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Red Sonja: Worlds Away
Red Sonja: Worlds Away, Vol 3: Hell or Hykania
Leaving a world of fast motorcycles and cold beer, Sonja returns to a more familiar setting of swords and magic and mead. At a nearby tavern she learns strange magic is afoot in this land, and a desperate priest is offering mercenaries some serious gold for a dangerous job. But something doesn't seem right...
Collects: Red Sonja, Vol. 4 #12-16
Collects: Red Sonja, Vol. 4 #12-16
140 pages, Paperback
First published September 26, 2018
9 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Amy Chu
325 books196 followersWinner 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
Follow me on amychu.bluesky.social, @theamychu tiktok, @amy_chu instagram
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 15, 2021
A solid Red Sonja comic as Sonja ends her time on modern day Earth. She returns to Hyboria after a side trip through Hell. The battle with Kulan Gath felt wrapped up very quickly but there are two more volumes so I'm pretty sure he'll return from death once more.
February 2, 2020
Die Story hat mir gefallen und hat viele tolle Momente, aber wie sich die von Kulan Gath ausgehende Bedrohung am Ende entwickelt ist leider doch recht plump. Red Sonja braucht zur Abwechslung mal einen anderen Erzfeind.
May 24, 2019
Not a close to the series as there is a volume 4 coming out in the Worlds Away series but an ending nonetheless, as in this installment in the Amy Chu series we see the apparent end of Sonja’s modern day adventures on Earth, the end of the saga’s inclusion of Max, Professor Wallace, Spike, and Holly, and a probable (?) end to the Kulan Gath saga. I should mention if one hasn’t read volumes one and two of the Worlds Away saga you will probably be somewhat lost, though with any good comic it can still be appreciated for humor, action, and artwork.
As with the second installment there is an unrelated subplot that begins and ends in this installment, largely there for added action. I won’t spoil it as even discussing it a little would do so, but it is much more clearly fantastical than the biker drug dealer gang of volume 2 and more entertaining with some well-drawn action scenes.
There were some strong linkages with the first two volumes in the series which again I won’t spoil, one element from volume one and one element from volume two. I liked that as well. Pretty much all the plot threads of the first two volumes are dealt with, certainly all the major ones.
Spike and Holly don’t figure into this volume except as cameos, but Professor Wallace is present as a major character, though Chu can’t seem to decide if he is a heroic and powerful wizard or a complaining, used-to-the-21st-century refugee who doesn’t really care for death-defying exploits in the Hyborian Age, as at times he is one and then the other. Max is present but nowhere near as important as in the first volume and his story with Lera and Taya is no longer continued (though Lera and Taya are prominent characters in the story). Kulan Gath gets a bit more development as does the country of Meru but could still be somewhat more developed. Sonja gets off several really good one-liners, showing real personality and fitting the situation, not just quippy to be quippy.
The artwork continued to be quite good, with favorites including a well done vista of Shamballah, “the greatest of Meru’s cities” (with lots of neat towers and what look like viaducts or elevated walkways), an interesting group of mercenaries Wallace and Sonja fall in with (each looking like a distinct and unique individual, not generic warriors), and the well-drawn opponents Sonja, Wallace, and the mercenaries fight in an early subplot. Whenever monsters appear they are lovingly rendered and colored and always a treat to see.
The cover art gallery is quite good, favorites including one in the main book by Jonboy Meyers (for issue 14, nice use of light, love Sonja’s defiant look and sporting what appear to be medals or medallions), another for issue 14 by Carlos Gomez, and my favorite, an Avengers style team illustration also by Carlos Gomez (for issue 15), showing Sonja leading Spike, Holly, Max, a rather heroic looking Professor Wallace, all overshadowed by the villainous Kulan Gath.
Good saga, I loved that Sonja had an interesting ensemble supporting cast, that we got to see a villain for three installments and spend a fair amount of time in one of the Hyborian Age countries. I would probably overall spend less time on the admittedly action-packed subplots and more on the main story, and I would have liked more with Max, Lera, and Taya.
As with the second installment there is an unrelated subplot that begins and ends in this installment, largely there for added action. I won’t spoil it as even discussing it a little would do so, but it is much more clearly fantastical than the biker drug dealer gang of volume 2 and more entertaining with some well-drawn action scenes.
There were some strong linkages with the first two volumes in the series which again I won’t spoil, one element from volume one and one element from volume two. I liked that as well. Pretty much all the plot threads of the first two volumes are dealt with, certainly all the major ones.
Spike and Holly don’t figure into this volume except as cameos, but Professor Wallace is present as a major character, though Chu can’t seem to decide if he is a heroic and powerful wizard or a complaining, used-to-the-21st-century refugee who doesn’t really care for death-defying exploits in the Hyborian Age, as at times he is one and then the other. Max is present but nowhere near as important as in the first volume and his story with Lera and Taya is no longer continued (though Lera and Taya are prominent characters in the story). Kulan Gath gets a bit more development as does the country of Meru but could still be somewhat more developed. Sonja gets off several really good one-liners, showing real personality and fitting the situation, not just quippy to be quippy.
The artwork continued to be quite good, with favorites including a well done vista of Shamballah, “the greatest of Meru’s cities” (with lots of neat towers and what look like viaducts or elevated walkways), an interesting group of mercenaries Wallace and Sonja fall in with (each looking like a distinct and unique individual, not generic warriors), and the well-drawn opponents Sonja, Wallace, and the mercenaries fight in an early subplot. Whenever monsters appear they are lovingly rendered and colored and always a treat to see.
