Queen Sonja vs The Army of Darkness

I never quite got around to mentioning issue #5 of Queen Sonja when it came out a few weeks ago, and then issue #6 came out and I still failed to mention Queen Sonja. I figured Mikey would beat me to it, but it looks like I get to comment on both issues! Sweet!

So let's start with Queen Sonja issue #5, or what I like to call Queen Sonja vs The Army of Darkness. This series is moving 1,000 mph and not slowing down to let anyone know why there's an army of undead dudes fresh off the set of Army of Darkness or even who these hotties Sonja has surrounded herself with are (I know who they are in general, but there's almost no character development - even with Sonja - in this series).


Queen Sonja issue #6 slows down a little bit. There's still a lot happening with very little backstory being revealed, but this issue does develop Sonja's character as a ruler straining under the burden of command and chafing at the male-dominated kingdom she has apparently assumed rule over (I still don't quite understand how she got there). Even Mels Rubi's art in this issue seems more impressive to me (the following are some of my favorite panels). You can actually see some emotion on Sonja's face (it's funny that Sonja's companion - to her right - in the first and second panels of the first image doesn't change at all from panel to panel, though).



Despite my mixed feelings for the story and the interior art (I'm really not a huge fan of Mel Rubi's work) , Lucillo Parrilo's covers continue to impress me. I can't remember a Red Sonja series with such consistently amazing cover art.