Review: Red Sonja Age Of Chaos #6 (of 6)
The Age of Chaos is upon us and the only thing that can stands in the way of a Kulan Gath possessed she-devil is a red haired she-devil with a sword. Yes, it’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine, kind of.
Purgatori has finally got her hands on Kulan Gath’s amulet and with it, his spirit becomes somewhat attached to her. Sonja has other ideas. Not content with stopping Kulan Gath, she decides that she is not happy with her outcome if it means that someone else gets to destroy the world. I guess its true, changing her mind is clearly a woman’s prerogative!
Erik Burnham is the writer who has carried Sonja and the girls of Chaos on this journey, For me though, there are a couple of problems that kinda of raise their heads early on. The first is that there is a massive “big read button” in play. After six issues at $3.99 a pop and with trade no doubt on the way, I would have hoped that the story didn’t come up with such a well used deus ex machina. For some this might not be such a problem, but the second (perceived) flaw is the Austin Power question. For those who are not with me, there is a question in one of the movies that asks, when you have your enemy at their weakest, why don’t you just kill them? A characters choice in this book is a break in logic; considering how we are dealing with barbarians and the like, you would have thought that a sword stroke was inevitable.
The art is supplied by Jonathan Lau who takes Sonja back to the 80’s, at least where her hairstyle is concerned. Joking aside, the art is great, It’s full of pace and action, with only the merest of confusions in a couple of panels. There is a Michael Golden style quality on show, though Lau is seemingly influenced by manga as well. It may suffer towards the quieter parts of the book, but that is only in comparison to the frenetic action beforehand. Colors are provided by Andrew Dalhouse who delivers an epic, deeply enriched and vibrant end of the world. Finally, Carlos M. Mangual gets to go crazy with a set of varied fonts.
I get that heroes and heroines have their arch nemesis. The Spidey has the Green Goblin, Batman has the Joker and Superman has Lex. The problem is that with Sonja, she has Kulan Gath and that’s pretty much it. No matter which series you read, at some point, Gath is going to show his amulet. Is it time for Sonja to find a new big bad? Maybe, maybe not; especially if readers are still buying the current status quo. Still, with hints and teases of more Chaos, chances are that Sonja’s world is ever expanding in other ways.
Writing – 3 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors -5 Stars
Overall – 3.5 Stars
Written by; Erik Burnham
Art by; Jonathan Lau
Colors by; Andrew Dalhouse
Letters by; Carlos M. Mangual
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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