Review: Immortal Red Sonja #1

Every publisher has their go to books and characters. Marvel has the Avengers, Spider-Man and the X-Men and DC have Batman and… more Batman? When it comes to Dynamite, there are a couple of stalwarts that fit the “go to” tag; one being Vampirella and the other being Red Sonja. With that in mind, we have a new Red Sonja book on the rack this week.

For the observant amongst you, you will notice that Sonja is sans her usual chainmail bikini. Now this may been seen a s a progressive move from savage She-Devil to something else. But in fact, there is a reason for the costume change; Sonja has appropriated a cursed chainmail vest. The chainmail has a plan for Sonja, whilst Sonja definitely has a plan for the chainmail, even if it is going to require the help of the legendary Merlin!

Dan Abentt, a veteran of many a comic series, is on hand to chart Sonja’s cursed course. With Abnett you know what you are going to get; a highly professional approach that hits the right beats. Here you get pacing, action with perhaps a tad too much tell and not show on first reading. However, further inspection shows that Abnett uses the “story telling” ruse to bring the reader up to speed within the confines of the setup. This is an experiences sneaky shuffle from a very experienced writer. The dialogue is fun; Sonja is her snarky self for most of the book. Interesting, whilst Sonja states the chainmail speaks to her, we the reader are not privy to it, making the one-sided conversation open to the imagination.

Alessandro Miracolo provides a stylised version of Sonja’s world, be it she has travelled from a far far away land. Strong poses lead to action. There are a couple of facial snafu’s, where inconsistencies are on show. I like the pacy art; even the quieter momnets are laced with a high level of focus. Ellie Wright drops a kind of muddy schemes that fits the sword and sorcery world well. Wright also utilises a good range of shadows to help demonstrate the movement through the panels. Jeff Eckleberry provides an easy going font, ensuring that the dialogue doesn’t detract from the art; given the tell not show element of the first act, is no mean feat.

Sonja is fun character when she is a fish out of water. Take her Amy Chu run in the modern world and the Vampi Sonja team-up from Jordi Bellaire; Sonja versus Merlin is the sort of into the unknown book that has the same potential. Now, at the mercy of an outfit, I bet she wishes, like some of her fan do, that she stayed with the bikini look.

Writing – 4.5 Stars
Art – 4.5 Stars
Colors – 4.5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Dan Abnett
Art by; Alessandro Miracolo
Colors by; Ellie Wright
Letters by Jeff Eckleberry
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network