REVIEW: 'The Invincible Red Sonja' #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, and Moritat

Written by the award-winning fan favorites AMANDA CONNER and JIMMY PALMIOTTI, Red Sonja finds herself on a spectacular journey filled with pirates, mermaids, princesses, and political intrigue as the threat of two kingdoms hangs in the balance. All this, plus the spectacular art of MORITAT and a cover by AMANDA CONNER and PAUL MOUNTS makes THE INVINCIBLE RED SONJA a series not to be missed!  In fact it's so great, we had to launch a whole new title for it!

THE INVINCIBLE RED SONJA #1

Writer: Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner

Artist: Moritat

Letters: Dave Sharpe

Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

Release Date: May 5, 2021

Cover Price: $3.99

Score:

★★★1/2 (3.5/5)

Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner are arguably the comic industry's First Couple and their love for each other is only matched by their love of comics. So anytime they collaborate on a project their joy is contagious and shows through their work. The latest example of this is Dynamite Comic's newest Red Sonja series, 'The Invincible Red Sonja.'

Along with artist Moritat, Palmiotti and Conner set Red Sonja off on a swashbuckling adventure with pirates, sirens, a princess and a whole lot of fighting. It's clear that everyone is having a blast continually putting the She-Devil with a Sword in one precarious situation after another. She's first enchanted into protecting a pirate against a horde of barbarians, then a rival vessel attempts to take the pirate ship, and soon after the ship encounters the intoxicating and dangerous sirens. It's a constant gauntlet of obstacles thrown at Red Sonja and fans wouldn't want it any other way. 

It's these battle scenes where Moritat excels. The focus is always on Sonja as she swings her sword, blood splattering everywhere, limbs flying left and right. It's controlled chaos and Moritat's colors are rich and bold heightened by Sonja's signature red hair. As talented as he is, for some crazy reason there's an inconsistency with Moritat's designs of the characters noses. The princess Sonja protected from the pirates especially. Her nose changes shape from panel to panel. There's some sexualization of the princess for a moment. It's a little male gaze-y with her tiny top and protruding nipples. She has agency at least and doesn't allow herself to be a victim which kind of absolves the way she's initially portrayed. Sonja appears as she always does, in a her metal bikini armor but is all warrior all the time. 

'The Invincible Red Sonja' #1 is off to a roaring start. Sonja keeps getting herself into one predicament after another chopping heads along the way. It's a raucous good time led by Palmiotti and Conner who are obviously having a ball. If you're a fan of Red Sonja or want to be, 'The Invincible Red Sonja' is a can't miss opportunity for mindless fun and adventure.