Broken Frontier

"Know also, O prince, that in the selfsame days that the Cimmerian did stalk the Hyborian Kingdoms, one of the few swords worthy to cross with his was that of Red Sonja, warrior-woman out of majestic Hyrkania. Forced to flee her homeland because she spurned the advances of a king and slew him instead, she rode west across the Turanian steppes and into the shadowed mists of legendry." -- -The Nemedian Chronicles

Love that line! And with the mystery and suspense you get from that line, you can go any way you want. As a reader but certainly as a writer you can really go every way...and since this issue heralds the coming of the Queen Red Sonja it is obvious that the publisher really is letting this property go places. Red Sonja has been revisited a couple of times with Dynamite and every time it meant more depth and story to be added to the character, whether she was meeting her Goddess, canoeing her way through the afterlife, or being reincarnated and getting her warrior-streak back! The Red Sonja ride was never dull.

And this issue is indeed guaranteeing the same quality in art (we have "our" Mel Rubi back!!!) and story the readers of Red Sonja have been getting all this time and without a doubt this new arc will set Sonja up with yet another stage in which she can excell!

Queen Sonja #1 sets the stage in a few pages, seeing Sonja on her throne and then sets the stage back four months to deliver the prologue for Queen Sonja. In this prologue she again outwits and outmaneuvers men and delivers the final blow with efficiency and surprising elements we love about her. And after that she is not a Queen yet. She is still the mercenary we know and she sets out to get the Sword of Aurora, albeit more relentless and ruthless than this reviewer would want. But the final page deserved a nice twist. A twist which was not a surprise but yet again it leaves a nice cliffhanger which begs the reader to come back and see how this prologue ends up to be the way to Sonja becoming a Queen!

Before I forget...this issue also gives the fans (and the new readers since this story is presented as a perfect jumping-on-point of course) of Red Sonja the numero uno artist back. Mel Rubi helped establish Red Sonja for the new decade/century via Dynamite Entertainment and we can all rest assured that he delivers...he always did. And this new #1 clearly shows that Mel loves Sonja as much as he loved her way back!!!

Queen Sonja #1 also lets you see a reprint of a Roy Thomas, Estaban Maroto and Neal Adams story (with sweet new colors by José Villarrubia) as well as pencilled preview pages for Queen Sonja #2 by Mel Rubi, which essentially will let the fan know that the quality of #1 will be maintained in #2. Giving the fans 48 pages is a very nice move for sure!

Check also our exclusive preview here.