Red Sonja #1

Red Sonja #1 kicks off a new story as Red Sonja is hired to find Sitha, a missing child from a powerful religious caste kidnapped and now in a migrant village which has been pillaged by the Three-Eyed Shezem and is still burning by the time Sonja arrives on the scene. Angered by arriving so late, Sonja is shocked to find the girl miraculously still alive. Feverish and confused, Sitha takes Sonja to be her mother and so their journey together begins.

Most of the action comes late in the comic when the Three-Eyed Shezem catch up with Sonja and the girl only to get the pointy-end of Sonja's blade and the unbridled fury of the girl's hidden power. There's obviously more to Sitha than just a confused young girl.

Although I'm not in love with the art of Giuseppe Cafaro, particularly the action sequences, Red Sonja #1 offers a solid opening to a new story and an unlikely role for Sonja (although given her wounds at the end of the issue, Sitha may be doing the protecting in the short term).

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

• Title: Red Sonja #1
• Comic Vine: link
• Writers: Mirka Andolfo, Luca Blengino
• Artist: Giuseppe Cafaro