Red Sonja Annual #4 Review


Is this annual really something that fans should be excited about picking up from their local comic shop?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

The She-Devil with a Sword… captured and infected by the bite of a loathsome creature of the night! Offered as a human sacrifice to the vampire’s dark god, Red Sonja must defeat both monster and its master… or be transformed into a bloodthirsty predator herself!

I’ve reviewed releases like this before and I’ve made it clear what my feelings are on the subject.  The idea of the existence of these one and done acts that cost more than a monthly single issue, from my perspective, is wholly unnecessary and often times they’re just a waste of space.  Sadly that statement is not disavowed by this latest endeavor.

Scott Beatty does a passable job delivering a simple enough story that will keep his audience entertained, but in the space he’s given there’s just not enough room to accomplish much of anything. There are seeds that were sown that could have made for an interesting mini-series in its own right but they’re mostly discarded as the author has no choice but to bring this tale to a finish in some form.  From the introduction to the closing what we have is entertaining to an extent, but stereotypical by implementation.

Edu Mena handles the art and for the most part the pencil work is up to the task of evoking a consistent cadence.  The depictions of our long lasting heroine and her furious foes make for some decent eye candy, but there were several moments where the panels on display just seemed too bland.  The illustrator is able to evoke enough emotion to sell some semblance of the authenticity to elevate this tale to the point where it’s believable that it can be counted among the saga of the She-Devil with a sword.

Red Sonja Annual #4 is a lackluster outing that only the most hardcore fanboys or fangirls should indeed purchase.  There’s just enough here that they’ll be entertained but not much else.  Lightly recommended.

3/5

S#!T Talking Central