Sonja came into the tavern for ale. Nothing more. She did not quarrel with the many people who came to attack her. They did not fight with her either. And given that they weren’t warriors or soldiers, they would have had to have been driven mad to have attacked one of the greatest sword-wielders in the land. Something strange is going on in Red Sonja #2. Talented writer Torunn Grønbekk continues a celebration of the 50th anniversary of one of the most enduring fantasy heroes in modern history with artist Walter Geovani and colorist Omi Remalante Jr. 

The only person in the bar who didn’t attack was someone with nothing to lose. He was an older man who counted the sanctity of his mind as his only possession. Everyone else in the bar had listened to the voice when it spoke to them...when it told them to attack her. To listen to it would be to abandon everything. The only one who could save himself from death at her hands was the one person with the least to benefit from it...aside from saving his own life. Sonja is pleased. She didn’t want to have to kill him as well. And he had given her some valuable information after the bloodshed.

Grønbekk strikes some powerful notes right away in the course of her second issue with Sonja. She amplifies the dangerous villainous potential of organized religion in a holy man who can control the minds of others...and then throws them at a mighty warrior who would think nothing of slashing them to bits as they approach. It’s a very stark opening to a series that places Sonja directly into the center of the panel as she deals with a threat she can’t simply slash her way through. Grønbekk may open the issue with Sonja as some demon. Still, the author gives her hero plenty of moments of heroism that keep her quite appealing beyond the basic barbarian warrior dynamic. 

Geovani and Remalante catch both action and emotion on the page at just the right moment. Every combat feels cleverly choreographed. The emotional weight and dramatic tension of moments between the violence feel heavy and powerful. There’s a tight, dramatic pacing that never fails to handle almost perfectly framed in page and panel. Geovani’s page layouts are clean and sharp. It’s difficult to overstate the appeal of close-ups of Sonja’s green eyes surveying threats amidst her wild red hair. That sort of thing could have been repetitious, but Geovani keeps the action moving beautifully. The overall composition is cleverly executed. Remalante’s colors cleverly enhance the depth and luminosity of the action.  

Grønbekk has handled the traditional sword-and-sorcery story with a well-thought-out first couple of issues. Sonja versus a priest capable of mind-control...it’s a very sharp and symbolic conflict that speaks to the heart of who Sonja is. Grønbekk knows exactly what makes Sonja work on a fundamental level.

Grade: A