Sunday, October 25, 2009

Queen Sonja


CBR is reporting that there actually will be a Queen Sonja comic.

I have to say that I am very intrigued. Red Sonja is a great character but she is hampered by the fact that there are not that many great stories involving her. She is a demon with a sword and very beautiful, but what do you do with an ass-kicker other than kick ass?

Well, you can put her in charge for one thing. Queen characters start a story from a position of power. Instead of riding on her horse to the next town in trouble, Sonja will be more stationary. Problems will come to her. Not just problems, but responsibilities. This is a big opportunity to develop her character. Any hero can slay a monster, but it takes a real personality to have an opinion on taxes or raising an army.

I may be reading too much into this. Many of King Conan stories started with Conan being kidnapped and having to escape a dungeon. Queen Sonja may be no different, but even at the most shallow and adventurous, Queen Sonja is going to need a royal staff to attend her, which means a supporting cast of characters. A cast of characters means people that Sonja can interact with on a deeper level than turning down sexual propositions.

On a related note, I am dying to see how Queen Sonya handles the question of an heir.

Either way, I am glad to see this new approach with the character. This kind of branching out can only help her longevity.

3 comments:

  1. I like it. Some of my favorite Conan's were REH's Conan's kingly tales-Hour of the Dragon, Phoenix on the Sword, Scarlet Citadel and I alos really liked a lot of the Conan the King comics. So I agree this has a lot of potential inthe right hands.

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  2. Nothing like Howards stories period - I recommend His Horror stories released in one volume last year.
    PS - I agree thr title needed a new direction.

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  3. One of the variant covers is a few posts below...it's the green hued one with Sonja having a particularly crazed look in her eyes.

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