SONJAVERSAL #9 – Review

SONJAVERSAL #9, available from Dynamite Comics on November 10th, 2021, takes a visit to the Blue Sonja universe where the collective of evil villains that returned from Hell have met their match… again.

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: November 10, 2021

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Was It Good?

Strong beginning and middle. Bumpy ending.

Since the first Sonjaversal arc concluded, the second arc has spent each issue episodically showing the life of a different Sonja who survived the Battle Royale. Now, it’s Blue Sonja’s turn as the street-wise, Punisher-esque killer-for-hire.

So far, Hastings has done a bang-up job dreaming up alternate versions of Red Sonja that look, think, and act as distinct characters from each other but still share a core personality that feels like Red Sonja. Blue Sonja is just as hard-drinking and hard-punching as Red but with a little more of a cynically modern edge. You could imagine this character leaping straight from an 80s/90s action thriller.

The plot (more details in the next section) asks what happens to a hero when all the villains you’ve spent years chasing down have been dealt with. Do you retire? Do you move on to less dangerous criminals to pass the time? And then, what happens if the supervillains aren’t completely gone but have been sacrificed for something more deadly? The premise is interesting and we appear to be getting close to understanding the impetus behind Hell Sonja’s grand plan of interference across the multiverse.

Once Blue Sonja arrives at her last stop on this mini-adventure, that’s where the narrative gets shaky. It’s unclear how Blue Sonja gets to her final destination or what she’s supposed to be doing there. The last act is clunky and awkward up until the last page. Therefore, be prepared for mostly good storytelling with some bad in the last act.

Qualano’s art is a perfect mix of hard-edged action with a touch of whimsy in this issue. Every panel is positioned with the most dramatic angle possible, and the creature designs in the last act are horrifying.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

If you’re wondering “What’s with all the Sonjas?!?”, first read our SONJAVERSAL #8 review to get the lowdown on the showdown.

Readers are treated, first-hand, to a look at Blue Sonja and her handiwork. She managed to slyly manipulate all the supervillains she once killed, and have since escaped Hell after the events of the last arc, together in one spot so she can repeat her previous success in explosive fashion.

With no more supervillains to fight, Blue Sonja is feeling the burn of semi-retirement. However, all is not right as the island where the deed is done has been barricaded as off-limits. The General in charge of island security tracks down Blue Sonja to assist in retrieving the recon unit sent in to recover the supervillain bodies. When they entered the explosion site, they never came out.

A team ala The Expendables is sent into the island, and they’re horrified by what they find. The island has turned into a massive, tentacled, many-eyed beast that acts as an entrance to something deeper. When Blue Sonja and her team enter the maw of the best, that’s when things get weird… and a bit hard to follow. We conclude the issue with fleshy tunnels, deadly naps, and a visit from a group of old friends with different hair colors.

Final Thoughts

SONJAVERSAL #9 takes a turn visiting Blue Sonja’s universe where her gun-toting, hard-drinking ways pit her against a cadre of supervillains escaped from Hell. The story is engaging and the art is stellar, but the last act of the story awkwardly trips over itself to get to the ending.

Score: 7.5/10

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