2.54 (419) Red Sonja #2 ... Dynamite

This entire issue is one long fight and the only breaks in between are when we are treated to glimpses of Sonja's past heroics and the thoughts of the bad guys. But who exactly are the bad guys? The soldier boys, the advisor who appears to have his own agenda and the mystical being behind veil?

We are shown that Sonja, mighty as she is has her limits and with the right amount of force, can be overwhelmed and that is how she is brought down low but once again, the ending? WOW!

A real cliffhanger ... if only this came out back when there are still comics shops and I frequent regularly, I would have been a collector of the floppies. As it is, I only managed a few here and there since the back prices of some issues sky rocket like crazy!

Ratings: 7/10

2.53 (418) Red Sonja #1 ... Dynamite ...

From the days of Conan the Barbarian, from the "misty past" of Hyrkania comes a redheaded woman who has foresworn herself to a life of a virgin unless and until she meets a man who can defeat her in combat ... not sure why she feels the need to go to such extreme but at least in this new volume of Sonja the Red right in the first few pages someone questions her skimpy clothing and writers Carey and Oeming provide us with an answer which is a refreshing change of story telling

In this particular relaunch of the tales of the She Devil with a Sword, we see Dynamite shamelessly capitalizing on the bad girl gimmick where we have so many covers each issue from the norm to the rare incentive covers but whatever sells, right?

In this first issue, aside from the opening scene, we basically she Sonja aimlessly wandering through the lands looking for adventure and the opportunity to make her coin for meals and lodgings wherever she may find them

And it is in this wandering that she encounters a stranger ... who after her rescuing him offers to guide her to his home city ... where all is what it seems except that something is amiss ...

And what that is ... is just some fun story telling to come ... the cliff hanger is equally good and ensures we come back for the next issue ... in short, this is classic comic storytelling at its core!

Ratings: 7/10

314. Red Sonja Revenge of the Gods #2 ... Dynamite ...

A long time ago, Marvel tried to run with this franchise as an ongoing series but it stuttered and burnt itself out so fast that most don't even recall it. And then came Dynamite and boy did they do the impossible! It is now a decade since Dynamite launched Sonja and the actual ongoing series lasted years with many one-shots and limited series like this coming out as well as the multiple covers

So what makes this so good?

Because aside from the fact that she is scantily clad, nothing else about this series is a joke. Dynamite uses the wild world of the Vikings as something serious treating all the characters the way they deserve and even having them comment on Sonja's dressing and sometimes to show even she feels the chill when it is winter

And so it is in this series as Sonja aids some people that she finds worthy except for the fact that there is talk of Odin, Loki and Thor. Are they merely great warriors or indeed something more? Well you have to read more to find out. However, in this, the second issue, we finally see Sonja embarked on her mission chasing down the villains and encountering all the barricades and stumbling blocks he placed in her path deliberately

While the battles are indeed bloody, it was also a diversion. So what does our warrior woman do? Aside from charging headlong, she comes up with her own contingency ... and a good thing too ... as the final pages show!

Ratings: 6/10