Marguerite Bennett

ART BY

Aneke

COVER BY

Marguerite Sauvage, Jay Anacleto, Tula Lotay, Tony Fleecs , Ming Doyle

PUBLISHER

Dynamite Entertainment

COVER PRICE:

$3.99

RELEASE DATE

Jan 13th, 2016

 

Synopsis:

Through the plains of Hyrkania, a message sweeps through the scattered peoples of the nation. Bells ring, horns blow, voices shout – the King is dying! Red Sonja rides to save the King from his doom as the powers of Hyboria crowd around to strike when the kingdom is weakest. But a dread new power rises from within Hyrkania’s own borders, bent on defending its homeland – no matter the cost, no matter what its people become. The She-Devil with a Sword must stop the rise of a brutal new regime… her own people!

Review:

2016 is turning into a year of firsts for me, as I recently got into Vampirella (also from Dynamite Entertainment) and I am not picking up Red Sonja. I say this because I go into this series knowing little to nothing about Red Sonja other than she’s always been depicted as a chainmail bikini clad badass. I’m happy to report that while a lot of that still remains true, writer Marguerite Bennett has done an excellent job keeping this series feeling fresh and new. There isn’t a whole bunch of exposition required; there aren’t any strong ties to some previous series. This is something brand new and exciting! Within the first few pages we are given the setup of just who Red Sonja is, a warrior who serves her king proudly and has own conflictions on how to adjust to “normal” life post the death of her king. Mixed with Bennett’s witty moments (Sonja constantly looking to save the day only to find out there isn’t any need!) series artist Aneke and colorist Jorge Sutil deliver tenfold! The facial expressions are perfect, and everything balances perfectly between “Sexy” and “Fun”. This is not just a story of boobs and swords, this is todays Red Sonja and she is a badass that just happens to look really good while kicking butt and taking names. With a strong crisis of self-opening, Bennett and team have started off the newest volume of Red Sonja strong, and I can’t wait to continue reading this series!

The Hey!: Wonderful artwork and vibrant colors, a well fleshed out world of Hyrkania, and an excellent new take on Red Sonja, this book has a lot going for it!

The Eh!: There are some moments where the art seems inconsistent or cramped, nothing detrimental and perhaps some growing pains for this crew to work through.

The What?!: It took until the end of the book, but Aneke finally gives us that “Wow” page with Sonja doing what the She-Devil does best!

Who should read this series?: If you’re a fan of strong female characters, fantasy worlds with swords and magic, and are looking into get into a promising new series, then this is for you!

Why should you buy this book?: Aside from being the perfect starting point, it requires little to no background knowledge of the character, and pacing and artwork work well together.

Score: B+

Twitter: JScullycomics