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

Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos #6 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS No.6, June 2020

Essentially consisting of one publication-length pitched battle between Red Sonja and Purgatori, this concluding instalment to Erik Burnham’s marvellous six-issue mini-series must surely have left its readers breathless on account of its sense-shattering shenanigans. Indeed, the “Dynamic Entertainment” pre-print press release for this particular comic declaring it to be a sensational confrontation between a “literal she-devil” and the “She-Devil with a Sword” is absolutely spot on, as the pair savagely batter one another with talons and blade for almost the entirety of the twenty-age periodical.

Enjoyably though, this flurry of supernatural-powered fisticuffs doesn’t lead to a senseless array of blood-soaked set pieces designed to pad out this book to its conclusion. But rather presents a nicely-paced number of opportunities for members of this title’s extensive cast to make one last impact upon the titanic tussle taking place over Kulan Gath's amulet; “Don’t seem to be healing, which means I’m about to go away for a while. But Smiley and I hold a grudge. So before we go, we have a present for you… Take the power and use it to shove that sword into whatever hole you feel like…”

These ‘cameos’ are admittedly somewhat restricted to simple depictions of Jade, Sakkara, Catherine Bell and Chasity relocating back to their proper place in the planet’s timeline. However, the likes of Evil Ernie and Lady Demon make a real contribution to the comic’s narrative, both reminding its audience as to precisely why the Hyrkanian warrior’s victory is so fundamental to the world’s survival, as well as Sonja’s motivation for disconcertingly wishing her sorcerous arch-nemesis to be resurrected from the dead into an already rotting cadaver.

Adding an astonishing amount of palpable energy and dynamism to these pulse-pounding proceedings are Jonathan Lau’s incredibly dramatically-drawn layouts. Barely a panel has been pencilled which doesn’t in some way contain a painful reminder to any perusing bibliophile that a mere mortal is facing off against an extremely powerful vampiric creature of evil, and so by the end of the pair’s fraught fight, all of its observers are probably almost as physically tired from scrutinising the intense action-packed conflict as Roy Thomas’ co-creation clearly is having fought throughout it.

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS" No. 6 by Lucio Parrillo

Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos #5 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS No. 5, July 2020

For those readers who enjoy an abundance of decapitations or grisly bodily dismemberments inside their comic books, Erik Burnham’s script to Issue Five of “Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos” must have entertained them enormously with its seemingly endless carousel of sword-hacking and arm-ripping shenanigans. In fact, many within this twenty-page periodical’s audience would probably struggle to recall another title the safe side of a Teen-rated publication which contains quite so many flying heads and severed limbs as the “Minnesotan writer” manages to weave throughout this mini-series’ particular instalment.

Happily however, such graphic violence isn’t simply gratuitous nonsense either, and actually helps progress a truly pulse-pounding plot which predominantly focuses upon the titular character’s headlong dash across the Great Desert of the East towards a long-hidden temple in order to “resurrect an infamous Necromancer.” True, Chasity’s shocking beheading doesn’t surprisingly keep the “half-breed” vampire out of the action for too long, but the gruesome demise of Red Sonja’s travelling companion certainly spurs the Hyrkanian warrior on to some truly breathtakingly brave moments whilst fighting “a newly powered Purgatori”.

In addition, the death of Brian Pulido’s mohawked co-creation, alongside that of Jade, provides the hilarious Evil Ernie with two ready-made puppets with which to claim Kulan Gath’s highly-sought after talisman. Indeed, the green-glowing drones’ attack upon Purgatori and Sonja produces some of this comic’s most memorable actions sequences, including a genuine laugh-out-loud moment when the “She-devil with a Sword” unflinchingly dispatches her resurrected friend with a merciless sword-swipe much to Chasity’s chagrin; “Just make it fast, huh? And then put that amulet on my corpse… Geez, didn’t take much convincing…”

Imbuing this book’s impressive “Chaos! library of characters” with plenty of animated life, even those which are noticeably Undead, is artist Jonathan Lau, whose pencilling goes a great way to depicting the sheer speed of the events which Burnham has penned. One moment Red is furiously fighting off a frenzied horde of blood-drinking thralls, and then in the next a revitalised Jade is making more martial art moves against Lucifer’s bride-to-be than the human eye can possibly follow before the four thousand year-old vampire-sorceress has her limbs vividly torn out from their sockets.

