Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} ConanRed Sonja by . (pencils, inks and color). She in made her début in " of the Vulture" and "The Song of Red Sonja" in ’ the 23-24 (1972). She was loosely based on the character Red Sonya of Rogatino in E. Howard's short story "The Shadow of the Vulture" ( The Magic Carpet Magazine January 1934). Thomas rewrote this as a Conan story for the Marvel comic, reinventing REH’s Red Sonya, making her a heroine of Conan’s Hyborian Age, tweaking the spelling of her name, and replacing Sonya's guns (and sword) with (only) a sword. "The Song of Red Sonja" won the 1973 Academy of Arts Awards: Best Individual Story (Dramatic). In , two panels were censored by John Romita Sr. The uncensored story was reprinted in Marvel Treasury Edition 1 15 (1977), where it was recolored by Glynis Wein and the artwork was slightly cropped to fit the page format. The She-Devil with a Sword has become the archetypical example of the figure of a fierce and stunningly beautiful female barbarian who typically wears sexy, but skimpy armor. Contents. Biographical sketch [ edit | edit source ] The origin of Red Sonja, "The Day of the Sword", first appeared in Kull and the 3 by , and . This story was later redrawn by and for The Savage Sword of Conan 78. Red Sonja lived with her family in a humble home in the Western Hyrkanian steppes. When she had just turned 17 years old, a group of cruel mercenaries killed her father Ivor, her mother and two younger brothers and burned their house and all their possessions. She survived but was raped by the leader of the group. Answering her cry for revenge, the red goddess Scathach appeared to her, and instilled in her incredible skill in the handling of swords and other weapons on the condition that she would never lay with a man unless he defeated her in fair combat. Physical appearance [ edit | edit source ] Most artists depict Red Sonja wearing a very brief bikini-like costume of scale mail. As originally drawn by Barry Smith for "The Shadow of the Vulture" and "The Song of Red Sonja" in Conan the Barbarian issues 23 and 24 (1973), she did not have as full a figure and dressed a little more conservatively, in a chainmail long-sleeved shirt and red cloth (maybe leather) shorts. As told by Roy Thomas in the introduction of Red Sonja Adventures Volume 1 () Spanish artist submitted an uncommissioned illustration to him when he was editing the magazine Savage Sword of Conan where he redesigned the character and for the first time showed her wearing what would become her famous costume, the silver “metal bikini”, which resembled other fantasy costumes that other Maroto heroines sported in the 1970’s. This illustration was printed for the first time in black and white in Savage Sword of Conan #1, was later reprinted in Marvel Treasury Edition #15 colored but poorly reproduced, and finally restored and colored by José Villarrubia as an alternate cover for the Dynamite Entertainment edition of Red Sonja #2. Maroto drew her in this costume for her first solo adventure in Savage Sword of Conan #1, and drew her in that costume in the same magazine. Buscema drew her again in that costume in issues 43, 44 and 48 of Conan the Barbarian (1974) and Dick Giordano in the first issue of (1975) before took over from issue 2 (1976). For some reason the "bikini" proved popular, becoming well known through the paintings of and others. Traits and skills [ edit | edit source ] As noted above, Red Sonja has incredible skill in the handling of swords and other weapons. Stories featuring Red Sonja [ edit | edit source ] These are the comic books that have featured Red Sonja as a main character: Marvel Feature 1-7 (Marvel Comics) (November, 1975 - November, 1976). Red Sonja (1st series) 1-15 (Marvel Comics) (1977-1979). Red Sonja (2nd series) 1-2 (Marvel Comics) (1983). Red Sonja (3rd series) 1-13 (Marvel Comics) (1983-1986). Red Sonja The Movie 1-2 (Marvel Comics) (1985). Red Sonja: Scavenger Hunt (Marvel Comics) (1995). Red Sonja in 3-D (Blackthorne) (1998). Red Sonja . A Death in Scarlet (Cross Plains) (1999). Red Sonja (New series) 0-present (Dynamite Entertainment) (2005). In addition she has been featured in solo stories in the following publications: "Conan the Barbarian", (Marvel Comics) (1974). Issue 48, "Episode!," Roy Thomas (w), John Buscema (p), Dick Giordano (i). " The Savage Sword of Conan ", (Marvel Comics) (1974-1995). Issue 1, "Red Sonja," Roy Thomas (w), Esteban Maroto (p), / (i). Issue 23, "Wizards of the Black Sun," Roy Thomas/Clair Noto (w), Frank Thorne (a). Issue 45, "Master of Shadows," Christie Marx (w), John Buscema (p), Tony DeZuñiga (i). Issue 