Unbreakable Red Sonja #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

UNBREAKABLE RED SONJA No.1, October 2022

Whilst author Jim Zub made it clear in August 2022 that he intended to push Red Sonja to her “breaking point with intense physical and emotional tolls” during this “new epic” series, it probably never occurred to many of the sword and sorcery adventurer’s fans that this would include the Hyborian Age warrior suffering a seriously heavy hangover throughout its opening instalment. Indeed, it’s arguably difficult to recollect Roy Thomas’ co-creation ever being so violently sick or as utterly unconscious due to her drinking alcohol, as the Eisner Award-nominee depicts her within this twenty-two-page periodical; “Shut your dog hole! I can count my own drinks, you mutts!”

Furthermore, up until the moment when “our scarlet-haired hero” completely passes out down a dingy alleyway, such substantial swigging doesn’t seem to even help progress this publication’s puzzling plot either, with the Hyrkanian warrior repeatedly needing to suddenly sober up whenever her wits are needed. This inebriated inconsistency initially suggests that perhaps the "She-Devil with a Sword" was actually toying with her initial drinking companion before the ill-thinking paramour unwisely attempted to steal her purse. Yet shortly after the “sword-master” has angrily stomped away from a market-place prophet, she is once again assailed by the ravages of her seven-flagon strong binge.

Perhaps therefore this comic’s most persuasive hook surprisingly lies at its very start when Red Sonja doesn’t even appear. Instead, the reader is introduced to a group of prospective treasure hunters forging through some long-forgotten halls and encountering a deadly wall of ever moving sand which literally cuts the hand from one of them who momentarily touches it. This exploration sequence is utterly riveting, and with the suggestion that a painful death lurks within every shadow, it debatably comes as a major disappointment when the group are lethally whittled down to just its sorceress within a score of panels.

Illustrator Giovanni Valletta must also be congratulated for making this dungeon delving devilry a riveting experience, due to the freelancer’s prodigious ability to pencil the arrogant confidence of the thieves being eroded away by the dangers facing them. In addition, once "one of Dynamite's flagship stars" does take up her blade at this publication’s very end, there can be little doubt just how great her prowess with a sharp steel edge is, as the artist dynamically draws her clashing with a giant, zombie-like creature of vapour and flesh.

The regular cover art of "UNBREAKABLE RED SONJA" No. 1 by Lucio Parrillo