Red Sonja: Worlds Away, Vol. 2: Back Roads

Red Sonja: Worlds Away

by Amy Chu, Carlos Gómez (Illustrator), Erik Burnham

The She-Devil embarks on a whole new adventure... across America! Sonja takes a ride with Max in search of a way back home, and discovers maybe our worlds aren't that different after all...


Collects: Red Sonja, Vol. 4 #7-11, Red Sonja: The Long Walk to Oblivion

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Sequential Art, Urban Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2018

About the author

Winner Bram Stoker Award, Gold Anthem Award. Writer for DC, Vertigo, Marvel, IDW and more, including: Poison Ivy, Ant-Man, Deadpool, Red Sonja, Green Hornet, Sensation Comics Wonder Woman, X-Files. KISS and DMC Comics. Cofounded Alpha Girl Comics, publisher of Girls Night Out and other comics. Frequent comic-con panel speaker and moderator.

Follow me on amychu.bluesky.social, @theamychu tiktok, @amy_chu instagram

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Sonja continues her adventures in modern times, fighting a biker gang selling drugs. Meanwhile Max is back in Hyborea learning about his past. There's also a prequel one-shot included. Carlos Gomez's art is good but cheesecake abounds.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Sonja räumt unter einer Rockerclique auf? Nicht wirklich überzeugend, leider.
Höhepunkt des 2. Bandes von WORLDS AWAY ist der One-Shot THE LONG WALK TO OBLIVION, der als Abschluss des TPB zugegeben wurde: klasse Artwork von Tom Mandrake und die Take no Prisoners-Attitüde, für die man Red Sonja liebt:







"Is that a … nose?"
"Consider it a gentle encouragement to leave me in the company of my thoughts."

[Paul W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was better than the first book, pretty fun. I like where the story went and the art is very 90s cheesecake heavy. It had some good writing and dialogue but the story isn't the strongest. I am curious where it's going but it's not the most compelling narrative.

[Conan Red · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sonja fighting drug cartels, professors who can multiply, cars, booze, and fun. Great part two to the story can’t wait to read part three.

[47Time · Rating 2 out of 5]

More and more puerile stuff happens to try to get a laugh out of readers. Why do women even try? Surely they realise they're not funny after all this time.

Sonja has become a laughing stock. No longer the righteus fighter in a fantasy land, but a one-dimensional cartoon character duking it out in reg'lar ol' US of A. 'Ooh, injustice is afoot! Let's hit it with the biggest hammer in our tool belt. A sword, tis not enough. Drive a truck into it!' I blame the influence of the modern female characters in the story. Yeah, surely that's it. Those two NYC companions of hers corrupted Sonja with liberalism and strong-independent-woman-ism.

The first volume didn't suck as much. The covers are still nice. I've had enough and can move on from this mess.

Sonja and her two new friends are on their way to the West Coast. Sonja is aching for action, so she helps out a bartender to get rid of some local drug pushers. She learns that their bosses are a cartel from Texas, so the girls take a detour. Max is in Hyrkania, enjoying the company of female warriors, but not like that, you pervs! They go on a quest like good fantasy characters.

Another detour is taken to Holly's home in Texas where we learn her parents are loaded. Cue being impressed by a big house. They spend exactly one night there and steal a Lambo to get back on the road. At this point the author thinks it might be funny to have the trio crash their car to avoid some roadkill. So even women writers admit that the expression 'women drivers' is a contradiction in terms. That's pretty sexist of her... What's next? Saying that of course the blonde driver couldn't control the car. She is more familiar with the view from under the steering wheel... a sexist would say.

Sonja drives a truck into the cartel's warehouse and dies. Well, that was quick. You know what they say: live by the sword, die by explosion while your body burns to a crisp. Those writers of old had a line for everything. You had one job, award-winning writer! Not kill the character everybody wants to see. You remember, it's that big red name on the cover. But sure, let's see what the supporting cast does.

Sonja's two companions need to return home. What? Mourn Sonja? Nah, they weren't that close. But they have very little money, so why not turn it into more money at a casino? Oh, because deus ex machina says that the cartel controls the casino and recognizes the duo? Boy, it sure it a small world out there.

But wait! There's more! Sonja isn't dead. Solid writing! You had us there, you sneaky writer you! Here's an award! Take two! She kicks around the cartel's money until it turns out that the cartel's boss is a woman. So wait, how many male characters are still there? Just the one? I feel under-represented. Oh, it's a story written by a woman... Of course it would have strong, independent women galore, but only a token male presence for a tiny bit of flavour. La Jefe (yeah, I'm going to believe the cartel is run by a woman) offers to hire Sonja, while threatening with killing her friends. Oh, but twist of twists, the FBI shows up via a helicopter drop to save the day. Hold on... are those... men!? I guess it's fine because they are not even named characters.

