Sonja goes all-in on trying to save Vampirella.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jordie Bellaire
Art: Drew Moss
Colors: Rebecca Nalty
Letterer: Becca Carey
What They Say:
Behold…DRAKULON. What the hell is Red Sonja doing there? How will its inhabitants greet her? And where…is…Vampirella? From JORDIE BELLAIRE (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and DREW MOSS (Star Wars).
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the previous issue starting a new arc for the series, it wasn’t the best place to go with a gap but that’s what a pandemic will do for you. Jordie Bellaire’s script here takes just a little bit to get its groove and jog my memory of where we were but it flows pretty well once there and lands on an ending that has me wanting the next issue as quickly as possible. It’s also a book that just looks fantastic with what Drew Moss and Rebecca Nalty put into it with a gumshoe Sonja and Vampirella as an Egyptian-style exotic dancer in a club. There’s a lot of dark colors used in this installment to great effect and it all serves to really boost the more vibrant pieces that we get, such as Sonja’s hair or anything Baby Blue related.
With Sonja unable to talk and basically having her lucky magic rat with her that allows her to understand things here in 1920 NYC, she’s set herself up with the cops well enough to ensure that she can try and find Vampirella. It’s a really neat pseudo-noir thing that’s going on with it as it plays out and watching her as she deals with the crooked cops and the nature of the clubs and the like is a lot of fun. It’s also amusing to see how many guys just go at her like it’s nothing only to get tossed aside easily. The narration drives home a lot of things for how Sonja is feeling during all of this and part of that is still something of failure in trying to find her friend and do right by her, since loyalty is a huge part of her character makeup.
The club is where all things change as once the show gets underway that Baby Blue is putting on we get to see what happened to Vampirella. It’s no surprise that she’d show up here and that she’s under some sort of spell that has her putting on this performance as Ella. But it plays well visually and gets Sonja’s attention in a big way. That, naturally, turns to Sonja doing something about it which comes at the same time another gang comes bursting in to cause trouble. It’s chaos all around and with Ella under Baby Blue’s control, it’s just a mess. Plus, he’s got these demonic dog type creatures that are pretty vicious and the whole thing – as great as the layouts are and the flow of the action – just becomes really chaotic as it progresses. There’s a lot to like even as it ends with a big smackdown and then a hell of a tease about what’s next, but that’s half the fun with this book.
In Summary:
This new arc may be revealing itself a bit more as to the reality of it based on the final page and I’m curious to see if that’s true as it kind of rewrites this and the prior issue. Which I’m fine with because they’re been a delight in seeing noir Sonja in 1920 doing her best to survive in New York City. Bellaire’s script and narration serves everything well here and it draws you in quite strongly with the approach. Drew Moss and Rebecca Nalty breathe incredible life into it with all their design work and I just can’t get over how beautiful it is with so much of the line work, the angular aspect of pieces of it, and the colors that just pop. Very recommended.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: June 10th, 2020
MSRP: $3.99