78, "The Day of the Sword," Roy Thomas/Doug Moench (w), Dick Giordano/Terry Austin (a). Issue 157, "Infant Terrible," (w/a). Issue 169, "The Endless Stair," Peter B. Gillis (w), Steven Carr (p), Armando Gil (i). Issue 171, "The Waif and the Warrior," (w), Steven Carr (p), (i). Issue 187, "Red Sonja Queels the Song of the Siren," Marie Javins/Steve Buccellato (w), (a). Issue 192, "On the Road of Kings," Roy Thomas/ (w), Tony DeZuñiga (a). Issue 194, "The Road to Zamboula," Roy Thomas (w), Tony DeZuñiga (a). Issue 195, "Swordless in Zamboula," Roy Thomas (w), Tony DeZuñiga (a). Issues 207-10, "The Road to Zanadu," Roy Thomas/Dann Thomas (w), Del Barras /Reggie Jones/ Kirk Etienne (a). Issue 229- "A Lady for the Burning," Roy Thomas (w), Howard Simpson (p), Rober Quijano (i). Issue 230-3, "The Ring of Ikribu," 1/4 Roy Thomas (w), Esteban Maroto (a). "Kull and the Barbarians" (Marvel Comics) (1975). Issue 2, "She-devil with a Sword," Roy Thomas (w), Howard Chaykin (a). Issue 3, "The Day of the Sword," Roy Thomas/Doug Moench (w), Howard Chaykin (a). She has appeared a "guest" alongside Conan in the series: Conan the Barbarian The Savage Sword of Conan Conan the King. And with Spider-Man in " Marvel Team-Up " # 79 and in " What if? " Vol. 2, #16. In the former the of Sonja possesses the body of to face her old enemy . In the later Sonja is defeated by Wolverine and becomes his mate. Marvel Feature #4 was reprinted in the book "The Women" edited by . She was featured on the cover in a painting by John Romita marching among Marvel Comics's characters. Sonja has been featured in several novels by David C. Smith and Richard L. Tierney with covers by Boris Vallejo: 1 The Ring of Ikribu (Ace 1981) (Adapted to comics by Roy Thomas and Esteban Maroto in The Savage Sword of Conan issues 230-3) 2 Night (Ace 1982) 3 When Hell Laughs (Ace 1982) 4 Endithor's Daughter (Ace 1982) 5 Against the Prince of Hell (Ace 1983) 6 Star of Doom (Ace 1983) Red Sonja Chronology Previous Appearance: none Begin the Red Sonja Chronology Next Appearance: Conan the Barbarian #23. She and Conan team up in Dark Horse and Dynamite 's Conan/Red Sonja: In other media [ edit | edit source ] She was played by Brigitte Nielsen in the 1985 film Red Sonja , which also starred as Kalidor (a Conan clone). The film was directed by It performed poorly at the box office. Avi Lerner and Danny Dimbort's Millennium Films and Randall Emmett and George Furla's Emmett/Furla Films announced they had acquired the rights to produce and distribute a feature film based on the “Red Sonja” property as well as the allied and ancillary rights. The picture was to be produced by Randall Emmett, George Furla and Avi Lerner as well as executive produced by M. Dal Walton III, Luke Lieberman, Nick Barrucci, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short and Boaz Davidson. In the past, the property was out to writers and directors. A new adaptation of Red Sonja not based on the original film is currently in the works. It was going to be produced by Robert Rodriguez, directed by Douglas Aarniokoski (with considerable participation of Rodriguez). Rose McGowan was set to have the lead role in the film, starring as Red Sonja. Kulan Gath was going to played a major role in the movie. The release date was recently reported to be late 2009 with a teaser poster being released which shows Red Sonja with her sword atop of a pile of skulls. Shortly after, another teaser poster was released with a 2010 release date. A script was confirmed to have been written and filming was commence in early 2010, but these plans were squelched by injuries that permanently damaged the mobility and strength of her right arm. [4] In a February 2011 interview, film producer Avi Lerner stated that Simon West was hired to direct the film and also mentioned Amber Heard as the frontrunner to star in the lead role. [5] On February 26, 2015, Christopher Cosmos was hired to write the film's script. [6] According to Deadline, Millennium Films will finance and produce a new Red Sonja movie with Avi Lerner and Joe Gatta producing alongside with Cinelou Films’ Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon. [7] Misty Lee provided the character's voice in the 2016 animated film Red Sonja: Queen of Plagues . Red Sonja makes an appearance on the "Conan" TV series, in the episode, "Red Sonja". She is on a mission to rescue a young wizard who was kidnapped. When one of Conan's partners sarcastically asks why the village didn't send their best warriors, Sonja replies, "They did send their best warrior, mulebrain!" She was played by Angelica Bridges. There was a planned Red Sonja TV series in the