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Tuesday, March 4, 2025
#IReadsYou Review: SPACE GHOST #3
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
#IReadsYou Review: RED SONJA Black White Red #4
RED SONJA BLACK WHITE RED #4
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
STORY: Sanya Anwar; Phillip Kennedy Johnson; Chuck Brown
ART: Sanya Anwar; Steve Beach; Drew Moss
COLORS: Kike J. Diaz; Steve Beach; Drew Moss
LETTERS: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
COVER: Lucio Parrillo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Cat Staggs; Jae Lee; Lucio Parrillo; Rachel Hollon (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (October 2021)
Rated Teen+
Based on the characters and stories created by Roy Thomas, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Robert E. Howard
Conan the Barbarian #23 (cover dated: February 1973) saw the debut of a high fantasy, sword and sorcery heroine, Red Sonja. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith, Red Sonja was loosely based on “Red Sonya of Rogatino,” a female character that appeared in the 1934 short story, “The Shadow of the Vulture,” written by Robert E. Howard (1906-1936), the creator of the character, Conan the Cimmerian.
In 2005, Dynamite Entertainment began publishing comic books featuring differing versions of the character. One of those is Red Sonja Black White and Red, an anthology comic book featuring stories from well known comic book writers and artists, with the art presented in black, white, and red.
Red Sonja Black White and Red #4 is comprised of three stories. The first is “The Iron Maiden,” and it is written and drawn by Sanya Anwar; colored by Kike J. Diaz; and lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elahou. The second story is “The Iron Queen,” and it is written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson; drawn by Steve Beach; and lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elahou. The third story is “Cold Monger,” and it is written by Chuck Brown; drawn by Drew Moss; and lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elahou. I'll review each story separately.
THE LOWDOWN: Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department recently began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles. One of them is Red Sonja Black White and Red #4, which is the third issue of the title that I have read.
“The Iron Maiden” by Sanya Anwar, Kike J. Diaz, and Hassan Otsmane-Elahou:
After being grievously injured, Sonja of Hyrkania passes out. When she awakens, she is under the care of Oenila, and two more different women there couldn't be. However, when Sonja later tries to save Oenila, she learns that a women can be a warrior on a different kind of battlefield.
“The Iron Maiden” is a nice story, but I think it doesn't show its power until the very end. I do like that the story shows that every woman does not have to be a she-devil with a sword in order to be brave in a struggle that she must face.
“The Iron Queen” by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Steve Beach, and Hassan Otsmane-Elahou:
This a tale of Red Sonja's past and present, one that finds her aged and waiting for the opportunity to be great again. It takes a young woman who idolizes her to remind the She-Devil that she was and still is a she-devil.
The art for “The Iron Queen” by Steve Beach is beautiful, and has a quality that recalls the “ink-wash” art that could be found in Savage Sword of Conan, the old Marvel Conan comics magazine. Johnson's story is nice, but I'm sure that I have read something just like it in the past.
“Cold Monger” by Chuck Brown, Drew Moss, and Hassan Otsmane-Elahou:
Red Sonja meets a stranger in a strange, cold land. He tells her of King Ole VII, “the Cold Monger,” who uses magic to keep the land frozen and him in control of fire. Can the hot-blooded She-Devil with a Sword melt down the Cold Monger's rule?
I like “Cold Monger.” It's like a fairy tale with Red Sonja as the unnamed hero who passes through a land, staying only long enough to depose a despot.
It is not hard for me to pick a favorite story of the three offered in Red Sonja Black White and Red #4. “Cold Monger” by Chuck Brown, Drew Moss, and Hassan Otsmane-Elahou really stands out in this issue, which I must admit that I find to be the weakest issue of this series that I have read, thus far.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Red Sonja will want to try Red Sonja Black White and Red.
