Red Sonja Noir #1 // Review
There have been stories told about the she devil with a sword. She's always been alone. Occasionally working with other people. Occasionally finding allies. But she never taken out of partner. Except for that one time she did. Writer David Avallone explores a new adventure for the beloved warrior in Red Sonja Noir #1. Artist Edu Menna establishes the adventure with a quick pacing and well-rendered pages that are imbued with color by Adriano Augusto. It’s a fast-moving one-shot suspense story for Sonja, but it doesn’t feel like all that much of a departure from her usual work.
Bandits are attacking the wagon. It’s okay: it’s protected. It’s being protected by Sonja. She’s perfectly fine with killing them, but she would prefer to show mercy. Thankfully, her partner with the bow and arrow is happy to comply...even if her clients would rather she kill them all. She hasn’t been hired to to kill. She’s been hired to protect and that’s exactly what she’s doing. Things might get to be a bit more complicated for her, thogh as she finds herself in a whole new mess for her freelance work as the blade of “Blade and Archer.”
Avallone tell us a pretty solid sword and sorcery mystery story with Sonja. There are a few twists and turns that take place over the course of the issue. It's a very brief story. But there's more than enough to linger on the mind after the final panel. That being said, the story would have felt a bit less rushed to work enough for the fact that it had to take a place of a single issue. It's entirely possible that the storytelling would have opened up quite a bit if it were allowed to run the course of a few more issues.
Menna’s art packs a punch at various moments. However, the overall feeling is one that's just a bit too stiff. Drama and action alike feel curved into the page without a whole lot of finesse. That being said, there are some really good moments and some really powerful panels. The overall rhythm of the issues feels perfectly intact, even if the execution of individual elements might not always feel that well rendered. The flow of action is certainly very clearly there. It's a lot of fun to see it flow. It's a lot of fun to see it move.
Sonja has been through a lot over the years. It’s difficult to make everything work in yet ANOTHER story of Sonja, but Avallone and company do a pretty solid job of making a decent impression with another adventure. They're just as awful about it that feels memorable. It lacks the kind of impact it might have if there had been somethin about it htat might have given it a bit more of an edge. As it is, it’s a simple murder-mystery story that doesn’t quite manage the right angles that would make it a stronger one-shot.
