton Dias.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Operations
- Operations by Mark Williams.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Operations by Shane Braithwaite.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Operations
Operations is one of the primary antagonists of Comrade Hero.
Operations is director of the Thesan Project and 'mother' to the Thesan Protégés, most notably Four Five Two.
Operations physical and psychological makeup, including her appearance has been genetically engineered by the Danica Foundation.
Operations has displayed Computer and Technology Manipulation, Mind, Body and Emotion Control (Others) and possesses a monstrous intellect with a photographic, photo reflexive and eidetic memory.
Operations can remotely access, manipulate and control technology, machinery, and electronic devices as easily as she can invade, override and dominate the human mind, making her a particularly dangerous opponent.
Operations has demonstrated the ability to remotely 'interface' with and control and operate equipment and devices like surveillance cameras, computer systems, cellular phones, and semi-autonomous defence systems.
Operations has also shown that she can take over the minds and bodies of the Thesan Guards and assume full control over a large number of them at once.
Operations is based on concepts and inspiration from the original television series La Femme Nikita and The Pretender as well as the character of Miranda Lawson from Bioware's Mass Effect series.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Operations Digital Design Sheet #1.
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Shannon Brocas.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Operations Design Sheet #1
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Yamandú Daniel Orce.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Operations Model Sheet #1
Created by James Hansard.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.
- Operations by Thony Silas. Inks by Elton Dias.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Anderson
- Anderson by Mark Williams.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Anderson by Shane Braithwaite.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Anderson
Anderson is one of the primary antagonists of Comrade Hero.
Anderson is an employee of the Danica Foundation's Health and Safety division, assigned to the Thesan Project.
Anderson fulfils the role of executive assistant to Operations and acts as her personal attaché, confidante, and bodyguard.
Anderson has a diverse skills set that combines scientific, legal and business expertise with extensive military and intelligence experience.
Anderson has shown that he can hold his own against a variety of opponents, including the genetically engineered Thesan Guards and Protégés with apparent ease - matching the physical abilities of the genetic constructs with apparent ease.
Anderson utilizes a variety of firearms and melee, ranged and improvised weapons to take down opponents with a lethal degree of proficiency and expediency.
Anderson is equally as dangerous an opponent to face unarmed as he is armed.
Anderson moves with surprising speed and agility, and can calculate and react to an opponent’s actions (and reactions) with a degree of timing and accuracy that borders on the preternatural.
The character of Anderson is based on inspiration and concepts from the original television series La Femme Nikita and The Pretender as well as the characters of Wesley Wyndham-Pryce from Angel and Kerr Avon from Blake's 7.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Anderson Digital Design Sheet #1.
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Shannon Brocas.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Anderson Design Sheet #1
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Yamandú Daniel Orce.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.
- Anderson Model Sheet #1
Created by James Hansard.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.
- Anderson by Thony Silas. Inks by Elton Dias.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard. - Comrade Hero - Major Characters
- Hine-nui-te-pō
- Hine-nui-te-pō by Mark Williams.
- Hine-nui-te-pō
The Great Woman of Night.
Hine-nui-te-pō is a goddess of night and death and the ruler of the underworld in Māori mythology. She is a daughter of Tāne. She fled to the underworld because she discovered that Tāne, whom she had married, was also her father. The red colour of sunset comes from her.All of the children of Rangi and Papa were male. It was Tāne who first felt the need for a wife and began to look for a companion. His mother showed him how to make a female form from red earth. Then Tāne breathed life into Hine-ahuone, the earth-formed-maid, and mated with her. Their child was Hine-ata-uira, maid-of-the-flashing-dawn, and Tāne took her to wife.One day, while Tāne was away, Hine-ata-uira began to wonder who her father was. She was disgusted and ashamed when she heard that her husband was also her father, and she ran away. When Tāne came back he was told that she had run off to the spirit-world, and he quickly followed after. But he was stopped from entering by Hine herself, in her new role as goddess of the underworld. "Go back, Tāne", she said to him, "and raise our children. Let me remain here to gather them in." So Tāne came back to the upper world, while Hine stayed below, waiting only for Māui to bring death into the world, and begin the never-ending procession of mortals to her realm (Biggs 1966:449).Māui did the last of his tricks on her, attempting to make mankind immortal by trying to crawl through her body, entering in her vagina and leaving by her mouth while she slept, to reverse the path of birth. But one of his bird friends, the fantail, laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation, seeing Māui turned into a worm squirming to enter the goddess, and woke her. To punish the demi-god, she crushed him with the obsidian teeth in her vagina; Māui was the first man to die. - Hine-nui-te-pō Digital Design Sheet #1.Created by James Hansard.Design Sheet by Shannon Brocas.