B
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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Thursday, January 9, 2025
#IReadsYou Review: SPACE GHOST #2
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
#IReadsYou Review: SPACE GHOST #1
Saturday, June 1, 2024
"Jonny Quest" Returns to Comic Books in Time for 60th Anniversary
Saturday, May 25, 2024
Titan Comics Announces "Conan" Comics Solicitations for August 2024
Friday, May 17, 2024
Archie Comics Debuts "Archie Comics: Judgment Day #1" May 22nd
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Dynamite Entertainment Announces "Dynamite Originals" Comics Imprint
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
#IReadsYou Review: CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
#IReadsYou Review: BIG GAME #1
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
I Reads You Juniors: October 2023 - Update #60
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NEWS:
DISNEY - From BleedingCool: "KugaliInk" is a new graphic novel imprint that is the joint project of Disney Hyperion and Kugali, a pan-African entertainment company. The imprint will celebrate African voices and be focused on middle-grade readers. KugaliInk's first graphic novel will be "Akanni" by Jessica Tagbajumi (2025), to be followed by "Runeless" by Bill Masuku.
EN MEMORIAM - From BleedingCool: Comic book artist Steve Erwin has died at the age of 63, Wednesday, October 25, 2023. Erwin was best remembered for co-creating DC Comics' "Checkmate" with writer Paul Kupperberg and the DC Comics' character, "Gunfire," with the late writer, Len Wein. In 1991, he joined writer Marvel Wolfman to launch the "Deathstroke the Terminator" comic book series, with Erwin drawing 23 of the series first 34 issues and the series second "Annual" issue.
COMICS - From GamesRadar: Comic book maestros Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones are teaming up for a series of graphic novels about the secret history of Dracula. They are currently crowdfunding "Dracula: Book One: The Impaler."
IMAGE - From BleedingCool: Todd McFarlane announces 10 more Spawn-related comic book titles for 2024.
MOVIES - From Variety: Author and comic book writer, Benjamin Percy ("Wolverine"), has sold the film rights to his novella, "American Criminal," to Amazon MGM Studios.
DC COMICS - From GamesRadar: DC Comics will celebrate Black History Month 2024 with a new installment of its "DC Power" anthology, a one-shot dedicated to showcasing Black characters and creators. Black History Month is observed all February long, with "DC Power 2024" arriving just a bit early at the tail end of January.
MARVEL STUDIOS - From Variety: Director Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class) reveals that he quit X-Men: The Last Stand when he discovered that Fox was going to trick Halle Berry into signing to appear in the film with a fake "Storm" script that the studio would later discard.
NYCC - From BleedingCool: At New York Comic Con 2023, Yen Press announced 15 upcoming manga and light novel publications.
NYCC - From AIPT: Writer Rick Remender's Image Comics' label, "Giant Generator," has signed several big name comic book artists to exclusive contracts, including J.G. Jones, Daniel Acuna, and Bengal, to name a few.
NYCC - From THR: Director Matthew Vaughn revealed that he is working on a reboot of the "Kick-Ass" film franchise. It is based on the Mark Millar-John Romita, Jr-created comic book franchise that has yielded two films, Kick-Ass (2010) and Kick-Ass 2 (2013).
NYCC - From BleedingCool: Korean-American actor, Don Lee, is joining writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jae Lee for the comic book, "Project Sterling North." Just as the BRZRKR comic book uses co-creator Keanu Reeves' likeness so will "Project Sterling North" uses Lee's likeness.
NYCC - From ComicBook: Comic book writer, J.M. DeMatteis, who co-created "Creature Commandos" (with artist Pat Broderick), says that he met with DC Studios Co-CEO James Gunn about Gunn's animated "Creature Commando" series.
NYCC - From ComicBook: Action Comics will be kicking off a brand-new storytelling initiative in 2024. DC announced "Superman Superstars," a year-long string of stories that will be told in the pages of Action. From January through December of 2024, the book will feature a rotating array of writers and artists, who will be teaming up on mini arcs, including comic book stars Jason Aaron and Joshua Williamson.
NYCC - From ComicCon: Mad Cave Studios is moving into publishing comic books based on licensed properties. At NYCC, Mad Cave announced the creative teams for those series. Cullen Bunn and Chris Batista on "Gatchaman" and Steve Orlando and Tommy Lee Edwards on a spin-off series. Writer Jeremy Adams tackles "Flash Gordon."
