I'd put off reading this for years because of that cover.
Just... fucking look at it. Or don't, as it's bad for your health.
It's the first thing that people are going to see when they search for or stumble upon 'Swords of Sorrow'. Why that choice? Why appeal to the most basic male gaze? Why make it look like porn? Why make it look like fanservice central for the most unimaginative, lowest common denominator, cishet male target demographic, when inside it is the exact opposite? There's false advertising and then there's... this ugliness. Was it a deliberate bait and switch? A way to attract and trick said cishet male comic audiences? Seriously?
The cover is terrible, objectively speaking. I hate it. Every time my eyes land upon it, I cringe. It is terribly drawn and a complete disservice and disrespect to what 'Swords of Sorrow' actually is. What its content and context is.
What an epic, female-led comic saga it is.
How unapologetically and fantastically feminist and fun the whole thing, the whole concept, is.
To think I almost would never have bought and read it, because of that fucking awful cover. Really, the things I do for Gail Simone. But this is one of the times I can definitely thank her for a creation of hers I chose to purchase.
At its most basic descriptor, 'Swords of Sorrow: The Complete Saga' is like a female-led 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'. It features heroines from all across pulpy fiction and comics, crossing over and interacting with one another. Pretty much all of them are badass, daring, dangerous, and smart action heroines, never to be underestimated, with varying moralities, who find themselves caught in fantasy multiverse shenanigans. Thanks to a witch called the Traveller and her male courier, each extraordinary woman is gifted a legendary Sword of Sorrow, tasked at hand as generals, to fight across alternate dimensions, and to stop a fairy tale prince from seizing magical power in every universe, and conquering and changing every reality.
Individually, the women are already unstoppable and beyond brave. Together, they are a force to rival Mother Nature and the cosmos.
There is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much going on, and soooooooooooooooooooooo many characters to follow and keep track of. The fact that the collected issues are not consistently placed in chronological order doesn't help matters. But it manages to be soooooooooooooooooooooooo much fun, if you just go with the turbulent, tumultuous flow. It is clever, witty, and creative, and badass lead heroines are my jam.
Each and every woman in the 'Swords of Sorrow' series is awesome, complex, competent and capable. Some are distaff counterparts or wives to recognisable male heroes, but some stand out as their own heroes, from their own series and franchise.
I had heard of a few of them before reading - Red Sonja, Irene Adler (yes, really, and she proves she deserves to be featured here), and Jane Porter, aka Lady Greystoke (ditto). Others I am not so familiar with, such as Vampirella. But the rest I had no clue about in any other media until I read 'Swords of Sorrow'. It is a testament to how good the ambitious series is that whatever any reader's familiarity with the pre-existing characters is, it does not hinder their enjoyment of them and their action adventures.
Some of the other heroines, antiheroines, and villainesses are: Dejah Thoris, Jana the Jungle Girl, Jennifer Blood, Eva the daughter of Dracula, Kato, Black Sparrow, Purgatori, Chastity, Mistress Hel, Bad Kitty, Masquerade, Lady Zorro, Lady Rawhide, Pantha, and Miss Fury. The rest barely receive introductions, much less proper resolutions, when they do appear, typically near the end of the comic, where they are shoehorned in with no fanfare.
As is the case with major crossover events of this scale and with this many characters, some are bound to be forgotten about and left to the wayside.
It's fitting that the three heroines out of dozens who are destined to be the most important leaders in the battle against evil (the patriarchy, metaphorically) according to a prophecy - Red Sonja, Vampirella, and Dejah Thoris - come from the most popular and well known pop culture franchises, at least in pulp fiction.
I'm not complaining, as I love Gail Simone's 'Red Sonja' comics, and it's great to see the She-Devil with a Sword (of Sorrow) again, as interpreted by Simone.
Also, yeah, ignore that cover; shock of all shocks, the truth is there is no fanservice in 'Swords of Sorrow'. Every woman is genuinely strong, capable, and independent, and a force to be reckoned with, no matter what any of them are wearing. They hardly get into any sexual situations at all.
'Swords of Sorrow' has its priorities straight.
This is likely due to it having an all-female creative writing team behind it, for this all-female epic, ultimate showdown of ultimate destinies. It's not only Gail Simone penning every story and aspect (her introduction is worth the read, too); she didn't write every issue; there's Marguerite Bennett, Mairghread Scott, Nancy A. Collins, Leah Moore, Erica Schultz, Emma Bebby, Mikki Kendall, and freaking G. Willow Wilson! Even with the multiple artists being mostly men, any fanservice potential is kept in check. As I said, there is none to be found in the pages of 'Swords of Sorrow'.
The heroines are badass ladies in their own right, using their own unique skills, assets, and talents to save the multiverse.
There is more than swords and sorcery in 'Swords of Sorrow: The Collected Saga'. Indeed, it is a variety of genres. It is epic fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, horror, noir, gangster crime, comedy, and time travel and alternate world travel fiction.
Apart from its unfortunate trade cover, plus other alternate covers that resemble pinups, and its occasionally confusing, haphazard storylines and story spots competing against each other for attention and relevance, another flaw in the comic is its lack of explicit LBGTQ+ content. It came out around 2016, there is no excuse. All the women have the same conventionally attractive, slim build and body type, as well.
But I still recommend 'Swords of Sorrow: The Collected Saga', for it is an enjoyable, badass (the word has earned its repeated use in this review) and batshit romp. It is girl power action for adults.
It is a shame about that cover, but any decent person with taste will have to get past it, like I did, to discover the one of a kind, diamond in the rough joys within. It's not deep, it's merely fun.
It's girls having fun saving every universe! And making friends with each other along the perilous way!
Pulpy, action-packed, sword wielding heroine narratives from across universes and genres, fighting alongside one another - this is what comics are about.
Read it, and be proud of women.
Now if you'll excuse me, I will be going broke buying and reading more 'Red Sonja' comics, and others featuring a few of these amazing fictional women, male gazey fanservice artwork be damned.
Final Score: 3.5/5
P.S. Okay, I have to mention a couple of specific highlights: Jane Porter and Pantha work together in 1913 in London to stop Purgatori, a giant floating pyramid temple, and mythical beasts. It is fucking awesome. And Red Sonja and Jana the Jungle Girl work together to stop Mistress Hel and a patriarchal jungle cult, and they like to throw insults that are anachronistic and culturally different to each other. Their banter is hilarious, and meta, practically breaking the fourth wall. There are many more fun crossover partnerships like these. It's a missed opportunity, however, for Jane Porter and Dejah Thoris to never interact, given their source materials are by the same author, Edgar Rice Burroughs (despicable, hugely problematic person though he was).
P.P.S. One small noteworthy detail in this gargantuan comic: In the penultimate issue of the main 'Swords of Sorow' series, written by Simone, there's a scene where the holy trinity of pulp action heroines - Red Sonja, Vampirella, and Dejah Thoris - are in a car together, with Sonja in the passenger seat, and Dejah at the back, and when Sonja complains that "Princess Prissy" seated herself there as if she and Vamp are her "peasant attendants", Dejah half-jokes that she did it to "avoid your odor". Simone really likes to highlight how human Red Sonja is, and one of the recurring tools and tricks she uses is to point out that she is stinky and gross, as a warrior of her time and place.
P.P.P.S. On the subject of LBGTQ+ rep, I don't think Sonja kissing Jana on the cheek really counts, especially considering Jana subsequently snogs a man; nor does the formerly-sexist little boy from Jana's world who says he wants to be a girl after seeing girls being strong, and boys being ridiculous. Sonja is canonically queer in Simone's world, however, bi the bi.
No comments:
Post a Comment