Red Sonja #12 Review

Does this yarn strike true in the end? Or are its blows far too choreographed? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

The wild and untamed climax to Sonja’s epic journey to collect the six most gifted individuals of her age…but will she give them over to the sadistic emperor, as she promised?

It’s a hard thing for any franchise to really corner me, as an audience member and critic, in a way that forces me to look at it in way that’s never short of wonder. But that’s exactly what happened as this creative team took their latest arc with this She-Devil and simply delivered on all possible levels of quality. So longtime fans plus newcomers: sit back and get ready for an outing that’s bound to leave you cheering.

Gail Simone impresses with a script that from the first page to the final panel knows exactly what it wants to accomplish. Storytellers need to understand that part of the narrative journey, in any arc, is whether or not we see the main character grow from the experiences within. And strangely enough that happens though it’s nothing groundbreaking. The scribe gives us a Red Sonja, with allies, that’s forced to face some demanding odds and the potential horror of a bath. With laughs and action in spades this is one comic book that needs to be held high as an adventure done right.

If the written word will get fanboys and fangirls to pick this up, just wait until they see the pictures by Walter Geovani. The talent continues to show versatility and a level of detail that never comes off as oppressive. Each panel and page dances with the notion that the visual portion of these festivities could overpower the text, but there’s a balance in place that keeps everything in check. Add in the colors by Adriano Lucas and there’s nothing but joy here.

Red Sonja #12 does exactly what an arc ender needs to. Every second is full of personality with a team that’s just ready to strut their stuff in this must own.