Red Sonja | Karavansara

Red Sonja (with a J), sometimes known as She-Devil with a Sword, debuted in 1973, fore Marvel Comics – written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith.

The character was a very free interpretation of the character Red Sonya (with a Y), that appeared in a single Robert E. Howard story, The Shadow of the Vulture, published in The Magic Carpet Magazine in January 1934. The story is currently reprinted in the excellent Sword Woman and other Historical Adventures, by DelRey Books.

The comic book Sonja had a long and distinguished career as a Marvel character, before being retired in the mid ’80s (there was an extra one-shot story in the ’90s). Sonja went on to star in an abysmally silly movie, portrayed by the statuesque but wooden Brigitte Nielsen, and starred in a series of six paperback novels, penned by Richard L. Tierney, with covers by Boris Vallejo.
(confessions of a sword & sorcery fan: I first discovered Red Sonja, in the mid-80s, via the Boris covers – so sue me)

2023 marks therefore the 50th anniversary of the coming of Red Sonja and Dynamite Entertainment (that revived the character in 2005) is offering a HUGE collection of digital comics via the Humble Bundle platform. For less than 17 quid, you get 21 collections – for a total of over 100 individual volumes – featuring the She-Devil with a Sword. Part of the money will go to a charity – in this case, the Hero Initiative, benefiting comic artists.

Great value for money, I think – especially considering the selection includes three volumes of Marvel reprints and a couple of weird cross-overs and stand-alones.
Because yes, reader, I purchased it – and I am toying with the idea of doing a Red Sonja 50th Anniversary reading somewhere. Who knows, someone might be interested.

I was reviewing my creative process (or the sort of blind blundering I call that) trying to optimize it in order to get more good words on the page*, and I found out a few interesting bits about my modus operandi.
And I thought, why not inflict my newfound knowledge on my blog readers?

When I start a new story, I generally open my copybook (or a txt file) and I start jotting down ideas.
Basic premise and concept, quick sketches of the main characters, a list of places, maybe a very rough logline.

Sometimes it’s like doodling – I sit waiting for my turn at the doctor’s or at the post office, and I just write down stuff.
Maybe I’ll never use those ideas, maybe in a few weeks, or months, or years (provided I can still find the file or the copybook) they’ll come in handy. Continue reading →