A Red Sonja Cover Gallery XII:
Skeletons

This is the twelfth 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 skeletons.

1

  • title: The Savage Sword of Conan (1974)
  • publisher: Marvel
  • cover artist: Boris Vallejo
  • writers: Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, Fred Blosser and Glenn Lord
  • artists: John Buscema, Pablo Marcos, Esteban Maroto, Neal Adams, Ernie Chan, Gil Kane, Barry Windsor-Smith, Steve Gan, Hugh Rankin, Roy Krenkel, John Severin, Ross Andru and Alfredo Alcala
  • issue: #001 of 235
  • release date: August, 1974
  • format: magazine
  • interior color: black and white
  • stories including Red Sonja: Curse of the Undead-Man & Red Sonja
  • commentary: For those who eschew cremation, a person's skeleton is that portion of their body which persists for the longest time after death. Fighting skeletons represents, in a classical sense, the struggle against mortality. In most of his stories, the characters of R.E. Howard, Conan and Red Sonja, were routinely engaged in martial conflicts, in which they risked death. Battles with animated skeletons celebrate this struggle against the human condition. This cover to the first issue of The Savage Sword of Conan showcases this theme.

    We have featured covers from The Savage Sword of Conan in galleries with various themes, including
    • Introduction: #1
    • Skeletons: #1

2

  • title: Marvel Feature presents Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (1975)
  • publisher: Marvel
  • cover artists: Gil Kane & John Romita
  • writer: Roy Thomas
  • artists: Dick Giordano & Esteban Maroto
  • issue: #1 of 7
  • release date: November, 1975
  • story: The Temple of Abomination! & Red Sonja
  • cover: A cover
  • commentary: In the first issue of Marvel Feature presents Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword cover artist, Gil Kane, presents the debut of Red Sonja in her own book clashing against a bevy of monstrous creatures, including a hooded skeleton.

    All seven issues of Marvel Feature presents Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (1975) have been featured in galleries on this site, including those with themes of
    • Introduction: #2
    • Horsewoman: #1
    • Skeletons: #2
    • Animals: #1
    • In Bondage: #1
    • Animal People: #1
    • Thorne: #1
    • 2021: #1 & #2
    • 2022: #16

3

  • title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (1983)
  • publisher: Marvel
  • cover artist: John Buscema
  • writers: Christie Marx and Roy Thomas
  • artists: Tony DeZuniga and Ernie Colon
  • issue: #1 of 2
  • release date: February 1983
  • story: The Blood That Binds!
  • cover: A cover
  • commentary: In 1983, Marvel released two distinct series titled Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword. The extent of the first series ran only two issues, while the second ran thirteen. This cover is the first issue of the first, shorter series. Red Sonja spies in the gilded mirror resting atop the treasure horde, the skeletal warrior poised to strike at her from behind. It is all the warning she needs to whirl about, sword in hand, and dispense with the threat. The cover to the second issue is shown here.

4

  • title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Jim Balent
  • writer: Michael Avon Oeming
  • artist: Mel Rubi
  • issue: #15 of 80
  • release date: October, 2006
  • cover: B variant
  • commentary: Dynamite continued the depiction of Red Sonja battling skeletal foes, often in hordes, as seen in this cover by Jim Balent.

5

  • title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Mel Rubi
  • writer: Michael Avon Oeming
  • artist: Mel Rubi
  • issue: #16 of 80
  • release date: November, 2006
  • cover: B variant
  • commentary: In this cover by Mel Rubi from the definitive 80-issue series by Dynamite, skeletons emerge from the muddy ground and walls of a narrow canyon to ambush Red Sonja.

6

  • title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Esteban Maroto
  • writer: Michael Avon Oeming & Brian Reed
  • artist: Homs
  • issue: #25 of 80
  • release date: August, 2007
  • cover: E variant (wrap-around)
  • commentary: In this wrap-around cover by Esteban Maroto, a necromancer joins forces with a coven of hags to summon a skeletal army to waylay Red Sonja. It appears that the undead warriors are supplemented by some manner of goblinoid or demonic soldiers as well.

    We have featured covers by Esteban Maroto in galleries with various themes, including
    • Skeletons: #6
    • 2005: #6
    • 2009 & 2010: #2
    • Unplaced: #16

7

  • title: Sword of Red Sonja: Doom of the Gods (2007)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Aaron Lopresti
  • writer: Luke Lieberman
  • artist: Lui Antonio
  • issue: #1 of 4
  • release date: October, 2007
  • cover: B variant
  • commentary: Wandering by torchlight in the ruins of a malevolent temple or grim catacombs, a trio of skeletal denizens are intent on ambushing Red Sonja.

8

  • title: Giant-Size Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2007)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Stephen Segovia
  • writers: Christos Gage, Frank Thorne, Peter B. Gillis, Roy Thomas & Clara Noto
  • artists: Adriano Batista, Frank Thorne & Steve Carr
  • issue: #2 of 2
  • release date: October, 2008
  • cover: B variant
  • commentary: Red Sonja appears surrounded by skeletons in an airborne battle in which it is no longer precisely clear which bones are associated with a particular skeleton, not that it matters much to Red Sonja, who is determined to slay them all.

    We have featured covers by Stephen Segovia in galleries with various themes, including
    • Skeletons: #8
    • Animals: #4
    • Alternative Visions: #5
    • 2007: #12
    • Invincible #1: #9
    • More Invincible: #8

9

  • title: Red Sonja (2013)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Stephanie Buscema
  • writer: Gail Simone
  • artist: Walter Geovani
  • issue: #03 of 18
  • release date: September, 2013
  • cover: E variant
  • commentary: In this cover from the 2013 series of Red Sonja, Stephanie Buscema depicts our heroine disarmed and in the grasp of several skeletons emerging from the depths of a well that appears to serve as a portal to the realm of the damned.

10

  • title: Red Sonja (2016)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Robert Hack
  • writer: Marguerite Bennett
  • artist: Aneke
  • issue: #1 of 6
  • release date: January, 2016
  • cover: second printing cover
  • commentary: We close this gallery with an homage by Robert Hack to the Gil Kane cover presented as the second entry on this page. The hooded skeleton reappears with serpentine and werewolf/apeman (?) accomplices. Red Sonja, although adorned in different attire and sporting a girlish ponytail, displays the same violent proclivities as in the original.

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