How The RedCoat Uses Immortality in a Fun and Potentially Meaningful Way

Geoff Johns creates many unique comics book stories using an intelligent understanding of storytelling basics and theories. For example, his most recent comic book series, the soon-to-be-released The RedCoat, plunges deep into immortality and provides a unique perspective on American history. It’s this kind of approach that only comics can pull off, which is what makes them such a dominant medium.

What is The RedCoat?

Before discussing The RedCoat, it is important to define The Unnamed Universe. This concept was created by Johns and centers around The Unnamed War, a destructive nuclear conflict that eliminates civilization and forces everyone underground. He introduced it in the comic Geiger.

The RedCoat is an expansion series to the main Geiger line and focuses on the titular character. The RedCoat is an immortal warrior who first starts living forever during the American Revolution. As a result, he has literally watched America grow and expand as a nation along its sometimes-rocky road.

The RedCoat’s design is quite striking, with a literal redcoat battle suit and ponytail that gives him a fun and engaging style that contrasts with Geiger’s more grim tone. Fans are expecting the character to have the trademark Johns wit and a somewhat world-weary perspective created from living far longer than anyone else in the country.

However, The RedCoat is far more than simply an immortal character that will bring more charm and style to The Unnamed Universe. It is likely that he will become a pivotal character for the series and someone who helps explore many concepts and ideas unique to Johns and his worldview about America and its history.

How Johns Uses This Character’s Immortality

Immortality has been used by many intelligent writers. For example, Anne Rice’s vampire stories often examine the complexities of immortality, such as living forever while others die. The RedCoat has a similar approach that provides Johns with a unique ability to comment on the world around us today.

Johns intelligently places The RedCoat as something like America’s consciousness and its moral and ethical center. After all, this is a character who was there at the country’s birth and who has moved through its development and changes, as it progressed, regressed, and became a world power.

As a result, Johns can use The RedCoat to comment on various historical moments throughout America’s progression. He can even use The RedCoat to discuss these events personally, giving them a more urgent feel that would be hard in flashbacks from characters who weren’t involved in them directly.

Comic Books Can Truly Provide Intelligent Storytelling

Comic books have advanced far beyond their initial limitations to become some of the most respected and fascinating vehicles for fiction. Johns and others like him are pushing this medium to its absolute limit and beyond. Their ability to tell unique stories that truly tell us something about our world makes comics one of the best and most adaptable mediums for fascinating and unforgettable stories.