NYCC - From THR: Comic book creator, Rob Liefeld, has joined Philip J. Silvera, the stunt coordinator for "Deadpool" (2016) to produce a proof-of-concept trailer featuring his character, "Bloodstrike." The hope is that the trailer will revive interest from filmmakers and studios in a "Bloodstrike" film.
NYCC - From ComicBook: Dynamite and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products announced that they have partnered to release a range of comic books and graphic novels inspired by some of Warner's most popular franchises and characters. The initial slate of titles are planned to be released across multiple formats and will be based on "The Flintstones," "Jonny Quest," The Powerpuff Girls," "Space Ghost," "ThunderCats," "We Bare Bears," and The Wizard of Oz.
NYCC - From ComicBook: After 14 years, DC Comics is reviving the "Elseworlds" imprint (beginning in 2024) with the following titles:
EN MEMORIAM - From THR: Comic book writer and artist, Keith Giffen, has died at the age of 70, Monday, October 9, 2023. Giffen may be best known for his work on DC Comics' "Legion of Super-Heroes," working on various LoSH series from 1982 to 1998, with the most famous work being "The Great Darkness Saga" storyline. Giffen also co-created several characters, including Marvel Comics' "Rocket Raccoon," DC's "Lobo," and the "Jaime Reyes" incarnation of the character, "Blue Beetle," which appeared in the 2023 film, Blue Beetle.
NYCC 2023 - From THR: Oscar-nominated actor, Tom Hardy, is joining acclaimed comic book writer, Scott Snyder (Batman), in the creation of a new 12-issue comic book series, "Arcbound." Hardy has the title of "creative collaborator" and will work on developing characters for the broader "Arcbound" universe. Veteran writer Frank Tieri and artist Ryan Smallman. Hardy and the creative team will appear at New York Comic-Con 2023 on Saturday for a signing.
BRITISH COMICS - From 2000AD: The legendary English comics artist, John M. Burns, has retired after seven decades of creating and drawing comics. He has drawn for over 20 different publishers, and he may be best known for his work on such characters as "Judge Dredd," "Nikolai Dante," and "The Order" to name a few.
DC CINEMA - From Variety: The website chronicles the latest drama surrounding "Aquaman 2" and the emerging cinematic DC Universe.
COMICS - From OhDannyBoy: Australian blogger, Daniel Best," takes a look at the history of art theft at Marvel Comics, this time looking specifically at the theft of the art produced by the late Jack Kirby.
IMAGE - From BleedingCool: Todd McFarlane will reveal Liam Sharp's "Barbarian Spawn" comic book at the upcoming New York Comic-Con 2023 (Oct. 12 to 15).
BRITISH COMICS - From BleedingCool: Scottish comics publisher, BHP Comics will begin shutting down its operations.
DC COMICS - From DCBlog: Writer Joanne Starer talks about her new "Dawn of DC" series, "Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville."
COMICS - From BleedingCool: Apparently, after 88-year-old, Portland-based collector, James Strand, died, his house was ransacked for his collection of rare comics, signed books, and pulps. The collection was worth an estimated two million dollars, and the FBI is investigating.
ONE PIECE - From Deadline: The site has a long Q&A with Matt Owens, series writer, executive producer, and co-showrunner of Netflix's "One Piece" live-action series. He talks about Season 2, about how personal the series is to him, and about how the series got Jamie Lee Curtis to join the cast.
MANGA - From BleedingCool: Although Vol. 34 was the end of the worldwide hit manga, "Attack on Titan," there will be a 35th volume, which will be released in 2024.
COMICS - From ComicBook: Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise) talks more about his upcoming science fiction graphic novel, a hybrid of prose and comics which will be crowdfunded for a 2024 release. His wife and publisher, Robyn Moore, says that they may be done with publishing single issues.
IMAGE/SKYBOUND - From ScreenRant: Robert Kirkman explains why his new G.I. Joe/Transformers shared continuity is called the "Energon Universe."
MARVEL STUDIOS - From GamesRadar: Marvel Studios is reportedly about to begin the process of choosing a writer for the "X-Men" movie.
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