In RED SONJA 1982 (ONE-SHOT), available from Dynamite Comics on June 9th, 2021, aliens from the future send a killbot to ancient Hyrkania to kill Red Sonja. When the She-Devil accidentally gets zapped to 1982, can she escape from being terminated?
The Details
- Written By: Amy Chu
- Art By: Eric Blake
- Colors By: Adriano Augusto
- Letters By: Taylor Esposito
- Cover Art By: Dani (cover A)
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Release Date: June 9, 2021
Was It Good?
No. No, it was not good.
This is the second in the time travel one-shots from Dynamite. The first was last week’s Vampirella 1992, and although that issue was bad for overall bizarre storytelling that you probably needed to be drunk or high to make sense out of, this story is bad simply for being poorly written.
How do you have an oversized one-shot where the main character is led around like a puppy for the majority of the book, except the beginning and the end? Red Sonja doesn’t speak English, has no idea where she is (1982 Hollywood), and yet, she just lets a movie director’s assistant drive her around and dress her up like a mannequin.
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You can tell the creators were trying to generate a feeling of nostalgia for the era by dropping in little Easter Eggs (“This is a Commodore 64”), but the references are just that — references. The Easter Eggs are not part of the story or used in a clever way, they’re just pointed to in the panel and immediately forgotten.
The saving grace for this book is the art, which is above average. The lettering is great, the colors are excellent, and the renderings do the best they can with the material they have to work with in the writing.
See for yourself in our RED SONJA 1982 (ONE-SHOT) preview.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Aliens from 800 years in the future choose Red Sonja as a target for some sort of hunting game. The purpose or stakes of the game are never explained, nor do the aliens seem concerned with disrupting the timeline by sending an advanced Terminator-like killbot into the distant past on an assassination mission.
The killbot appears in the past in Hyrkania near Red Sonja’s location. She’s playing a card game against a wizard for ownership of a special sword. It’s never explained what’s so special about the sword or why Red Sonja wants it.
The killbot kills a warrior outside the pub looking for an outhouse. It changes its form to look like the warrior so it can move among the people without drawing attention. When killbot spots Red Sonja, it switches to attack mode and puts a royal damper on the festivities.
Red Sonja’s wizarding opponent intervenes in the fight between killbot and Red Sonja by casting a transportation spell to make Red Sonja disappear. Unfortunately, he misspeaks and sends Red Sonja into the future.
Cut to Hollywood, California in 1982. Famous film director Dallas Ford has acquired the sword Red Sonja was after centuries ago when it was found in an archaeological dig. Again, there’s no information provided about what makes this sword so special.
During a movie shoot, Red Sonja pops out of the wizard’s portal on the set, and the director immediately concludes Sonja is a stuntwoman from Europe. The director loves her natural acrobatics and fighting ability and decides to replace his film’s start with Red Sonja.
We spend the majority of the middle of the book with Red Sonja being led around by Dallas Ford’s personal assistant as she bathes, feeds, dresses, and escorts Red Sonja around town. Red Sonja makes no attempt to try to communicate or find out where she is or find a way home. Red Sonja spends the majority of the book acting like a compliant child.
As we get to the end of the book, the aliens and the killbot track Red Sonja in the timeline and attack her in 1982. We conclude the book with Red Sonja figuring out how to re-program the killbot’s A.I. and turning the table on the future aliens.
Yes, it’s as silly as it sounds.
How Does It End?
The beginning of the book pays homage to The Terminator, the end pays homage to Terminator 2. Red Sonja learns enough English to say goodbye. The aliens have two problems on their hands.
Final Thoughts
RED SONJA 1982 (ONE-SHOT) pays homage to cheesy, sci-fi action thrillers of the 1980s. It succeeds in achieving cheesiness and not much else. At least it’s a colorful and well-drawn book.
Score: 5/10
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