#IReadsYou Review: RED SONJA Black White Red #3

RED SONJA BLACK WHITE RED #3
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Gail Simone; Dearbhla Kelly; Jonathan Lau and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
ART: Walter Geovani; Soo Lee; Jonathan Lau
COLORS: Dearbhla Kelly
LETTERS: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
COVER: Lucio Parrillo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Sean Izaakse; Jonathan Lau; Lucio Parrillo; Rachel Hollon (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 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.

Red Sonja remained a fixture in comic books from then until about 1986.  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 #3 is comprised of three stories.  The first is “Dawn of a Crimson Day” by Gail Simone, Walter Geovani, Dearbhla Kelly, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.  Next is “Small Tales” by Dearbhla Kelly and Soo Lee with Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.  The final story is “Ssshhhhh!” by Jonathan Lau, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, and Dearbhla Kelly.  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 #3, which is the second issue of the title that I have read.

“Dawn of a Crimson Day” by Gail Simone, Walter Geovani, Dearbhla Kelly, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou:
Except for two panels near the end of the story, “Dawn of a Crimson Day” is a pantomime comic that offers up an origin story for Red Sonja.  Gail Simone's script is intense and angry, and I could feel some of it tapping at my heart.  The art by Walter Geovani surges and flows like a rushing stream, and Dearbhla's beautiful colors are fiery and lights this story so that even those far away can see it.

“Small Tales” by Dearbhla Kelly and Soo Lee with Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou:
“Small Tales” opens in Hyrkania where Red Sonja encounters a girl named Rua, who happens to be the She-Devil with a Sword's biggest fan.  Now, Red Sonja has to teach the girl how to be a hero.

“Small Tales” is a good story with a nice point about the life of hero.  Soo Lee's art expertly captures the runaway imagination of a fan about her champion.

“Ssshhhhh!” by Jonathan Lau, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, and Dearbhla Kelly:
This story finds Red Sonja attempting to claim a bounty by slaying a dragon, but things are not what they seem.  “Ssshhhhh!” is a confusing story with nice art, and while it is filled with visually striking moments, this mostly pantomime story does not interest me.

It is not hard for me to pick a favorite story of the three offered in Red Sonja Black White and Red #3.  The Gail Simone, Walter Geovani, Dearbhla Kelly, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou project called “Dawn of a Crimson Day” really stands out in this issue.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Red Sonja will want to try Red Sonja Black White and Red.

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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Review: STAN LEE’S HOW TO WRITE COMICS

STAN LEE’S HOW TO WRITE COMICS
WATSON-GUPTILL PUBLICATIONS

WRITERS: Stan Lee with Bob Greenberger
COVER: Jonathan Lau
ISBN: 978-0-8230-0084-5; hardcover
224pp, Color, $45.00 U.S. ($24.99 paperback), $53.00 CAN

Born way back in 1922, Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) has been a writer, editor, and publisher of comic books. He is most famously associated with Marvel Comics; Lee began with the company back in 1939 when it was Timely Comics. For Marvel Comics, Lee co-created such characters as Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and the Hulk, among many others

Stan Lee is an American comic book legend, but he is also known internationally and is the co-creator of a Japanese comic book series, a manga entitled Karakauri Dôji Ultimo. In addition to writing comic books, Lee has also authored several books. Perhaps, Lee’s best known non-comic is How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way (1978), co-authored with artist, John Buscema.

Stan Lee’s latest how-to book is Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics, which is available in both hardcover ($45.00 U.S.) and paperback ($24.99 U.S.) editions. Apparently, the purpose of the book is for Lee “to teach everything he knows about writing and creating comic book characters.” Lee offers tips, advice, and even a few secrets (or at least what he thinks are secrets).

Truthfully, this book has a misleading title. Yes, it does offer some how-to advice, and yes, it is rather interesting. However, this probably should be titled “Stan Lee’s About Writing Comics,” because the book is really about writing comics rather than being a how-to, guide to, or advice book, although this tome does all three things at different sections of the book.

Unless you open this book, you won’t know that Lee has a co-writer, Bob Greenberger. I wouldn’t be surprised if Greenberger did much of the writing in this book based upon interviews he conducted with Lee. Reading Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics, I got the sense of a collaborative process in which Lee strolled down memory lane recalling how he wrote, how he created, and how he collaborated with different artists, such as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko.

Much of this book includes quotes from current comic book creators and editors like Alan Moore, Kurt Busiek, Bryan Hitch, Doug Moench, Jerry Ordway Richard Pini, and Mark Waid, among others. There is even a script sample by Neil Gaiman. That’s why I say that Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics is about writing comics rather than a pure how-to book.

Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics is lavishly illustrated by pages, covers, and details from a wide assortment of comic books. There are also reproductions of original art, pencil art, and preliminary art of various kinds. To me, this book is worth purchasing because there is an entire chapter devoted to the benefits and shortcomings of using the full script or “Marvel Style” script, which is a plot-first way of telling the artist what to draw.

Upon first glance, I honestly didn’t expect much of this book, but Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics is a book that beginning and novice comic book writers should have. Even if they keep it for simple reference, they will like having this book because it has a lot to say about writing comic books.

B

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS - work by the following artists appears in this book:
Neal Adams, Ross Andru, Erica Awano
Mark Bagley, Diego Bernard, John Byrne
Aaron Campbell, J. Scott Campbell, Chris Caniano, Milton Caniff, John Cassaday, Cliff Chiang, Gene Colan
Steve Dillon, Steve Ditko
Glenn Fabry, Francesco Francavilla, Frank Frazetta,, Frank Kelly Freas
Dick Giordano
George Herriman, Bill Hughes, Bryan Hitch
Dan Jurgens
Gil Kane, Jack Kirby
David Lafuente, Jonathan Lau, Bob Layton, Sr., Larry Lieber
Mike Mayhew, Bob McLeod, Frank Miller, Tom Morgan
Katsuhiro Otomo, Richard Outcault
Carlos Paul, Frank Paul, George Perez, Windy Pini
Joe Quesada, Frank Quitely
Carlos Rafael, Caesar Razek, Wagner Reis, Paul Renaud, John Romita, John Romita, Jr., Alex Ross, Mel Rubi
Edgar Salazar, Manuel Clemente Sanjulian, Mike Sekowsky, Joe Shuster, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave Sim, Vin Sullivan
Rodolphe Topffer, Michael Turner,
Mike Zeck