Writer: Dan Panosian
Artist: Alessio Petillo
Colorists: Francesco Segala & Gloria Martinelli
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover Artists: Dan Panosian, Frank Cho, Joseph Michael Linsner & Cosplay
Publisher: Dynamite
Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 29, 2023
A raging horde chases Red Sonja, Prince Lucian, and Celia. The trio races toward the castle and rides across the drawbridge. Will they find safety behind its stone walls? Let’s leap into Savage Red Sonja #2 and find out!
Story
Rather than attempt to awaken the abandoned castle’s machinery, the beleaguered travelers attack the rotting drawbridge. As the wood cracks beneath their boots, Celia falls through breaking boards. Sonja grabs her arm, but an arrow pierces Sonja’s muscles and ligaments. Lucian grasps Sonja's waist, but Celia's arm slips through Sonja's fingers. Celia’s scream rings out as she plummets.
Her beloved leaps across the chasm and battles the frenzied pursuers. Another arrow pierces Sonja's back. She closes the gate after seeing Lucian fall. Weakened, Sonja grabs a torch and explores the castle the prince sought to inherit. Eventually, she finds a bedchamber, yanks the arrows from her back and arm, and gives way to sleep. She wakes from dreams of failing Celia and Lucian to discover her nightmare has only begun.
In Savage Red Sonja #2, Dan Panosian's hypnotic tale evokes his early 20th-century forebears Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. My mind also drifted back to a Sherlock Holmes mystery as I read. But then, Arthur Conan Doyle cut his teeth on horror and fantasy before finding success with his famous detective. Lovecraft and Howard likely read Doyle's stories. Perhaps all three authors inspired Panosian's tale of terror.
This series began with the She-Devil lamenting her life path. Now, Panosian lays Celia and Lucian's deaths upon Sonja’s soul. After a frenzy, the issue pauses for Sonja to catch her breath before hurtling toward a haunting finale. I wonder how much of the second half of Savage Red Sonja #2 occurred and if any arose from her injuries, fatigue, and sorrow.
Art
Stark imagery enhances this brutal tale of terror. Alessio Petillo constantly shifts perspective, imbuing pages with a dream-like quality. Sonja looks more fragile than glamorous, worn down by the demands of her solitary life. Tilted camera angles accompany Sonja’s search of the castle. King Gresh’s throne room suggests an aging church or temple awaiting repair. Amid the straight and broken lines that define Panosian’s weird tale, familiar tenacles arise.
Bathed in the moon’s reflected light, a red glow from the dry moat bathes Celia as she slips. It threatens to devour all other colors as Sonja and Lucian strive to save her. Within the castle, an orange flower blossoms from Sonja's torch. The moonlight streaming through windows reveals gray, purple, blue, and white rooms. As in the dry moat, red bleeds within the castle. Sometimes subtle, at others garish, Francesco Segala & Gloria Martinelli amplify the gothic chills of Savage Red Sonja #2.
Dave Sharpe’s uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons and yellow narrative boxes vary in size and color. Some text looks as weakened the She-Devil. The sound Sonja often hears in the castle evokes an early Sherlock Holmes adventure. I wonder if fans can guess which?
Thanks to Dynamite Comics for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
The She-Devil's sword cannot save someone she sought to protect in Savage Red Sonja #2. Nor can it defend her against the horrors that await her in King Gresh’s haunted castle.
Rating 8.2/10
For interior art and more covers see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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