I didn’t realize Dynamite was rebooting Red Sonja under the helm of fan favorite writer Gail Simone until the week it came out. Simone is such a fan favorite, in fact, DC cracked under fan pressure to re-hire her after unceremoniously dumping Simone from writing duties on Batgirl.
Simone is known for her compelling stories and witty dialogue, having cut her teeth on Marvel’s Deadpool and developed quite a following with DC’s Birds of Prey, following creator Chuck Dixon in its pre-New 52 hullabaloo. Having worked on heavy hitters like Wonder Woman and Secret Six, Gail has earned her stripes and is well liked amongst fans and peers alike. Most associated with Barbara Gordon in her Oracle and Batgirl incarnations, it seemed fitting that Dynamite turned to Simone to breathe new life into another well known, red-headed heroine for a make-over/reboot. (Ironic, little-known fact: Gail herself is a beautician.) A fan turned pro, Gail quickly proved she was just as good with a pen as she was with a curling iron, rising quickly amongst the writers of a male-dominated field.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Conan’s ex-girlfriend, as I was very young when I discovered Red Sonja amidst the box of second-hand comics procured by my brother from a neighbor down the street. And, of course, I had a mad crush on Brigitte Nielsen’s portrays of RS on the silver screen. As excited as I was theoretically when Dynamite Entertainment brought back the metal bikini-clad barbarianess to comic books, I wasn’t excited enough to add it to my pull list. Sword and sorcery comics are hit and miss for me to begin with, and although Dynamite had enlisted a who’s who of uber artists for their multitude of variant covers, I wasn’t blown away by the interior art enough to give it a shot. No disrespect to the fine artists working on the series, but I discovered Red Sonja through the majestic art of Frank Thorne and John Byrne, and those indeed big leather boots to fill.
You see, comics taught me how to read and draw, and I can be a bit of an art snob. But, when Dynamite’s CEO Nick Barrucci was genius enough to relaunch everyone’s favorite rowdy redhead under the capable keyboard of Gail Simone, I finally had reason enough to revisit my favorite childhood redhead. And, what do I think? She drinks, she stinks, and the metal bra and panties still fit. I was lucky enough to get the Stephanie Buscema variant cover of the usual multitude of variants Dynamite seems fond of. With Gail’s signature humor and intriguing storytelling in tact and Sonja set to battle the plague, I may have to stick around for a few hot minutes.
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ABOUT MICHAEL FITZGERALD TROY:
Michael Troy is a deeply superficial person. Born in the midwest in the ’70s, Michael came to Los Angeles to pursue his bi-polar career path as an actor and artist. 2005 saw the release of Michael’s first published book, Homo-Hero’s Big Book of Fun and Adventure (www.greencandypress.com). Michael has contributed to the Lady Gaga comic book from Bluewater Productions and has his hand in various other upcoming projects. Michael has performed stand-up comedy at all of the major comedy clubs in Los Angeles and is making his triumphant return to the main stage of The Comedy Store in September. Michael offers an off-beat sense of humor as the star of such youtube cult classics As The Gays on Film (www.youtube.com/fullfrontaltv), A Minute With Margot, a loving tribute to Superman legend Margot Kidder (http://www.youtube.com/user/rktcommander), and currently hosts a vlog style series Lethally Blonde over at www.monsterburg.com. Sitting alongside industry heavyweight Phil Jimenez at the “Divas and Lassoes” panel for the 2010 San Diego comic-con, Michael maintains and cherishes his “underground” status. A staunch believer in Blonde Ambition, Michael hopes his new comic about shallow blonde super heroes in Los Angeles, The Blonde Squad, will set the world on fire (or at least brighten it a bit). Check out Michael Troy and Lethally Blonde updates here!!!
