Comrade Hero

COMRADE HERO tells the story of a Cosmonaut who develops extraordinary abilities and powers after being displaced to an alternate and dangerous reality. His life irrevocably upended, Comrade Hero must learn to harness his new capabilities and survive against mercenary superhumans and capricious gods. Comrade Hero is a bilingual English and Māori fantasy/science fiction series set in and around Antarctica, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and Australia.

Comrade Hero.
Pencils by Felipe Watanabe. Inks by Ambra Meneghen. Flats by Joshua Wentzell. Colours by Eddy Swan.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.

Environmental Concept Art

Pole of Inaccessibility, Antarctica.
Environmental Concept Art by Amit Dutta.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.

Sydney Harbour by Amit Dutta.
Environmental Concept Art by Amit Dutta.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.

Progenitor Chamber 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.
Pencils by Daniel Oduber.
Comrade Hero, Four Five Two, Operations and Anderson is ©James Hansard.

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

Aleksandr Biryukov a.k.a. Comrade hero was born with latent metahuman potential but this did not manifest until he was in his early-forties. 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 draws inspiration 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. Fourth Generation Thesan Protégé. Ezra is the genetically tailored daughter of Aleksandr Biryukov and Sameen Kathri (Operations). She is endowed with unprecedented strength, speed, stamina and intelligence.

The character of Four Five Two is a direct 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 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 (Sameen Kathri) is the project director of the Thesan Project, a fringe research branch of the Danica Foundation. Brilliant, charming, and ruthless. Sameen’s physical and psychological makeup, including her appearance, has been genetically tailored by the Danica Foundation.

Operations draws 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

Enric Anderson is executive Assistant to Operations and oversees security operations. Anderson is an employee of the Danica Foundation's Health and Safety division, assigned to the Thesan Project.

The character of Anderson draws inspiration 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.
Created by James Hansard.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa.

Tama-nui-te-rā

Tama-nui-te-rā by Mark Williams.

Tama-nui-te-rā

Te Rā - The Sun

In Māori mythology, Tama-nui-te-rā (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 Tama-nui-te-rā and his sister Marama (the Moon). One account tells that Tama-nui-te-rā 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 Tama-nui-te-rā 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, Tama-nui-te-rā 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 Tama-nui-te-rā to move across the skies at a more respectable speed and Māui convinced his brothers to aid in his endeavor.

Tama-nui-te-rā 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.

Tama-nui-te-rā was humiliated by Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga and his four brothers, but he did not forget, or forgive...

Tama-nui-te-rā Digital Design Sheet #1.
Created by James Hansard.
Design Sheet by Shannon Brocas.

Tama-nui-te-rā Model Sheet.
Created by James Hansard.
Model Sheet by Erwin Ropa.

Tāwhirimātea

Tāwhirimātea by Mark Williams.

Tāwhirimātea

The God of Weather

In Māori mythology Tāwhirimātea is the god of weather; of storms, thunder and lightning; of wind and clouds; of rain, mist and fog.

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.

Tūmatauenga

Tūmatauenga by Mark Williams.

Tūmatauenga

The God of War

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. 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.

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