Christian Gossett
Creator of The Red Star, legendary comic and film designer
Christian Gossett’s career reads like a who’s-who of entertainment industry giants. At just 23 years old, working as one of the first designers hired by Lucasfilm Licensing to retro-design the Star Wars galaxy in 1993, Gossett submitted a radical concept drawing of a ‘double-bladed lightsaber.’ George Lucas personally approved it. Within seven years, that design would become Darth Maul’s iconic weapon in The Phantom Menace—a fax copy of Lucas’s approval memo still hangs in Gossett’s studio.
But comics are where Gossett’s heart truly lies. He created The Red Star, a groundbreaking series that debuted in 2001 through Image Comics. The series was one of the first computer-generated comics, using line-art from 3D models to present massive, cinematic scenes. The setting—a “Mythic Soviet Russia” blending military history with sorcery in a post-World War II alternate universe—became one of the medium’s most distinctive worlds.
The Red Star sold over a million copies worldwide and was ranked among the “Top 100 graphic novels of all time” by Wizard magazine. Critics hailed it for its innovative storytelling and visual approach. The series followed the adventures of the Konstantin and its crew, exploring themes of war, loyalty, and the collision of technology and magic.
After The Red Star, Gossett continued to work across multiple media. He’s designed characters and weapons for such visionaries as Sir Richard Taylor and Peter Jackson (Avatar, King Kong, Lord of the Rings), and Tim Burton for Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. His video game career began at Activision and expanded to Sega and Namco.
Gossett also directed and co-wrote the fan-made Star Trek short film Prelude to Axanar, further demonstrating his versatility across genres and formats.
Today, Gossett works as a story artist and director, having directed theater, network television, feature animation, and video game cutscenes. His client list reads like a dream team: Lucasfilm, Weta Workshop, Netflix, Nickelodeon, Marvel, Universal, Fox, Lionsgate, and The CW.
Notable Works
- The Red Star (Image Comics, 2001-2006) - 5 volumes, creator-owned sci-fi/fantasy epic
- Black Angel (CFW Publishing, 1988) - His first creator-owned series
- Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi (Dark Horse Comics) - Official Star Wars universe work
- Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption (Dark Horse Comics)
Connect
Sources: Humanoids.com, Wikipedia, Comic Vine, Studio Arts, Reddit
