Swords of Sorrow: Pantha & Jane Porter

Egypt. 22000 BC. The shape-shifting priestess Pantha guards the faithful of Sekhmet from demons and monsters. Monsters like those in the thrall of Purgatori, who even now is invading a tomb right under Pantha's nose!

London. 1913 AD. Jane Porter - the newly dubbed Lady Greystroke - has just arrived in town, piloting one of Wright Brothers' new aeroplanes. She had been planning to use this new vehicle to deliver supplies to her husband in the jungle, but the sudden appearance of a pyramid over the skies of London changes her plans.

Two women warriors.  Separated by time and space. United by circumstance and the unusual swords that have been gifted to them by a mysterious man. The latest women to join a war that is being fought across all of reality...


Swords of Sorrow: Pantha & Jane Porter follows the standard team-up formula used in most team-up comics... to say nothing of most of the Swords of Sorrow tie-ins thus far!   The heroes meet, have a misunderstanding, fight and then join together against the real enemy before becoming, if not the best of friends, then at least allied acquaintances  Thankfully the script by Emma Beeby moves beyond such trite plotting, bringing out the personalities of both heroines.whilst giving them a chance to showcase their skills.


I've seen several comics that paired Rod Rodolfo with Nanjan Jamberi before and this is the best of the lot.  The overly heavy inks I noted before in previous works Roldfo drew are not as pronounced here. And the colors are much more vivid than in the duo's last pairing.  All in all this is an enjoyable slice of pulp fiction.

Swords of Sorrow #2 - A Review

Across the multiverse, the chosen of The Traveller begin to meet. And, in many cases, to fight. For The Traveller needs leaders in the fight to come and leaders seldom work well with others who would follow their own destiny. Still, they will unite or they will die... for the chosen of The Prince are close at hand and ready to finish the job if these heroines don't do themselves in.


The lion's share of this issue is devoted to a battle between Dejah Thoris and Red Sonja. The fight is an interesting contest. While Sonja finds her abilities enhanced by the atmosphere of Barsoom and is likely the more capable warrior, Dejah Thoris is a more tactical fighter and better able to use the environment to her advantage.

The appearances of the other heroines in this volume amount to little more than set-ups for the tie-in issues that will be released later this summer.  Still, Gail Simone does a fine job of keeping the plot moving and giving us a taste of what is to come. And one can't fault the focus on Dynamite's two most popular heroines, though Vampirella gets a goodly amount of page time as well.  Such is the problem with all crossover series based around an ensemble - someone has to be the supporting cast.


The art team for this series is top-notch.  Sergio Davila does a wonderful job of matching the fast pace of the script with some impressive illustrations and brilliant action sequences. He also depicts all of the heroines - even the more fantastically dressed ones - as powerful figures without a hint of cheesecake. The colors by Jorge Sutil add to the splendor of the finished artwork.