For Hyrkania: Red Sonja #7 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Red Sonja reminisces about her childhood adventures with Kryon as she burns his body on the funeral pyre. Her cousin was her only surviving blood relative, and he is now dead. The Sons of Misfortune are now without a leader, but they are still loyal to Sonja and Hyrkania. They want revenge; Sonja just wants to save the Hyrkanian hostages from Dragan and the Zamoran army. Sonja springs into action and leads the Sons of Misfortune on a raid against the Zamoran army and Emperor Dragan himself, who are in the process of brutally executing the hostages.
Red Sonja #7 finally has Sonja herself acting directly against Dragan and meeting him face-to-face. While the war isn’t over, we get to see our she-devil hero stick it to the Zamorans personally.
Once again, Sonja is forced to take a realistic look at this conflict. While she wants to end the war for good, her advisors let her know how complicated a concept that truly is. She can’t just kill Dragan and be done with it.
She also reflects on more lessons on warfare from the Domo, and we see how they inform her tactics against Dragan.
Red Sonja is more serious in this series than in previous volumes, but that doesn’t make this iteration bad by any stretch. We get to see a more level Sonja who holds back her rage and impulsiveness. She still has some jokes here and there, but the main source of comic relief comes from Dragan, who is darkly hysterical in this issue.
Bob Q is the artist on this installment, and, while his style isn’t as gritty and brutal as Mirko Colak, it still captures the danger and action of the story in a compelling manner. The raid that Sonja runs against the Zamorans in particular flows well and shows some visual creativity. The characters are made to be quite expressive in this comic too. The color art, carried out primarily by Dearbhla Kelly, is balanced well and gives the book a vivid atmosphere.
Red Sonja #7 is another strong installment from this volume. Mark Russell has a very distinct and interesting take on Sonja, and the war between Hyrkania and Zamoran is grounded in a depressing yet gripping realism–that is tempered at times by the spectacular skill and athleticism of the great she-devil herself. This one gets another recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Red Sonja #7 comes to us from writer Mark Russell, artist Bob Q, color artists Dearbhla Kelly and Bob Q, letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, cover artist Amanda Conner with Paul Mounts, and variant cover artists Joseph Michael Linsner; Khoi Pham; Collette Turner with Omi Remalante; Bob Q; and Roberto Castro with Mike Spicer.
Final Score: 8.5/10
