- Title: Savage Red Sonja #1
- Writer: Dan Panosian
- Artist: Alessio Petillo
A new series begins with Red Sonja chasing the legend of King Gresh’s Blood Ruby deep in the Red Dune Wastelands where only the brave or foolish would dare to tread. In the desert she meets the king’s son and his bride to be who she saves from bandits as the trio continue together to the king’s keep where the treasure is rumored to lie. The trio must also survive an attack from a tentacled sand beast before getting within sight of the keep, likely with its own horrors including perhaps the rumored ghost of King Gresh.
Set in the mold of the classic Robert E. Howard pulp stories, Savage Red Sonja #1 is a fine opening story to a larger arc with likely plenty more obstacles for Sonja to overcome. I’m not the biggest fan of Alessio Petillo’s art where Sonja herself is concerned, although the the look of the desert and monster works well enough. It’s not likely a comic I’d stay with beyond a single issue.
[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]