Creative Staff:
Story: Mark Russell
Art: Bob Q
Colors: Dearbhla Kelly
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
What They Say:
War wages on. Sonja The Red and her Hyrkanian army travel to the mysterious Sorcerers of Wigur-Nomadene, in the hope that they will intervene on her behalf. But elsewhere…treason in Sonja’s War Council… By MARK RUSSELL (The Riddler: Year of The Villain, Wonder Twins) and BOB Q (James Bond Origin).
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As Mark Russell pushes Sonja and the surviving Hyrkanian’s into even darker and more dangerous territory, we’re getting into that place where the bleakness is about to become overwhelming. Sonja and her people have been pushed hard to the edge and Russell now has to start providing some way to escape, to ease the pressure that’s rising as hard as it is. Thankfully, Bob Q. continues to bring the desperation to life well as we see Sonja’s pleadings, the uncertainty of the council, and the pain in the flashback that has put much into motion. It’s a strong book visually and has been from the start, which really has made this a great run to read.
The focus for this issue are the Sorcerers of Wigur-Nomadene as we get an opening bit from ten years prior with one of the kings that Dragan had disposed of. He’s come to the Sorcerers for help and they do offer it, but they’re more the masters of illusion and have given him his world back in a way that will just lead to his death within a week or two. It’s a good setup to understand them as in the present we see Sonja coming there to try and force them into being allies. With her own dealings with them previously, she’s afforded a little more leeway in their interactions but it’s a delight in seeing the way they show her more of what they do and how they operate while still trying to play the part of those separate and apart from reality.
While she’s off doing this against the wishes of the council, the council has decided that she’s already dead and gone and we get something of a coup that puts Fyodor in charge of the people now. That’s not going to sit well with Sonja when she gets back, but this section is just a bit of a muddled and murky mess at times as it unfolds, trying to connect who is who with who has survived as it twists around a little. The end result is one that puts Foghor in a good position as he’s been communicating with Dragan and has presented himself as Fyodor’s best advisor to help navigate things at this time. With Dragan’s forces arrive, one can’t imagine that it’s going to go over well for the Hyrkanian people but it’s been one bad event after another. How much more can they take?
In Summary:
Everything gets bleaker as Red Sonja goes on and I’m really curious at this point, nine issues in plus a special, at what the breaking point will be that starts to turn things around. The Sorcerers are an interesting addition to the moment and I’m curious where that’ll go, but the short term focus will definitely be on events that happened while Sonja was away. Russell is really putting the people through dark times in order to land wherever it is that he’s planned and you can’t help but to feel for them. Especially with how great Bob Q is at delivering the visual for it where the bleakness is ever-present and it’s only getting worse.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 2nd, 2019
MSRP: $3.99