Review – Red Sonja / Conan #1 (Dynamite)

Publisher: Dynamite
Writer: Victor Gischler
Artist: Roberto Castro
Release Date: 5th August 2015

I’m never going to get over the rendering of Red Sonja, no matter how many comics I read. Her boobs in this particular series have taken on a rather spectacular spherical shape; much like a car crash, I just can’t look away. I wait with baited breath for the spoof issue that sees them pop!

My prejudices aside, I’ll point you towards the comic’s colouring. It’s bright and fun, much like this crossover promises to be. Gischler marches smartly along with the set-up, introducing our primary antagonist Kal’ang – a mage of average power intent on surpassing his limits. His dalliances with an item called the blood root seed bring the nearby kingdom of Kush to the brink of war. Enter stage left: Red Sonja and Conan, joint leaders of an army amassed for the sole purpose of crushing Kal’ang’s plans.

From this first look, this series promises to be a good old-fashioned warrior romp with a neat pairing to spearhead the plot. So like I said, fun. With Sonja and Conan’s relationship already established prior to the series, we can get right down to the hacking and slashing. Which they do, with aplomb. Praise has to go to Castro; his fight sequences are pretty neat without overtly focusing on Sonja’s impossible curves or Conan’s rippling pectorals.

Whilst the ‘banter’, as Sonja puts it, isn’t exactly zinging, Gischler achieves a real energy between the characters. There’s a familiarity and tenderness between them, which is a nice touch in a comic featuring two characters so rooted in bloodshed and barbarism. There’s a danger, of course, that with such a foundation Sonja could be reduced to spangle-y arm candy, but Castro neatly sidesteps that particular pitfall with a well-placed arrow. I have a feeling they’re going to play very nicely together.

Rating: 3/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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