Fans of ‘Red Sonja‘ have reason to celebrate as Dynamite Entertainment has revealed that they’ve tapped Eisner-nominated author Mark Russell (‘The Flintstones’) to pen the new series with art by Mirko Colak (‘Conan’). The new series is slated to drop in February of 2019 and seems to be great news following the announcement that progress is being made on a ‘Red Sonja’ feature film.
The new book will have the creative team, “bring forth the tale of Tomyris, a world conqueror possessing a massive army and a fatal prophecy. A bastard sorceress craves revenge. And a fearsome red-haired warrior is made wartime ruler of a homeland set for decimation. No man knows the place of her birth, nor where she learned to wield a sword to shame many a male. They know only that she is called The She-Devil Of The Hyrkanian Steppes. That, and RED SONJA.”
It almost sounds as if we’ll be seeing not just Red Sonja’s future but with a focus on her past in the description we might be seeing a bit of how and where the warrior was raised as well.
According to Russell:
“I’m a huge fan of ancient history because there’s no clear line where the history ends and legend begins, so in a way, all ancient history is a work of fantasy. I really wanted to write a fantasy title that allowed me to work in some of the incredible stories and themes of ancient history, in particular, the story of Tomyris, the bad-ass Queen of the Steppes, and it’s hard to imagine a better character to tell that story than Red Sonja, the bad-ass Queen of Comics.”
Series editor Nate Cosby also weighed in on the new book sharing:
“Mark Russell’s take on Sonja is steeped in greater-than-fiction history, with a humongous worldview. Sonja will be the focus, but what’s exciting is to see the lore and world-building that Mark’s infusing into this new ongoing, to create a fusion of modern storytelling while placing big classical elements front and center. The rest of the creative team is in perfect harmony with the approach…artist Mirko Colak is drawing grandly scaled perspectives, color artist Dearbhla Kelly is bringing a bold painterly palette, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is styling beautifully rugged balloons and effects required for a fantastic fantasy comic.”
As to Colak’s excitement for handling the artwork? Having already worked on ‘Conan’ there was clearly only one area he wanted to tackle:
“There is no special mystery why I accepted the offer from Dynamite. One name, basically, was enough: SONJA. In my country, Serbia, Red Sonja is very popular, and I have to say, I am very familiar with Sonja’s world.”
Nick Barrucci, the CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment also wanted to add that when it concerns the franchise:
“Red Sonja is a cornerstone character for our publishing line. We’ve been very fortunate to tell so many of her stories. The passion that Mark brings to the character paired with Mirko’s art is perfect for this series.”
The first issue of the new series will have a slew of variant covers with artwork by Amanda Conner (‘Harley Quinn’), Joseph Michael Linsner (‘Vampirella’), Christian Ward (‘Thor’), and Frank Cho (‘Hulk’), and a cosplay cover respectively. There is also going to be an Atlas Edition which will be signed by Mark Russell and includes a Certificate of Authenticity. Finally, a blank Authentix Edition variant will also be available in case you’re able to track down an artist and have them create a personalized cover for the book.
The first cover was featured above, and the rest you can check out right here:
Are you looking forward to new stories about ‘Red Sonja’? Which cover did you enjoy the most? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
‘Red Sonja’ will be slicing her way back into your local comic shop in February of 2019!
