The Dynamite Report #3: Red Sonja Meets Superpowers

Abnett: Yes, absolutely. Sonja and Vampirella were both baked into the concept from the very start. Though the announcement of the two series was staggered, my editor Nate Cosby had originally come to me and asked me to devise a way to incorporate both of them into the high-tech, superheroic world of the Project. And I think that’s where things came together: neither of them – in very different ways – are a sensible or logical fit with the superhero genre. So I could explore that counterintuitive clash in two different ways…and that’s where the core of the story came from.

In some respects, yes. It’s not just a culture clash like Vampirella (“I’m not a superhero”). For Sonja, everything is a culture clash. She has no concept of superheroes, or high technology, or anything. It’s as though she comes from an entirely alien mindset. She dismisses it all as magic, then is quite impressed – almost shocked – by it. So that makes her slightly more pliant. But she’s also much more suspicious. Where Vampirella grudgingly rejects and scorns the superheroic ideals, Sonja “joins in,” but entirely in her own way, true to herself.

Oh my word yes. We open with some great Hyborian-set action and adventure, but she is going on the journey of her lifetime.

One of the things we wanted to do with this was develop The Project, build their characters and raise their profile. Really establish a context for them and hopefully make them more popular with the readers. Vampirella and Sonja are the “big stars” who will draw the audience in, and this epic is very much centered on them, but that provides us with a great platform to showcase the Project members. They are not also-rans, or supporting characters. Some will really shine. I think we’ve worked them up into a really interesting place.

Yes, he will. In many ways, he’s a classic Red Sonja villain, a massively powerful sorcerer who derives his power from daemonic energies. But he’s very smart, a genius thinker, and he appreciates the high technology of The Project more than Sonja. He can see the potential…

Jonathan’s work is amazing, and he’s the perfect choice for this. I’ve admired his stuff for a long time. The storytelling’s great, the detail, the character work. And the action is dynamic, kinetic, and beautifully choreographed.

His previous experience with Sonja, and his grasp of the Hyborian “look” are amazing assets.

Well, she might…The Project does like to ‘polish up’ the look of their recruits.

I think it’s fair to say there will be a reunion. These epic stories connect, and they have their own strong continuity.

I’m not going to spoil how it will happen, but we’d be crazy not to let it take place, wouldn’t we? Trust me, it’ll be big and you won’t be disappointed.

Too early to say, really, but there’s huge potential here. There are ways we could make all sorts of characters work in this. For instance, it would be cool to see Dejah Thoris. I’m writing her book for Dynamite at the moment, and loving every minute, and she’d make a really interesting recruit…

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Faust’s Corner

Hey everyone and welcome to Faust’s Corner. Which I’m informed is hosted by me, Vincent Faust. Which is not an alias, I promise. Though I may or may not have sold my soul for comic books. You can catch me behind the curtain on Dynamite’s social media and most of the other spots where you hear from us. I’ve got some great updates for the Dynamite diehards out there.

I hope everyone picked up our two big books out this week. In DIE!namite #2 the galaxy-wide infection storyline ramps up and more characters are brought together. My favorite moment from the issue is a fun panel where Peter Cannon says that “Masks are cool” – which you can take as both a woot woot superheroes moment. But it also has some relevancy in today’s crazy world with real life pandemics. Senior citizen Miss Fury is also a lot of fun, and artist Vincenzo Carratu has teased on social media that he’d love to do a series just about her. Hey fans, let us know what you’d think about that.

Meanwhile Death of Nancy Drew #6 wraps up this mystery tale and reveals all. Spoilers… Nancy doesn’t die. Or does she? You’ll have to pick up the last issue or catch up on the series to find out! For those even more interested in the behind the scenes of comic book publishing, this issue might be worth it just to read writer Anthony Del Col interview the designer of the series and its logo, Cathy Heard.

FOC

Fans who keep up with the week in and week out happenings of the biz and their favorite retailers are probably familiar with FOC, or Final Order Cutoff. If you’re not, it’s basically exactly what it sounds like. The very last chance for your Local Comic Shop to lock in their orders for all your favorite titles. Which means you can bug them to sneak in any preorders that you want set aside for you.

This weekend we have just two titles on the deadline, but they’re biggies. Vampirella: The Dark Powers #1 is the first volley of a super-saga by Dan Abnett that will continue and interweave with Red Sonja: The Superpowers, and maybe lead to something else too. What if Vampirella tried to fit in with some old school superhero types? Would they accept her and could she keep her dark nature in check? You’ll have to read to find out.

And on the other hand is Red Sonja: The Price of Blood. Fan-favorite artist Walter Geovani, from Gail Simone’s run, returns for a limited series set early in the adventurer’s life. Think of it like “Red Sonja: Year Two.” At Dynamite we like to sneak in a surprise ourselves at FOC, with new variant covers that are exclusive to that window for retailers to order for fans. Sometimes they feature completely new artwork, or are rare versions with alternate designs, removed logos, pencils, etc. Check with your LCS about what’s available to preorder!

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Red Sonja: The Superpowers #1 hits comic shops on January 6. You can view six pages of interior artwork and four covers for the first issue in the gallery below. Are you excited to check out the series next year? Give us your thoughts in the comment section!