Review: Red Sonja Super Powers #2
·Johnny "The Machine" Hughes
Dynamite’s sisterhood of comic book icons continues their mirrored publishing schedule. Vampi and Sonja both have a Valentine special , as well as their respective Project Powers crossover. That, though is where the similarities stop as this book, written by Dan Abnett, allows for a greater amount of humour in the arrogant big fish out of water team in Sonja’s relatively small and backward pond.
Mr. Raven, Vana, the Sword and Captain Future have surprised a witch-marked Red Sonja. Of course surprising the red haired She-Devil with a sword doesn’t sound like a good idea in hindsight, which Captain Future found out to his peril last issue. This second issue looks to further embed the characters place within the story as whole. Things do take a surprising turn, in more ways than one down the line, which leads to an interesting cliffhanger.
Dan Abnett walks the tightrope between both parties and the team in an effort to show how Sonja can hold her own against the power and tech of the Powers team, It is a tricky path for sure, but Abnett does so well. Being something of a minor Abnett fan, mainly for his Titans run with Brett Booth and some solid ideas he postulated in Aquaman, I was surprised by the level of humour that this mix-mash of characters generates. Whether it is the banter between the team and their obvious attraction to Sonja, the bickering of her abilities to the dismissing her as “just a savage”, this book has a different feel and vibe to Abnett’s Vampirella Dark Power book. This is vital as it could be too easy to cover the same bases. I do feel that, at times, the only way that Sonja seems interesting is to introduce external aspects, be it moving her to modern times, partnering her with Vampirella and sending her off to Drakulon or being one of the girls in the Vampi Sonja and Betty and Veronica book. This may be a trait that Dynamite will need to keep an eye on.
The art is provided by Jonathan Lau who kind of mixes up his style switching from a David Finch influence to something akin to 90’s cheesecake. Lau makes it work with some excellent facial elements, matched with strong body poses for all the characters. Lau’s pencils do not let up during the action of the more reflective scenes throughout the book. As a means to tell a story, Lau is perfect for this book. Andrew Dalhouse’s colors are a washed out affair, which suits the Hyborian Age well. The Powers team are well nuanced, with a lack of garish loud colors. A special mention has to go to letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou whose work on this book aids to the fun of the confrontation. Otsmane-Elhaou has been delivering excellent work for quite some time now. This issue, though, with the incoherent cursing that flows from Sonja Otsmane-Elhaou excels himself. Very well done! As with most comic books, there are a few variant to choose from; the A cover from Lucio Parrillo is my favourite.
One of the things that Dynamite manages well, is the idea that there is a multiverse, where continuity has no bearing. This will explain the various volumes of same character comics. It also means that the rule can be pushed back a little bit and in the wake of being unshackled, creators like Abnett and Lau can produce fantastic comics!
Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars
Overall – 5 Stars
Written by; Dan Abnett
Art by; Jonathan Lau
Colors by; Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by; Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment
Agreed somewhat that Sonja needs extenuating circumstances to be interesting sometimes but that usually comes down to lazy writing IMO. The main title by Mark Russell had been a straightforward tale of war in the Hyborian age but has been far from boring. I do put the blame at Gail Simone’s door as she stripped a lot of the fantastical elements out of Red Sonja and turned the She-Devil into just another fantasy warrior woman. Most writers have needed to come up a twist since.