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS" No. 5 by Alan Quah

Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos #4 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS No. 4, April 2020

Packing his narrative’s twenty pages with plenty of pulse-pounding pugilism, Erik Burnham’s storyline for Issue Four of “Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos” must surely have catered for all the varied tastes of this mini-series’ audience, whether they be fans of the titular character, Chastity Marks, Evil Ernie, or Purgatori. For despite this particular instalment of the Minnesota-born writer’s epic collaboration between Roy Thomas’ co-creation and some of the more supernatural inhabitants of the “Chaos! Comics” universe arguably starting off a little slowly as the She-devil with a sword surveys the streets of Kor, the sheer slug-fest which quickly follows her meandering does a first-rate job of incorporating all of this publication’s leading cast in its senseless slaughter.

Indeed, from the moment Red Sonja and her “punk rock fan turned vampire” companion startle the sorcerer Barent within his somewhat secluded “place of business” and unleash the ghost of the long-dead seer Xoret upon the tiny viewing room’s occupants, this book’s delightfully fast-paced action-sequences simply won’t let its readers off of the hook until its excellently-penned cliff-hanger when the couple are depicted being hotly pursued by a horde of the ravenous undead across the narrowest of ravine crossings; “I can hold off a mob of vampires long enough for you to dump some blood on the thing. Wait? -- How much blood?”

Easily this comic’s highest highlight however, is Evil Ernie’s utterly fantastic dust-up with Purgatori “hundreds of miles to the west”. This truly is a no-holds barred brutalisation as the ghoulish psychotic killer tries his absolute best to go toe-to-toe with Sakkara, and eventually discovers that even being armed with an enormous zombie dragon is not going to give him the edge needed to overcome Lucifer’s one-time winged consort. Crammed with some genuinely funny banter, as well as plenty of back-chat from Smiley the Psychotic Button, Fairchild’s fight delivers some savage edge-of-the-seat moments, and provides the “Dynamite Entertainment” resident artist, Jonathan Lau, with the opportunity to pencil some stunningly dynamic panels, most notably that of Purgatori being swallowed whole by Ernie’s flying beast and then her tearing the putrefying creature asunder from the inside out in an attempt to be free of its unholy stomach.

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS" No. 4 by Lucio Parillo

Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos #3 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS No. 3, March 2020

Repositioning this comic’s numerous cast within the Hyborian Age like some sort of Chess Grandmaster, Erik Burnham’s script for Issue Three of “Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos” will surely have pleased both fans of the “Chaos! Comics” Characters and the She-Devil with a sword alike. Indeed, considering that the Bemidji-born writer somehow manages to provide some of Brian Pulido and Steven Hughes’ best-loved co-creations with plenty of intriguing ‘screen time’ inside a single twenty-page periodical, this particular publication proves just how well a ‘monster mash-up’ can be penned when its writer enjoys “an extensive back and forth” with the book’s editor over story ideas.

Foremost of these enthralling ‘hooks’ is that by bringing Evil Ernie, Jade and Purgatori back to Robert E. Howard’s well-developed fictional setting, none of the super-powered beings are actually as powerful as they would be in the modern age. This levelling of the playing field clearly helps Red Sonja hold her ground against the likes of the half-vampire Chasity, and even Lady Demon up to a point, but also provides the rest of this mini-series’ ensemble with some much needed vulnerability, especially when all they are faced with is a handful of sword-wielding Hyperboreans; “Perhaps this is too much to ask of you. After all, look at how much effort it took for you to slay these few who attacked.”

In addition, Burnham adds something of an extra twist to this comic’s narrative, by actually suggesting that some of its combatants might not necessarily want to return to the present day, having “taken a shine to the savage world as an easy place to indulge their dangerous natures.” Such an innovative, motivational sub-plot seems to prove particularly appealing to a certain four-thousand year-old blood-drinking sorceress, whose opportunity to lead the ancient empire of Khitai and mould “her people over the centuries [to] make them strong” rather than simply rule a Shanghai crime family, is as captivating as Mistress Hel’s subsequent manipulation of Jade is undoubtedly perilous.