- Hine-nui-te-pō Model Sheet.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa. - Tamanuiterā
- Tamanuiterā by Mark Williams.
- Tamanuiterā
The Sun.
In Māori mythology, Tamanuiterā or Te Rā is the physical personification of the Sun, part of the celestial bodies referred to as Te Whānau Mārama (the Family of Light).
There are differing accounts of the origin of Tamanuiterā and his sister Marama (the Moon). One account tells that Tamanuiterā was born sometime during, or at the end of, the long ages of nothingness (Te Kore) and the long ages of darkness (Te Po) that existed in the distant pre-creation.
In this sense Tamanuiterā could be thought of as one of the gods before the gods. Gods that would eventually arise and forcibly separate their parents, Ranginui (Sky Father) and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother).
As the main deity of the heavens, Tamanuiterā would race across the sky without regard for the people, leading to an unpredictable cycle of short days and nights.
The demi-god Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga conceived of a plan to force Tamanuiterā to move across the skies at a more respectable speed and Māui convinced his brothers to aid in his endeavor.
Tamanuiterā was ambushed by Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga and his four brothers, beaten into submission, and forced to accede to Māui's demands. Ever since, the flight of the sun across the sky - Te Manu-i-te-rā - has been at a more measured and predictable pace.
Tamanuiterā was humiliated by Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga and his four brothers, but he did not forget, or forgive... - Tamanuiterā Digital Design Sheet #1.
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Shannon Brocas.
- Tamanuiterā Model Sheet.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa. - Tāwhirimātea
- Tāwhirimātea by Mark Williams.
- Tāwhirimātea
The God of Weather, also including thunder and lightning, wind, clouds, rain, mist, fog and storms.
In Māori mythology, Tāwhirimātea has waged war against his brothers since the forced separation of their parents, Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother). Tāwhirimātea tore through the forests of Tāne Mahuta, whipped up violent waves against Tangaroa, and forced Rongomātāne and Haumia-tikitiki to flee into the earth to escape his wrath.
Only Tūmatauenga, the God of War and Progenitor of Humankind was able to withstand the onslaught of Tāwhirimātea. Neither brother was able to obtain an advantage over the other, being evenly matched. - Tāwhirimātea Digital Design Sheet #1.Created by James Hansard.Design Sheet by Shannon Brocas.
- Tāwhirimātea Model Sheet.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa. - Tūmatauenga
- Tūmatauenga by Mark Williams.
- Tūmatauenga
The God of War and Progenitor of Humankind.
In Māori mythology, Tūmatauenga unsuccessfully tried to convince his brothers Tāne Mahuta, Tangaroa, Rongomātāne and Haumia-tikitiki that they would only obtain their freedom by killing their parents - Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother). After deliberation, it was decided by the brothers to separate Ranginui and Papatūānuku. While this proved successful and the gods were freed from the embrace of their parents, Tūmatauenga sought to teach his brothers a lesson by defeating them one after the other.
Tūmatauenga crafted snares to catch the children of Tāne Mahuta, wove nets to trap the children of Tangaroa, and fashioned tools to tear the children of Rongomātāne and Haumia-tikitiki from the ground. The natural world bent to the will of Tūmatauenga.
Tūmatauenga was both creator and destroyer, and his knowledge and skills as hunter, gatherer, and warrior would be passed onto humankind.
Tūmatauenga has a long-standing rivalry with his brother Tāwhirimātea - The God of Weather, including thunder and lightning, wind, clouds, rain, mist, fog and storms. Tūmatauenga was the only one of his brothers that Tāwhirimātea could not overwhelm when he came to punish the gods for separating Ranginui and Papatūānuku, and Tūmatauenga did not back away from the wrath of Tāwhirimātea - he welcomed the conflict. However, neither brother was able to obtain an advantage over the other, being evenly matched. - Tūmatauenga Digital Design Sheet #1.Created by James Hansard.Design Sheet by Shannon Brocas.
- Tūmatauenga Model Sheet.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa.
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