works with Sable as Red Sonja. [8] The character has been parodied in numerous forms including the comic book series, Red Shetland where the title character is a humanoid mare in the archetypical armor bikini. Another parody of Red Sonja is realized in the form of Red Sophia , a character from 's black and white, independent comic book, Cerebus . Beverly Switzler, a character from the Marvel comic book, Howard the Duck is featured on the cover of Howard the Duck (Volume 1) #1 wearing a scale mail bikini similar to the outfit worn by Red Sonja . Red Sonja will star in her first , which will be developed by F84 Games, with planned release in winter 2016/2017. Gail Simone will serve as the game's story writer. [9] Conan Red Sonja. Gail Simone and Jim Zub team up to bring together legendary warriors-- Conan and Red Sonja ! The indomitable characters meet again at last! Spanning 3 eras in the lives of these classic characters, Conan and Red Sonja must become comrades to take down a twisted sorcerer-priest hell- bent on creating a new age in Hyborian warfare! With the entire world in danger, can they stop the deadly Bloodroot--a toxic plant capable of wiping out entire worlds--from falling into the wrong hands!? This volume collects issues #1 through 4 of the Conan Red Sonja action-packed miniseries between Dark Horse and Dynamite! Red Sonja. Know also, O prince, that in those selfsame days that Conan the Cimmerian did stalk the Hyborian Kingdoms, one of the few swords worthy to cross with his was that of Red Sonja, warrior woman out of majestic Hyrkania. Forced to flee her homeland and because she spurned the advances of a king and slew him instead, she rode west across the Turanian Steppes and into the shadowed mists of legendry. Red Sonja is a fictional fantasy swordswoman and adventurer, based on the heroine created by Robert E. Howard and adapted by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. Hailing from the Hyborian Age, Sonja was only seventeen when her family's home on the Hyrkanian steppes was attacked by bandits, leaving her the sole survivor. Swearing revenge, Red Sonja became a fierce and highly skilled warrior at the peak of human condition whose prowess with a sword is virtually unmatched. Red Sonja debuted in 1973, and her adventures were told in comics published by Marvel Comics until 1986. Sonja was initially a supporting character in the stories of one of Howard's other creations, Conan the Barbarian, before getting her own comic book in 1975. In 2005, Dynamite Entertainment took over the license and have published Red Sonja comics ever since under a variety of creative teams. During this run, the original Red Sonja was killed off and replaced by a until Gail Simone rebooted the series in 2013. Red Sonja has also been featured in a variety of other media, including her own movie released in 1985, starring Brigitte Nielsen. An upcoming film is currently in development. As originally told, Red Sonja's backstory included her being raped and beaten during the event that killed her family, and her powers were bestowed upon her by the goddess Scathach. Red Sonja also took a vow of chastity and vowed to never lie with a man who could not defeat her in battle. These elements were changed in Simone's 2013 reboot of the character, removing the sexual violence and giving the character more agency as she hones her skills and hunts down her family's murderers. Red Sonja is also well known for her striking appearance. In addition to her red hair, Sonja is usually depicted in scale mail "bikini armor" which covers her modesty. Contents. Character Origins [ edit | edit source ] Red Sonja is a female swordmaster and adventurer, born to a humble family living on the Wester Hyrkanian steppes. When Sonja is seventeen, bandits raid her home, burning it to the ground and killing her family. Sonja tries to defend herself but is unable to wield her brother's sword. She is then raped by the leader of the bandits. Crying for revenge, Sonja is heard by the goddess Scathach who bestows on her incredible fighting prowess. However, in return for these skills, Sonja would never sleep with a man who could not first beat her in fair combat. Years later, an adult Sonja wastes her talents thieving, fighting, and drinking - trying in vain to drown her pain in blood and liquor. Sonja hunts the badlands of Hyrkania as a mercenary. At one point, she falls in with Ozzyus and his band of misfit mercenaries. As Ozzyus could never replace the father Sonja lost, she moves more jaded than before after a falling out where his moral flaws were laid bare. Despite her nomadic tendencies, Sonja does have a - to find and kill