Adding some extra pizzazz to this publication’s pulse-pounding proceedings are Jonathan Lau’s illustrations, which truly help depict the utter barbarity of some of this book’s participants. Whether it be Evil Ernie delightfully spying a dragon’s corpse amidst the grisly cadavers of so many dead Vikings, or Purgatori’s gratuitous, limb-scattering skirmish with a group of rough-looking Northmen, the American artist is clearly at the top of his pencilling game throughout this comic.

Writer: Erik Burnham, Artist: Jonathan Lau, and Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse

Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos #2 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS No. 2, February 2020

Publicised as a comic book within which “Red Sonja is fully made to understand her victory over Kulan Gath not only led to the invasion of her world by a whole new kind of evil, but may cause time itself to end”, Erik Burnham’s script for Issue Two of “Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos” undoubtedly does it job. Yet having simply packed this twenty-page periodical with Lady Demon’s disinteresting explanatory dialogue as to how the end of the world happened and “Mankind is done”, it is hard to imagine that many perusing bibliophiles who encountered this word-heavy title upon their local spinner rack, subsequently took it to the counter as part of their ‘Pull List’.

For starters the comic opens with Chasity somewhat swiftly providing the Hyborian Age heroine with a recap as to the events in this mini-series’ previous instalment, and simultaneously touches upon the titular character’s own past adventures in modern day New York City; “A long story. Suffice it to say that magic has complicated my life more than once.” Unfortunately however, just as soon as this re-tread of old events has concluded, the “Minnesotan writer” then decides that Lucifer's red-skinned consort will simply deliver more of the same for the majority of the book, by subjecting the reader to an almost blow-by-blow account of Bad Kitty’s involvement in the build-up to the “punk rock fan turned vampire” getting “stuck in Fantasyland!”

To make matters worse though, the American author additionally blames this situation upon Red Sonja, because the warrior defeated Kulan early in the dark-hearted sorcerer’s career, rather than just repeatedly opposed him whilst the villainous magician “spread his evil for years to come.” This plot’s premise therefore debatably makes no sense whatsoever, as all Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor Smith’s co-creation did was logically decide to “dispose of Garth’s amulet where no mortal could reach it” by hurling it into the sea. There was no 'divine intervention' or prevailing sense of foreboding that this act “broke the cycle and changed all time.” It simply seemed like the best means to prevent Vammatar’s husband from returning to plague the planet once again.

Of course, all this elucidation on the part of Burnham’s penmanship doesn’t mean that Jonathan Lau lacks the opportunity to pencil some truly pulse-pounding panels packed full of ferocious fighting moves. Chasity tearing apart a couple of hapless vampires alone is debatably the highlight of this book. But even some superb ‘punch-ups’ between Lady Demon, the she-devil with a sword, and a Mohican-haired assassin can’t help maintain a continuous sense of momentum throughout essentially a publication long discourse.

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS" No. 2 by Lucio Parrillo

Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS No. 1, January 2020

It’s abundantly clear from the sheer dynamic nature of this twenty-page periodical’s plot that Erik Burnham was “incredibly excited to get a return trip to the Hyborian Age to spend a little more time with Red Sonja”. For whilst Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor Smith’s co-creation doesn’t actually enjoy too much limelight in Issue One of “Red Sonja: Age Of Chaos”, the “Minnesotan writer” still manages to demonstrate just what “an incredibly fun character [she is] to write” for by having the sword-and-sorcery heroine brutally behead a handful of opponents.

Happily however, the scarcity of the female warrior’s presence is easily forgiven, courtesy of this comic’s audience being swiftly subjected to some of the New Jersey-based publisher’s most demonic personalities, including Evil Ernie, Jade, Sakkara, Catherine Bell and Chasity, in what can only be described as a marvellously manic parade of undead flesh, vampiric blood-drinking and winged transformations. Admittedly, this remorseless assault upon the senses could well have become utterly overpowering for those bibliophiles naïve to the “Dynamite Entertainment” universe. But mercifully each super-powered individual is accompanied by a brief synopsis as to their brutal background, and such is the simplicity of the American author’s tale, that all any onlooker really needs to know is that the combatants all seemingly hate one another.

