Conan/Red Sonja #3 - A Review

Circumstance and the will of a revenge-hungry nobleman have forced Conan and Sonja together again. The mad king and his minions are quickly dispatched, but it is a battle Conan takes no joy in. And as Sonja seeks the source of the once boisterous barbarian's sorrow, another old enemy watches and waits for his own chance at revenge upon the two warriors...


This issue sees the team of Randy Green and Rick Ketcham take over the penciling and inking duties respectively.  The style is different than that of Dan Panosian, who provided the artwork for the first two issues, but no less enjoyable.  Green's figures are well drawn and his panel placement well thought out.  And Ketcham perfectly shades and defines the original art.


I am fast running out of ways to praise the writing of Jim Zub and Gail Simone. This issue featured a number of honest surprises and at least one moment I am unashamed to say left me howling in disbelief. If I say nothing else, let me say this much -  This is the Conan and Red Sonja team-up the fans have been waiting for!

Conan/Red Sonja #2 - A Review

It has been six years since Conan of Cimmeria and Red Sonja of Hyrkania crossed paths and much has changed in that time. Now, Conan answers to the name Amra the Lion and sails the sea alongside the pirate queen Belit as Sonja sails against slavers with Black Annisia - her cell-mate in the gladiatorial slave pits of Zamora. And fate has thrown these four adventurers together at an auspicious time, for the evil that once united Sonja and Conan has risen again on a deserted island...


The script by Gail Simone and Jim Zub is a strong one that fully takes advantage of the Hyborian setting as well as past tales of Conan and Red Sonja.  Indeed, this story is notable in that it adds some much-needed definition to the character of Black Annisia, whose past with Sonja remained something of a mystery during Simone's run on Red Sonja. And it is telling that Sonja and Conan seem to share a true heroic impulse that their respective soul-mates lack.


The artwork by Dan Panosian and Dave Stewart is truly epic.  Panosian adopts a rough, visceral style worthy of the setting.  And Stewart's color choices are, to pardon the pun, picture perfect, with various levels being used to depict differing levels of light in subtle fashion.