A Red Sonja Cover Gallery XXI:
Alternative Visions

This is the twenty-first installment in our Red Sonja themed cover galleries, continuing from the first gallery. Below, we present twenty selected covers from various comic books, which feature artists with unconventional visions of Red Sonja.

return to the first half of this gallery

11

  • title: Red Sonja (2013)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Matt Brooks
  • writer: Gail Simone
  • artist: Walter Geovani
  • issue: #15 of 18
  • cover: F variant
  • release date: March, 2015
  • commentary: As we have mentioned previously, all of the covers and cover variants for Gail Simone's 18-issue interpretation of Red Sonja were drawn by female artists. However, Dynamite held a cover contest won by artist Matt Brooks. The winning cover was published in issue #14. Dynamite also chose to print a second cover by Brooks to issue #15, which is shown here. Both covers feature a juxtaposition of Red Sonja and other elements.

    We have featured covers by Matt Brooks in galleries with themes including
    • Alternative Visions: #11
    • 2015: #1

12

  • title: Red Sonja (2016)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Jeff Dekal
  • writer: Amy Chu
  • artist: Carlos E. Gomez
  • issue: #01 of 25
  • cover: retailer exclusive variant: Nerd Block
  • release date: January, 2017
  • commentary: This cover by Jeff Dekal is striking because of the combination of photo-realistic figure, saturated color, and internally featureless elements such as the hair of Red Sonja.

13

  • title: Red Sonja (2016)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Craig Cermak
  • writers: Amy Chu and Erik Burnham
  • artist: Carlos E. Gomez
  • issue: #07 of 25
  • cover: retailer exclusive variant: Groupees
  • release date: August, 2017
  • commentary: Craig Cermak drew covers for issues 7, 8 and 9 of Amy Chu's Red Sonja narrative, which were retailer exclusive to Groupees. All three covers feature a similar Pop Art with a minimal palette of colors.

14

  • title: Red Sonja (2016)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Ben Caldwell
  • writers: Amy Chu and Erik Burnham
  • artist: Carlos E. Gomez
  • issue: #13 of 25
  • cover: A cover
  • release date: February, 2018
  • commentary: Dynamite published nine covers by Ben Caldwell scattered across the various 25 issues of Amy Chu's Red Sonja. Most of the covers feature this particular vision of Red Sonja, based on the same model and accompanied by props, e.g., sunglasses and rocket-propelled grenade launcher, from the modern world. Another example is entry 16 in the Throne gallery.

15

  • title: Red Sonja (2016)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Juan Doe
  • writers: Amy Chu and Erik Burnham
  • artist: Carlos E. Gomez
  • issue: #12 of 25
  • cover: G variant
  • release date: January, 2018
  • commentary: Juan Doe created two covers for Amy Chu's interpretation of Red Sonja for issues 12 (shown here) and 15 (not shown). While both are quite unusual as covers go, they bear little stylistic similarity to each other. This red, white and black cover looks as if it should be shown on a propaganda poster: Red Sonja Wants You for Mercenary Fodder!

    We have featured covers by Juan Doe in galleries with themes including
    • Alternative Visions: #15
    • 2018: #3

16

  • title: Red Sonja (2016)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Anthony Marques
  • writers: Amy Chu and Erik Burnham
  • artist: Carlos E. Gomez
  • issue: #17 of 25
  • cover: E variant
  • release date: June, 2018
  • commentary: This cover by Anthony Marques also employs a Pop Art style to depict a version of Red Sonja with a face from which much of the typical femininity is absent.

    We have featured covers by Anthony Marques in galleries with various themes, including
    • Alternative Visions: #16
    • Pathfinder Worldscape: #8
    • 2018: #4

17

  • title: Red Sonja (2016)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Tula Lotay
  • writers: Amy Chu and Erik Burnham
  • artist: Carlos E. Gomez
  • issue: #20 of 25
  • cover: B variant
  • release date: August, 2018
  • commentary: Tula Lotay has painted a variety of Red Sonja covers. Most of them have this signature painting style. Other covers by Lotay in this set of galleries include entry 8 of the A Face gallery and entries 10 and 14 the Throne gallery.

18

  • title: Red Sonja (2016)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Dave Bullock
  • writers: Amy Chu and Erik Burnham
  • artist: Carlos E. Gomez
  • issue: #22 of 25
  • cover: A cover
  • release date: October, 2018
  • commentary: There really is not another Red Sonja cover in the same category as this example by Dave Bullock. Not only are the clear brush strokes not typically encountered but the proportions of Red Sonja are exaggerated to an almost abstract state. The voluminous hair occupies an area nearly as great as the rest of the body while her waist is scarcely larger than her neck.

19

  • title: Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil (2019)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Josh Howard
  • writer: Luke Lieberman
  • artist: Sergio Davila
  • issue: #1 of 4
  • retailer exclusive variant: ComicXposure
  • release date: June, 2019
  • commentary: This cover of Red Sonja by Josh Howard was a retailer exclusive to ComicXposure. Howard combines an overtly comic abandonment of realism, as seen in the clean simple lines, but maintains a sensuality often lost when a more cartoonish approach is adopted.

20

  • title: Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil (2019)
  • publisher: Dynamite
  • cover artist: Gerald Parel
  • writer: Luke Lieberman
  • artist: Sergio Davila
  • issue: #3 of 4
  • retailer exclusive: Kirby's Comic Art
  • release date: August, 2019
  • commentary: Gerald Parel created a retailer exclusive variant for Kirby's Comic Art for all four issues of Birth of Red Sonja, any of which could have been featured in this gallery. We chose the cover of issue three because of the heavy shadows, the blinding white eyes and the texture of the painting.

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