COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Red Sonja 14 Universal
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Grade:
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9.4
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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1173308008
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Owner:
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Lee K
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
"River of the Dead!" You know - I really don't think this cover needed a word balloon. And the dead shouldn't talk in complete sentences anyway, but at least they tied the word balloon to the title of the story. It's still dumb though. Well, we're just a couple issues in to Frank Brunner's covers and you sure can tell the difference: look at that fully executed background, super-cool columns, the highly detailed boat and horned skull masthead - even the flames from the torch are better executed. Even though we no the boat isn't moving that fast (poled boats just don't hustle), there's a huge sense of movement due to the entire image being canted, and the smoke trailing away from the torch. Color focuses our eye on Sonja - and really the only thing that distracts from that is the terrible white of the word balloon. I bet, based on what I can see of the water, that the image was outstanding before the words & the bar code. I don't usually complain about the bar code - it was just a way of life for so long, but this time its really intrusive with the cool factor of the cover art. I'm fascinated by how well the composition flows given that the image is really just a big X - it must be the curve of the bow & the curved roof of the cavern, between the columns, but there is a real sense of flow. I guess that's why Brunner is an excellent artist, and I am just a guy who does some paintings occasionally.
Looking at Sonja herself - her sword arm seems small and frail - now, I'm not a fan of huge, bulky fighters (more on that in my Conan 1-24 set), but it seems undermuscled for a swordswinging bada$$ like Sonja - particularly if she isn't going to use a sword like she has on the cover of issue 12.
Overall - hell yeah I'm buying this issue off the spinner rack - it nicely bridges the gap between Sword & Sorcery and Horror, and I like both.
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