Red Sonja: Death and the Devil #2 // Review
There are a few people nailed to trees in the woods. They are accompanied by a severed head that won’t shut-up. It mentions something about the she-devil who killed the sultan. Clearly something has happened here and what it is has been pretty awful. Those who encounter the dead are quick to find out just HOW bad things have gotten for them in Red Sonja: Death and the Devil #2. Writer Luke Lieberman and artist Alberto Locatelli continue an enjoyable horror-fantasy tale with a story that delves a bit more into the past of the title character.
Sonja was the last survivor. He entire community was killed. She was only a girl when it happened. Things have been pretty rough for her since, but she’s been able to tumble through it all to become one of the most formidable warriors in all the realm. Now she is walking with a man who could speak to the dead. So naturally things are going to be kind of complicated when she runs into those who may just have some sort of connection with her past. Is not going to be easy for her. She's going to have to confront some of a very serious memories continue to haunt her.
Lieberman centers the overall plot pretty closely on Sonja herself. Though she is often the center of the action, quite often the dramatic heart of any adventure tends to lie in the extended ensemble. Lieberman is wise to place Sonja more or less at the core of the story as it allows the narrative to feel like a much closer walk with the female lead than most series manage with her. As she’s the title character, it’s kind of cool to get a bit more deeply into her background psychology and her backstory.
Aspects of the visuals might have some stiffness about them here and there, but Locatelli does a brilliant job of locking-in the mood, atmosphere and overall drama of the story. Sonia and her new companion look good together. The darkness of a necromantic-type hero plays well against the bright red and vibrant color of a very strikingly attractive warrior. Occasionally action shoots across the page with grace and poise, but the real strength of this particular issue ends up being the mood of the peace. There's a dazzlingly dreary darkness about it all that feels so very well placed on the page.
It's nice to get a little bit more of a perspective on Sonja’s history, but it's only going to be around for a little while. This particular story cannot hold for that much longer. They're already weaving through the elements pretty quickly and it's going to be interesting to see if Lieberman and Company can provide any additional insight into the character that they had already been able to manifest in the second issue. It's going to be interesting to see if they managed to get the title character to confront her demons of her past in a way that justifies the conflict of future issues.
Grade: A
