A Meeting Of Might In Vampirella/Red Sonja #2
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Vampirella has come face-to-face with a rabid and nonverbal Red Sonja in a Russian cave. Ella manages to hypnotize and subdue Sonja and takes her to an occultist associate. That occultist, named Charlie, discovers a generation stone on Red Sonja. That stone has been bestowed upon Sonja, cursing her to be forever shunted through various times and dimensions until she dies or loses the stone–which would also kill her. Charlie also gives Vampirella the ability to communicate with Red Sonja, and the two go about the job of lifting the curse from Sonja and discerning how she received the generation stone in the first place.
Vampirella/Red Sonja #2 finally introduces our two titular protagonists to one another. It’s a rocky start, as Sonja is crazed, starving, and speaks a different language from Vampirella and Charlie.
It’s also fairly entertaining; Jordie Bellaire writes good dialogue. Much of it’s quite funny. Once Red Sonja and Vampirella begin genuinely talking to one another, it gets even better.
Time-displaced Red Sonja is a decent comedic setup in itself. Sonja is such a perpetual hardass who’s never had to rely much on her social skills, and she’s far from suited for the modern world. Vampirella is a little more acquainted with it, but even she still feels out of place. It allows for the two to riff off of one another and even bond a bit.
Drew Moss’ artwork is still quite good. There is a softness to the shapes that keeps the tone light, but it still shows the muscles and power of our protagonists. It’s an expressive style too, allowing our leads to convey their feelings visually as well as verbally. Rebecca Nalty’s color work is vibrant and strong too, giving more strength to the art.
Vampirella/Red Sonja #2 is a stronger issue than the first. We get to see our leads encounter and get to know one another, and there’s plenty of comedy and charm to carry this relatively low-action comic to a strong end. This one gets a recommendation. Check it out.
Vampirella/Red Sonja #2 comes to us from writer Jordie Bellaire, artist Drew Moss, color artist Rebecca Nalty, letterer Becca Carey, cover artist Tula Lotay, and variant cover artists David Mack; Babs Tarr; Leonardo Romero with Jordie Bellaire; and Drew Moss with Rebecca Nalty and Frank Thorne.
Final Score: 8/10
