Red Sonja #1

The Team
Writer Gail Simone Artist Walter Geovani

Within the entirety of my seven years reading comic books, I never expected to go near Red Sonja. While at times writer Gail Simone can be hit or miss, she usually delivers a spectacle in the space of comics. More importantly I never expected to engage in the desire to read a comic book featuring the character. Simone is a self proclaimed comic book feminist, so why would she touch a character like this? She answered the question recently in a blog post saying that she thought this character was awesome. This is an idea that proves itself in this issue in more than a few ways. Both the art and the writing for this story, feature some interesting twists and turns for both the artist and the writer. After these twenty-four pages it becomes more clear about what exactly this character has to offer to this medium.

As a self proclaimed newbie to this series and the entire publishing line of Dynamite, I hoped this tale would be accessible. The reality is that this series welcomes new readers with open arms, this a brilliant choice by Simone as many are attracted to this comic simply because of the talent here. The comic book really starts to shine at page eight in a scene where the main heroine is sleeping. A very light touch that put a smile on my face was how she was how she was drooling, this is a move that proves the character does not care what others think of her. She does not seek approval from men that so many others do, because she then tears about three guys apart with relative ease. A scene where the character changes clothes is also amusing because of the relationship presented in regards to her feminine side. For all intensive purposes everything feminine here is barely accepted with a skeptical tone. Walter Geovani delivers some above average pencils for this book.

The issue starts coming apart slightly where Adriano Lucas provides the colors. The problem that arises with Lucas is that everything here has a washed out feeling. This hurts the most, on some of the faces drawn, as all of the ladies here seem to have chapped lips. The faces in the title can also seem a little too familiar at times. Even with these small nitpicks hindering my enjoyment of the art, overall the team is good in this issue. Some small experimenting is going on here as while in terms of the page layouts. These bold decisions seem to payoff in the course of this issue as these sequences are still easy to read. Clarity is something that is underrated in the space of comics, which is presented very well here.

This issue has a lot to offer skeptics like me. In fact this comic is completely aware of the audience that is intended for. For cynics, skeptics, castaways, or even lost souls there is a very good approach to the character that deserves some fresh eyes.