One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #15

GOOD THING: We get a lot of great insights into Sonja's past and character here, as in the previous issues of this story. Here we see her first true adventure as Red Sonja as her first love dies and Sonja turns her vengeance upon the guards of the city and her treacherous mentor, the thief-wizard Jubal





BAD THING: The artwork. Dear Tarim, the artwork! Bad enough that it still looks sketchy and under-inked. Now there's continuity problems on top of everything else, with Sonja's slavegirl costume mysteriously spawning the shoulder pads and torc her traditional chainmail bikini costume always had.

I was willing to allow for the possibility that she added on to the outfit later, perhaps paying someone to have the extra armor added onto the halter. But the writing completely eliminates that possibility as Sonja visits her criminal contact and we find out that the multi-page reign of terror we see depicted on the earlier pages all took place over the course of one morning!







The Final Verdict: The artwork problems of previous issues continue unabated, made worse by continuity issues that make it seem that Sonja's slavegirl disguise from previous issues has magically sprouted armored shoulder pads! Still, the story is lively and does much to offer insight into Sonja's character.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #13

GOOD THING: This story gives us a new origin for Sonja's infamous chainmail bikini armor and it is, out of all the tales we've been given, probably the most plausible. While a part of me finds it hard to believe that Sonja would continue to wear what was meant to be a slave's garments as armor (even in tribute to her fallen first-love) I can't deny that the story is compelling and certainly makes a good deal more sense than her finding the odd armor in an old tomb (the Cross Plains Comics origin given in their only Red Sonja book) or continuing to wear the costume given to her by a king who sought to put her in his harem (i.e. The Marvel origin).






BAD THING: The artwork is as bad as ever, being sketchy and oddly inked.







The Final Verdict: As before, a good story with bad artwork.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #13

BAD THING: The inking and coloring on this issue is sub-par. It seems, at times, like whole pages were colored in and lined with a Sharpie so as to obscure the incomplete nature of the art.





GOOD THING: There is a fairly good story here, still being told in flashback (though we are barely reminded of this fact) of Sonja telling of how she did once truly love a man. And as we see in this issue, Sonja did spend what she thought might well be her last night alive with him, since he did satisfy the terms of her oath.







The Final Verdict: Oddly inked artwork obscures a surprisingly touching tale (for this genre, at least) of young love and old regrets.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #12

GOOD THING: Told almost entirely in flashback, not referring to the present day of Queen Sonja until the very last panel, this issue does more than any Red Sonja story in recent memory to explore the period of time between the death of Sonja's family and her emergence as a mercenary captain in Pah-Dishah.





This issue provides us with something of a quantum leap, showing that Sonja did spend some time undergoing formal training as part of a thieves guild after striking out on her own for a time as a solo-thief, but proving too bold in what she stole and in flaunting her wealth after. She learns caution and fighting skills from Kane, the prize-pupil of the master thief of the guild, and begins to fall in love with the more experienced thief...


BAD THING: This issue seems to try and have it both ways regarding the nature of the blessing Sonja received from her goddess and it may wind up pleasing no one because of it.

Most of this issue, much like the previous issue, is devoted toward showing how Sonja gained some of the skills that she is famous for. It is shown that Sonja is a young woman of rare spirit and skill and that the only thing she lacks is experience and the caution born of experience.

It is worth noting that despite being a great thief, Sonja has no training as a warrior. This is to be expected with a peasant girl in Hyboria. It is no surprise then that she is easily beaten in unarmed combat by Kane when they first meet... and yet somehow, Sonja proves a natural with the sword, beating Kane with some effort during her first fencing lesson.





The idea that Sonja has some divine skill with weapons has long been an accepted part of the mythos for decades. Yet it seems odd that blessing should not extend to unarmed combat. Indeed, one might think Sonja would be better at fighting unarmed - using techniques where her natural speed would make up for any lack of strength facing a stronger male opponent.

It just seems odd that Sonja would only be blessed by her goddess to be skilled with a weapon she would be unlikely to have access to and yet that she would not be granted the natural unarmed fighting skills that would prove more helpful to a peasant girl. Then again, the gods of Hyboria are not known for their gifts and it could be that Sonja's surviving this long, reckless as she is, has been blessing enough until this moment.

It is a fun point to consider but this is likely to aggravate those fans who prefer to see Sonja as a divine champion or those who might take offense that much of Sonja's training was overseen by two male thieves.



The Final Verdict: A good issue with great art, though some Red Sonja fans may be bothered by some of the implications of this tale.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #11

GOOD THING: There's a very good flashback story here, detailing Red Sonja's background in a way we've never seen before. Specifically, the period immediately after the loss of her family in which she made her living as a thief before becoming a mercenary. While this has been discussed before, precious few stories have mentioned this period of her life and none - as far as I can remember - have depicted it. It does a very good job of making Sonja out to be a typical teenage girl, albeit it an unusually gifted and overly confident one.





BAD THING: Remember the excellent Emma Frost mini-series published by Marvel Comics a few years ago? The one which had a very good coming-of-age story that many young teen ladies might enjoy reading had they not been scared off by the porn-tastic artwork of Greg Horn? Think about that... and then look at the cover of this issue.





Makes you weep, doesn't it?



The Final Verdict: A typical Red Sonja cover conceals a most atypical Red Sonja story, which adds new insight into her character and her past like nothing we've seen in recent memory. A must read!

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #10

GOOD THING: There's a great tragic romance at the heart of what could have been a standard sword-and-sorcery tale. More than any story in recent memory, this story explores Red Sonja as a character - not a concept but as a living, breathing woman trying to balance her own desires, her responsibilities as a leader and her sense of duty to her goddess and the conflict between each aspect of herself as well as the society she is a part of and the supernatural threat to her people.

BAD THING: The event that set up this wonderfully tragic moment still seems really forced, with Sonja's personal guard having taken The Idiot Ball, when they allow the most obviously treacherous noble since Lord Blackadder into Sonja's fiancee's quarters and believe him when he says he is NOT going to try to kill him.

The Final Verdict: A plot worthy of Shakespeare, undermined only slightly by some unbelievably idiotic behavior on the part of the supporting cast. Running neck-in-neck with Conan The Cimmerian for the honor of being the best Fantasy Comic on the shelves.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #9

GOOD THING: There's a very good multi-faceted plot here that - for once - bucks the cliches of romance in a Red Sonja story. Usually some contrivance is found to deny Sonja happiness when it seems she finds a man who she can love but is unable to satisfy the conditions of her oath to only seek love with a man who can beat her in single combat.

In this case, the conflict comes from Sonja's desire to marry an exiled noble - son of the former line of Kings, who reported consorted with dark powers - which disturbs Sonja's devout entourage of noble warrior women. And there's the rest of the nobles, who are just plain uncomfortable with having a warrior queen, period.

BAD THING: The only problem with this plot is that it seems highly unlikely - no matter what suspicions they might have about Sonja's betrothed - that they would ally themselves in an plot of any kind with the weaselly noble who has been after Sonja's blood since she spurned his advances. We can only hope that the next issue opens with him being trapped in the act and that their seeming betrayal was a bluff.

The Final Verdict: A lot of readers think Red Sonja stories are nothing but a lot of flimsy plots propping up a collection of gratuitous cheesecake art. Don't you believe it! This book has a richer plot than many fantasy novels and the only gratuitous nudity involves a male hero fighting the assassins who interrupt his bath. You're welcome, ladies and gay men!

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #8

GOOD THING: There's some pretty complex character work here, as Sonja faces multiple conflicts. Ultimately, they all boil down to Duty versus Want. Sonja has a duty to her people to destroy the magic-cursed bloodline that threatens her land and her reign. At the same time, she has the duty implied by her oath to offer herself sexually to any man who can beat her in combat and the duty of continuing her line. This is all contrasted against her want to save the rebel leader Ariok from his curse and her honest attraction to the noble warrior mage.

BAD THING: Ariok - who was shaping up to be an interesting and unique character - seems now to be little more than Michael Moorcock's Elric trapped in the body of Conan.

The Final Verdict: A complex character study of Sonja, let down only by the realization that the potential love interest is but a pastiche of other, more complex sword-and-sorcery heroes. Still worth a read, though.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #7

BAD THING: The artwork is still over-inked at times. Granting that most of the issue takes place at night, there are still times the action is obscured and some of the facial expressions look odd.

GOOD THING: There is an unexpected twist here, as we find out that the nobleman who has been contesting with Sonja over the throne actually has some legitimate reasons to oppose her and is more honestly noble than most of the nobles who have been backing Sonja, though he may be of a line that is said to have traffied in black magics.

The Final Verdict: The plot thickens as we find that Sonja's adversary may be more noble than we'd been told and every bit the match for her. Only over-inked art would keep me from giving this book a perfect score.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #6

GOOD THING: It's good to see a confident, practical and - dare I say - ruthless Sonja again after reading the all-around disaster that is Wrath of the Gods. As this issue opens, we are just coming into Sonja's second year as queen and things are not well. Ignoring the attacks of enemies on all sides (which is, naturally, Sonja's main concern), there is unrest among the nobles who are pushing for Sonja to take a King and a famine which blights the land. It is an interesting idea to put Sonja in the same position as Conan was thrust into in his own tales. and it seems that so far she is adjusting as well as he.

