Queen Sonja #1 – Review

by Joshua Ortega (writer), Mel Rubi (art), Luke Lieberman (executive editor)

The Story: We are introduced to Sonja, the warrior queen of Sogaria, whose realm is being invaded by the Emoran army. Then, flashback to four months earlier, when Red Sonja was hired to help a small territory defend itself against Sogarian raiders. She takes the job, but her first encounter with the enemy turns out to be far different than she expected.

What’s Good: I can’t say enough about Rubi’s art. The action sequences are dynamite, the jewelry, clothing and weapons vivid, the “camera angles” varied and interesting, the faces expressive and the settings evocative. The first page is a great example of the draftsmanship that Rubi brings to the table, with an intricate crown, expressive posture and grip, smooth, but textured skin and shining gems. Rubi treats us to a several splash pages, and it’s worth mentioning that the actual dialogue and text-box writing is quite sparse. Most of the story is told through the art and this was a wise choice by Ortega.

In the parts where we hear Ortega’s voice more directly, the individuality of each character shines through the dialogue. One of the brigands she deals with in the first part of the story doesn’t use pronouns. Another says “prolly” instead of “probably”, which says a lot more about him in one mispronounced word than most writers and artists could show us in a page. Ortega gives Red Sonja a few one-liners, in part because she makes at least three dramatic entrances in this first issue.

There is also a back-up story by Roy Thomas, Estaban Maroto, Neal Adams and Ernie Chan from the mid-seventies that has been recently been re-colored by Jose Villarrubia. It is an excellent story and the new colors and printing on better paper really outshine the pulpy paper and give the story more power. It was also a real treat to see some Neal Adams work re-colored as if it was new.

What’s Not So Good: Very hard to complain about such a great book. For the record, I might have criticized Sonja’s state of occasional or partial undress gratuitous in other settings, but the fact is that this is part of how she was conceived by Robert E. Howard and how the setting perceives her.

Conclusion: You get a whole lot of quality story and first class production for only $2.99 with Queen Sonja #1. I started reading Red Sonja because of podcasts I’d heard from Dynamite, but I’d felt a little lost jumping in mid-story. This is a great issue to get on board.

Grade: A-

–DS Arsenault

Spider-Man / Red Sonja #1 – Review

By Michael Oeming (writer), Mel Rubi (pencils)

The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw this on the shelf was, “Oh God, it’s Archie meets the Punisher all over again, thanks a lot Marvel!” Curiosity got the better of me though, so here we are.

The first issue revolves around the accidental release of an ancient being of the Hyborian age from his amulet prison. After changing NYC into a medieval city and its inhabitants into extras from Monty Python’s Holy Grail, the being sets out to kill the Man Spider (see if you can figure that one out). His explanation for hunting the man spider makes it seem like there was some prerequisite reading that isn’t mentioned as he goes from zero to kill in two panels. He chooses to resurrect a fierce warrior from his own age, Red Sonja, to accomplish this task. And where, pray tell, in the wide world of Spidey are we going to find a hot redhead to serve as a vessel for the spirit of Sonja? Mary Jane, of course! This book leaves the reader at the begining of a showdown between the two. Can you say cliffhanger?

Overall, I liked the book. It wasn’t the greatest thing I’ve ever read but it was decent. The art by Rubi is well suited for the Hyborian subject matter and he draws a nice Spidey, consistent and clean throughout. The writing is not bad. Frankly, I think this story could have been just as good if not better sans Spider-Man. Granted you would lose all of the Spidey characters but the story would be just as good with a less flamboyant male lead. Hell, Wolverine would have been a good choice (Marvel, you can have that idea). All that being said, I liked the book and thought the premise was cool. It’s good enough to warrant picking up the next issue. (Grade B-)

-Chris Williamson