Red Sonja #17 // Review
The she-devil with a sword is immersed in chaos. She may have encountered quite a bit of magic in the recent past and lived to tell about it, but there’s something much more sinister and dangerous in her current situation as she faces a powerful mage named Kulan Gath in Red Sonja #17. Writer Torunn Grønbekk and artist Walter Geovani continue Sonja’s journeys. Omi Remalante Jr. conjures color to the page of the penultimate issue in the current story arc. Power threatens to overwhelm a great many people as tensions rise towards the story’s climax.
Sonja isn’t just immersed in chaos. She’s plunged into darkness as well. It’s more than just an absence of light, though. It’s a tangible force that seems to be embracing her and crawling across her skin. It’s writhing its way across her. She knows that there’s something very, very dangerous going on that Kulan Gath doesn’t have secure control over. It’s really only a matter of time before things get worse. Sonja might be able to do something in time, but she’s going to need the help of those who might not be as suited to the conflict as she is. Anything could happen.
Grønbekk moves through the darkness of dueling energies with a clever eye towards the inner drama driving it all. It’s easy enough to put power and ambition on the page in a sword and sorcery fantasy story. It’s easy enough to draw characters into life-or-death conflicts in worlds of might, magic and monsters. The drama underlying the action can be kind of illusive to try to brin to the page, though. It can be difficult to find subtle nuance in the way people interact with magic, monsters and the fantastic when it seems to be omnipresent. Grønbekk manages some sharp delivery of well-articulated drama throughout the struggle.
Geovani uses cleanly-defined lines to bring primal energies to the page with heroic poses amids the powerful impact of combat on and off the field of battle. Omi Remalante Jr. is given a great deal of room to deliver depth, radiance and shadow in and around the edges of all the ink. It’s really sharp stuff that feels quite impressive throughout the issue. Drama might feel a BIT unduly amplified in the face of nearly everyone involved, but there IS a range of emotion being expressed in the issue and Geovani does a good job of bringing that much to the page.
Grønbekk has been framing Sonja’s journey with a deep respect for the work of writers who have come before her. There is SOME attempt at advancing things beyond traditional sword and sorcery fantasy, but she’s keeping it all firmly grounded in the trappings of the genre in general and Sonja’s place n it in particular. It’s all quite well-modulated and articulated. It’s going to be sad to see this particular story draw to a close next issue. With any luck, Grønbekk will be able to continue in some interesting direction from there.