The cover art gallery is quite good, favorites including one in the main book by Jonboy Meyers (for issue 14, nice use of light, love Sonja’s defiant look and sporting what appear to be medals or medallions), another for issue 14 by Carlos Gomez, and my favorite, an Avengers style team illustration also by Carlos Gomez (for issue 15), showing Sonja leading Spike, Holly, Max, a rather heroic looking Professor Wallace, all overshadowed by the villainous Kulan Gath.
Good saga, I loved that Sonja had an interesting ensemble supporting cast, that we got to see a villain for three installments and spend a fair amount of time in one of the Hyborian Age countries. I would probably overall spend less time on the admittedly action-packed subplots and more on the main story, and I would have liked more with Max, Lera, and Taya.
December 26, 2024
Another great book in the series.
February 22, 2022
God, I love Amy Chu's Red Sonja. Whether she's hanging around Vampirella, Betty, and Veronica or dealing with hotel managers who think she's a prostitute (which leaves her confused as to why he doesn't want them around his hotel rather than offended)--she's just ridiculously FUN in a way that comic book characters are rarely allowed to be nowadays. I even like her supporting cast and wish Sonja had been allowed to keep them in the Hyborian Age. Her extended journey to the 20th century comes to an end here and I'm saddened by that because I would have gladly read many more volumes of her "fish out of water" storyline.
Kulan Gath has taken over the city of Meru and instituted human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, Gozer worship, and all the other things an evil wizard will do. Red Sonja is also trapped in Hell with an aged professor. It's a bad situation all round. However, our heroine is ready and willing to fight her way out of the Underworld in order to get her revenge. We also get a Red Sonja vs. Red Sonja fight that works wonderfully. Sadly, this is the end of Red Sonja wearing Daisy Dukes and that's just a crime.
Do I have any regrets? I really wish Sonja and Max had a romance. They were two characters who played off wonderfully and he remains one of the more memorable supporting cast members in Dynamite's version of Red Sonja. While I think Kulan Gath is overused, he also works extremely well here.
Overall, this a fantastic story arc. Funny, great action, and amazing art.
Kulan Gath has taken over the city of Meru and instituted human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, Gozer worship, and all the other things an evil wizard will do. Red Sonja is also trapped in Hell with an aged professor. It's a bad situation all round. However, our heroine is ready and willing to fight her way out of the Underworld in order to get her revenge. We also get a Red Sonja vs. Red Sonja fight that works wonderfully. Sadly, this is the end of Red Sonja wearing Daisy Dukes and that's just a crime.
Do I have any regrets? I really wish Sonja and Max had a romance. They were two characters who played off wonderfully and he remains one of the more memorable supporting cast members in Dynamite's version of Red Sonja. While I think Kulan Gath is overused, he also works extremely well here.
Overall, this a fantastic story arc. Funny, great action, and amazing art.
December 26, 2021
Com o fim do segundo volume, o terceiro começa no Inferno.
Não, não é Alvorada, é o Inferno mesmo, o interessante sobre o Inferno é que, lá, todo mundo que tu matou quer te matar. Red Sonja no Inferno, imagina o tamanho da fila. Apesar de uma legião de mortos vivos querendo passar o cabelo ruivo dela a ferro, ela consegue chegar na Hyrkania e com a ajuda dos amiguinhos derrotar Kulan Gath.
Claro, tem uma outra surpresa, um rabo solto aqui, outro mal resolvido ali, mas tudo corre bem no mundo da Red Sonja que declara, emocionada, sentir saudade da cerveja gelada do futuro.
Não, não é Alvorada, é o Inferno mesmo, o interessante sobre o Inferno é que, lá, todo mundo que tu matou quer te matar. Red Sonja no Inferno, imagina o tamanho da fila. Apesar de uma legião de mortos vivos querendo passar o cabelo ruivo dela a ferro, ela consegue chegar na Hyrkania e com a ajuda dos amiguinhos derrotar Kulan Gath.
Claro, tem uma outra surpresa, um rabo solto aqui, outro mal resolvido ali, mas tudo corre bem no mundo da Red Sonja que declara, emocionada, sentir saudade da cerveja gelada do futuro.
September 22, 2018
Read as single issues, not as tpb.
Red Sonja desperately needs new villain. Kulan Gath is getting tired and old and used-way-too-much. So that is one minus. Also, the art had too much manga-influences. That is another minus. And I know it is wrong to have Sonja wondering around in modern time as she did in previous issues but I liked that. So returning to more familiar setting is a bit of a bummer to me. So that is one more minus.
So there was not too much I liked in Hell of Hyrkania.
Red Sonja desperately needs new villain. Kulan Gath is getting tired and old and used-way-too-much. So that is one minus. Also, the art had too much manga-influences. That is another minus. And I know it is wrong to have Sonja wondering around in modern time as she did in previous issues but I liked that. So returning to more familiar setting is a bit of a bummer to me. So that is one more minus.
So there was not too much I liked in Hell of Hyrkania.
August 2, 2022
Great story
Excellent artwork and a fine finish to this arc of the story. Ms.Chi does very fine work and I hope she will give us more.
Excellent artwork and a fine finish to this arc of the story. Ms.Chi does very fine work and I hope she will give us more.
July 30, 2023
I will miss Red Sonja in jorts, that is extremely my shit
April 23, 2024
The supporting cast has been around long enough at this point that they feel like slightly more than cyphers, which is a win for a Sonja comic. I found professor Wallace kind of endearing.
December 12, 2022
Rating : 3 ⭐
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews