Writer: Torunn Gronbekk
Artist: Walter Geovani
Colorist: Omi Remalante Jr.
Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
Cover Artists: Lucio Parrillo, Bjorn Barends, Joseph Michael Linsner, Francesco Francavilla, Jenny Frison, Frank Thorne & Cosplay
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 28, 2024
Recently, Dorian Runebinder sensed a shift in the cosmos. The frightened sorcerer left Nordal Fortress to consult his friend and mentor. Frostwind confirmed Dorian's fears: Kulan Gath had returned from the dead. How will the evil sorcerer menace the lives of Dorian and Sonja? Let's don our armor, ride into Red Sonja #8, and find out!
Story
Red Sonja helped Grace free her little sister from the altar within the stone circle. The Tsjoko attacked, slaying the priest who would have killed the girl. The creatures also slew Alarn, a fellow villager who believed the child’s sacrifice would protect Ludlow from the continuing otherworldly attacks. The forest creatures pursued the three survivors. But when Red Sonja, Grace, and her sister left the Blotring, the Tsjoko vanished.
In Red Sonja #8, Sonja escorts the sisters to their aunt’s cottage. They rein in their horses when a singing woman stands in their path. While Grace lowers her guard, Sonja senses the woman is not all she appears. The She-Devil's defiance angers the woman. Her cloak of beauty falls, and the crone commands spectral beings to attack.
Torunn Gronbekk populates her story with mythological creatures that haunt sacred places and protect nature from the ravages of humanity. Yet ancient beings like Tsjoko and Hulder seem like minor menaces compared with the return of Kulan Gath. Red Sonja’s pity for Thord Varg’s followers tore the veil between the Hyborian world and the astral plane. The evil sorcerer slipped through the barrier and returned to life. But if one astral being can visit Earth, why not more?
Yet the gods favor the She-Devil in Red Sonja #8. The god trapped by Lady Alaberta’s black diamond carried Sonja to the Brythunian convent. Fate, or perhaps the goddess Scathach, directed Red Sonja to Ludlow at just the right time to meet Grace and thence to rescue her sister. When they arrive at the home of the sisters' aunt, Red Sonja learns the woman is one of three sorcerers who guard this land, along with Dorian Runebender and his mentor Frostwind. Yet how can Dorian and Red Sonja protect the inhabitants of Brythunia when its magical protectors fear the return of a death-defying sorcerer and an invasion of the gods?
Art
Dorian Runebinder regards the gathering storm from the parapet of Nordal Fortress. His wide eyes and gaping mouth reveal his fright as he packs a sack in his candlelit chamber. He lugs the bag through the rain to Frostwind’s cottage. Frostwind sits in his rocking chair and gazes at the burning logs in his fireplace. The aging sorcerer tells his former student of Kulan Gath’s evil ways.
Grace looks worried as she rides beside Sonja. The woman clutches her sister, who sits before her. The girl holds a lamb named Goose. When Red Sonja hears the Hulder’s song, she draws her sword and bares her teeth. The forest creature changes from a voluptuous blonde to a hag with sharp teeth and pupil-less eyes. Silhouettes emerge from the fog. Red Sonja leaps off her fleeing horse to attack the flying cloaked skeletons with claws and glowing eyes. Say, we're not in the woods near Hogwarts, are we?
In Red Sonja #8, Omi Remalante Jr. enhances Walter Geovani’s storybook art with vibrant color. Sonja's scarlet cape and hair evoke another fairy tale heroine. Rich skin tones help people and faces stand out as a multicolored fog fills the forest. Yet the skin of Grace's aunt suggests faintness or poor health, and the Hulder’s transformation reveals green skin. The rich coloring often seems in flux, suggesting the sunlight struggles to reach the forest floor. Even when the wraith and Red Sonja appear as silhouettes, streaks of blue and white represent the chilling mist and the speed of the chase.
Jeff Eckleberry shares Torunn Gronbekk’s narration on beige parchment and dialogue in white balloons. Stressed words grow bold, and raised voices swell the large-size uppercase words. Enormous black letters threaten to burst their balloons when Dorian Runebinder confronts his nemesis, while the clicking that lopes through one panel hints that even forest spirits feel fear.
Thanks to Dynamite Comics for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
While Kulan Gath steals another sorcerer's memories, Red Sonja finds a partner and a god whose children once menaced another Hyborian hero makes the world his killing field in Red Sonja #8.
Rating 9.2/10
For a peek inside and more covers see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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