Reviews - Red Sonja #12

The Return of Kulan Gath: Part One

This issue marks the 1st anniversary of the Red Sonja series. After a really tough start with scheduling delays galore, the book has now caught up and is near its monthly schedule. This issue brings in a new story arc and continues the ongoing story of Red Sonja trying to track down who is behind the dark times in her land.

Kulan Gath is a villain from the Marvel Universe that has tackled the Avengers. Apparently Dynamite Entertainment has received permission from Marvel to use him in the Red Sonja series. Michael Avon Oeming takes full advantage of this and creates a villain worthy to oppose Red Sonja.

Oeming's pace in the series has been great and he does a great job with the flashback scenes. We're privy to more of Red Sonja's origins and see that there is a grand scheme to things. It seems that Red Sonja is a puppet to the gods as they try to oppose Kulan Gath and his imminent return. Red Sonja's supporting cast is increased with the introduction of Suumaro, whose father, King Quillo has fallen under the spell of a sorceress wife serving Kulan Gath. Along with Osin, Red Sonja agrees to journey to Suumaro's homeland to end this threat.

Red Sonja could have been a series about tits and ass. Don't get me wrong, the design of Red Sonja's outfit screams tits and ass, but Michael Avon Oeming has decidedly created depth to the character. Alongside Mel Rubi's art, Dynamite has really developed a nice title here. The fantasy genre seems to be in vogue again. With Conan at Dark Horse, the revival of Claw and a few other series in the works, fantasy comic books are once again hitting the mainstream.

The only complaint I have about the series is the multiple covers. Dynamite seems to have a policy that every issue needs to have a ton of variant covers. I get all the regular covers because the artists are great, but with Battlestar Galactica and a few other books coming out, Dynamite is going to start feeding on itself with its fan base. There can only be so many people who can afford to buy all the covers.

Other than the multiple covers issue, #12 is another solid issue by Oeming and Rubi. I am looking forward to a great run on this series.

DRAGONCRYPT