[Note on the cover art: As far as I could find out, the numbering is wrong and this is cover of "The Invincible Red Sonja #4.]
THE INVINCIBLE RED SONJA #4
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
STORY: Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
ARTIST: Moritat
COLORS: Matt Carter
LETTERS: Dave Sharpe
EDITOR: Matt Idleson
COVER: Amanda Conner with Paul Mounts
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Joseph Michael Linsner; Amanda Conner with Paul Mounts; Celina;
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2021)
Rated Teen+
Red Sonja is female high fantasy and sword and sorcery hero. She first appeared in Conan the Barbarian #23 (cover dated February 1973) and was 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 Conan the Cimmerian's creator, Robert E. Howard.
In 2005, Dynamite Entertainment began publishing comic books featuring differing versions of the character. One of those is The Invincible Red Sonja. It is written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti; drawn by Moritat; colored by Matt Carter; and lettered by Dave Sharpe. In this recently launched series, Red Sonja finds herself on a spectacular journey filled with pirates, mermaids, princesses, and political intrigue as the fate of two kingdoms hangs in the balance.
As The Invincible Red Sonja #4 opens, the She-Devil with a Sword watches as Bahira Yakootah, the Lord of Thieves, summons demons from molten lava in his mission to kill the King of Erkhara. In her bid to stop him, however, Red Sonja, commits a fatal act that determine her fate. Now, death descends on Erkhara, Erkhara destabilizes, and Sonja may find herself even worse off.
THE LOWDOWN: Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department recently began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles. One of them is The Invincible Red Sonja #4, which is the first issue of the series that I have read, but this is not my first experience with the character. I have actually read various Red Sonja titles over my time as a comic book fan, including a few recently published by Dynamite.
Under a gorgeous cover drawn by Amanda Conner and colored by Paul Mounts, Conner and Palmiotti deliver a surprisingly rousing story. Although it is but one part of a story arc, this fourth chapter is quite entertaining by itself. This is one of the best Red Sonja comic books that I have ever read, and I am certainly enjoying this more than I do Conner and Palmiotti's Harley Quinn comic books.
Moritat's illustrations remind me of the art of the late Vaughn Bode. Moritat's graphical storytelling is over the top in a way a Red Sonja or Conan the Barbarian comic book should be, and the characters' emotions also leap off the page. Matt Carter's colors give the story some edge and also seem to quicken the pace of the story, along with Dave Sharpe's letters.
Honestly, I did not expect much from The Invincible Red Sonja #4, but now, I gotta have more. It's like my sword and sorcery crack. I'd do anything … for another issue.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Red Sonja comic books will want to read The Invincible Red Sonja.
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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