Red Sonja Tarzan #1 Review
Written by: Gail Simone
Illustrated by: Walter Geovani
Colored by: Adriano Augusto
Lettered by: Simon Bowland
Published by: Dynamite
A review by Cory Webber
Red Sonja Tarzan #1 comes to us from the creative that gave us Clean Room (Vertigo) and Red Sonja (Dynamite). This mashup pits the She-Devil With a Sword and the Lord of the Jungle with Eson Duul, an evil man who has no regard for human life.
First of all, this was my first exposure to Red Sonja; I literally knew nothing about her before opening this book. Secondly, my only exposure to Tarzan was from the Disney cartoon, and 2016’s Legend of Tarzan, an admittedly underrated film. But I digress. So, why was I drawn in? Two words: Gail Simone. While her ability to write action is superb, it’s her writing of strong female characters that sets her apart.
Red Sonja Tarzan #1 starts by establishing the villain, Eson Duul, as a bad, bad man. He hunts a very rare large cat and, after killing one, has his underling’s kill the rest. His reason? When he kills a trophy, he wants no other to follow him. Then, the next few pages introduce us to our two heroes. The intros are fairly brief, and don’t rely too heavily on exposition. Rather, Simone shows us who these two are by highlighting certain aspects of each.
For a first issue, Simone’s pacing is brisk without sacrificing plot. She deftly introduces all the main characters and story elements, and fuses them all together in an exciting first issue. She even manages to infuse the story with some much welcomed humor.
Geovani’s art was intriguing. He drew the characters with rigid lines and minimal inks, which gave them m an almost polished feel to them. Yet, his more detailed panels consisted of more fluid lines and blotchy shadows, which gave it a more painterly feel. These contrasting styles really added depth and weight to the overall composition.
Except for a few pages, the colors were okay. They certainly felt at home with the story being told, but didn’t really do much to add to the experience. The flashback scenes is where they stood out. These panels were coated in more muted pastels, and, maybe, their salience had more to do with their contrast to the other pages, but I digress.
Verdict: Buy it!
In Red Sonja Tarzan #1, Simone does an excellent job of making this crazy mash up seem perfectly practical. I can’t wait to see how Sonja and Tarzan team up to stop Duul. Especially with the sinister revelation that comes to light in the final panel.