Indeed, the vast majority of this magazine consists of the Godlike being Purgatori attempting to beat the life out of her opponents so as to secure Mistress Hel‘s “ultimate benefit”; an amulet containing the soul of the ancient sorcerer, Kulan Gath. So minimalistic a plot could easily have produced a rather tedious borefest, yet Burnham manages to avoid this ‘trap’ by introducing the reader to a fresh competitor every time the remorselessly savage action starts to get a little stale; “You will not stand in my way, half-breed… And neither will this deluded slave!”

Jonathan Lau also has much to answer for concerning the breath-taking ferocity of this book’s unrelenting entertainment. The Philippines-born illustrator appears to be well on his way to succeeding in his mission “to bring big action back into comics” with his packed panels consistently depicting well-pencilled bloody knife thrusts, sword blows, hand-chops and mighty magic. Little wonder therefore, that his creative collaborator would warn this title’s potential buyers that “Lau’s art is gonna blow the doors off (please, have all the doors reinforced before opening the book).”

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA: AGE OF CHAOS" No. 1 by Lucio Parrillo

Red Sonja #6 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA No. 6, June 2017

Featuring a seeming wish list of the most contrived, co-incidental story-telling contraptions a comic book writer could conjure, Amy Chu’s script for Issue Six of “Red Sonja” must surely have baffled and bewildered the title’s loyal 11,215 readers in June 2017. Indeed, it is difficult to deduce a more randomly haphazard sequence of events than the one which befalls this publication’s titular character as the red-haired warrioress confronts a tower block-tall fiend from “the formerly mighty kingdom of Meru” on modern day Coney Island, Brooklyn, and ultimately defeats the massive, tendril-covered brute by using the amusement park’s big wheel to whizz around so fast that it somehow creates a time portal back to the monster’s home…

Regrettably however, even so utterly ludicrous a plot as having a time-travelling dinosaur being defeated by a funfair ride is disconcertingly just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Boston-born author’s narrative for this twenty-page periodical, and is soon sadly overshadowed by a local beat cop fortuitously mastering the magical abilities of his forefathers just in time to withstand the supernatural onslaught of Kulan Gath, the illogical decision of the ordinarily-loyal “demon beast of Khauran” to turn against his master of several thousand years at precisely the point the sorcerer was about to defeat the ‘She-devil with a Sword’, and Max’s ridiculous realisation that after all this time all he needed to do to rid Mister Gault of his invulnerability was to shoot the glowing purple amulet the megalomaniac always wears about his neck; “This negotiation is over.”

Undeniably, such artificial and nonsensical story-telling certainly provides plenty of pulse-pounding action sequences as the waterfront’s main attraction is torn asunder by the giant Hyborian Age lizard, New York City’s finest blaze away with their ineffective pea-shooters, and a furious Red Sonja hacks away at her arch-nemesis with an all-too impotent blade. But a comic audience are rarely going to become totally engrossed in such engineered tomfooleries, no matter how “easy for me” a hubristic Chu believed penning this series was at the time. 

Almost as disappointing as the book’s script, is unhappily the story-boarding of Carlos Gomez, which whilst dynamically drawn and full of energy, seemingly appears to have been somewhat rushed. Indeed, there’s a definite atmosphere of ‘hurried harassment’ to the Spaniard’s pencilling that makes his panels appear a little inconsistent, angular and scratchily-sketched, especially during the magazine’s early interiors when Gath’s demonic pet is tearing up the pier’s Wonder Wheel in a scene somewhat similar to a sharp-toothed carcharodon carcharias ripping through the metal bars of a shark cage so as to eat its hapless occupants.

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA" No. 6 by Mike McKone

Red Sonja/Tarzan #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA/TARZAN No. 1, May 2018

On the face of it a title uniting “the iconic heroine of swords-and-sorcery with the quintessential jungle adventurer in deadly conflict” probably sounded like a money printing licence to “Dynamite Entertainment” when it initially considered “its first-ever Red Sonja/Tarzan crossover miniseries”. After all, the “publishing imprint of Dynamic Forces” had already turned to someone “noted as being one of the most influential women in the comic book industry” to pen its script, and writer Gail Simone has since gone on record enthusiastically stating that as far as she is concerned “Tarzan is the king... When I was a kid, I read every Edgar Rice Burroughs book I could find. I loved the jungle aspects, the family stories, and I loved how Tarzan had to fend for himself at the start. It was just exhilarating to me.”

