Red Sonja is a fictional sword and sorcery comic-book

superheroine A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

created by writer

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

and artist

Barry Windsor-Smith Barry Windsor-Smith (born Barry Smith, 25 May 1949) is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States. He attained note working on Marvel Comics' ''Conan the Barbarian'' from 1970 to 197 ...

for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

in 1973, partially inspired by Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino. Marvel Comics published stories featuring Red Sonja until 1986, and returned to the character for a one-shot story in 1995. In 2005,

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptation ...

began publishing stories of the heroine, during which the original Sonja was killed and replaced by a "reincarnation". The series was rebooted by writer

Gail Simone Gail Simone (aka Gladys Simonetti) is an American writer best known for her work in comics on DC's ''Birds of Prey'', '' Batgirl'', Dynamite Entertainment's Red Sonja, and for being the longest running female writer on Wonder Woman to date. Othe ...

in 2013, telling an altered version of Red Sonja's early life story via flashbacks. Subsequent writers of ''Red Sonja'' have included

Amy Chu Amy Chu is a comic book author who runs the comic imprint Alpha Girl Comics as well as writing comics for other publishers. She wrote the six-issue miniseries ''Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death'' and a few Wonder Woman issues for DC Comics, DC. ...

Mark Russell Mark Russell (born August 23, 1932) is an American political satirist and comedian. He is best known for his series of semimonthly comedy specials on PBS television between 1975 and 2004. His routines were a mix of political stand-up humor cover ...

, Luke Lieberman,

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti star ...

, and

Amanda Conner Amanda Conner is an American comics artist and commercial art illustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work for Claypool Comics' '' Soulsearchers and Company'' and Har ...

, among others. Red Sonja has appeared in numerous titles, both as a solo protagonist and together with Conan, as well as in crossovers with characters from Marvel Comics and Dynamite Comics. A total of six Red Sonja novels were published from 1981 to 1983 all written by David C. Smith and Richard L. Tierney and, in 1985, a feature film starring

Brigitte Nielsen Brigitte Nielsen (; born Gitte Nielsen; 15 July 1963) is a Danish actress, model, and singer. She began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. She subsequently acted in the 1985 films ''Red Sonja'' and ''Rocky IV'', later retu ...

in the title role, ''

Red Sonja Red Sonja is a fictional sword and sorcery comic-book superheroine created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, partially inspired by Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino. Marvel Comics p ...

'', was released. Sonja's signature clothing is her

bikini armor The portrayal of men and women in video games, as in other media, is a subject of research in gender studies and is discussed in the context of sexism in video gaming. Although women make up about half of video game players, they are significant ...

, consisting typically of

scale mail Scale armour (or scale mail) is an early form of armour consisting of many individual small armour scales (plates) of various shapes attached to each other and to a backing of cloth or leather in overlapping rows.Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

's'' "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

History

Marvel Comics (1973–1995)

Red Sonja was created by writer

and artist

for

in 1973, partially based on Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino, a female

swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

from his 1934 short story "

The Shadow of the Vulture "The Shadow of the Vulture" is a short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, first published in '' The Magic Carpet Magazine'', January 1934. The story introduces the character of Red Sonya of Rogatino, who later became the inspiration for ...

". Red Sonja debuted in Marvel's ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

'' #23 (1973). Thomas created a new origin story and transposed the timeline from the 16th century of Howard's original Red Sonya to the

Hyborian Age The Hyborian Age is a fictional period of Earth's history within the artificial mythology created by Robert E. Howard, serving as the setting for the sword and sorcery tales of Conan the Barbarian. The word "Hyborian" is derived from the l ...

, another Howard creation, in order to have the comic-book Red Sonja interact with

. In 1975, Marvel Comics published the first issue of ''Red Sonja'' after the character headlined ''

Marvel Feature ''Marvel Feature'' was a comic book showcase series published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. It was a tryout book, intended to test the popularity of characters and concepts being considered for their own series. The first volume led to the launc ...

'' for seven issues that same year. Red Sonja's origin story was told in the story "The Day of the Sword", in ''Kull and the Barbarians'' #3 (1975), written by

and

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948) is an American comic book writer notable for his ''Batman'' work and as the creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Black Mask, '' Electric Warrior'' and '' Six from Sirius''. He is also known for his critica ...

and illustrated by

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early life ...

. The same story was later redrawn by

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Early ...

and Terry Austin in ''

The Savage Sword of Conan ''The Savage Sword of Conan'' was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of American company Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. ''Savage Sword of Conan'' starred ...

'' #78 (July 1982). In this version, Red Sonja lives with her family in a humble house in the Western Hyrkanian steppes. When she is 21, a group of mercenaries kills her family and burns down their house. Sonja attempts to defend herself, but cannot lift her brother's sword. She is

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d by the leader of the group. Answering her cry for revenge, the red goddess

Scáthach Scáthach () or Sgàthach ( gd, Sgàthach an Eilean Sgitheanach) is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn in the a ...

appears to her and gives her incredible fighting skills, on the condition that she never lie with a man unless he defeats her in fair combat. Marvel's last published story featuring Red Sonja was the one-shot issue ''Red Sonja: Scavenger Hunt'' #1 (December 1995), written by Glenn Herdling and illustrated by Ken Lashley.

Dynamite Comics (2005–present)

In 2005 Dynamite Comics began publishing ''Red Sonja''. The first series, which ran for 80 issues, continued the Marvel Comics' continuity of the character, picking up from where Marvel left off with the character in 1986. Dynamite's first series depicts the original Sonja's death in issue #34. A new character of the same name, described as a reincarnation, takes her place from issue #35 onward. A soft reboot begins in issue #50 using the same continuity as Marvel Comics. At the 2013 Emerald City Comic Con,

, which began publishing Red Sonja comics in 2005, announced that

would be writing a new ongoing ''Red Sonja'' series with art from Walter Geovani. Simone noted in interviews that her version was slightly "rebooted", showing the character's beginnings. Issue #1 of Simone's run was released in July 2013 to positive reviews. The series lasted 18 issues. After Simone's run, Dynamite launched a new ''Red Sonja'' series in January 2016. The book featured

Marguerite Bennett Marguerite Bennett (born 1988) is an American comic book writer. She has worked on '' Bombshells'', '' Angela'', ''Josie and the Pussycats'', and her creator-owned books ''InSeXts'' and ''Animosity''. Her work has been recognised for her depicti ...

as writer, and a redesign of the main character by artist

Nicola Scott Nicola Scott is a comics artist from Sydney, Australia whose notable works include ''Birds of Prey'' and ''Secret Six''. In 2016, she and writer Greg Rucka relaunched ''Wonder Woman'' for DC Comics Rebirth Archive requires scrolldown. and crea ...

. That series lasted six issues. In 2017, a new ''Red Sonja'' comic series debuted by

with art by Carlos Gomez. The series ran for 25 issues, ending in 2019. In November 2019, a new series by writer Mark Russell and art by Mirko Colak debuted to positive critical reception, leading into a spinoff series called ''Killing Red Sonja''. Russell left the series after issue 24 and was replaced with writer Luke Lieberman, with art by Drew Moss. The series ran 28 issues. In mid-2021, Dynamite released the anthology ''Red Sonja: Black, White, Red''. Each issue presents stories by different teams of artists and writers, including

Kurt Busiek Kurt Busiek ( ) (born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer. His work includes the '' Marvels'' limited series, his own series titled ''Astro City'', a four-year run on '' The Avengers, Thunderbolts'' and '' Superman.'' Early lif ...

, Benjamin Dewey, Amanda Deibert, Cat Staggs,

, and Bob Q. Also announced was a crossover with Project superpower. A sequel to it will be released in November 2022 called Vampirella VS Red Sonja. In February 2021, Dynamite released a series titled ''Sonjaversal'' depicting Red Sonja meeting various different versions of herself across the multiverse. That same month, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti co-wrote the series ''Invincible Red Sonja'' with artist Moritat. In June 2021, the character appeared in ''

Die!namite In comic books, an intercompany crossover (also called cross-company or company crossover) is a comic or series of comics in which characters, that at the time of publication are the property or licensed property of one publisher, meet characte ...

