Gail Simone's 'Red Sonja, Vol. 1' is one of the most violent comics I've ever read, and I love it. I love the female characters and the strong relationships they have with one another; the connection they share is not without great development. Sisterhood and badassery don't usually come together in something with a pulp fiction-y, nostalgic label on it. But 'Red Sonja' has made it happen and (hopefully) it's there to stay and inspire others in the field.
In the introduction to 'Red Sonja, Vol. 1', Gail Simone explains how she wanted to write a sword and sorcery comic with strong female characters and men who were not just buff, hulking meatheads with criminal records for sexual assault. She was already a fan of the character of Red Sonja and wanted more to be done with her. I share her inclinations and frustration, for I love the fantasy genre and I do believe it can do better in terms of diverse representation, like with many other genres and mediums.
For instance, this comic features women who wear practical clothing for fighting, even Sonja who doesn't wear a chain mail bikini for everything. I mean, there are scenes set in the winter and in gladiator rings!
'Red Sonja' of the 21st century is still silly and sweet. But the book’s mostly sombre mood, dark turns, plot twists and harsh settings overshadow all the campy stuff, i.e. Sonja's bikini.
Speaking of which, the artist, Walter Geovani, seems to have achieved the impossible and drawn a female character in fanservice costumes without overtly sexualising her. Because Sonja, no matter what she wears, has a personality which demands your attention so much more than her appearance does. While there are one or two accentuated butt and cleavage shots - played for laughs as one of Sonja’s new hero-worshipping female acquaintances calls her "she of the excellent cleavage" - there are no ridiculous "sexy" poses, or any painful (not to mention impossible) anatomy and physics breakers.
This newer version of Red Sonja – with no mention of Conan the Barbarian – is an antiheroine; in no way a simpering victim nor a woman scorned. Known also as the Red Devil and She-Devil with a Sword, Sonja is confident, assertive, stubborn but loyal, smart, skilled, sarcastic, and an all-around badass. And not one panel in the comic lets you forget any of this, even when the booze-loving vagabond is drunk. She is sexy - and I do love my redheaded heroines - but not sexualised. Above all she is human, and flawed, but possesses a warm and bloody agency of her own free will, commanding respect wherever she goes. One of my favourite scenes is of Sonja dying in the snow after being disgraced and banished, and upon making contact with a stag (this makes sense in context), she has flashbacks to her childhood when she had witnessed her beloved family and village slaughtered right in front of her. No longer afraid to hunt, the following night the girl murdered the monstrous bandits one by one in a dark forest - leaving a man's decapitated head hanging from a tree. Even as a young girl she was not to be trifled with. If you try anything terrible with her, even with a hangover Red Sonja will kick your arse, and sometimes not alone as she has her smart (mostly female) allies.
'Red Sonja' is somewhat morally questionable, due to violent death being the solution to every problem. Plus the non-human characters - fish people - are portrayed as villains or are at least all portrayed in a very negative light, due to their ugliness. But the fight scenes are so much fun - the art and the emotions it renders are excellent - that I didn't mind not thinking about it too much. Some things are not to be taken too seriously, especially in comic books, and this action and adventure/sword and sorcery/barmy and bloody tale is one of them.
Such a brutal and enjoyable thrill ride! With plenty of laughs, cries and even some intellectual discussions to be had, 'Red Sonja, Vol. 1: Queen of Plagues' may have made a fan out of me; with a new found respect for the high fantasy and sword and sorcery genre, and for comics with female leads.
Read it. It's awesome, and so is Gail Simone. She knows how to make anything work.
P.S. The cover art samples, by female artists, are truly stunning. Sonja looks so beautiful and fierce in every one of them, even the cartoony ones.
Final Score: 5/5
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