By Glen Ludlow
Red Sonja #3 continues the march set out after the soft-reboot of the character by Dynamite Comics. Sonja continues her journey into exile after her defeat at the hands of a rival female warrior. Suffering from plague and dying of exposure to the snow, Sonja struggles to stay conscious as the fever overtakes her. The arrival of a white stag, a stag she refuses to kill, sends her into a fever-ridden hallucination where her deceased father, murdered years before by a roving band of pillagers, visits her and tells her she can choose to join him and her mother, or get up and finish the one thing she must do.
This issue is quite a change in approach from the previous two. It’s no surprise, Gail’s settled in writing Sonja, a character she’s already very familiar with, but this Sonja is vulnerable and beaten. It’s a different side to the strong female character we’ve come to know and love. The flashbacks to Sonja, or Sonjita, as a child are particularly well-handled. We learn of her proficiency as a hunter, the best in her village, but the reluctance to kill when necessary, it’s a plot point that comes back later in the story, it’s pretty predictable, but I always enjoy delving into Sonja’s back story.
Walter Geovani’s an old hand at Sonja, but he’s still bringing something new to the table. His artwork depicts the brutality of the world the She-Devil with a Sword lives in. Despite him having drawn her before, his work doesn’t seem as inked over as it used to be in the previous incarnation’s run. I much prefer it when the inkers tend not to smother the pencils, and the balance has been met right here.
Overall, it’s a good book. It could be great, but for the moment it’s a constant read and is always on the pull list. I think Simone’s laying brickwork for the future of this arc.
For more comic views follow Glen on Twitter at @glenghiskhan and check out his blog for more reviews at www.glenludlow.blogspot.co.uk
Posted on October 2nd, 2013
Category: PANELS OF INTEREST, REVIEWS
Tags: comics, Dynamite, Dynamite Entertainment, Gail Simone, Glen Ludlow, Red Sonja, REVIEWS, walter geovani