'' and ''Die!namite Lives''. That same month, Dynamite Entertainment announced that a new series written by Mirka Andolfo and drawn by Giuseppe Cafaro would debut in September 2021. The first issue sold out its initial run of 32,000 copies, prompting a second printing. In December 2021, it was announced that Red Sonja would appear in the sequel to ''Die!namite'' and ''Die!namite Lives'' called ''Die!namite Never Dies''. ''Hell Sonja,'' a spinoff from ''Sonjaversal,'' was released in January 2022. That same month, the ''Immortal Red Sonja'' series by writer Dan Abnett and artist Alessandro Miracolo was announced for April, which would depict Sonja in

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

. In February 2022, Dynamite announced that it would debut ''Red Sitha'' in May, set ten years after Andolfo's storyline, following Red Sonja's adopted daughter, Sitha. In March 2022, Dynamite announced another spinoff titled from Sonjaversal, ''Samurai Sonja'', written by Jordan Clark with art by Pasquale Qualano. May 2022 a one-shot fairy tale reimagining Red Sonja as Jack from Jack and the giant beanstalk would be released in August 2022 In July 2022, it was reported that Dynamite would debut its new Red Sonja flagship title, ''Unbreakable Red Sonja,'' in time for the character's 50th anniversary in 2023. A Hell Sonja/Red Sonja crossover was announced in September 2022.

Depiction of sexuality

Bikini armor

Red Sonja (cosplayer at New York Comic Con 2011)

Most artists depict Red Sonja wearing a very brief " chainmail bikini" costume of

scale armor Scale armour (or scale mail) is an early form of armour consisting of many individual small armour scales (plates) of various shapes attached to each other and to a backing of cloth or leather in overlapping rows.gauntlets. As originally drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith for "The Shadow of the Vulture" and "The Song of Red Sonja" in ''

'' issues 23 and 24 (1972), she wore a long-sleeved mail shirt and short pants of red silk. As told by

in the introduction of ''Red Sonja Adventures'' Volume 1 (Dynamite Entertainment) Spanish artist

Esteban Maroto Esteban Maroto (born 1942) is a Spanish Comics, comic book artist. Career Born in Madrid, he began his career in the 1960s with series like ''Cinco por infinito'', published in English by Continuity Comics as ''Zero Patrol'' (heavily retouche ...

submitted an uncommissioned illustration to him when he was editing the magazine ''Savage Sword of Conan'' where he redesigned the character and for the first time showed her wearing what would become her famous costume, the silver "metal bikini", which resembled other fantasy costumes that other Maroto heroines sported in the 1970s. This illustration had been printed for the first time in Jim Steranko's magazine ''Comixscene'' #5 in black and white. It was reprinted in ''Savage Sword of Conan'' #1, and in ''

Marvel Treasury Edition ''Marvel Treasury Edition'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1974 to 1981. It usually featured reprints of previously published stories but a few issues contained new material. The series was published in an oversi ...

'' #15 colored but poorly reproduced, and finally restored and colored by

José Villarrubia José Antonio Villarrubia Jiménez-Momediano (born 17 November 1961) – known professionally as José Villarrubia – is a Spanish-American artist and art teacher who has done considerable work in the American comic book industry, parti ...

as an alternative cover for the Dynamite Entertainment edition of ''Red Sonja'' #2. Maroto drew her in this costume for a double page spread illustration in ''

Savage Tales ''Savage Tales'' is the title of three American comics series. Two were black-and-white comics-magazine anthologies published by Marvel Comics, and the other a color comic book anthology published by Dynamite Entertainment. Publication history Ma ...

'' #3 and then for her first solo adventure in ''Savage Sword of Conan'' #1, and

John Buscema John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

drew her in this costume in the same magazine. Buscema drew her again in this costume in issues 43, 44 and 48 of ''

'' (1974) and

in the first issue of ''

'' vol. 2 (Nov. 1975) before

Frank Thorne Benjamin Franklin Thorne (June 16, 1930 – March 7, 2021
at the Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

in ''Marvel Team-Up'' #79 (Marvel Comics) writer: Chris Claremont; artist: John Byrne * With Spider-Man in ''Spider-Man/Red Sonja'' mini-series co-published by Dynamite Entertainment. The ''Spider-Man/Red Sonja'' TPB () collects ''Spider-Man/Red Sonja'' (2007) #1 – 5 (Oct. 2007 – Feb. 2008) and ''Marvel Team-Up'' (1972 – 1985 1st Series) #79 (March 1979). *

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

in ''What if?'' Vol. 2, #16 (Marvel Comics) (Sonja is defeated by Wolverine and becomes his mate). * ''Official Handbook of the Conan Universe'' #1 (

) (1986). * ''Marvel Feature'' #4 was reprinted in the book ''The Superhero Women'' edited by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

. Red Sonja was featured among many of Marvel's female characters on the cover painted by John Romita, Sr.

