CONAN RED SONJA #1 Review

Is this crossover worthy of the icons involved? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dark Horse:

Simone and Zub pit Sonja against Conan!

Gail Simone teams with Jim Zub to bring together legendary warriors in this truly epic crossover!

In a story spanning multiple eras in the lives of these classic characters, Conan and Red Sonja become comrades to take down a sorcerer-priest hell bent on creating a dark new age in Hyborian warfare!

Ever since I interviewed Jim Zub at SDCC I couldn’t help but be excited for the prospects of this mini-series. Sure it’s not the first time that these two Robert E. Howard titans have faced off but with a talented creative team at its back there’s plenty to get excited for. So by all means sit back, relax and let’s chat about a tale of high adventure!

Let’s begin with the script that pits both Red Sonja and Conan the Barbarian against each other with the same goal in mind. Shenanigans ensue as the first step in this journey unfolds. But before our young heroes come face to face with destiny, it’s clear that Gail Simone and Jim Zub know what they’re doing. The dynamic duo attacks the literary page using the correct amount of familiar verbiage while giving fans proper context in order to make this meet-and-greet fun but not too tongue-in-cheek.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to be jazzed by the visual component or not, but low and behold Dan Panosian did indeed impress. With well structured panels and a chaotic streak, the entire entry enjoyed a display that spoke to the innate tone that’s always been present in any tale from this age. My one complaint is that some of the secondary characters seemed a bit inconsistent, but that’s a small thing to quibble about especially with colors by Dave Stewart that draw the eye away.

Conan Red Sonja #1 is a beginning that’s teaming with personality and adventure. And with an already established success streak for Hyboria at Dark Horse color me excited as this one comes highly recommended.