those responsible for killing her family. Along the way, Sonja will settle for killing anyone who reminds her of her tormenters. Ultimately, she learns that her tormentors are agents of the dark sorcerer Kulan Gath, and their greatest goal is to return their master to the Hyborean world. Freeing the world from Kulan's oppression becomes her life's work. Until that is done, she cannot find closer, but along that journey, she develops into a master strategist and matures into a leader. In later years, she frees the kingdom of Sogoria from its oppression and rules it as queen. Throughout the years, a number of royals have offered her a throne, but she always turned it down; she will only sit on a throne she earns for herself. Because of her history, Sonja has a large circle of compatriots from various backgrounds. She has allies in every land and tribe, but true friends she has few. Too many who have gotten close have died, she has been wounded too deep, so now she rarely lets anyone in. There have been several incarnations of Sonja's origins beginning with her rape and her families murder as depicted by Roy Thomas. Michael Oeming later revised this to incorporate the incident into her larger conflict with Kulan Gath - the killers now followers of Kulan's cult bent on returning him to this dimension through blood sacrifice. Gail Simone later reimagined her origin in 2013 to dispense with the sexual violence and give Sonja more agency; she escapes to hunt down her family's killers and take their lives one by one. These killers have no connection to any larger story. The attack on Sonja's family still occurs, but she is not raped during the assault. Simone's version of the character also does not get her fighting skills from divine intervention but rather learns them as a prisoner and in her youth. Without the aid of Scathach, Sonja also never undertakes her vow of chastity. Publication History [ edit | edit source ] Marvel Comics (1973—1986) [ edit | edit source ] Cover of Marvel Feature 4 , published in 1976. The character of Red Sonja first appeared in 1973, debuting in Conan the Barbarian #23. Writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith adapted Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino, a female adventurer from the 1934 short story "The Shadow of the Vulture." Transporting the character from the short story's original 16th century setting to the Hyborian Age, Red Sonja became a contemporary of Howard's Conan. In 1975, after a seven-issue run headlining Marvel Feature , Red Sonja was spun-off into her own comic series. Marvel would continue publishing Red Sonja comics until 1995. Novels and Film [ edit | edit source ] Between 1981 and 1983, six Red Sonja novels were published by Ace with covers by Boris Vallejo. In 1985, the film Red Sonja was released with Brigitte Nielsen in the title role. Dynamite Entertainment (2005—present) [ edit | edit source ] In 2005, Dynamite Entertainment acquired the comic license and began publishing Red Sonja comics. In issue #34 of the first ongoing series, the original Red Sonja dies and is replaced by a reincarnation who is also a distant relative of the She-Devil with a Sword. This version of the character lasted until 2013. Gail Simone rebooted Red Sonja in 2013, changing the character's backstory to remove several elements including her rape at the hands of bandits. Powers and Abilities [ edit | edit source ] Peak-Level Athlete: In peak human physical condition and, on occasion has demonstrated low-level superhuman abilities. At her peak, Sonja can vault over a 12-foot-tall demon with ease, move more quickly than an opponent's eyes could follow, and snatch arrows out of the air. She's also strong enough to crush a human skull into dust between her palms. Weapon Master: A virtually unparalleled sword-master, though she is nearly as proficient with other melee weapons and can gain expertise with unfamiliar ones with minimal training. She is an accomplished archer and demonstrates remarkable accuracy with any distance weapon. Sonja's mastery of arms includes being able to quickly improvise and construct weapons with any available materials at hand, so that even when seemingly disarmed, she is rarely weaponless. Tracking: Red Sonja has spent much time traveling the diverse and dangerous landscape of the Hybornian age and is a gifted ranger and tracker. She can navigate and survive nearly any form of terrain and hunt down almost any quarry. She is also adept at covering her tracks and leaving little trace of her passing. Stealth: Red Sonja possesses catlike grace and can move about in near-silence in order to avoid detection, making good