Team-ups with Conan

In other media

Novels

Sonja has been featured in several novels by David C. Smith and Richard L. Tierney with covers by

Boris Vallejo Boris Vallejo (born January 8, 1941) is a Peruvian-American painter who works in the science fiction, fantasy, and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have appeared on the covers of numerous science fiction and fantasy fiction ...

: * #1 ''The Ring of Ikribu'' (Ace 1981) (Adapted to comics by

and

in ''The Savage Sword of Conan'' issues 230–3). Smith has written an unproduced screenplay based on this novel. * #2 ''Demon Night'' (Ace 1982) * #3 ''When Hell Laughs'' (Ace 1982) * #4 ''Endithor's Daughter'' (Ace 1982) * #5 ''Against the Prince of Hell'' (Ace 1983) * #6 ''Star of Doom'' (Ace 1983)

Television

Angelica Bridges Angelica Bridges (born November 20, 1970) is an American actress, model, and singer. She was given a pictorial spread in ''Playboy'' magazine's November 2001 issue and featured as the issue's cover model. In 2017, she competed on the first seaso ...

portrayed the character in the "Red Sonja" episode of the 1997–1998 TV series '' Conan the Adventurer''. In 1999, there was a planned TV series with Sable starring as Red Sonja.

Film adaptations

The character was played by

in the 1985 film ''

'', which also starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as High Lord Kalidor (originally intended to be Conan). The film was directed by

Richard Fleischer Richard O. Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director whose career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. Though he ...

Misty Lee Misty may refer to: Music * ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...

provided the character's voice in the 2016 animated film '' Red Sonja: Queen of Plagues''. Actress

Rose McGowan Rósa Arianna "Rose" McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress. After her film debut in a brief role in the comedy '' Encino Man'' (1992), McGowan achieved wider recognition for her performance in the dark comedy ''The Doom Generat ...

was originally intended to portray Sonja in 2010's ''Red Sonja'' film, but these plans were abandoned after McGowan suffered injuries that permanently damaged the mobility and strength of her right arm. In a February 2011 interview, film producer Avi Lerner stated that

Simon West Simon Alexander West (born 1961) is an English film director and producer. He has primarily worked in the action genre, most notably as the director of the films ''Con Air'', '' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'', '' The Mechanic'', and '' The Expenda ...

was hired to direct the film and also mentioned

Amber Heard Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. She had her first leading role in the horror film ''All the Boys Love Mandy Lane'' (2006), and went on to star in films such as '' The Ward'' (2010) and '' Drive Angry'' (2011). S ...

as the frontrunner to star in the lead role. On February 26, 2015, Christopher Cosmos was hired to write the film's script. Filmmaker

Mike Le Han Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

has made a video for his pitch of him directing ''Red Sonja''. In 2017,

Millennium Films A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

announced a new ''

'' movie, with

Avi Lerner Avinoam Lerner ( he, אבי לרנר; born 13 October 1947) is an Israeli-American film producer, primarily of American action movies. Lerner is the founder and CEO of Millennium Films. Life and career Avi Lerner was born in Haifa, Israel), on ...

and Joe Gatta producing along with Cinelou Films'

Mark Canton Mark Canton (born June 19, 1949) is an American film producer and executive. Life and early career Canton was born to a Jewish family in Queens, New York, the son of Shirley and Arthur Canton, who worked in the film industry on marketing and pub ...

and

Courtney Solomon Courtney Solomon (born September 1,1970) is a writer, director, producer, and entrepreneur from Toronto, Ontario. He has been involved with production, marketing and distribution of over 80 movies. Life and career At 19, he formed Sweetpea Ente ...

and writing by Ashley Miller. In October 2018,

Bryan Singer Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed. After graduating from the University of Southern California, Singer ...

was confirmed to direct the film. In February 2019, following allegations against Singer of sexual assault, Millennium stated ''Red Sonja'' was no longer on their slate of films, and Singer was fired from the production the next month. On June 21, 2019, three months after Singer was removed as director, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' reported that

