History Webcomic / HERO

* RapunzelHair: The Red Rider and her CoolHorse both both have long flowing locks.

* ABoyAndHisX: [[spoiler:Averted, although the initial act(s) somewhat set the reader up to expect A Boy and His Cat.]] See: the image on this page, which is clipped from the end of the first act.

It is a fantasy {{webcomic}} with allegorical overtones, written and drawn by Malaysian artist Hwei-Lin Lim. Its plot follows the travels of the boy as he sets out to see the world and attempts to answer lingering questions about his identity. Currently it spans over 270 pages of a planned 300-some. The first page is [[http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/001.html here]].

* XMeetsY: One reviewer, whose website unfortunately no longer exists, described HERO as "''Literature/TheLittlePrince'' if it had been written by Creator/NeilGaiman, set in the world of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' and illustrated by Creator/YoshitakaAmano."
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<<|NotableFantasyWebcomics|>>

As stated on the synopsis page: ''HERO'' is a story about a perfectly ordinary boy with no memory of the past and no urgency for the future, who one day accepts a most extraordinary offer to travel to distant places and invisible cities.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clip_look.jpg

* [[RoadMovie Road Webcomic]]: Through a surreal fantasy land, but still, traveling is both narratively and thematically important.

* XMeetsY: One reviewer, whose website unfortunately no longer exists, described HERO as "''Literature/TheLittlePrince'' if it had been written by NeilGaiman, set in the world of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' and illustrated by Creator/YoshitakaAmano."

* XMeetsY: One reviewer, whose website unfortunately no longer exists, described HERO as "''Literature/TheLittlePrince'' if it had been written by NeilGaiman, set in the world of ''FinalFantasy VIII'' and illustrated by Creator/YoshitakaAmano."

* ...OurMonstersAreDifferent: Golems, gods, various implicit weresomethings...

* ABoyAndHisX -- [[spoiler:Averted, although the initial act(s) somewhat set the reader up to expect A Boy and His Cat.]] See: the image on this page, which is clipped from the end of the first act.
* AltText -- Narration and dialogue in one Alty package!
* AnimalMotifs -- In abundance, pertaining both to individual characters (the Serpent is a pretty obvious example) and to recurring metaphors such as cats and dogs.
* ArtEvolution -- Subtle, since it's pretty good to start with, but compare the main character [[http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/011.html here]] and [[http://invisiblecities.comicgenesis.com/229.html more recently]].

* EnvironmentalSymbolism -- In the use of different color palettes. For example, the opening act is very muted, with a lot of DeliberatelyMonochrome bits, perhaps in representation of the peaceful monotony of the protagonist's life before his story's inciting event.
* {{Golem}}s -- Of the extremely human-like subtype.
* MagicAIsMagicA -- Two rules of creation are explicitly brought up -- ''A life once ended may not be remade'' and ''A golem once ended may not be remade'' -- and heavily affect the story. Others are implicit in brief mentions.
* MoodWhiplash -- The adjacent acts "City of Delight" and "City of Despair" are so named for a ''reason'', but even with advance warning the whiplash is pretty jarring.
* NamelessNarrative -- It's not just the protagonist who goes without a name and/or a capitalized title. We have the witch, the priest, the fisherman...
* OddShapedPanel -- Used frequently and without much fanfare.
* OhCrap -- Several such moments, actually. Valentine realizing that D'Urfe's people are following them from the air, the protagonist and Valentine running into Ganymar and Juno just when they think they've escaped the enormous monster...
* ...OurMonstersAreDifferent -- Golems, gods, various implicit weresomethings...

* [[RoadMovie Road Webcomic]] -- Through a surreal fantasy land, but still, traveling is both narratively and thematically important.
* SceneryPorn -- At times, heartbreakingly atmospheric and watercoloresque scenery porn.
* ScheduleSlip -- Remarkable for commonly having delays of weeks or even months, but fortunately neither dying nor noticeably slipping in quality.
* ShoutOut -- Valentine refers to the plot of ''Literature/TheLittlePrince'', without specifically mentioning names, in explanation for his decision to remain with the protagonist.
* SliceOfLife -- How the story begins and what it seems to be for a while.
* SoulJar -- Of the first subtype (and not without negative consequences), these are possessed by more than one character, including a main player: [[spoiler:Valentine, the red rider, and possibly all the demons.]]
* SpeechBubbles -- During "City of Delight," which textually consisted of dialogue printed directly on the panels, each character had a different font/color. In the regular acts, (mostly the nonspeaking) characters may occasionally use pictorial "speech."
* TitleDrop -- A buildup from page 120 leads to a [[TearJerker sad and nearly-literal example]] on page 125.
* WarIsHell -- It killed [[spoiler:Eira, for one]], and what may or may not have been a different war killed [[spoiler:Eira's parents]].

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman -- The Serpent's answer: He's not meant to protect humans, he's meant to protect people -- and people are individuals who have "made spaces between each other."
* XMeetsY -- One reviewer, whose website unfortunately no longer exists, described HERO as "''Literature/TheLittlePrince'' if it had been written by NeilGaiman, set in the world of ''FinalFantasy VIII'' and illustrated by Creator/YoshitakaAmano."

* XMeetsY -- One reviewer, whose website unfortunately no longer exists, described HERO as "''TheLittlePrince'' if it had been written by NeilGaiman, set in the world of ''FinalFantasy VIII'' and illustrated by Creator/YoshitakaAmano."

* ShoutOut -- Valentine refers to the plot of ''TheLittlePrince'', without specifically mentioning names, in explanation for his decision to remain with the protagonist.

* XMeetsY -- One reviewer, whose website unfortunately no longer exists, described HERO as "''TheLittlePrince'' if it had been written by NeilGaiman, set in the world of ''FinalFantasy VIII'' and illustrated by YoshitakaAmano."

* PaintingTheFourthWall: In the 'city of delight' act, one must click on images to get to the next page. Directions in the header segue from the helpful but clinical "click on the rightmost element in the page below" to directions like "take what is being offered in the last panel" and "give the Serpent a hug".

Hwei Lin Lim acknowledges influence by Italo Calvino (see: [[InvisibleCities cities invisible]] and otherwise), Albert Camus (see: absurd heroes), and the Japanese band Mr. Children -- specifically their single ''Hero'', which originally inspired the creation of the webcomic.

->''The world is made up of cities, and the spaces between them.''

* SceneryPorn -- At times heartbreakingly atmospheric, watercoloresque scenery porn.
* ScheduleSlip -- Remarkable for commonly having delays of weeks or more, but fortunately neither dying nor noticeably slipping in quality.

* TheBeautifulPeople: Women are alluring, men are handsome, children are adorable. Unless they're not meant to be.