BAD THING: This was not much of an issue before, but there is very little definable difference between the former ruler's daughters, who have become Sonja's personal guard and closest confidants - apart from their hair color. Why is that a problem? Because I had to reread the last few issues a few times to puzzle out whether or not this black-haired would-be princess was a new character or if it was Sonja's field commander Janay in disguise.

The Final Verdict: A good solid issue and a good jumping-on point for the new series, marred only by some artwork that is overly dark at times and a supporting cast that is not as well defined as it could be. Still, this is the best Red Sonja story we've seen in quite a while and that counts for a lot.

Fast Thoughts On The Comics Released The Week of 02/10/2010

JON SABLE: ASHES OF EDEN #5 - A fitting conclusion to a wonderful little mini-series. The true mastermind is revealed as Jon and Maggie the Cat find themselves in a death trap with the lives of millions at stake.

This is Mike Grell at his finest. I can't wait for the next Jon Sable story that is promised at the end.



QUEEN SONJA #4 - I know what you're thinking - I said this book was the Red Sonja book you should be reading... and yet, I'm only writing a few scant lines about it here. Why is that?

Well, while this is a good book, this is honestly a slow issue and Sonja doesn't do very much until the very end. Most of the issue concerns Sonja appointing a new lieutenant, who may not be what he seems and the enemies of the nation Sonja has become leader of starting to move against her. It's all set-up to next issue, in other words. But it does look gorgeous, the artwork isn't all cheesecakey and the story is gripping and promises to get better.

Sword And Sorcery Sunday: Queen Sonja #4

BAD THING: As good as Mel Rubi's art usually is, his rendering of Sonja's costume of late has been ridiculous even by the standards of sword-and-sorcery comics. The chainmail bikini is barely covering her body, much less holding it securely so that everything isn't bouncing around when she's running or fighting.

Yes, I'm ashamed I put that much thought into this too.

GOOD THING: At least the story - in which Sonja leads a rebellion against a usurping, corrupt noble to aid a gang of warrior sisters - is a riveting one and a welcome change from Brian Reed's story at the end of the most recent Red Sonja book.

And here's a bonus - Sonja is in real armor at story's end.



The Final Verdict: Despite some serious cheesecake - even by the standards of this book and the sword and sorcery genre - the story saves the book. Grab the trade if you haven't already been reading this book.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #2

GOOD THING: A very complex (well, compared to the last few years of Red Sonja anyway) plot, involving a corrupt emperor who is slowly enslaving what lands he cannot conquer, warrior princesses turned bandit trying to free their kingdom from tyranny and Sonja trying to play the mercenary but turning into a noble champion in spite of herself.

BAD THING: Granting that there is a certain degree of folly in complaining about Sonja's traditional costume being unrealistically portrayed, Mel Rubi used to draw it as actually being capable of supporting Sonja's more assets as opposed to just sorta covering them.

The Final Verdict: The She Devil of Hyrkania is back in full fighting form! A great story as rich as any fantasy novel is unfolding here and it feels like a Red Sonja story rather than the curious generic fantasy Brian Reed was writing until recently.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Queen Sonja #1

GOOD THING: This is the first Red Sonja story in a good while that has felt like a Red Sonja story. Most of the issue is devoted towards a standard "recover the stolen treasure" quest.

BAD THING: For a book called Queen Sonja, there's surprisingly little about Sonja having ascended to a throne. Indeed, apart from the three page introduction which brings us the news that Sonja's land is being invaded, the entire book is told in flashback. It just seems kind of sloppy to have this scene THEN go to telling the story of how Sonja became a queen in the first place. We already know from the title that she's going to succeed on her quest and survive another four months.

This issue represents a reboot of the franchise and a good jumping on point for new readers. There is no reference to the previous series, save for a note on the title page that says "For a time... the world was a different place and time ripped asunder."

In other words, the entire Brian Reed run DID NOT HAPPEN and we are back in the true Hyboria. And thank goodness for it!

I would be remiss if I did not mention that the original artist for the previous Red Sonja series, Mel Rubi, is returned and has proven himself as capable as ever. Gone are the endless splash pages that polluted the Brian Reed run on the book - say hello to panels and well-blocked action sequences!

The short version is that despite a little too much fan-service (even by the standards of sword and sorcery comics), this is a return to form and a good start on revitalizing the character after nearly two years of ambiguity and nonsense.