Diane Wiess thought being a dictatorʼs daughter was a rather cushy position, all things considered.
...until demons threatened the southern border of Chandera, and riots began to consume the rest. Anticipating retaliation against his misdeeds, her father strikes a deal with an equally infamous mercenary company - the Iron Crown Brigade. Their mission: escort Diane out of the crumbling country into the safe haven of the powerful Imperium, and protect her at all costs. Along the way, as Diane reluctantly confronts the shadows of her fatherʼs dark legacy as well as embarks on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, she begins to piece together the enigma of Shard - the ancient demon of war bound to her as he faces his own bloodstained past.
Iron Crown
is an ongoing Diesel Punk action-adventure story by writer/artist kradeelav. With silly antics from an adorable pug, vain-villains-turned-very-reluctant-protagonists galore, and badass mercenary ladies that inadvertently make a found family in each other - Iron Crown nevertheless trades deeply in the question of What Makes A Monster for humans ... and the truly unholy beings that lurk on the edges of its world.
Start from the beginning here.
Iron Crown contains examples of:
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Commander Isandar. Captain Hardin as well, judging by how fast they both take down demons.
- Animals Hate Him There's a gag strip where Shard, the resident Sealed Evil in a Can, clearly smells a bit off to the rescued pug that tags along with the cast. Being a bit of a troll, said demon has some fun with it◊.
- Badass Longcoat: practically the entire cast save the Weiss family qualify.
- Banana Republic: Chandera, where the comic opens - with Lord Weiss as The Generalissimo to boot.
- Blood Knight: Isandar shows shades of this, if her reaction to the aforementioned demons showing up is anything to go by.
- Card-Carrying Villain: The captain uses this one against Dictator Weiss of all people. "Who's surprised here?" indeed.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: all the main factions play this straight. Isandar's mercenary brigade is in warm grey and red (presumably for the warlike connection), anyone related to Chandera's dictatorship in blue and a cooler grey, and the divine order of the Judges in white and gold.
- Also noticeable when Diane, the protagonist, picks up a jacket from Isandar's crew and discards the blue schoolgirl outfit from before. Her early concept art◊ has both.
- Also noticeable when Diane, the protagonist, picks up a jacket from Isandar's crew and discards the blue schoolgirl outfit from before. Her early concept art
- Deal with the Devil: the main plot really starts with this as Diane - while on the run - bargains with a demon in the basement as the country falls to pieces around them. It goes about as well as you'd expect.
- Daddy's Little Villain: Diane, natch.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: As the resident Sealed Evil in a Can, Shard is introduced with these - the relative brightness is an excellent barometer of how particularly murderous he is at the moment.
- Most notable on on this page when our protagonist pisses him off unwittingly. Oops.
- Most notable on on this page
- Mercy Kill: It's implied that getting possessed is a one-way trip, and the kindest thing to do is cut it short.
- No-Sell: Hardin and his men's weapons don't so much as scratch Shard.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Quite a few of Weiss' guards - with a special mention for the soldier that keeps treats in his pocket for the dictator's pug.
- Pet the Dog: already a running theme with Chandera's high command.
- used for dramatic irony in Dictator Weiss' Establishing Character Moment.
- likewise with the soldier who pets Willy the pug while on his cigarette break.
- Rule of Symbolism: While the author explicitly mentions that the comic is not alternative history, one can't help but notice that the same gun that the Captain uses on Dictator Weiss is also the same one that an infamous dictator used to off himself.
- Slasher Smile: it's almost like the Captain is very much enjoying turning the tables on Weiss...
- A newly-unbound Shard is not about to left out of the fun (with bonus points for his being light-up).
- A newly-unbound Shard is not about to left out of the fun
- Treacherous Advisor: Weiss really should've kept a closer eye on his Captain, given how coups usually go down ...
- Token Evil Teammate: An arch-demon of war? that's possessing a soldier with a perpetual Slasher Smile to boot? Check, check, and check.
