Tragedy And A Proposal: Red Sonja #6
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Red Sonja reflects on when she and Domo discovered a coup brewing against the king they served. Sonja is ready to take action, but Domo advises caution. In the present, the armies of Hyrkania continue to lead the Zamorans on brutal chase across scorched lands. Dragan tires of it and sends an offer to Queen Red Sonja: he proposes marriage, the freedom of Sonja’s cousin, and a renewed peace in Hyrkania.
Red Sonja #6 brings us back to the war between the Zamoran Empire and Hyrkania. Red Sonja’s plan to tire out Dragan seems to be working, even if it has come at the cost of Hyrkania’s farms and resources. However, Dragan still has her cousin, and that weighs heavily upon Sonja’s conscience.
This issue also shows one of the great missteps of Sonja’s youth and how they led her to become the woman she is today.
It all serves to flesh out this iteration of Red Sonja even more, and, make no mistake, this is a damn compelling version of the red she-devil.
There is less humor and far more tragedy in this installment as well. We still have some humor from Emperor Dragan, but he isn’t on the panel as much to make a weird, dry observation about the world. By contrast, there is far more death and sorrow for the people of Hyrkania in this issue.
The marriage angle was quite a bit unexpected, but it does make for some humor and another moment for Red Sonja to show the kind of person she is.
Mirko Colak continues to be an inspired choice for artist on Red Sonja. His style emphasizes the dirt, grime, and grit of Hyrkania and war in general. Plus, he does a good job of showing the emotion that crawls across the characters’ faces across the comic, especially for Sonja herself. Robert Carey’s art in the flashbacks is quite excellent too, and Dearbhla Kelly’s color art supports both artists as well as the atmosphere of the story well.
Red Sonja #6 is another highly compelling and enjoyable issue from Mark Russell, Mirko Colak, and the rest of the team. This is a thoughtful and complex version of Sonja, and the struggles she faces is interesting and makes for hard choices. This one gets another recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Red Sonja #6 comes to us from writer Mark Russell, artists Mirko COlak and Robert Carey, color artist Dearbhla Kelly, letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, cover artist Amanda Conner with Paul Mounts, and variant cover artists Joseph Michael Linsner, Christian Ward, Richard Pace, and Bob Q.
Final Score: 9/10