Sadly however, even someone with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of this twenty-two page periodical’s central characters is arguably going to struggle to come up with a convincingly credible way to bring the pair of popular fantasy franchises together without turning towards utter contrivance or complete co-incidence. And sorrowfully, the Oregon-born author’s narrative unsubtly ticks both of these boxes in spades, ludicrously bringing the “She-Devil with a Sword” forward in time some twelve thousand years courtesy of a visit to the confusingly named Tower of Everywhen and a somewhat tense audience with a ‘mere’ blue-skinned semi-naked Traveller; “I need you, witch. I need your gift… I will sit here until I melt, if need be. If it takes a thousand years.”

Equally as artificial is this story’s main antagonist, the truly vile Eson Duul; a heavily-muscled, lank-haired ‘pig of a man’ who has been accurately described by his creator as being "Tarzan gone wrong." Heavily prejudicial towards the “degenerate” French, and sadistically cruel to both the wild animals he keeps tightly caged within his filthy zoo, as well as his troupe of sycophantic hangers-on, the seriously chauvinistic big game hunter initially appears to be precisely the sort of “classic-style villain… that would fit in with [either] an Edgar Rice Burroughs.. or a Robert E. Howard story.” Unfortunately though, this repugnant “basically awful” ogre’s believability is then subsequently ruined by Red Sonja’s revelation that, alongside Carl Snyder and Stephanie Despouy, he has “some ability to defy time” and has existed since at least the Hyborian Age…

Somewhat more successful than Simone’s script is her collaborator’s competently-composed artwork. It’s clear from this comic’s dynamically drawn figures and testosterone-fuelled facial features that Walter Geovani both “love[s] crossovers, and… feel[s] downright possessive of Red Sonja.” Indeed, the Brazilian illustrator’s tense stand-off between Duul and an enraged Lord Greystoke makes for a truly mesmerising confrontation, and entirely justifies Gail’s decision “to put aside another project that we were working on for six months [just] so he could draw this.”

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA/TARZAN" No. 1 by Adam Hughes

Red Sonja #5 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA No. 5, May 2017

Considering that writer Amy Chu had previously gone on record as saying that she loved “Red Sonja because she’s badass, pure warrior… [so] she just slays”, it is probably a safe bet that even the staunchest of this “Dynamite Entertainment” series' 11,692-strong followers in May 2017 weren’t particularly impressed with a narrative disquietingly devoid of any pulse-pounding action whatsoever and seemingly far more concerned with introducing an ever-expanding supporting cast simply “to pay homage to the different neighbourhoods of the city”, such as the grizzled Mister Azimov and instantly forgettable Churchill the pet bulldog. In fact, most of this publication's perusers were probably rather unhappy with the creative quality of this title's twenty-page periodical overall, especially when the comic’s cover proudly claimed that the interior artwork was supposedly single-handedly sketched by Carlos Gomez, when in reality half of it was disconcertingly drawn by the far less able Marcio Fiorito.

Much of this antipathy undoubtedly stems from the book’s dreadful opening, which rather worryingly was actually penned by the Boston-born author to act as a “recap” so as to ensure that new readers wouldn’t apparently find the book “a total turnoff” if they “picked this up and have no idea where this is going.” Such a considerate attitude towards a magazine’s audience is indisputably laudable, yet badly ‘backfires’ on this occasion due to the script simply insinuating that Mister Gault is somehow responsible for the “large creature… moving up Fifth Avenue” rather than providing any actual exposition as to just how either the towering “demon beast of Khauran” or “mysterious woman with a sword” have miraculously appeared in modern day New York City. Instead, any bibliophile is just expected to immediately grasp the incredibly contrived plot that one of the Big Apple’s finest is in reality a Hyborian Age magician who is trying to utilise Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel to create a portal “back to where we came from.”

In addition, the unexpected (and disappointingly unwelcome) artwork by Fiorito must have caused many readers a real shock to their system, with his rather wooden, two-dimensional drawing style unnervingly ignoring any pace to the proceedings which the story-line might have demanded. Chu made her gratitude towards the Brazilian professional “for pitching in on this issue” public at the time of its printing, as Gomez had clearly found being the regular artist on this title “physically taxing”. But such is the jarring contrast between the two contributors, something which is especially transparent when Carlos returns to his pencilling duties mid-way through the magazine, that one can’t help wonder whether it would have been better for Issue Five of “Red Sonja” to have simply ‘missed a month’ in order for its writer to tighten up her lack-lustre, overly-coincidental plot and allow the Spanish illustrator a moment to recharge his evidently waning batteries..?

