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Red Sonja #1

It is a good time to be a Robert E. Howard fan. Month-after-month, Dark Horse Comics presents Conan, written by Kurt Busiek, mostly based on the original Howard stories. Taking the original Conan tales (there are less than 20!), Busiek's book presents the story of Conan the Cimmerian chronologically (originally, the stories were written and published out-of-sequence), and seamlessly fills in the gaps between these stories with his own Howardian stories. Conan is the one book I can count on to deliver every month.

And it may have just met its equal.

Dynamite Entertainment has just launched Red Sonja. Don't let the potentially-gimmicky variant covers of its first issue fool you; this is a solid book that promises long-term potential beyond any "collector's market." (The variant covers are very cool, however. I really had hoped to get my hands on an issue with 'Cover C' by Joseph Michael Linsner.) The book is written by Michael Avon Oeming and Mike Carey, drawn by Mel Rubi and colored by Caesar Rodriguez with Richard Isanove, and even though this is only issue #1, the three creators are already firing on all cylinders.

The character of Red Sonja began not as the sword-and-sorcery staple she's become. Instead, she appeared in just one Howard story, and she was not the She-Devil With a Sword that she's become known as. She wielded a gun, not a blade. It was through several comics and other media that Red Sonja became at a strong female character capable of defending herself in Howard's harsh land of Hyboria at best, or, at worst, a pale Conan imitation with breasts.

Dynamite Entertainment's take on the character is solidly in the former category. This Red Sonja is a strong-willed warrior, and starts issue #1 when her evening meal, which she shares with her sole companion Thorne (her stallion), is interrupted by a nearby scream and the sound of battle. Rubi's subtly cinematic artwork carries the narrative as Red Sonja enters the fray on Page Four. On Page Six, the combat is over, and she's saved a messenger from the nearby city of Gathia. Having heard tales and rumors of the city, Red Sonja chooses to accompany the messenger back to his home.

The rest of the issue covers the day's ride to Gathia - what happens along the way and what happens when Red Sonja arrives in the town. I'd like to avoid as many spoilers as possible, so I'll avoid describing the details, but I will say this: the writers and the artists show us that Red Sonja's Hyboria is just as dangerous, and exciting, as Conan's.

I have two minor gripes. First, while the lettering is professional and top notch (the sound effects are placed wonderfully and add so much to the text and the story), there was one page (it was actually a two-page spread) that I found the placement of the page's first two word balloons to be a bit awkward. I found myself reading the response to a question posed first, and THEN the question asked. Secondly, there is one panel in which Red Sonja seems to lose her sense of strength and control. Yes, she's surprised by . . . something (no more spoilers!), but rather than looking shocked or taken unawares, she seems to have let her entire guard down and looks all-too-vulnerable. Admittedly, these are VERY minor points, and are hardly enough to detract too much attention away from the excellent comic that Red Sonja is.

Red Sonja wears a chain mail bikini. While Conan certainly wears less, I've heard many comments made about how unrealistic wearing a chain mail bikini would be in a sword-and-sandals environment. While the writers could have chose to ignore this, in a bit of dialogue between Red Sonja and the Gathian messenger, she explains how she finds wearing such an outfit beneficial (the reason is incredible similar to Power Girl's justification for how her costume is particularly cut around her chest in JSA Classified #1). Despite the potential for exploitive portrayal given the chain mail bikini, Red Sonja never stoops to this level.

The book is solid, and I can't wait to receive Issue #2! Dynamite Entertainment has explosively delivered with this incarnation of Red Sonja, and if the series continues with the same pacing, characterization, artwork and writing, it will be a cold day in Harkania before I stop ordering this comic.