Red Sonja: Queen of Plagues

by Gail Simone, Walter Geovani, Adriano Lucas and Simon Bowland
collects Red Sonja #1-6

Whenever I saw a Red Sonja title at the comic book store, I would cringe at the clear MALE GAZE-ness written all over that red haired hourglass figure in a chainmail bikini and move right along. Well, I’ll read anything Gail Simone writes, and she has a way of writing women in spite of the MALE GAZE, especially on Birds of Prey. Unfortunately, my experience reading the first volume of Simone’s Red Sonja reboot was more or less the same as the reactions that marked my first encounters with the character.

Red Sonja takes place in a medieval setting with kings and meaningless wars, slicing and dicing due to said wars, gladiators and plagues, ghosts and giant leeches, and amphibian soldier armies, for some reason. Red Sonja is a medieval take on the fiery redheaded trope with a bloody reputation as the Devil that she delights in. There’s a short origin recap to catch up first time readers like myself, and her origin also ties in with the first arc’s antagonist, Dark Annisia.

Simone seems to like a present day/flashback structure, that pairs a character’s origin with her antagonist. She also does this in her first volume of Domino, and it works well.

Gail has a reputation for writing badass women with actual grit, personality and flaws, including Huntress in Birds, Scandal Savage in Secret Six, and most recently Domino – but there was something missing in Sonja. There wasn’t much personality to her beyond the fighting and drinking tropes, and her origin story felt overly tragic too, even if it does fit in this ultra violent world.

Of the supporting characters, Sonja’s twin bodyguards were amusing, but one-note to the point that their dialogue was interchangeable; Annisia’s guilt (in the form of seeing the ghosts of those she kills) was more interesting, but I also wanted more from her and Sonja’s relationship. Additionally, the fantasy element of Sonja’s world was minor enough that it felt like a surprise when it popped up, as if it didn’t belong – like Game of Thrones before the dragons showed up.

Geovani’s art definitely fits with the tone, but it’s straightforward to the point of almost being boring. Lucas is similarly straightforward with his colors, and as you can expect from this kind of genre, lots of browns and reds.

I’ve been trying to put off talking about MALE GAZE so that it doesn’t completely inform my feelings about the book, but at this point it’s impossible. Geovani draws Sonja, and the other women, like they are Barbies. Look at the above image! Who faints from exhaustion with her legs spread and chest up?! NO ONE, I TELL YOU.

That, combined with the T&A shots in the first photo, really undermines the idea that Sonja and Annisia are badasses on their own terms. It still feels like this is a book made FOR MALE GAZE.

Which is ironic, because even though this book is full of MALE GAZE, there is a cheap, very quick and not at all explored queer “relationship,” if you can call it that – because like most queer relationships in comics, it will be impossible to explore further in later volumes. (Update: Heathen does an amazing job of subverting male gaze to be like huh, maybe FEMALE GAZE is also a thing because queerness exists. Especially when it comes to warriors and armor. If Simone wanted to go this route, her story would have been very different.)

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE OUTFIT, SHALL WE? Granted Sonja works that metal bikini for the first couple of issues but she does then get more and more covered, wearing full metal chainmail by the last issue – which was necessary not for modesty reasons, screw that – she’s just going into battle and it makes sense to have some semblance of armor.  I’m torn between wanting an in-universe actual explanation for a completely ridiculous outfit for someone so serious about war – like, that’s how arrogant she is or she’s goading death or something – because “that’s what a man drew on her in the 70’s” or “it’s the only way she’s recognizable as Red Sonja” doesn’t work.

To be metaphorical, does Red Sonja replace the bikini for more sensible clothing, to take off her previous MALE GAZE identity for something new? Or is the bikini just underneath all of that and this is just all pandering for me, a woman and feminist for whom this book still isn’t actually meant?

All of this is why a CAMP reading could have really worked for me here. Women in chainmail bikinis, the twins, and fish people all felt pretty comical. That made reading it easier – buuut, I’m not sure Simone and her team were going for that. If you’re going to go camp, go all the way, and it still feels like they are taking this seriously. I don’t get it.

In the end, I don’t know what this book is. Is it about MALE GAZE or subverting it? Is this medieval camp, or meant to be taken seriously?

Red Sonja has its own following, so my disappointments for the series could just be a part of the title, and that is completely fair. Some things are just a given in certain titles and genres, but that also means they aren’t for everyone. As much as I enjoy Simone, this was a miss for me.