Sonja and co are magically shielded by some guy from the cartel who is secretly Hyrkanian. Oh, but it's deus ex machina. I mean it's professor Wallace, the very guy the trio were looking for. Boy, that sure saves a lot of time, paper and ink. They swiftly infiltrate a research facility where the token scientist in charge suddenly decides that they might not be who they say they are. It's light out for him, but true to form, the goils do a poor job of hiding him from the guards. But the real question is: why is there nobody guarding the device they need to open the portal? The facility goes on lockdown. But very much like in many other instances in this book, it doesn't matter.

The portal is opened and Gath attacks with his followers. It's like he knew just when to attack. Deus ex machina? No, solid writing. Now let's add some confusion to the mix. You remember when Sonja was thought dead? Through some magic from Wallace, Sonja gets a duplicate. The more, the merrier.

[Ari A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Más bien 3.5

En este segundo volumen (de cinco), siguen colaborando Amy Chu al guión y Carlos Gómez en la ilustración. Continúa la historía del volumen 1, en la que Sonja, la guerrera de Hyrkania de la era Hiboria, acaba por un hechizo en el NY actual. En este episodio se embarca por la costa oeste por la carretera 66, va a Texas, Nuevo México, Las Vegas, Silicon Valley, California... luchando contra un carter de la droga.

El problema es que la historia principal se corta a mitad del volumen (para continuarla en el vol.3) y te cuentan otra historia "El largo Camino que lleva al olvido" que narra lo que ocurre justo antes del vol. 1 cuando a Sonja la contratan los habitantes de Meru para luchar contra un demonio que está arrasando la ciudad. El guionista de esta historia es Erik Burnham y el dibujante Tom Mandrake.

Como siempre al final del volumen hay una galería de portadas de diferentes autores.

Creo que a partir del vol.3 Sonja vuelve a Hyrkania, por lo que no sé si me va a gustar mucho. Lo que más gracia me hacía de estos dos volúmenes es que transcurran en la actualidad y en localizaciones tan emblemáticas.

La portada del volumen 2 con Sonja y el cartel de Las Vegas, me encanta (es de Carlos Gómez). Creo que en el volumen 1 deberían haber puesto otra portada (ya que además en el vol. 1 es una portada que NO es de Carlos Gómez). En la galería de portadas del final del vol. 1 hay una de Carlos Gómez que hubiera sido perfecta en mi opinión.

Por lo demás el guión no le veo más complejidad que estar todo el rato luchando y pensando en beber cerveza. No hay ningún conflicto emocional y parece un personaje bastante plano tipo Aquiles. Luchar y listo que es lo que se le da bien. Pero entiendo que el personaje es así, sin grandes conflictos y bastante básico.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

RED SONJA by Amy Chu is delightfully insane fun. The premise of her being transported to 2019 and being forced to go on a road trip to see America is so bizarre that it automatically makes me love it. When last we left our heroine, her friend Max had been transported back in time with Kulan Gath, and she was left stuck in our present. She's now attempting to reach California in order to see if she can track down his phone signal. Along the way she ends up in a battle against bikers and drug cartels.

How do you know if this book's humor is for you or not?



If you find that image hilarious, like I do, then this will be your kind of book. Red Sonja's logic makes perfect sense for the Hyborian Age but is bothersome when it's applied to the modern era. It's also not WRONG either. Like when she hears about how a biker gang has killed a bunch of locals with fentanyl spiked with other drugs and the barkeep wishes their leader was dead so Sonja goes to kill him.

I have one regret and that's the sidekick character, Max, is trapped in the Hyborian Age but even that is funny because all the flashbacks show him with a gaggle of beautiful warrior women who want to help him. Admittedly, the fact he seems oblivious to this is either a terrible waste or makes it even funnier.

[Tim Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the follow up to the first book in the Worlds Away series by Amu Chu and Carlos Gomez and it sort of feels like a middle book thought it wasn’t bad. We meet up with Sonja and some of the new friends she made in New York City (Spike and Holly) on a cross country road trip to California to meet up with a Professor Wallace, a man with a double Ph.D. in history and physics and “the definitive expert on the Hyborian Age” in the hope of returning Sonja to her time and rescuing Max (who while originally from the Hyborian Age really is at home in modern day New York City). Along the way Sonja runs afoul of government agents (almost always a step or two behind) and tackles head on a powerful drug cartel/biker gang (taking the trio to Texas), for at some point Sonja swore an oath to defend someone and just as with Meru, Sonja intends to see it through or die trying.

