Red Sonja #0 by Gail Simone & Noah Salonga

I decided it was the perfect time for me to get back into Red Sonja. I read a lot of the stuff that came out in the 80's which would have been put out by Marvel. A lot of the stuff involving Conan. Gail Simone started writing Red Sonja for Dynamite last summer and I sorta missed out. I didn't have Simone's work on my radar until semi recently when my friend Kelly began telling me about how much she enjoyed Birds of Prey. So this week when Dynamite put out Gail Simone's Red Sonja #0, I figured it was the right time to jump into her work. After reading this mini story, I'd really like to go back and check out the last year of Simone's Sonja. 

I'm not a big fan of the inside art work though which is disappointing. The cover art for this issue was done by Gabriel Hardman and I don't feel too badly about it. I like the strong lines, Sonja's hair and her sword looks bad-ass with that gradient of blood going on. Inside art made me sigh. I can deal with it but it feels so mediocre. Noah Salonga has some incredible penciling/inking but whoever was responsible for the coloring made me sad. TEAR. It may have been Salonga, I tried to filter through the credit. In any case, I'd rather see Salonga's work without color if it's going to end up looking like this. 

The story however had me giggling. It starts out with a grieving husband morning the loss of Sonja who has passed. I won't give away the plot but it was a fun one. Drunk'n debauchery generally gets me giggling. It was nice to read something a little lighthearted considering my typical reads are morbid and generally grotesque. Remember to grab this one while your out. The story makes us for my distaste for the art.