Writer: Amy Chu, Illustrators: Marcio Fiorito & Carlos Gomez, and Colors: Mohan

Red Sonja #4 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA No. 4, April 2017

Arguably, there comes a time every now and then during any ongoing comic book series when a particular edition will cause its audience to pause and strongly consider whether or not they’re going to push on and finish reading the publication. Disappointingly, Amy Chu’s script for Issue Four of “Red Sonja” potentially provides just such a watershed moment, arriving approximately half-way through the twenty-page periodical, at a point when New York City police officer Max Mendoza, “from Bushwick”, is disconcertingly revealed to be “the last surviving Meruvian”, and the gigantic “demon beast of Khauran” nonsensically smashes its way through an upper storey window of the Metropolitan Museum of Art simply to show it is still playing the role of Kulan Gath’s guard dog; “You’re late, you disgraceful beast. Finish them off. And hurry up. I’m tired of this place.”

Admittedly, up until this juncture the Boston-born writer’s narrative for this title had always trodden something of a fine line between an innovative re-imagining of Robert E. Howard’s heroine and clichéd, preposterous bunkum. But to suddenly suggest that “Sir Max” is the sole surviving orphan of a “tiny miserable kingdom of Mages”, and is therefore miraculously capable of magically raising all of a banquet’s cutlery off its tables as if he were some sort of culinary-controlling variant of “Marvel Comics” Magneto, is debatably going a step far too far. To make matters worse, the Harvard Business School graduate also tests even the most fervent of fan’s willing suspension of disbelief by subsequently suggesting that the script’s evil sorcerer has somehow kept his truly monstrously-sized, tendril-draped bright red dragon safely under wraps from the civilised world since he first arrived in America over a hundred years ago… 

Of course, such contrived revelations do at least inject a rather word-heavy, dialogue-driven plot with some much-needed pulse-pounding action. The main protagonists’ race down to the Museum’s “Arms and Armoury Hall”, and fortuitous finding of Hyborian Age forged weaponry is arguably one of this comic’s few highlights, as is their subsequent close combat battle against the green-blooded demon, which sees the pair lopping off the creature’s writhing tentacles as if there is no tomorrow. However, even these short-lived scenes, enthusiastically pencilled by artist Carlos Gomez, pale into insignificance when compared to the Spaniard's truly sense-shattering depiction of the Big Apple’s emergency services evacuating “the Met Museum” in the mistaken belief it has been the target of a suspected terrorist attack.

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA" No. 4 by Mike McKone

Red Sonja #3 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA No. 3, March 2017

Covering an awful lot of ground within the space of a single twenty-page periodical, from the titular character’s costume swap to the Hyrkanian’s reunion “with her trusty sword”, Amy Chu’s over-reliance upon manufactured set-pieces to help “the She-Devil” more easily communicate with her supporting cast and quickly track down “her old foe” Kulan Gath, must have increasingly troubled this comic’s 15,382 readers. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a more contrived set of circumstances than that which befalls the ‘sword and sorcery’ heroine as she discovers that Spike’s “workout gear [from] behind the bar” fits her curvaceous frame perfectly, and that the mixologist’s girlfriend at Columbia University just so happens to be working on a Hyborian studies thesis, so readily speaks the red-headed warrior’s language; “<I’ve studied it for the last five years. Pull up a chair. I need to hear your whole story…>”

Incredibly however, even these coincidences fail to compare to the Boston-born writer’s misguided belief that a warrior woman from a mythical land can simply hop onto a modern-day motorbike, pull off a pretty impressive-looking Evel Knievel wheelie and then speed off onto the New York City freeway just because Robert E. Howard’s creation has watched Sir Max of Bushwick ride the machine once before. Admittedly, Sonja’s freshly found skill does provide this comic with a momentous opportunity to have the sword-wielding six-footer, complete with a biker’s black leather jacket, momentarily mow down her assailants and subsequently careen through the Big Apple’s intolerant traffic. But for many this Borg-like assimilation of a modern-day transportation mode is debatably taking a person’s willing suspension of disbelief a step too far…

