89 Followers
137 Following
beautyinruins

Bob @ Beauty in Ruins

PLEASE NOTE: I'm rarely active here anymore, but please feel free to follow me on Goodreads, where I post regularly.

 

These are the chronicles of a book addict, a photo junkie, and an aspiring author, rewriting the very fabric of reality one page (and one snapshot) at a time. From the strange to the unusual; the abandoned to the abnormal; the haunted to the historic; the supernatural to the surreal; the forests of dark fantasy, the cemeteries of gothic horror, and the post-apocalyptic ruins of science fiction are the landscapes of my imagination.

Currently reading

Deathstalker Rebellion: Being the Second Part of the Life and Times of Owen Deathstalker
Simon R. Green
Progress: 298/508 pages

Graphic Novel Review - Red Sonja Volume 1: Queen Of Plagues

Red Sonja Volume 1: Queen Of Plagues - Jenny Frison, Walter Geovanni, Gail Simone

Gail Simone introduces Red Sonja Volume 1: Queen Of Plagues with the declaration that she "might actually be a barbarian lover in a superhero lover's clothing," and that's a pretty apt description of what's on display here. Making the move from superheroes to sword-and-sorcery, she manages to put something of a new spin on the genre. She embraces the silliness of Red Sonja's pulp origins, complete with the gratuitous chain mail t'n'a, but uses it to tell a story that's both solid and mature.

I don't remember my Robert E. Howard as well as I should, but I think Simone may actually do a better job of establishing her heroine's back story. Through a mixture of flashbacks and reminiscing, we witness her childhood, the death of her family, and her life fighting in the pits. It's harsh, and it's cruel, and it's violent . . . and it all helps to define the 'why' of 'who' she is. We don't get as much insight into her sister of the pit, but that shared history makes for a great villain in Dark Annisia.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. Red Sonja 'sounded' right, with her curses and her challenges, and I like that she wasn't the only woman in the world willing to take up the sword. The glimpses into Dark Annisia's madness in the final issue were exceptionally well-done, and are part of what kicked this up a notch from just being another pulp comic. Gail Simone did a fantastic job bringing the character of Red Sonja to the page, and given that Mercedes Lackey just announced that she's joining the likes of Nancy A. Collins and Tamora Pierce in contributing to the ongoing Legends of Red Sonja, I'm anxious to see what comes next.

Source: http://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.ca/2014/02/graphic-novel-review-red-sonja-volume-1.html