use of shadows and any other available cover. She is also highly skilled at disguise, camouflage, and infiltration. Other Abilities: Red Sonja's diverse physical skills include swimming, acrobatics, and escape artistry. She is a phenomenal climber, expert horseback rider and an accomplished sailor. Sonja is highly intelligent and resourceful and possesses a keen understanding of warfare and battle strategy. Her charisma makes her a natural leader when called upon, though she usually prefers to operate alone. While she distrusts magic, she is well acquainted with it and instinctively understands how to deal with the supernatural – a necessity when battling her greatest enemy, Kulan Gath. Dynamite Entertainment [ edit | edit source ] No man knows the place of her birth, nor where she learned to wield a sword to shame many a male. They know only that she is called The She- Devil of The Hyrkanian Steppes. That, and Red Sonja. Mark Russell (The Flintstones) and Mirko Colak (Conan) bring a savage tale of metal and blood. A world conqueror possesses a massive army and a fatal prophecy. A bastard sorceress craves revenge. And a fearsome red-haired warrior is made wartime ruler of a homeland set for decimation. A new chapter for the Queen of the Hyrkanian Age. Our favorite warrior has faced the toughest of , foes, and strange magic, but nothing has prepared this 6 ft. tall barbarian for…the modern world. Emerging from a subway construction site in New York City, confronted by cops and guns, Sonja fights for her survival in a new and hostile world. Is she here by accident or by design? Who brought her here, and why? By the creative team of Amy Chu (Poison Ivy, KISS) and Carlos Gomez. Wild-child, outlaw, mercenary, warrior and, finally, queen. Red Sonja is intelligent, witty and a master with a . A nomadic adventurer, she is on a mission to find and kill those responsible for the murder of her family. Red Sonja gets an overhaul, a new attitude and a reimagined origin story from veteran comic book writer and creator Gail Simone. Review of CONAN RED SONJA by Gail Simone, Jim Zub, Dan Panosian, Randy Green, Rick Ketcham, and Dave Stewart. Conan Red Sonja is a hardcover collecting issues 1-4 of a limited series of floppies put out by . I was prompted to review this comic, a trade hardcover actually, after re-reading the review snippets on the back of the book. SciFiPulse, Kabooooom, Geeked Out Nation, and Doomrocket all praised Conan Red Sonja (I think I may have heard of one of these websites before). And, after reading it myself, I’m thinking it might be time for another opinion on Conan Red Sonja . I didn’t hate it. But I am very disappointed with it. I think Conan Red Sonja would make an fine book for a preteen who has not read many comics, or maybe someone a little older who needs a bit of distraction while waiting at an airport, or any someone who needed to get an idea who and what Conan and Red Sonja were but didn’t really want to know any the specifics (for some reason). Conan Red Sonja would make a suitable book for one of these persons. There are some things Conan Red Sonja has going for it. It isn’t completely disjointed, despite having large time jumps between issues. It contains some good artwork. Some good colouring. It is printed on great paper. It is bound very well. I also think I like what writers Gail Simone and Jim Zub were aiming at. And to be fair they don’t completely miss the mark. This book has a some nice set pieces. Individual panels here and there can be quite pretty. The splash pages are well composed. The whole package is there. Unfortunately its just lacking in all the little polished details that would have made Conan Red Sonja something really good. In essence what’s wrong with Conan Red Sonja is that it is just not smart enough. Now I bet most people who haven’t read a lot of Conan comics wouldn’t expect you’d go to Conan or Red Sonja comics for smartness, but I do. It used to be that Conan’s stories were based on short stories by Robert E. Howard (and a few other authors). That tended to smarten things up quite a bit. And Conan comics, unlike the superhero comics, had real deaths, people would die and – get this – not just come back a few issues down the road. That was smart too. Trust me, I know whereof I speak on this whole issue. I’ve been reading comics since the mid 1980s. I grew up collecting and reading Savage Sword , Conan The Barbarian , King Kull , Red Sonja and pretty much every other Robert E. Howard character they’d do a comic about. So I know Conan and Red Sonja pretty damn well – and it can be very smart stuff. This comic isn’t very smart. I’ll point to five very