Review by C.J. Bunce

After Sonjaversal and The Invincible Red Sonja and the announcement of Hannah John-Kamen (Star Wars, The Dark Crystal, Marvel, Game of Thrones, Tomb Raider) cast as the next live-action movie Sonja, the big year of Red Sonja continues.  With her 50th anniversary arriving in 2023, now we have a new anthology series from Dynamite Entertainment beginning next week.  Red Sonja: Black White Red combines three pairs of well-known writers and artists with a final book published in classic black and white with a touch of red–sometimes for Sonja’s flaming red hair, and just as often for the blood of her enemies.

It’s not just another Red Sonja series–the first issue offers up some of the best Red Sonja stories we’ve seen, and the short format of 10 pages per tale means the creators have no room for fluff or filler.  The result is the best of the new Dynamite series featuring Robert E. Howard’s reimagined 1970s Marvel Comics “she-devil with a sword.”  Check out several cover options for the first three issues below.  

 

Issue #1 pairs writers Mark Russell, Kurt Busiek, and Amanda Deibert, with artists Bob Q, Ben Dewey, and Cat Staggs.  Issue #2 includes stories by writer/artists Jonboy Meyers, Jeff Parker, and David F. Walker.  Issue #3 teams writers Gail Simone, Dearbhla Kelly, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou with artists Walter Geovani, Soo Lee, and well-known cover artist Jonathan Lau.

 

“The Sorcerer of Shangara!” takes Sonja to a dark castle dungeon, where she attempts to free prisoners of this unseen sorcerer.  Only none of them want to go, even those in chains in the worst bowels of the medieval shadows.  Why?  Is this the “greatest dungeon in the world” or just a supernatural tribute?  Mark Russell quickly builds the blocks for the tale and just as quickly takes readers to a satisfying and surprising finale.

In the second story, “The Hunted,” Sonja toys with a couple in the woods as she searches out her real enemies.  In the third tale, “Seeing Red,” Busiek and Dewey introduce an appropriately red MacGuffin that makes for the perfect title prop for this introductory journey for the series.

 

As with most of Dynamite’s series, expect some cosplay covers for the series:

Great fun for this big year for Red Sonja, add Red Sonja: Black White Red to your pull list at Elite Comics or your local comic shop now.