She causes a lot of chaos, killing and slashing a path of destruction wherever she goes. But now, Sonja has to deal with the mess she’s made in Red Sonja: Death and the Devil #1 from Dynamite Entertainment.

RED SONJA: DEATH AND THE DEVIL #1

Writer: Luke Lieberman
Artist: Alberto Locatelli
Colorist: Alberto Locatelli
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 10, 2024

Previously in Red Sonja: Sonja has dealt with death many times in her travels. The thing is, blood doesn’t wash out and sometimes comes back to haunt you… especially if you create a civil war by killing the king.

A SET UP IN THE MAKING

When there is a power vacuum, there will be a lot of fighting to fill that hole. In the case of the land of Turan, the current civil war is tearing the country apart, and Sonja thinks she can fix the problem – after all, she created it when she killed the sultan. Unfortunately, the religious order of Set is also causing chaos, as they have kidnapped the last living heir of the Sultan in the hopes of brainwashing him to their ways so they become the de facto rulers of the land.

In Red Sonja: Death and the Devil #1, writer Luke Lieberman presents a good argument on what happens when the masses become too enthralled with a religion. The opening sequence where the follower is excited to be sacrificed to Set provides a bit of humor for the issue, but also a sobering realization that cults only see its followers as a means to an end.

While Sonja does everything she can to find where the Set followers are holding the Sultan’s son, the story is more or less told from the point of view of Sonja’s latest nemesis, Bloodless. The undead assassin eventually catches up to and joins Sonja in her quest, but as the closing page teases, Bloodless has his own agenda that is probably not as altruistic as the She-Devil with a Sword.

FANTASTIC FORM

If you don’t read comics for the deep thoughts and heady themes, the issue is still full of stabbing, fighting, and swordplay to keep you entertained. Alberto Locatelli has some striking visuals in this issue—whether it is the gaunt shape and angular style of Bloodless or the action sequence that kicks off this mini-series, every feature features good composition and pacing, and it is always clear what is going on.

My biggest complaint is with the coloring of the issue – also by Locatelli. While I have no problem with the color palette, I am not a huge fan of the medium. It looks like colored pencils in places, and perhaps it is, but it keeps the image fairly flat on the page, with little contrast to make the panels pop off the page.

On the flip side, I do like that it looks like the shade of Red Sonja’s hair is the only use of that shade throughout the entire issue. Even when blood is spilled or the background color turns red, it never causes an issue with Sonja’s hair color. I would guess someone in Red Sonja Editorial (Matt Idelson, perhaps) picked a Pantone color for Sonja’s hair and has dictated that no other red in the book can use the same hue.

BOTTOM LINE: AN INTERESTING BEGINNING

While Red Sonja: Death and the Devil #1 is a continuation of events from previous volumes, I still feel like this issue is new reader-friendly enough that even if you have a passing knowledge of the character, you’ll be able to get in on this tale. I like the pace of the issue and some of the themes Lieberman brings up. Locatelli presents some very good art, though I do like bright colors that pop for my fantasy comics, but that is a minor issue in the end. If you are waiting for the next big Red Sonja adventure, Dynamite Entertainment brings a solid 3.5 out of 5 Stars for Red Sonja: Death and the Devil #1.

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