specific problems: 1. NO GUNS. Despite the drawing above, there are no cannons in the Hyborian age. Maybe this wasn’t actually in the script, maybe this is just a slip-up by an enthusiastic artist who, thinking “this is a pirate ship” and “pirate ships have cannons” drew some cannons. They don’t have cannons, not in the Hyborian Age. 2. INVERSE RACISM. The pirate ship on the right. Do you see what’s missing? You can’t make racism go away by avoiding situations that might look controversial. Bêlit’s crew is supposed to black, made up exclusively of “ebony-skinned warriors.” Bêlit’s crew, in Conan Red Sonja don’t look ebony to me. Yes, Howard was racist, but Bêlit isn’t racist. She is selfish. Wanton. Cruel. But not racist. Having Bêlit not have a black crew is a stupid way to avoid looking like being racist. It’s like having the Kents of Smallville be Chinese for the purposes of racial diversity, but keeping Clark Kent white – he’s a fucking alien! – So, suffice it to say, I don’t get the point of the change here – it just makes me think yeahhh, they’re afraid to deal with the fact that the creator of this character was racist, so lets pretend everyone is white in the Hyborian Age . Howard specifically sets up this image in Queen Of The Black Coast . Bêlit is an “ivory” skinned warrior woman leading a crew of “ebony” skinned pirates. Deal with it. 3. NO FUCKING WAY! No, Thoth Amon is not responsible for the poisoning of the Zarkheba River, nor, as we are probably supposed to infer, the subsequent death of Bêlit. Bêlit is responsible for her own death. Despite what writers Gail Simone and Jim Zub have Thoth Amon saying above, there’s no reason at all to have him say it – other than it is something for him to say. First of all, Thoth Amon isn’t the be-all and end-all of evil in the Hyborian Age – he isn’t the evil behind every evil. He isn’t anything close to being the Professor Moriarty of Hyborian Age (and neither was Moriarty, actually). That’s just lazy, lazy writing. Thoth Amon shows up in exactly one Robert E. Howard story, The Phoenix On The Sword , and the two characters never actually meet. Or as the Wikipedia page for Thoth Amon puts it “[Thoth Amon] is often used as Conan’s arch enemy in derivative works.” Well, here’s another derivative work to add to the list, Conan Red Sonja . Moreover, Thoth Amon’s explanation for why he supposedly poisoned the Zarkheba River doesn’t hold water. There were no ruins of a coastal town at the mouth of the river! There was a ruined city upriver, that’s the setting for the climax of Queen Of The Black Coast , but that city was ancient, and had very different reasons for going bad. Again, shitty lazy writing. Maybe there are excuses for this sort of thing, maybe the folks at Conan Properties International and Red Sonja, LLC, are so worried about protecting the characters they invented claim to own that they are micromanaging the writing team – telling them what can and cannot be written. I don’t know. 4. ART. When not occasionally looking drugged, sometimes, just from panel to panel, Conan will look like a different dude. He will rapidly grow and then lose abdominal hair. Weird right? Too weird. I could buy a version of Conan with abdominal hair, or a version with chest hair, or a version with hair everywhere, or a Conan with a completely hairless torso (the traditional look). What I can’t buy is the growing and mowing I’m being asked to do between panels. Pick a fucking hair pattern. 5. LOGIC. While The overall plot McGuffin isn’t bad – I like the idea of a red seed (from space) – one that sprouts a red-thorned vine that infects and chokes all the life out of everything in a land – it’s not a new idea of course, its from H.G. Well’s The War Of The Worlds – I like it! Yet I don’t think this book uses it very well. For example, we’re told it kills absolutely everything it gets close to, and so when Conan, after getting infected somehow (the book doesn’t show us how) – after getting infected Conan has the red thorny vines growing out of the muscle on his left forearm. His cure for this infection is fire (which is cool) but when the red thorny vine grows back Conan just pulls it out by the root – and that cures it. WTF!? What about all the other people and animals and plants that were killed by this invasive red alien plant? You’re expecting me to accept that this burn it then pull it technique will work for Conan but didn’t work for anyone else? And that again is the problem with Conan Red Sonja , this book doesn’t expect anything of me. It certainly doesn’t respect the rules and patterns of the Hyborian Age and so it can’t and doesn’t respect itself. I’ve seen