Fortunately though, all these fortuitous affairs are sketched by Carlos Gomez, so even if their lack of gritty realism grates upon the nerves, each providential progression is at least illustrated with plenty of life-imbuing vigour. Indeed, this publication’s conclusion, which depicts Sonja and her friends crashing the Columbia Centre for Hyborian Studies Annual Dinner, provides an otherwise lack-lustre narrative with some much needed excitement as the professional penciller draws the leading lady disarming gun-toting agents with her thigh-knife and denting their heads with the hilt of her formidably-sized blade; “See. Sir Max? I kill no one.” Plus, the Spaniard also even manages to please the pulp fiction devotees with a fleeting glimpse of the Kingdom of Meru’s Grand Bazaar “before it was destroyed by the evil sorcerer Kulan Gath.”

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA" No. 3 by Mike McKone

Red Sonja #2 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA No. 2, February 2017

Initially settling upon the She-Devil’s disconcertingly quick adaption “to her new surroundings”, Issue Two of “Red Sonja certainly seems to start out well enough with its portrayal of the woman warrior spearing a duck at the North end of Central park, Near Harlem, and then racking up an eight hundred dollar beer tab in a local bustling bar. Indeed, up until Kulan Gath catches sight of a series of viral ‘selfies’ of the Hyborian Age heroine on social media, it appears that “this world is not so different from” the titular character's beloved Hyrkania, especially as she appears perfectly capable of effortlessly besting any and all of the public house’s clientele at arm-wrestling; “This pretty lady beat ya fair n’ square.”

Unsurprisingly, this ‘blissful state of affairs’ doesn’t last overly long, as Agent Smith, alongside her supposed N.S.A. cronies, arrive in order to (once again) detain the soundly sleeping “illegal alien” for their “boss” and inadvertently start an ever-escalating barroom brawl where punches are thrown, chairs smashed and heads painfully cracked together all within the space of a handful of panels. However, whilst Max's decision to allow his former prisoner to spend the night at his flat following their flight from this pulse-pounding sequence is perhaps understandable, it does mark a point in the narrative where Amy Chu’s writing arguably leaves its ‘realistic’ rails and quite possibly made some of this comic’s 14,721 readers a little nervous as to the direction this book may be taking.

Admittedly, despite some brief nudity there’s no suggestion that the “New York City cop” and his red-headed friend become intimate, far from it in fact, but the revelation that the undocumented orphan of the 1977 blackout is capable of magically making items disappear if he spins them fast enough simply smacks of ‘super-powers’ at a time when the script was seemingly trying to promote an aura of ‘pragmatism’ to its proceedings. Certainly, the albeit brief scene debatably jars the reader straight out of the storytelling and disappointingly suggests that rather than ‘visiting’ our own world, Sonja has simply found herself ‘trapped’ within yet another comic book version of the Big Apple…

Despite such a disheartening plot-twist, there’s nothing wrong whatsoever with this twenty-page periodical’s artwork, even if the majority of the publication is rather sedentary in nature and dialogue-heavy. Carlos Gomez was clearly in top-form when he pencilled the book’s barroom sequence, as it’s absolutely packed with punters drinking, cheering and applauding the scantily-attired six-footer. Whilst the Spaniard also has the opportunity at the start of the comic to once again pencil the Hyborian Age as a demonic dragon-riding Gath momentarily lays waste to the Meruvians.

The regular cover art of "RED SONJA" No. 2 by Mike McKone

Red Sonja #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA No. 1, January 2017

“Based on the heroine created by Robert E. Howard”, Amy Chu’s storyline for Issue One of “Red Sonja” may well have momentarily disconcerted some of the comic’s 18,758 readers by following the exploits of New York beat cop Max and his investigation into a report of a “naked woman swinging a sword” rather than simply concentrating upon the titular character’s immediate predicament having inexplicably travelled “from Hyrkania to the Big Apple”. However, whilst initially bewildering, this story-telling technique actually provides an enjoyable introduction into modern times for the “She-Devil” and allows the Harvard Business School graduate to slowly flesh out the local authority’s reaction to the “mentally unstable subject”…

Indeed, the twenty-page periodical’s opening, which depicts the sword-and-sorcery heroine being surrounded by armed police and cursing the cowardly-armed curs about her, comes across as being as realistic a situation as one might expect within a comic book, especially when a terrified rookie shuts his eyes and opens fire at the Hyborian Age heroine, striking her sword arm and causing the “woman warrior” to mark him out for revenge; “<No one draws Sonja’s blood without paying dearly.>” Of course, the fact Max “speaks a semblance of my tongue” due to his Mother teaching him “a couple of languages before she died” may seem a little too lazily convenient for some, but it’s hard to imagine this side of a contrived magical spell or potion, how else the Boston-born writer was going to introduce meaningful dialogue and exposition into her storyline.

