My Rating
“Red Sonja – She-Devil With A Sword”
“The Temple Of Abomination!”
Not many dare to travel the heavily forested region inside Nemedia known as the Darkwood. Only the bravest of warriors have explored there, less of them have ever returned to brag of their adventures. On this day a daughter of Hyrkania, trained by the great sword-masters of old, ventures into the green abyss in search of an ancient temple of Mitra.
Will Red Sonja, the she-devil with a melancholy past, find untold riches underneath the ruins of her ancestors? Who is the priest chained to the temple wall like a beast awaiting slaughter? Is there a source to the haunting music played throughout the chambers of Mitra?
“Red Sonja”
A war has come to the ally of Pah-Dishah, a city-state ruled by a deceitful king who plots against his own daughter. As the Prince of Taran lays siege to Makkalet all who dwell within Hyrkania society suffers under the brash invasion. A treaty is born of wedlock but as King Ghannif lusts for his daughter’s dowry the young woman may foul the alliance with her primal desires for debauchery inside a royal Makkaletian bedchamber.
In all of this, Red Sonja – the crimson haired war-maiden oathed to celibacy, has been tasked with reclaiming a relic coveted by all that understands its true origins. The Serpent-tiara of Melissandra Ghannif has a dark history spanning an age where Set once dominated the worship halls of men. Red Sonja has been given an ultimatum, return the jewel of Pah-Dishah or face death by the hand of her benefactor.
Can Red Sonja successfully retrieve the artifact sought by both man and gods alike? Who is the sullen barbarian betrayed under a trusted accord? What secrets are held within the gold serpentine crest forged for a sorcerer long dead but does not rest?
“Of Swords And She-Devils”
Readers get a nice editorial about the history of Red Sonja and her origins in pulp fiction. Marvel was certainly not the first to print the She-Devil of Hyrkania, but they certainly breathed life into the unknown hero. If you are a fan of the character this historical insight will give you some hints on what to collect next.
Reviewer Notes
As a fan of Red Sonja and the Hyborian Age I have been looking for a copy of this book for quite some time now. Lucky for me a copy was laying in wait at a local antique mall here in eastern South Dakota. With all of the new Red Sonja being released by Dynamite Entertainment I felt this was a perfect time to read the first solo appearance of the She-Devil within the Marvel Universe.
What can one say bad about a creative team made up of such talents as writer-editor Roy Thomas, artist Dick Giordano, and the production team of Michele Wolfman and Cathi Ann Thomas. This was the classic bullpen days still talked about in inner comic book nerd circles. Robert E. Howard might have created the character of Sonja but it was truly Marvel who pushed the crimson-haired warmaiden into the limelight. Without Marvel’s long running success with Conan the Barbarian, as well as the magazine sized Savage Sword of Conan, I don’t believe there would have been as much interest in a live action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, nor the follow-up featuring Sonja played by actress Brigitte Nielsen.
The literary world of Hyboria can stand on its own without visual art to back it up. Thankfully in Marvel Feature #1 we get the best of both worlds. Red Sonja is brought to life through the art style done the “Marvel Way”. I thought it was interesting to see some examples of what I would call the “montage” panels, or the lack there of when the scene goes from current time to a sequence of past events. The rigid panel structure upon the page breaks out into almost a free form/doodle pad arrangement, then back again. Other fantasy comic books such as DC’s The Warrior used this method as well. I’m not quite sure when this technique lost favor but I don’t think I’ve seen this done in any comic books post 1981.
I would also like to point out that this is the first example I’ve seen where Red Sonja slips into a full coat of chainmail armor when doing battle. You can see for yourself by flipping to pages 16 and 17. It’s weird to see Red Sonja all covered up like that. Thank sweet Erlik, the men at Marvel had sensibility back in the 1970s. How was Sonja supposed to fight sorcerers and monsters with all that restrictive coverage?
If you can find a copy of this book I would definitely recommend adding it to your collection. I’m giving issue one volume two of Marvel Feature four out of five stars. Too bad Conan got hosed in this one. Red Sonja needs to work on her teamwork skills.
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