Joey Soloway Joey Soloway (previously Jill Soloway; born September 26, 1965) is an American television creator, showrunner, director and writer. Soloway is known for creating, writing, executive producing and directing the Amazon original series ''Transparent' ...

had been hired to write and direct the film. On February 26, 2021, the same publication announced that Tasha Huo was selected to write the film. On May 5, 2021, the same publication announced that

Hannah John-Kamen Hannah Dominique E. John-Kamen (born 7 September 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yalena "Dutch" Yardeen in the Syfy television series ''Killjoys'' (2015–2019), Ornela in the sixth season of the HBO series '' Game ...

was cast as the titular character. On June 3, 2021, The Illuminerdi reported that

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...

was cast as

Kulan Gath Kulan Gath is a fictional villainous magician appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and Dynamite Entertainment. The character first appeared in ''Conan the Barbarian'' #15 (May 1972) as a foe of Conan. He was later fully i ...

, a character from the ''Conan the Barbarian'' Marvel comics and in the Red Sonja Dynamite comics. The movie was scheduled to begin filming in 2022, but in March of that year it was reported that John-Kamen and Soloway had exited the project and M.J. Bassett was hired as director. On August 23, 2022, Millennium Media confirmed that the film had begun production in Bulgaria, with Italian actress

Matilda Lutz Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz (born 28 January 1991 in Milan, Italy) is an Italian model and actress. She starred in the 2017 horror film ''Rings'' and action thriller film '' Revenge''. She also appeared in the Netflix series '' Medici - The Magni ...

playing the title role.

Role-playing games

Red Sonja is featured in the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' module '' Red Sonja Unconquered''. In 2018, Dynamite Entertainment released the ''Red Sonja: Hyrkania's Legacy'' board game, followed by an expansion module in 2020. The games allowed players to play as Red Sonja and various supporting characters in adventures set in Hyrkania.

Awards

1973 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards: Best Individual Story (Dramatic). ''The Song of Red Sonja''. Written by

and pencilled, inked and colored by Barry Smith. The story first appeared in ''

'' issue 24 (March 1972), in which two panels were censored by John Romita, Sr. The uncensored story was reprinted in Marvel Treasury Edition, Volume 1, No. 15, 1977, where it was recolored by

Glynis Wein Glynis Oliver, also credited as Glynis Wein (), is an artist who has worked as a colorist in the comics industry. For several years, she was married to Len Wein. She returned to her maiden name in 1985. Work In the fall of 1972, Len Wein and wr ...

and the artwork was slightly cropped to fit the page format.

Legal issues

On June 6, 2006, the comic news site

Newsarama Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS. History N ...

reported that Red Sonja, LLC (which holds rights to the Roy Thomas version of the character, created in 1973) filed a lawsuit on four counts against

Paradox Entertainment Cabinet Entertainment, previously known as Paradox Entertainment, is a company dealing in intellectual properties and making motion pictures thereof. All business is conducted from the main office in Los Angeles, United States. The company was foun ...

(which claims rights to Red Sonya as part of the Howard library) in US Federal Court in April 2006. The four counts were claims of copyright infringement, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and unfair competition. The lawsuit was settled in January 2008, on the second day of the hearing, for a sum of $1 each. Red Sonja LLC paid $1 to Paradox for the rights to Howard's Red Sonya and permission for the Red Sonja stories to continue being set in Conan's

. Paradox simultaneously paid $1 to Red Sonja LLC for the exclusive print-publication rights for "The Shadow of the Vulture" now that one of the characters belongs to Red Sonja LLC.

References

External links

*
A bibliography of Marvel Feature Presents and all the solo Red Sonja series published by Marvel Comics

at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on January 9, 2017. * {{Authority control Comics about women Conan the Barbarian characters Dynamite Entertainment characters Dynamite Entertainment titles Marvel Comics martial artists Characters created by Roy Thomas Characters in fantasy literature American comics adapted into films Comics characters introduced in 1973 Fantasy books by series Fantasy comics Fantasy film characters Fictional bisexual females Fictional mercenaries in comics Fictional women soldiers and warriors Fictional swordfighters in comics Female characters in literature Characters created by Barry Windsor-Smith Fictional gladiators Marvel Comics LGBT superheroes Marvel Comics female superheroes Fictional queens