REVIEW: Conan / Red Sonja #3

Writer:Â Gail Simone, Jim Zub
Penciller:Â Randy Green
Inker: Rick Ketcham
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Cover Artist:Â Dan Panosian
Publication Date: March 25, 2015

Not having learnt my lesson last week (Trek and Planet of the Apes), I am back into another properties crossover. Â This time, the more suited Conan and Red Sonja step into the arena.

This is the third part of four and such there is a mix of action and set up pieces for the finale. Â We start with our heroes surrounded by all the Kings men, in an attempt to gain revenge for his sons murder. Â From there, it slash here, hack there and stab that, before moving to a quiet interlude prior to the seeds of their next crisis being sown.

The writers in this epic are Gail Simone, who is currently riding high thanks to her stellar work on the main Red Sonja book from Dynamite and the revived Secret Six from DC and Jim Zub,who has recently been causing a ruckus with Wayward for Image. The mix of writers reflect the the manner by which Sonja and Conan conduct themselves. It’s easy to see that Sonja is the chirpier of two with Conan sullen and to be honest, a little bored of all the killing and mayhem. Is this a more mature Conan? As readers, are we also bored of all the killing and the mayhem? I ,for one, am not at all. Having reviewed two different versions of Sonja, and the recent issue of her book, (yes I have a thing for red heads), I thoroughly enjoyed the give and take of two peers who are somewhat more than friends.

Art is supplied by Randy Green with inks by Rick Ketcham and for the most part is very strong, especially the action scenes. Â I was impressed by the level of consistency when it came to facial expressions throughout, with only a couple of panels towards the end showing a Â couple of off kilter poses affecting a small portion of the book.

Dark Horse colouring guru, Dave Stewart, is on hand with his usual excellent job. I am surprised that Mike Mignola has let him off his books, allowing Stewart to further impress.

Despite this being a crossover book of sorts, I thought it was great. It’s hard to combine elements of two different books, let alone two different companies without stepping on any toes. The fact that Sonja and Conan are similar does help this, but it is the talent on hand that makes the whole book work.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

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