It’s Halloween, if you know what I meeeen! And with Halloween, we have special comics emerging from their dark, dim burrows. Once such emerging book is the Red Sonja Halloween 2018 Special, from Dynamite.

This issue consists of two stories, each featuring Red Sonja, of course! Well, we all know that scantily clad Sonja likes to drop into a tavern after a long day of warrior activity, and drink a lot of beer! In our first tale, written by Eric Burnham with art by Tom Garcia (colours by Morgan Hickman), Sonja has her flirtatious time interrupted by an old woman needing help. It seems that her son has gone to the woods, and a few days later has still not returned. So off goes Red Sonja to the rescue! But there be MAGIC in those deep dark woods, and Sonja is sorely tested!

While the story is not completely mystifying, the dialogue is excellent, and the visuals entertaining. Garcia puts everything he has into the dramatic events that unfold.

The second, shorter tale has Anthony and Avery Marques on script and art, with colour by Dee Cunniffe. Tom DeFalco receives a plot credit. This eight pager takes place in… yes, a tavern. There is a many tentacled menace at hand, and Red Sonja needs to save a kidnap victim! The art is decidely more cartoony here, with large telegraphed gestures saving the day. A short tale with a short story to tell.

Excellent cover by Reilly Brown, worth the price of the comic alone!

Dynamite Red Sonja Halloween 2018 Special, $4.99 for 30 pages of content Rated Teen +

By Alan Spinney

After a career of graphic design, art direction and copywriting, I still have a passion for words and pictures. I love it when a comic book comes together; the story is tight, and the drawings lead me forward. Art with words... the toughest storytelling technique to get right. Was this comic book worth your money? Let's see!!