Review: Red Sonja/Conan #1–2 (of 4)
Know, O Prince, that in the days of comic-book crossovers, no participants spilled more blood and decapitated more enemies than the flame-haired Red Sonja, she-devil with a sword, and her chiseled counterpart, Conan the Barbarian, who hacked and slashed across illustrated landscapes for more than four decades. And now we learn of their latest adventure…
Red Sonja/Conan #1–2, written by Victor Gischler (Wolverine, Sally of the Wasteland), illustrated by Roberto Castro (Doc Savage Annual 2014, Lords of Mars), and published by Dynamite Entertainment (Sonja’s licensor) and Dark Horse Comics (Conan’s licensor), follows up the companies’ previous Conan/Red Sonja crossover, this time with the two warriors co-commanders of an army of mercenaries. The king paying the bills has his eye set on expanding his territory into a neighboring land, but standing in his way is an army commanded by the wizard Kal’ang. Not a problem, Conan thinks—he and Sonja have dealt with wagonloads of mages in the past. But then things don’t always work out the way barbarian warlords would like…
Although the same basic setup has been used in Sonja and Conan comics (wizards vs. warriors is the fantasy equivalent of matching peanut butter with jelly), Gischler’s pulp-action pace and Sonja-Conan banter keeps things moving—and that’s even before Kal’ang’s sorcery-fueled monsters show up in issue 2 to unleash all sorts of carnage on the battlefield. Artwise, Castro makes a good creative partner, his camera angles and action sequences bringing an energy to even quiet scenes. And, as expected in a comic where the characters wear minimal clothing, his Sonja is beautiful and his Conan muscular…although there are times when Conan seems to swell to Hulk-like proportions when he’s beside Sonja—keep your dirty jokes to yourself.
Bottom line? Monsters and magic, hulking barbarians and curvaceous she-devils—who could ask for more in a miniseries starring Robert E. Howard’s two most famous creations? Whether you’re a Conan fan or a Sonja fan, give this miniseries a try—the adventure’s just getting started!
Red Sonja/Conan #1–2
Written by Victor Gischler
Art by Roberto Castro
Issue 1 main cover art by Alex Ross
Issue 2 main cover art by Ed Benes
Publishers: Dynamite Entertainment and Dark Horse Comics
32 pages each • full-color
$3.99 U.S. each
Issue 2 on sale now
About the Author
Steven Roman Steven A. Roman is the author of the Saga of Pandora Zwieback novel series and the graphic novels Lorelei: Sects and the City and Sunn, and the bestselling author of the novels X-Men: The Chaos Engine Trilogy and Final Destination: Dead Man’s Hand. Follow his adventures in publishing at StarWarp Concepts.
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