Drawn Swords: An Unauthorized Exploration of Red Sonja and the Artists Who Brought Her to Life

by Matthew Stephen Sunrich

Since her debut in Marvel's Conan the Barbarian during the early years of the Bronze Age of Comics, Red Sonja, the scarlet-maned She-Devil with a Sword, has gone on to become the undisputed queen of sword and sorcery. She has hacked and slashed her way through more than 300 comic books to date-a number which continues to grow in the pages of Dynamite Entertainment's various series. Here we explore her adventures and how they relate to other comics, as well as novels, television programs, and films, and examine the work of the myriad artists whose pens and pencils gave her the breath of life. Includes special foreword by fan-favorite Red Sonja writer Nancy A. Collins.

Paperback

Published June 12, 2017

Reviews

[Joe Crowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hasslein Books makes some of my favorite things. Their collections are intricately detailed pop culture history, from Planet of the Apes to Back to the Future and beyond, written by learned individuals who totally get that these movies, comics, and TV shows are fun. They write with that in mind.

"Drawn Swords" is about Red Sonja, who began life as a Robert E. Howard hero, and got super-famous in Marvel Comics in the 1970s.

Author Matthew Stephen Sunrich goes into elaborate detail about all the comic book appearances of Red Sonja, with descriptions and analyses from her beginnings at Marvel through her modern-day appearances in Dynamite.

The author does not mess around. If you wanted to know anything about Red Sonja comics, now this book lets you know EVERYTHING about Red Sonja comics.