Following on the immense success of the newly launched
Red Sonja ongoing series by Gail Simone, Dynamite proudly announces the
upcoming Legends of Red Sonja prestige miniseries, an extravaganza celebrating
the iconic fantasy heroine's long and storied career. Legends of Red Sonja is a collaborative
effort uniting Simone with a star-studded and prestigious creative team
including Marjorie M. Liu, Mercedes Lackey, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Rhianna
Pratchett, Leah Moore, Tamora Pierce, Blair Butler, Nancy Collins, Meljean
Brook, Nicola Scott, Devin Grayson, and more to be announced. Frank Thorne, one of the key artists
responsible for defining the character's distinct look, will be among the
artists to contribute cover artwork, as will Jay Anacleto.
"When it was first decided that I would be taking
part in the relaunch of Red Sonja, we had what I thought was a very fun idea,
which was to have all the covers and variant covers be drawn by top female
artists," says Gail Simone, an industry legend with celebrated runs on
Birds of Prey, Secret Six, and Batgirl.
"The idea just took off, as some of my artistic heroes, people like
Colleen Doran, Amanda Conner, and Nicola Scott all contributed these gorgeous,
eye-popping pieces of art for the book.
It made everyone tremendously happy and gave us a wonderful extra kick
for our relaunch of this classic character.
So when Dynamite told me that the 40th anniversary of Red Sonja was
coming up, I thought, 'I wonder if we could do the same thing, but with all my favorite
female writers?' I can't tell you how
exciting this is for me, it's something I've wanted to do for years." 
The structure of the Legends of Red Sonja prestige series
will be, in Simone's words, "a braided story, with individual, unique
stories written by titans of comics, prose, and the gaming world. These are all powerful voices whose work I
adore. Dynamite asked me to make a list
of the women I'd love to see included, and again, I was astounded at the eager
responses! We have giants of the fantasy
and horror prose world; Tamora Pierce, Nancy Collins, Mercedes Lackey, and
Meljean Brook. We have some of the hottest comics talents; Marjorie M. Liu,
Kelly Sue DeConnick, Leah Moore, Devin Grayson and (in her first published
story as a writer) Nicola Scott. And we
have brilliant writers from games and television; Rhianna Pratchett and Blair
Butler. Getting to hand-pick this crew
of fierce women was an absolute joy, and the fun of it is, we're all fans of
Red Sonja, and of each other. Throwing
ideas back and forth and shaping the stories has been some of the most fun I've
ever had in comics. I can't wait for
people to read these takes on Red Sonja...some are funny, some are scary, some
are very different versions of Sonja than we are familiar with!"
Many of Gail Simone's hand-picked contributors have
shared their excitement about the project:
Rhianna Pratchett (Heavenly Sword, Mirror's Edge):
"I treasured my Red Sonja poster when I was kid. So to get the opportunity to write a story
for the character, and to do it in the company of such extraordinary, talented
women, is a dream come true. My younger
self is definitely high-fiving my older self."
Leah Moore (Doctor Who: The Whispering Gallery, Sherlock
Holmes: The Liverpool Demon): "It's
not everyday that Gail Simone asks me to write Red Sonja. To be honest, I'm glad, because when it
happened, I had to be peeled off the ceiling.
Writing Red Sonja has been a personal ambition of mine for a long
time. She is about the most fun a writer
can have. She's a loner, a grouch, a
badass, and is apparently impervious to cold.
I am almost too excited about this project to actually write the thing,
which is counter-productive, really."
Tamora Pierce (The Song of the Lioness, Mastiff): "This is the coolest project ever: new
stories crafted by some of the best writers and artists out there, about a
woman warrior created by one of my literary idols, Robert E. Howard,
spearheaded by my comics goddess, Gail Simone.
I'm honored to be a part of this, and can't wait to see the whole
thing. It will be a ground-breaking,
multilayered view of a character who has been brawling through comics for
decades!"
Blair Butler (Heart, host of MSN's Nerdcore): "I'm honored and exceedingly intimidated
to be included in this group of talented creators. Gail Simone is amazing -- and her take on Red
Sonja is something I've been looking forward to since it was announced way back
at Emerald City Comic-Con. So when she
asked me to contribute, I agreed immediately, even though I'm totally nervous
about it."
Nancy Collins (Swamp Thing, VAMPS): "I am thrilled to have been chosen by
Gail Simone to participate in Legends of Red Sonja. I remember how excited I was when I plucked Conan
the Barbarian #23 off the spinner rack as a kid, all those years ago, and
finally saw a female hero capable of dishing it out with the best of them. I am honored to have been given this chance
to add to Red Sonja's mythos."
Meljean Brook (Iron Seas, Demon Angel): "I'm absolutely thrilled to be writing a
story for the she-devil, Red Sonja. I
first encountered Red Sonja in the movie with Nielsen and Schwarzenegger when I
was about eight years old -- and I know that movie isn't without its problems,
but it's almost impossible to describe how incredible it was to watch a film in
which the heroine was just as strong and as tough as the muscle-bound
hero. I loved that she was arrogant,
skilled, and never wimped out or waited for rescue, and I immediately went out
in search of similar stories about her.
Red Sonja was a revelation to eight-year-old me, and I can trace many of
the heroines I write today back to those roots."
"Wow. Gail
and the editorial team at Dynamite have put together an incredible team of
creators - a prestigious and impressive list - on a series that celebrates one
of the strongest female characters in comics.
I can say, that they have done an incredible job together, and I thank
them," says Dynamite CEO and Publisher Nick Barrucci.