Gail Simone to Write Red Sonja Series

Gail Simone is loved by many, and for good reason. She was one of the premiere writers for the comic book industry and is best known for DC Comics Birds of Prey, Secret Six and Batgirl. That's why Dynamite Entertainment is so ecstatic that Simone has signed with them to do their brand-new ongoing Red Sonja series. Red Sonja features a fictional swordswoman bearing the same name who lives in a high-fantasy world with swords and sorcery. Sonja was created by Robert E. Howard and was later adapted for comics by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. She made her first appearance in Conan the Barbarian #23 under the Marvel Comics logo. She's considered the archetype of a barbarian, complete with... bikini armor? No wonder she's had several successfully ongoing series, mini-series and one-shots published over the past decade. Simone will be joined by Walter Geovani (Red Sonja, The Prophecy) who will be doing the interior artwork. The covers will be done by some of the top female artists that are in comics today including Nicola Scott (Birds of Prey, Secret Six), Colleen Doran (A Distant Soil, Valor), Jenny Frison (who created one of my picks for the best comic book covers of 2012), Stephanie Buscema (The Brave and the Bold, Simon Dark) and Fiona Staples (Saga, DV8: Gods and Monsters). More of the cover artists will be revealed over time. In honor of the new series, Dynamite plans on giving out limited edition prints featuring art from the Nicola Scott covers to every Emerald City fan. They will be given away for free and will be signed by Gail Simone at the Emerald City Comic Con. Gail Simone shares her experience with the character of Red Sonja: "It's like this...even most of the best female heroines when I was a kid were pretty polite. What I love about Sonja is that she isn't polite, she says what she means and if you give her any lip about it, hello, sword in the gut. She's smart, she has a heart, she has some compassion. But when it's go time, she's a hellraiser, a mad general, she's a sword edge virtuosa, she's death on wheels. She is the woman you never want to mess with. I can relate, Sonja. No offense to all her guy writers, but THIS Red Sonja is about sex and swords! It's everything you love about Red Sonja, except with more monsters getting stabbed in the eye." Dynamite Entertainment seems to have the perfect storm reading. Finally, I'm going to be reading about the bikini-clad swordswoman – and I've little doubt the story will have more substance than Sonya's outfit!