Red Sonja: She-Devil With A Sword - Volume 01 Issue 05

My Rating

“Doom Of The Gods – Part 05”

Doom has come to the city of Khorshemish! Its chosen form is that of the Demoroq. As the Royal Guard and Rising Sun clash in the streets over petty human-rights initiatives, the ancient demon tears innocent denizens limb from limb. Even the mighty She-Devil with a Sword has little chance of stopping this juggernaut without the Horn of Ochis. Oh, Ivorn forgot to mention that the priceless relic was destroyed twenty minutes ago through an act of pure stupidity. Maximum effort, Sonja!

Elsewhere, the granddaughter of the infamous Elarr Vorn, Aretha, has agreed to sacrifice her own blood in a ritual performed at the Pirosin Tower. As bodies begin to stack higher along the boulevards of the Kothian capital, the scholars prepare to use Aretha’s cursed bloodline against the supernatural forces threatening Khorshemish. Whether the ritual will save the city or unleash something even worse remains to be seen.

With the Demoroq rampaging through the streets and the Horn of Ochis reduced to little more than a memory, Sonja is running dangerously short on options. Can the She-Devil find another way to bring down an enemy seemingly impervious to steel? Will Aretha Vorn survive the ritual at Pirosin Tower? Can anyone save Khorshemish before the Rising Sun and Royal Guard finish tearing apart whatever the Demoroq leaves standing? Collect the series to find out!

Review

Five issues into Red Sonja: She-Devil With a Sword, and I’m beginning to sound like a broken record. There is nothing particularly wrong with the story Dynamite is telling. I like the characters, the supernatural elements are right up my alley, and watching Sonja go toe-to-toe with something as nasty as the Demoroq should make for a great sword-and-sorcery adventure. Unfortunately, once again, there just isn’t enough substance packed between the covers.

This has become something of the norm with Dynamite’s Red Sonja titles. A story that could move along at a blistering pace gets stretched across issue after issue, leaving individual chapters feeling more like pieces of a larger book than satisfying comic books on their own. Issue #5 certainly moves the pieces around the board—the Demoroq is loose, Khorshemish is falling apart, Aretha’s blood has become increasingly important, and Sonja needs another way to stop the creature—but I finished the book wanting considerably more.

Now we have only two issues remaining. Where do they go from here? There are certainly enough ingredients sitting on the table for an explosive finale, but Dynamite needs to start cooking with them. Hopefully, these final two issues kick things into high gear and give Sonja the conclusion this storyline deserves. For now, Red Sonja: She-Devil With a Sword #5 earns 3 out of 5 stars.