Hard Traveling Hero
Creative Staff:
Story: Amy Chu
Art: Issue 6: Marcio Fiorito and Carlos Gomez; Issue 7: Carlos Gomez
Colors: Mohan
Letters: Issue 6: Tom Napolitano; Issue 7: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
Issue #6: First New York, next the world. Only Red Sonja and her friends can stop Kulan Gath’s megalomaniac quest for a new world order, but first they need to lure the evil sorcerer to Coney Island for a final magic showdown. Can Max pull off the greatest trick of his life, or will this be their last ride?
Issue #7: The She-Devil embarks on a whole new adventure… across America! Sonja takes a ride with Max in search of a way back home, and discovers maybe our worlds aren’t that different after all…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed this series, so a brief recap is in order: Sonja, the Devil with a Sword and my comic book girlfriend, fought the sorcerer Kulan Gath. Gath cast a spell that sent Sonja to our time. She met Max, a police officer and orphan from her time (long story) and together they discovered Gath alive and well and running New York. They confronted the madman at a museum gala and events went south when he summoned a horrible beast.
Issue six is pure action. It begins with the Beast rampaging through Coney Island while Max tries to cast a spell to send it and Gath back to their time. Sonja works to distract the beast, and their combined efforts work, ending with the beheading of Kulan Gath and the Beast’s return to its home. Although all the beheading did was make Gath angry, it was still a victory.
The victory came with a price, though. Max tackled the headless animated corpse and dove through the portal he created. It closed behind him, stranding Sonja in our time and Max in hers. Thankfully, Sonja made other friends through Max and they have a lead on how to get her home. Did somebody say road trip?
Since the TSA doesn’t look too kindly on swords and Sonja is already on the FBI’s list, flying is out of the question, so Sonja and her friends must take the long way to California. Sonja doesn’t mind. Although she is a stranger in a strange land, she never lets that stop her. Regardless of where she is, she is Sonja, and it’s the world that will have to change to accommodate her.
That’s one of the more refreshing aspects of this volume. When this series started seven issues ago, I feared that it would be too gimmicky and too reliant on funny scenes where Sonja reacts to modern times or acts in a way that’s untoward. While we do get those moments, they don’t overwhelm the story, and the fun comes not from the misunderstandings and cultural differences, but from watching Sonja navigate this world in pretty much the same way she navigated in hers. Honestly, I wish I reacted half as well as she does to new and unexpected situations. I guess that’s why she’s a legendary hero and I’m not.
Amy Chu definitely “gets” Sonja. Her interpretation differs from Gail Simone’s in that her Sonja isn’t quite as horny and earthy, but there are definite shades to that here. Chu’s Sonja bridges the more classic version of the character and Simone’s updated and raw take, and it works well.
Marco Fiorito and Carlos Gomez both do a great job of bringing Sonja to life. Gomez in particular has a real flair for facial expressions. The look on Sonja’s face when she steals a motorcycle is priceless. Their artistic styles complement each other in that they both draw fluid, dynamic characters and scenes with slightly exaggerated expressions and body language. Once again, though, they draw Sonja in pretty cheesecake ways. In issue six, Sonja wears her traditional scale mail bikini. She does put on pants and a leather jacket in issue seven, but that’s not a huge improvement. I get why they do that—part of the character’s popularity derives from her beauty and sex appeal, but I’m going to let the artists in on a little secret: a person can be beautiful and sexual while wearing clothes.
The objectifying of Sonja works at odds with the general tone of heroism and empowerment that stand at the core of the more recent portrayals of the character, making this one of those cases where the creative team wants to have their cake and eat it, too. As much as I enjoy the way she’s drawn, it doesn’t work anymore, and it holds back a character that I genuinely enjoy and whose example could have meaning to many people. Although she has anti-hero tendencies, Sonja is more hero than Robert E. Howard’s other creations, especially Conan, and heroes stand for something greater. I know I go off on this tangent often, but it’s important. Heroes mean something to me, and because I am who I am (white, male, cisgender, heterosexual, etc.) I’ve got a smorgasbord of heroes to choose from, and that’s not fair. Everyone should have a hero that represents the best of what’s inside them.
Sonja could be a very positive character in terms of representing a woman who is strong, intelligent, and aware and unashamed of her physical needs, but objectifying her casts all of that in a different light, and it takes away the power of the representation. I suppose it might seem silly that I’m going on about a fictional barbarian, but stories matter. Maybe I want too much, but I shouldn’t have to settle for just pants and a jacket.
Regardless of what she’s wearing, the next issue will have Sonja down in Texas, hot on the trail of a drug kingpin. I’m betting if there’s any place in our time that will remind her of Hyrkania, it’ll be Texas.
In Summary:
Although problematic in its objectifying its protagonist, Red Sonja volume four, issues six and seven serve up solid adventure and character work. It’s a fun romp through America with everyone’s favorite red-headed barbarian. What more could you want? Dr. Josh gives both issues an….
Grade: A-
Age Rating: T+
Released By: Dynamite Comics
Release Date: Issue 6: June 21st, 2017; Issue 7: August 9th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99 per issue
