More than just a Chain Mail Bikini

Gail Simone & Walter Geovanni “Red Sonja Volume 1: Queen of Plagues” (Dynamite, 2014)

Sometimes your expectations mislead you.  They keep you from appreciating what something is because you’re caught up in what it isn’t.  Other times your expectations are on the spot.  Thankfully, that’s what happens with this first volume of Dynamite’s Red Sonja reboot.

I’ve known about Red Sonja since I was a kid.  Red haired beauty wearing a chain mail bikini (was this the original?).  A big sword and a bad attitude.  In many ways she was the template for a host of punk rock sex idols.  

Gail Simone is known for writing strong female characters.  She can handle sexy without exploitation.

Giving Simone a chance to head up the effort to reboot Sonja was a fantastic idea.  This is one of the examples where everything plays out exactly how it should.  Simone gives us a fiery sexy barbarian who is more than a pinup girl.  She’s a badass.  Yeah, she wears that crazy bikini, but that’s how they rolled back in the pulp days.

This first volume shows Sonja helping a king who rescued her earlier.  It emphasizes her code of ethics just as much as her fighting skills or determination.

If you are a fan of the rebooted pulps that Dynamite has been putting out this is right up your alley.  If you dig strong female characters give this one a shot.