Immortal Red Sonja #5 // Review
A warrior has been following the commands of a dead king. Now she finds herself in the company of one of his greatest champions. The problem is he doesn’t know who he is, and the king isn’t exactly in a position to be able to tell him. Things continue to be frustrating for everyone involved in Immortal Red Sonja #5. Writer Dan Abnett ushers Sonja to a crucial point in her current adventure with the aid of artist Luca Colandrea and colorist Ellie Wright. The visuals might feel a bit crude in places, and the story might lack complexity, but the breezy adventure remains fun as the series launches itself into its fifth issue.
Red Sonja finds herself searching for a magical stream deep within the earth. She is joined by a proud warrior from legend who doesn’t know who he is. The stream will restore his memory. How does she know this? Her chainmail shirt is telling her as much. The shirt is King Arthur. The warrior in question is Lancelot. Sonja’s quest seems to be at an end when the knight’s memory is restored, but will her life end with it? The Arthurian realm is not Sonja’s concern, but her life IS. A choice needs to be made, and Sonja will have to make it.
Abnett brings Sonja deep into the earth to give her a big choice. There’s little question about which direction she’ll go in making that choice, but Abnett keeps it interesting with the implications of Sonja’s decision. The action and drama modulate well in the run of a story that remains intriguing. There is a great deal of potential in sending Sonja through a dark mutation of Arthurian legend. Abnett seems to be taking his time moving through it, which would leave things open for further adventures as the series continues.
Colandrea’s art follows Abnett’s script in simple, sweeping action that lacks so much detail as to feel crude in places. Wright’s coloring DOES add considerable depth and atmosphere to the visuals. The clean lines and simplicity of the art make for some very sweeping action and an impressive feeling of depth and size for establishing shots, but the overall presentation of everything lacks enough punch to keep the action as magnetic as it could be. Colandrea’s delivery of the more tender side of the emotional drama amplifies the emotional end of the story quite well, but the adventure at the heart of the series feels a bit flat in the fifth issue.
Shortcomings aside, the series continues to build momentum with a turning point in the drama that gives Sonja a renewed sense of direction. Given the way that things are going, the series could pick up considerably from Issue #6 on. There is so much open to Sonja in a darker Arthurian world that Abnett would be wise to weave into the story. The potential of the series might feel like it’s lying a bit dormant somewhere near the middle of the fifth issue, but it definitely remains present.
