SONJAVERSAL #10, available from Dynamite Comics on December 1st, 2021, takes a trip to the Nexus of all realities as Hell Sonja calls the remaining Sonjas together to unveil her master plan.
The Details
- Written By: Christopher Hastings
- Art By: Pasquale Qualano
- Colors By: Kike J. Diaz
- Letters By: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
- Cover Art By: Lucio Parrillo (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: December 1, 2021
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Was It Good?
Well, this is getting weird in an existential kind of way.
Since issue #1, we’ve crowed that Dynamite found the secret sauce to doing a multiverse-spanning story the right way with Sonjaversal. The series started with a massive event, culminating in the death of a god and a shakeup in status quo affecting every Sonja in every universe. The story introduced a plethora of cool alternate versions of Sonja, and we were treated to a series of one-shot adventures, focusing on a different Sonja in her own genre. Now, Hell Sonja, who’s been a connective presence through all the one-shots, has brought the Sonjas back together for an even stranger event.
On the one hand, I like how big this story feels and the utter unpredictability of where this story is going. There’s no way to guess the path forward in this plot, and that leads to one surprise after another with every page. On the other hand, the positive can start to feel like a potential minus in that you have no idea where this story is going. There’s no sense that the story is leading up to something. It’s one development after the next without any clear build up to a conclusion. That’s not necessarily a flaw, but it plants seeds of doubt about where the series is headed, if it’s headed anywhere at all.
Noir Sonja gets the cover attention, and she’s called out multiple times in the issue because she wasn’t present for the first arc, but this is really a Hell Sonja-centric issue. Hell Sonja is intriguing for being one of the only evil Sonjas and it makes sense that she could be the greatest of villains… if that’s the direction this story moves. Right now, she’s painted as a necessary evil, again adding in layers of unpredictability around what could happen.
Overall, I like this issue because I like to be surprised, and this issue is nothing but surprises. That said, too many surprises without a direction makes one wary.
Qualano’s art is outstanding in this issue. All the remaining Sonjas are gathered together, and Qualano gets to show off the unique character designs from the previous issues as well as take another crack at them with a final splash page that shows how they’ve leveled up. This series is a dream opportunity for an artist to re-imagine an established character, and Qualano is taking full advantage.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
A multi-eyed, multi-tentacled monster that acts as a tunnel between dimensions?!? Check out our SONJAVERSAL #9 review to explain it all.
We begin with Noir Sonja recapping the events of her one-shot where criminals she put down returned from Hell, forcing her to put them down again. But before the bodies could be buried, they dissolved and merged into a tentacled beast that acts as an interdimensional tunnel. Noir Sonja has been summoned, and the story repeats itself for all the remaining Sonjas across the multiverse.
When the Sonjas traverse their respective tunnels, they find themselves gathered before Hell Sonja in what’s left of her interdimensional kingdom. Hell Sonja explains Saint Sonja’s tournament and the death of their god at the hands of Red Sonja caused the Gates of Hell to collapse, leaving Hell Sonja almost powerless and unable to stop dark forces from crossing the Nexus into other dimensions.
We conclude the issue with Hell Sonja making an offer the Sonjas may not be able to refuse, and a first-hand look at one of those dark forces entering the Nexus with conquest in mind.
Final Thoughts
SONJAVERSAL #10 is a trippy issue that answers many of the lingering questions around what Hell Sonja is really up to. The issue is a soft conclusion to the arc that establishes another new status quo leading into the forthcoming Hell Sonja series. While the last several issues have established the characters well going into the next series, it’s not quite clear where the story is headed.
Score: 7.5/10
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