A new round of tales by strong creators for the she-devil with a sword.
Creative Staff:
Story: Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Sanya Anwar, Chuck Brown
Art: Steve Beach, Kike Diaz Chuck Brown
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
What They Say:
The greatest tales! The most amazing storytellers! Red Sonja, like you’ve NEVER seen before…all presented in beautiful black, white, and red! In this issue…
-PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON (Action Comics) and STEVE BEACH (The Last God) show a bloody life in full. A white-haired Queen Sonja prepares to lead her armies into what could be her final battle, the touch of now-unfamiliar steel brings back a flood of bloody memories, and returns to her the bloodlust that carried her to so many victories.
-In SANYA ANWAR’s (Wonder Woman) tale, Sonja seeks shelter after a brutal battle in a foreign land. She will try to help someone in need, but discover that not everyone needs saving…
-CHUCK BROWN (Bitter Root) and DREW MOSS (Vampirella/Red Sonja) present a Sonja bathed in fire, imbued with a purpose most glorious…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With any number of Red Sonja books out there at a given time, finding ones that really work for you can be hit or miss unless you just consume all things Sonja. I like the variety and attempts at finding new ways to tell tales with the character, so getting an anthology-style book of short stories is definitely up my alley. We get a number of good talents here, and some familiar ones that have worked with the character before, and that results in some solid fun to be had.
The opening tale from Anwar and Diaz is a fun one as we get Sonja, stuck like a pig as she puts it, near dying in front of a statue in some small hamlet that she’s stumbled across. It’s not in the hamlet but a place where only a few women go to worship at a statute. One woman, Oenila, helps her with some stitches but it takes a while before Sonja relaxes enough to not feel threatened and hurting herself in the process. It’s a slow process with her recovery but it’s fun to watch as the two women get to know each other and there’s a good bond that’s formed as it goes along. Naturally, some danger creeps into the situation and we see Oenila trying to do right by protecting her village, which only sets Sonja off to pay back her debt. It’s a fun tale that works well, is mostly dialogue-driven, and has some great artwork.
The second tale from Johnson and Beach is the kind of story that I definitely appreciate in how its produced and the style of it. It’s not done with dialogue but prose with the visuals capturing moments or concepts from it. The black and white aspect works really well with Beachs artwork that really feels like you can touch the real thing with how the pencils look, while the splashes of red that we get really accent it in a great and powerful way. The prose covers a lot of ground as it tells the tale of the invading Turan that have crossed the sea to get to Sonja’s homeland. It’s got some very evocative artwork, especially the Black River sequence, but it’s a gorgeous-looking piece overall.
The final tale comes from Brown and Moss as we get another tale told in the cold as Sonja finds a man wandering what feels like the ruins of a kingdom. She saves him from some creatures about to gobble him up as food and tells the tale of how events went down here, leading to the situation that the kingdom is in. With a king, a curse, and two people trying to save everyone, it has a solid setup that’s introduced quickly and fits with how Sonja takes on lost causes like this. I like that we get someone that basically kills people by turning them to ice and rules with a dark iron grip, which makes him a prime target for someone like Sonja. Watching it go from a fairly straightforward fight to something where Sonja almost becomes something elemental is fantastic and is one of the best visual moments of the book with what Moss produces here.
In Summary:
I continue to really enjoy these short stories that we get focusing on Sonja. Not having to worry about continuity or where it fits in the grand scheme of things, the creative get to just work a ten-page story or so without any other concern than what works right here and now. And the team here across the three tales definitely delivers, especially since each story is definitely its own thing and not just different shades of it. Sonja continues to be a great character and this series is reinforcing that nicely.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 20th, 2021
MSRP: $4.99
