QUEEN SONJA #31 Lights Mr. Singleton’s Fire

If you have read any of my previous entries then you understand how much of a fan of artwork I am. Artwork is a dimensional character that can either help or hurt a story. If the artwork is lame, the story can tend to be lame, if the story has elements that cannot be explained through words then it is the job of the visuals to take over. I will never let down on how important artwork is to a story. I have read some incredible stories only to be disappointed when the artwork didn’t do the story justice. You don’t get to the edge of a cliff to see the monster for the first time only to find the monster is blurred or even drawn poorly; it isn’t a good experience. The artwork in Queen Sonja 31 is top notch, there is going to be a great story here I can tell. This cover has been judged and will now be flipped to read the rest of the story.

There is nothing like a medieval campfire to lift your spirits. Drunk warriors gathered around a giant flame with buckets of brew, a song or two and maidens dancing for their enjoyment. It reminds me of the time when I was a kid and I had just watched a movie with my cousin, it had such a scene in the movie and I had never been camping before so naturally I expected our campfire to be just like this. I was sadly mistaken, that was when I realized that these books could take me to another dimension, to another fantasy, to another time and place where my reality didn’t matter. Now you can see why I consider artwork to be so important to furthering a story. This is also why I enjoy the Red Sonja series. Even when Red shows up in other storylines, I enjoy everything about how she is written.

As with any medieval campfire that includes song and drink, there are competing warriors that do not always agree or have to show off to win a maiden’s heart. These poor boys didn’t know when to stop or didn’t know how to not start in the first place. This is all part of the story that I love, I love to think that this is exactly what happened that if I jumped into my hand dandy time machine I would set it to take me back to this very campfire scene and I would be taken to a place that I am currently reading about. But we all know that Hollywood holds the rights to that adventure.

So, we have discovered a drunken brawl but no sign of Red Sonja. Did she misplace her invite to this manly campfire celebration? Did she try to show up fashionably late to a party she really wanted to join? Or was there something completely different that I am not even thinking of? Ladies and gentlemen, Red had no idea that this was even going on.

You see Prince Sateen is on land and there isn’t anything worse than a Pirate Prince being on dry land longer than the time it takes to restock the rum barrels or grab a maiden or two. There is fury here, the likes that the barbarians talk about when they are making up stories to better their chances with the bar maidens or to make them bigger in fiction than they are in reality with their sons. There is a battle happening here that is about to get epic and Red Sonja knows nothing about it. You know that this perplexing situation isn’t going to end well.

It doesn’t end well my friends. How can something like a brawl between barbarians and pirates not be known by a Queen like Red Sonja. A Queen that knows everything that is going on in her land. That has assistance from the Goddess above, but still a Queen that is in the dark on this matter. There is a dark force that is at hand playing sides against each other. This dark force has caused an uproar, an uneasy feeling among not only the Queen’s people but also the pirates and the barbarians. You see the Queen has invited many warriors from many lands to compete at her arena…only this dark force had other plans for the get together.

I can get lost for days in this story. You see every twist, every bend around another corner and every time the plot takes a different form I get excited and want to continue reading. I love a good story that takes on a life of its own. This is why Red Sonja can play roles in other stories, other books, she is the ultimate character with depth. There is more to the fiery red hair and armor, there is a living breathing Warrior Queen that actually stands for something and not just battling Kings or leaders of other lands. Call me crazy but there is a lot of good in her…I could be wrong.

The storyline as always does not disappoint, it leaves me wanting more, it gives me hope that not all is lost in this realm of fictional reality.  I truly enjoy this series, no matter what form it takes, Red Sonja the warrior, Queen Red Sonja, or even Red Sonja Vampire Foe. If you are a beginner or a true comic book veteran then you’ll love this series too.

Back to the artwork, as I said before the artwork did not disappoint. Remember the maiden dancing around the campfire, yep, I knew it was a maiden because of the excellent artwork. The maiden was in the distance and you could tell every detail of what she was doing. This my friends is why a story like Red Sonja lasts and will continue to push out stories from far away and long ago.

Keep reading my friends, don’t just take my word for it. Read it yourself, agree with me, disagree with me, let’s keep the  conversation going.