[[quoteright:267:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arrowsmith_1714.jpg]]

''Arrowsmith'' is a fantasy comic book by writer Creator/KurtBusiek and penciller Carlos Pacheco, published by Wildstorm's Cliffhanger imprint. It first premiered as a six-issue miniseries in 2003.

The series is set in an AlternateHistory Earth in which the United States of America is actually the [[DividedStatesOfAmerica United States of Columbia]], magic is real, and the UsefulNotes/FirstWorldWar is fought with and by dragons, spells, vampires and all other kinds of magical weapons and beings.

The story follows the protagonist, Fletcher Arrowsmith, as he joins the war effort on the side of the Allies, gets taught the rudiments of sorcery and engages in some brutal battles with the enemy Prussians.

Not to be confused with the [[Literature/{{Arrowsmith}} novel]] by Creator/SinclairLewis.

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!!'''Arrowsmith''' contains examples of:
%%* AcePilot
%%* AlternateHistory
* ArtificialZombie: The setting's equivalent of mustard gas is a DeadlyGas that kills its victims and then raises their corpses as zombies.
* BadassLongcoat: The Prussian airmen's uniforms. Also various countries' infantry soldiers, who wear trenchcoats.
* BeastOfBattle: The dragons used for areal combat.
* BilingualBonus: Apart from a few plot-important scenes with Gallian characters, the dialogue is rendered in the language the characters are actually speaking.
* TheButcher: A squad of airmen earns the nickname "Butchers of Holbrück."
* CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: Pointedly averted.
--> '''Captain Foxe (on the Gallian soldiers):''' They have to fight for the ground we fly over. Every foot, every inch of it paid for with blood. I admire them for it, respect them beyond measure, but I don't envy them.
* CrypticBackgroundReference: There are a lot of references to the things in the world that are never elaborated.
* DeadlyGas: The setting's equivalent of mustard gas is a deadly gas that kills its victims and then raises their corpses as {{Artificial Zombie}}s.
* DifferentStatesOfAmerica: The United States of America is known as the United States of Columbia due to the magical races choosing to reveal themselves during the signing of the Peace of Charlemagne, their version of what we call the Pax Nicephori in our world.
* DividedStatesOfAmerica: What would be the USA and Canada in our reality is (as of 1914) divided into the United States of Columbia, Acadia-Canada, Tejas, Deseret, California, Dakota, Newfoundland (Northern Canada and Alaska) and Grand Florida (which includes Bermuda and the Bahamas).
* EagleSquadron: Fletcher enlists in his reality's equivalent of the Lafayette Escadrille, gets taught the rudiments of sorcery and travels to [[IstanbulNotConstantinople Gallia where he engages in some brutal aerial battles with the enemy Prussians]].
* FantasyAmericana: Up to the point where the story leaves Columbia.
* FarmBoy: Young Fletcher Arrowsmith is a farm boy living a quiet life until a recruiter inspires him to run away and join the war being fought in Europe. And that's where his story really starts...
* IfWeGetThroughThis: As fatal as a [[FatalFamilyPhoto family photo]], and incredibly [[KilledMidSentence fast]].
* IstanbulNotConstantinople: All of the European powers bear old names for the territories, like Prussia, Gallia and Albion.
* MirroringFactions: The sides of the war. Underlined with a DescriptionCut.
--> '''Captain Foxe:''' That's the difference between us and them -- even if our wizards had the sort of minds that could even think of such things, we would never, never use them. \\
''Cut to magister Boisrond testing the new weapons of mass destruction.''
* OfficerAndAGentleman: Fletcher thinks he should be one, but he's not, and neither are the other airmen. Later, the trope is [[DefiedTrope defied]] in no uncertain terms.
--> '''Fletcher:''' I'm not a gentleman, all right? My father's a blacksmith!
* OhCrap: [[BilingualBonus Verduiveld!]] [[spoiler:The attacking vampires are not even the enemy's!]]
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Airmen are soldiers who fly by magically transferring the flight ability of a dragonet (baby dragon) into themselves. Each airman has his own dragonet companion who typically rides his shoulder, and he wears strips of skin shed by the dragonet's mother to help form a bond between them.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: The are at least two distinct types of zombie within the world. One an ArtificialZombie that is created by a weapon of mass destruction: a magical gas that kills anyone who breathes it and then raises them as a zombie. The other is the traditional VoodooZombie, who are seen serving as part of the Gallian colonial troops.
* ProtagonistTitle: The central character is Fletcher Arrowsmith.
* RecycledInSpace: First World War with magic!
* RepetitiveName: The synonym version applies to the title character: Fletcher Arrowsmith.
* ShoulderSizedDragon: Soldiers bond with small "dragonets" by means of a [[AppliedPhlebotinum rare mystical metal]]. This bond allows the soldiers to fly with their dragonets perched on their arms like hunting falcons.
* TheyWalkAmongUs: Various fantasy races such as trolls live alongside humans; albeit as second-class citizens in many places.
* TrappedBehindEnemyLines: In the second miniseries, young Fletcher Arrowsmith of the Overseas Aero Corps is sent on a secret mission into enemy territory, to find a mysterious ally and stop a deadly plan that could destroy all of Europe.
* TheUnmasquedWorld: At the forging of the Peace of Charlemagne (the Pax Nicephori in the real world), the various hidden magical races of the world decided to make their existence openly known to humanity, also joining in the peace treaty. Dryads, trolls, dwarves, etc. live among humanity, magic co-exists side-by-side with technology. The Industrial Revolution is causing a magical revolution, as spells become mass-produced for the first time in human history.
* VoodooZombie: Voodoo zombies are seen as part of the Gallian colonial troops; where their role is presumably to serve as cannon fodder.
* WarIsHell: Behind the dragons and mages is a very traditional First World War story.
* WeirdHistoricalWar: {{Magic}} is real, and UsefulNotes/WorldWarI is fought with and by dragons, spells, vampires and all other kinds of magical weapons and beings.
* WorthyOpponent: The airmen don't kill enemy airmen who have been rendered harmless, and when they're able to recover their opponents' corpses, they are returned to their own side for the funeral. This is contrasted with what their bombings do to enemy ''civilians''.
--> '''Fletcher:''' I wonder if they'd been so eager to [return the corpse] if they knew [[spoiler:Foxe]] led the "Butchers of Holbrück."

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