“Mother, Chapter 3”
Creative Staff:
Story: Mirka Andolfo, Luca Blengino
Art: Giuseppe Cafaro
Colors: Chiara di Francia
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
What They Say:
The She-Devil is in pursuit of warlocks in the swamps of the Koroths River. She will need the aid of a renegade slave, in order to battle necromancers. It is a battle of dark arts, against hardened steel.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Mirka Andolfo, as she writes alongside Luca Blengino, continues to craft an interesting story but it’s one that feels like it’s more cohesive and focused the further it gets from the opening issue. It had so much establishing to do and was pretty packed that it didn’t have quite the identity that it needed. Here, in the third issue, it’s definitely working a lot better as the size of the cas shrinks. Giuseppe Cafaro is handling the artwork with Chiara di Francia doing the color design and it’s really great. There’s a really great sense of color to this that gives it an almost film-like feeling at times. It’s richly detailed and immerses you in this engaging world in a really great way. I love the look of the cast and the expressiveness that we get as well.
With Sitha kidnapped by the two necromancers, the first third of the book deals with the beast that Sonja is left to face in the city, which is handled decently but isn’t all that compelling right out of the gate. As it progresses and she navigates the city in tracking down Sitha, I really enjoyed the conversational aspect of it and how she gained the horse that will let her make a real run at getting caught up to the ship since they make the mistake of anchoring overnight instead of continuing on. It does take a llittle bit of an odd turn as an old man that served on the ship, Setubai, has decided that this is the time to flee his masters of the dark arts after sixteen years. But he provides the intel that Sonja needs to start taking down those on the ship so she can get to Sitha. And it’s a devilishly fun fight at that as she makes her way quietly down her opponents one by one.
While I do know she’ll handle most situations, I do like that Samosh had managed to follow her, just a bit behind, and helps out. The two definitely click here once again and her breakdown of the situation is perfectly succinct. It makes it so the two can work even better together as they head to the ship proper at this point. I like how it unfolds here, with the twins argumentative about what they’re doing with their magic, and Sonja realizing that even as their reputation as presented isn’t quite what she understands as the reality, having faced many magic wielders before. That she calls them amateurs is a delight but they do have power, and are wielding it, which makes for an exciting action sequence that draws the issue to a close.
In Summary:
Red Sonja delivers a really solid experience here as it gets down to Sonja at her best – on a mission and in pursuit. The driven nature of her is what shines and how she’s just down to business works so well. When she lets more of her personality shine, which we’ve definitely seen in this and prior issues, it’s a real thrill to see because she’s able to be such a beacon. The storyline feels more defined in this issue and the push works a lot better because of it. And with less characters running around, less city, it becomes a lot more interesting in the artwork department as well as each move is personal and I’m not wildly drawn to the crazy busy city life that Cafaro delivers so well. I’m excited to see what’s next now that Sonja is on the move.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: November 3rd, 2021
MSRP: $3.99
