A Red Sonja Cover Gallery




A Red Sonja Cover Gallery V: Serpents



	This is the fifth installment in our Red Sonja themed cover galleries, continuing from the first gallery. Below, we present ten selected covers from various comic books, which feature Red Sonja with snakes. In the Hyborian Age of R.E. Howard, snakes were associated with Set, the serpent-god of the Stygian people. Snakes were regarded as evil, in part because human sacrifice was a regular ritual to appease Set. Editor's note: There are many Red Sonja covers which include serpents. It was difficult to winnow the list down to ten. Our admittedly subjective choices were based upon aesthetic appeal and the diversity of both titles and artists. Some excellent snake-filled covers were omitted.



	1 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (1977) publisher: Marvel cover artist: Frank Thorne writer: Roy Thomas and Clara Noto artist: Frank Thorne issue: #8 of 15 release date: March, 1978 story: Vengeance of the Golden Circle! commentary: From the beginning, the fortunes of Red Sonja caused her to cross paths with gigantic serpents of malignant intent. In this cover by Frank Thorne, her foe is a cobra. As an addendum, there are a few other galleries of notable Red Sonja covers that feature serpents, including Neves: #5 Renaud: #4 Rafael: #9 Russell's Red Sonja (2019): #18



	2 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Michael Turner writer: Michael Avon Oeming with Mike Carey artists: Mel Rubi issue: #01 of 80 release date: June, 2005 cover: A cover commentary: When Dynamite acquired the license to Red Sonja, they placed Red Sonja with a serpent on the A cover of the first issue of what would become the definitive 80-issue run.



	3 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Homs writers: Michael Avon Oeming & Brian Reed artist: HOMS issue: #29 of 80 release date: January, 2008 cover: C variant commentary: Red Sonja traveled in the company of fellow adventurers from time to time, but remained essentially a solitary hero. This confrontation on a rocky pinnacle epitomizes her individual struggle against monstrous forces.



	4 title: Sword of Red Sonja: Doom of the Gods (2007) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Paul Renaud writer: Luke Lieberman artist: Lui Antonio issue: #2 of 4 release date: October, 2007 cover: A cover commentary: Paul Renaud has at least one other snake-themed Red Sonja Cover (Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (Dynamite, 2005) #52A). We debated between which of the two to include in this survey. Both present the Red Sonja-serpent relationship in a unique light. We offer no compelling argument that this cover from Doom of the Gods is superior to the other.



	5 title: Red Sonja / Conan (2015) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Roberto Castro writer: Victor Gischler artist: Roberto Castro issue: #1 of 4 release date: August, 2015 cover: C variant commentary: Conan also recurringly fought giant snakes. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that in one their cross-over arcs, Red Sonja and Conan should battle an ophidian foe together.



	6 title: Savage Tales (2007) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Pablo Marcos writers: Joshua Ortega, Doug Murray, Mike Raicht & Luke Lieberman artists: Walter Geovani, Diego Bernard, Pere Perez & Noah Salonga issue: #5 of 10 release date: December, 2007 cover: B variant commentary: This cover by Pablo Marcos captures Red Sonja in the coils of a great snake. It is only that last, desperate killing blow that frees her from death by constriction.



	7 title: Queen Sonja (2009) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Frank Martin Jr. writer: Luke Lieberman artist: Milton Estevam issue: #28 of 35 release date: April, 2012 cover: B variant commentary: This cover by Frank Martin depicts Red Sonja astride the snake as it thrashes under her relentless assault. She appears ill-prepared for its retaliatory attack, but such is the nature of combat for Red Sonja. Some combination of mortal agility and divine protection of the goddess to whom she has pledged her service will manage to deflect the fatal strike. As an aside, this is not the only issue of Queen Sonja with a snake featured prominently on the cover. The B variant of issue 16 by Carlos Rafael should not go without mention. We have featured covers by Frank Martin Jr. in galleries with various themes, including Serpents: #7 2008: #7 2011 & 2012: #9



	8 title: Red Sonja (2013) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Nei Ruffino writers: Gail Simone artist: Walter Geovani issue: #8 of 18 release date: March, 2014 cover: B variant commentary: Because some species of snakes have adapted to marine and riparian environments, Red sonja has had several occasions to battle serpents in various bodies of water.



	9 title: Red Sonja (2016) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: John Royle writers: Amy Chu & Erik Burnham artist: Carlos Gomez issue: #18 of 25 release date: July, 2018 cover: E variant commentary: There were a couple excellent snake-themed covers from Amy Chu's rendition of Red Sonja. In particular, Jan Duursema's cover for issues #11B also merited serious consideration for this gallery. Ultimately, this vision of Red Sonja dealing death to her serpentine foe in the midst of a great conflagration seemed like a natural cover to follow the previous water-themed image.



	10 title: Red Sonja (2019) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: José Varese writer: Mark Russell artist: Mirko Colak issue: #1 of 28 release date: February, 2019 cover: Retailer Exclusive: Power ComicCon 2019 commentary: The tradition of virgin variant exclusives seems to include presenting Red Sonja in ways that are not essentially connected to her role in either the specific book on the cover of which they appear or, sometimes, in general. This cover somewhat humorously portrays Red Sonja, replete in furred-lined boots, in an amiable relationship with two cobras. We are not aware of any narrative, which might substantiate this alliance. We have featured covers by José Varese in galleries with various themes, including Serpents: #10 Red Sonja (2021): #9 Pseudo Sonja: #10



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