this happen with a lot with corporate controlled franchises. They turn a character with whom an author told stories into fan service machines – telling us more about the character and forgetting what made the original writing so compelling. Don’t give us more backstory, don’t give us prequels, do something awesome. Conan/Red Sonja by Gail Simone. This is the next installment in the Red Sonja themed cover galleries, continuing from the first gallery. Below, we present a gallery of ten selected covers from various comic books, which feature Red Sonja in the company of assorted companions. Although she hailed from a world with relatively primitive technology, through the aid of magic (none of it her own) Sonja routinely traveled through time and hopped between universes to join forces with a variety of allies. title: Conan the Barbarian (1970) publisher: Marvel cover artist: Jim Lee writer: Roy Thomas artists: Gary Hartle & Mike DeCarlo issue: #242 of 275 release date: March, 1991 story: They Came To Castle Zukala commentary: The early comic book appearances of Red Sonja occurred in Conan books, both Conan the Barbarian and The Savage Sword of Conan . Both characters were created by R.E. Howard and Conan remains the character with whom Red Sonja is best associated. Of note, Red Sonja became a separate intellectual property from Conan as part of the 1985 Red Sonja movie, which then featured Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as Conan from Conan the Barbarian (1982) and (1984) under the alias Kalidor. title: Kull and the Barbarians (1975) publisher: Marvel cover artist: Michael Whelan writer: Doug Moench & Roy Thomas artists: Vincente Alcazar, Howard Chaykin, & issue: #3 of 3 release date: September, 1975 format: magazine interior color: black and white story: "The Day of the Sword" commentary: Along with Conan and Red Sonja, Kull and were creations of R.E. Howard. This magazine issue contains three stories, one for each of Red Sonja, Kull and Solomon Kane. The stories do not overlap. title: Red Sonja & Tarzan (2018) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Jim Balent writer: Gail Simone artist: Walter Geovani issue: #1 of 6 release date: May, 2018 cover: Forbidden Planet Comics / Jet-Pack Comics commentary: The first Tarzan novel, Tarzan of the Apes by was published in 1912, twenty-two years before the appearance of Red Sonja. However, there are many comic book readers who are fans of the writing of both R.E. Howard and Burroughs. That they should meet for the first time in 2018 seemed long overdue. The featured cover to the first issue is a virgin variant by Jim Balent and was a shared exclusive to Forbidden Planet Comics & Jet-Pack Comics. Companions: #3 Snow: #3 Skeletons: #4 Animals: #3 Dinosaurs: #7. title: & Red Sonja (2019) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Inhyuk Lee writer: Jordie Bellaire artist: Drew Moss issue: #1 of 12 release date: September, 2019 cover: Scott's Collectables commentary: Vampirella was created by Forrest J. Ackerman and and first appeared in the magazine Vampirella #1 in 1969. As common licenses to Dynamite, Vampirella and Red Sonja have crossed paths previously in various short story arcs (e.g. Prophecy, Swords of Sorrow). This comic, in which Vampirella & Red Sonja takes first billing is the first longer-run title. The featured cover to the first issue is a virgin variant by Inhyuk Lee and was one of many exclusive covers, this one for Scott's Collectables. title: Red Sonja and Vampirella meet Betty and Veronica (2019) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Laura Braga writer: Amy Chu artist: Maria Sanapo issue: #6 of 12 cover: C variant release date: October, 2019 commentary: Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge vied as rivals for the affections of Archie Andrews. Betty and Veronica first appeared in Pep Comics in 1941 and 1942 respectively. As two sides of a love triangle, Betty and Veronica had their own comic book Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica first published in 1950 and ran for 347 issues. In their team up with Red Sonja & Vampirella, Archie is a distant memory. title: Spider-man & Red Sonja (2007) publisher: Marvel & Dynamite cover artist: Michael Turner writer: Michael Avon Oeming artist: Mel Rubi issue: #2 of 5 cover: A cover release date: November, 2007 commentary: Spider-man was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, first appearing in Amazing Fantasy #15 published in 1962. In this series, Peter Parker's girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson, channels Red Sonja, providing her a means to temporarily leave the Hyborian Age.