Dynamite Entertainment 2018
Written by Marc Andreyko
Illustrated by Igor Lima
Coloured by Adriano Augusto
Lettered by Thomas Napolitano
Honestly I think Marc should be given free reign to do this on a monthly basis. Red Sonja as a pirate in a world with skyscrapers and mad wizards going up against mobsters or gangsters depending on your point of view. This is a perfect opportunity to really shake things up with her character and from what I am seeing here Marc is able to keep her persona firmly intact while she’s in this setting.
The way this is structured is fantastic. The opening felt very Tomb Raider and I must admit it was a genius way to grab the readers attention and keep them into the story. Of which that Sonja keeps telling herself to never ever listen to another lovesick sob story while she’s going about doing just the opposite well there is something bloody brilliant about the kind of irony we’re seeing. There is a great flow to the story and while yes we do get the idea that Tesla is holding something back, well more than a little something actually but then again after getting to see what is going on and who her father is well I guess that’s only natural.
Marc’s writing of this is superbly done and not only does the story development move at an excellent pace I like the way he’s able to use the story itself to expand the characterisation. Remember that actions speak louder than words and the actions taken here say a hell of a lot. As does the conversations that the characters have, most noticeably is that exchange between Sonja and I don’t know his name but hello handsome guy with a pipe blowing smoke rings (in the dark). That speaks volumes to me in their relationship and the amount of trust that is there, or possibly lack thereof but I want to believe to former over the latter.
There is a new side to Red Sonja in this story and I like it a lot. Not rushing into things blindly swinging her sword but instead using stealth and following Tesla into the creepy castle where the evil wizard resides. If it hadn’t been for Tesla leading her through all this, making snide comments sure but those were hella fun, I might believe that she would’ve charged in head first but let’s go with the new sneaky version because that opens up more potential stories. Seriously the fact that she is able to adapt to this reality and yet maintain her gruff and rough personality is a huge turn on for me in regards to reading more issues like this.
Oh let me say Igor is a master and not a lackey as the interiors here are utterly spectacular. The attention to detail that he brings is not only amazing but blew me away in a manner I hadn’t expected. The varying weights of the linework here allow for not only showing off the subtle moments and the bold ones but allow Igor to add the kind of detail that you’d never expect to see and can’t take your eyes off the effects of it. I mean not only is he able to make the whole Island as creepy and gloomy as possible but the opposite is true when seeing a city or the submarine he’s able to really get those factors that make these scenes what they need to be. With backgrounds, the utilisation of page layouts and the angles and perspective we see here shows off the kind of eye for storytelling we crave.
The Legenderry universe may be for spotty use but seriously this is the kind of book with the kind of creators who could lead this series into Diamond’s top 50 (or higher) books.