Chu’s decision to portray Sonja’s concerns as to “the dangers of our timeline” through the eyes of Jay’s partner also allows the narrative to slowly introduce the significantly sinister influence the “dreaded” sorcerer Kulan Gath apparently still wields over the world of men. Transferred to the ‘care’ of Elmhurst Hospital Center, the two police officers are initially just troubled by the rough treatment their hand-cuffed prisoner receives by the green-gowned medical staff, then later become positively alarmed when they are told to leave the building by a dark shade-wearing National Security Agency operative without even taking their report. Such well-written menace really does help overcome the title’s still palpable “What If? Conan Were Stranded In The Twentieth Century” flavour, and helps set this title apart from “Marvel Comics” previously published similarly-themed Bronze Age one-shots.

Similarly as impressive as this book’s penmanship are Carlos Gomez’s excellent illustrations. Amy proudly states in the rear of this magazine that she loves “seeing a talented artist like Carlos come up with his own interpretation of Sonja and the script” and it is clear from such panels as those depicting the “She-Devil” holding off half a dozen policeman with just the point of her sword, that the Spaniard “is really bringing his A+ game into this series”.

Writer: Amy Chu, Illustrator: Carlos Gomez, and Colors: Mohan

Red Sonja #0 - Dynamite Entertainment

RED SONJA No. 0, December 2016

There’s undoubtedly something noble about Amy Chu’s disconcerting direction with Issue Zero of “Red Sonja”, because this “Dynamite introductory priced” comic book definitely lives up to her aspiration to take the titular character “away and put her in a completely new environment where she’s forced to adapt.” However, the decision to place the barbarian in modern day Manhattan rather than Robert E. Howard’s Hyborean Age smacks more of a “Marvel Comics” “What If?” adventure, than a serious treatment of the “She-Devil with a Sword”, and certainly suggests that despite reading “some Seventies Red Sonja/Conan” publications and watching “the [1985] movie with Brigitte Nielson”, the Harvard Business School graduate has yet to arguably grasp the potential of the swordswoman’s rich native world…

Whatever the American author’s intentions though, her narrative for this sixteen-page periodical undoubtedly starts out very well with Sonja battling a formidably-sized fire-breathing Spawn of Hell “halfway between Hyrkania and Khitai” in “the last remnants of the mighty Kingdom of Meru.” Indeed, for a while “In The Beginning” seems to be a reasonably bog-standard, though still thoroughly exciting, confrontation between the scantily-clad warrior and her multi-tentacled four-eyed foe; “You stand between me and a large flagon of ale. And nobody gets between me and a good flagon.” 

Sadly, all these sword and fantasy shenanigans are brought to a swift, unsatisfactory conclusion though, with the sudden appearance of Kulan Gath, and the sorcerer’s seemingly simplistic ability to whisk a disconcertingly groggy Sonja far into the future, at a time when her present location stands in the path of an underground railway construction team. This ‘strange turn of events’ does admittedly provide a modicum of humour, as the red-haired barbarian chases after the terrified workmen with her lethal sword in one hand and a Hyrkanian oath on her lips. But this scene soon sours into a somewhat long-winded exploration of the tube’s tunnels and a bizarre conversational piece between Roy Thomas’ co-creation and a rat.

Fortunately, despite Chu’s debatable choice in concept, this comic does provide some breathtakingly stunning visuals courtesy of Carlos Gomez’s illustrations. The Spanish artist demonstrates all the pencilling skills that a reader would want from a professional with his lush-detailed renderings of a demonic dragon, the intricacies of an underground railway and Sonja’s own famously curvaceous form.

Writer: Amy Chu, Illustrator: Carlos Gomez, and Colors: Mohan