In a nice B-plot, we follow Max back in the Hyborian Age, intent on both seeing Meru for himself (having departed it as a very young child for the modern United States) and finding a way back to his current home. Much like Sonja, he acquires two companions, both also women, Lera and Taya (the latter a woman of color, nice to see). Fast friends of Max when they learn he was fighting Kulan Gath (the villain from the first Worlds Away installment), they make a decent team.

Positives, I liked the blending of modern day and Hyborian in Sonja’s and Max’s adventures, the ending to the main story in this book was a nice climatic cliffhanger that while I didn’t completely understand sounded quite interesting (no spoiler from me). I really liked the inclusion of so many strong female characters not only in the present but especially in the Hyborian Age, something the Red Sonja series desperately needed. Also, while Lera and Taya are maybe not exactly business casual in their attire, they are much more modestly dressed than Red Sonja’s classic outfit and certainly no worse than standard superhero attire (while also fitting more in their setting than Red Sonja’s bikini). There is some good humor (one line from a troll Max, Lera, and Taya encountered was hilarious), and generally the artwork was quite great, from a particular piece of equipment Sonja and her team journey to in California (just really great work there), to the artwork depicting Professor Wallace (whose reveal in the story was nicely done and definitely subverted expectations) to Sonja hunting for dinner once again (this time I presume a California Condor “somewhere in the Nevada desert”) to the artwork of the aforementioned troll to Lera and Taya (who aren’t generically pretty and seem distinctive and their own characters as far as the style they were drawn in).

The negatives, I think Sonja gets very, very lucky in terms of avoiding getting shot, there is one scene where she is thought to be dead by both friends and enemies but somehow survived (sorry if that is spoiler territory), sometimes things in the Hyborian Age, while not objectionable, seemed a shade too modern (the incongruous but admittedly funny line from the troll, Lera’s hair seemed a very modern bob-type style of hair, that while nice to look at it but not exactly ancient-feeling), that while we got a bit more of Meru it still feels underexplored as a realm (I am wondering if that is an ongoing issue with Hyborian Age realms), and the inclusion of a prequel story at the end, “The Long Walk to Oblivion,” felt kind of jarring, as it wasn’t obvious to me at first it was a prequel, Sonja felt like a somewhat different character in it (this feeling accentuated by the different artwork), and she seemed almost superhuman in her lack of concern of being harmed (though this story had lots of neat monsters in it). Also plot threads introduced in Worlds Away Volume 1 remain at the end of Volume 2 still very much unresolved.

As is apparently usual in these trade paperback collections, there is a cover art gallery at the end (a few pieces of cover art are also in the main book itself). The art in this Bonus Materials section varied a great deal in style from something that looks like it belongs on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post (cover of issue 7, art by Ben Caldwell, Sonja on a ride you put coins in with some I guess goblins or gremlins riding with her, love it) to one seriously toning down the pinup-esque aspects of her and ramping up the insanity (cover of issue 8, by Ben Caldwell again, of Sonja manically laughing) to Sonja with the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign behind her (issue 10 cover art by Carlos Gomez, done in the same style of course as the bulk of the book) to a rather stunning one by Maria Sanapo (cover art to issue 11) to several cosplay photographs of women playing Red Sonja.

[Marcelo Soares · Rating 3 out of 5]

O que qualquer personagem perdido no tempo faz?
Uma road trip.
Enquanto a Sonja viaja pela América e se envolve com uma gangue de motoqueiros e traficantes de drogas, Max viaja pela Hyrkânia e se envolve em novas confusões para tentar descobrir o que diabos aconteceu.
Claro, há uma tentativa de fazer um paralelo entre o mundo de outrora e o atual, na minha opinião, não funciona muito bem, mas, na real, não é a proposta. A proposta é a Red Sonja passar a espada em geral enquanto a coincidência, fada madrinha de todas as histórias, faz jus ao seu salário aqui. No final, a turma da Red Sonja encontra o professor de hyrkaniano que procuravam e o cara é um mago perdido no tempo; a turma do Max encontra Kulan Gath e... dá ruim. No final do volume, temos a história de como a Red Sonja se meteu nessa confusão toda.
Continua divertido e levemente confuso, bem como uma Bad Girl da Dynamite deve ser.

[James Atkison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as good as Volume one

Great story and lots of beautiful artwork, these volumes are some of my favorite. Amy Chi knows how to tell these stories beautifully to match the artwork.

[Luana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The one-shot at the end adds a little intrigue and backstory (if not too much depth) to the previous volume. The main story's (mostly) small stakes are more suited to Sonja's charms, even if the characters all still talk like CW characters.

[Timo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really do like this take of Red Sonja. I like the idea and how it is produced of Sonja being in modern times. Silly as hell but it works for me.

[Deya van de Rijt]

On my TO READ list because it is Red Sonja written by a female writer

[Elliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the first volume

[Burton Olivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun as hell.

[Juliette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating : 3 ⭐