A Red Sonja Cover Gallery




A Red Sonja Cover Gallery XXVII: Decapitation



	This is the twenty-seventh installment in our Red Sonja themed cover galleries, continuing from the first gallery. Below, we present twenty selected covers from various comic books, featuring Red Sonja and the theme of decapitation.



	1 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Mel Rubi writer: Michael Avon Oeming artist: Mel Rubi issue: #02 of 80 release date: July, 2005 cover: C variant commentary: It is a consequence of living with a sword in hand that the severing of various appendages becomes a regular occurrence. Often a loss of an arm or a leg is not a premeditated act, but rather an outcome of battle. Decapitation, on the other hand, has not only a practical mortal effect but also carries a symbolic value. There are numerous covers depicting Red Sonja with severed heads. Some of them, as in this cover, by Mel Rubi, portray decapitation as a matter-of-fact element of combat.



	2 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Adriano Batista writer: Joshua Ortega artist: Fabiano Neves issue: #32 of 80 release date: April, 2008 cover: C variant commentary: Other covers portray Red Sonja raising high the severed head of a foe as an act of exultation in the victory of combat.



	3 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Fabiano Neves writer: Luke Lieberman artist: Homs issue: #33 of 80 release date: May, 2008 cover: B variant commentary: When a monarch demands the death of an opponent, it often happens that he or she requests of the knight or henchmen, to whom the order is given, to present the head of their quarry as irrefutable evidence of their demise. This act is turned around by Robert E. Howard in the short story The Shadow of the Vulture (1934). Suleyman the Magnificent, Sultan of Turkey, sent forth Mikhal Oglu, Vulture of the Grand Turk, his "scimitar-tip, the most noted slayer of a nation of slayers". Red Sonja returned the head of the Mikhal Oglu to the Sultan, as a token of her contempt.



	4 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Jackson Herbert writer: Brian Reed artist: Walter Geovani issue: #42 of 80 release date: March, 2009 cover: C variant commentary: Here again, Red Sonja carries the head of a slain foe. Perhaps, she intends to present it to the lord that hired her, in order to claim the bounty on the man.



	5 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Adriano Batista writer: Brian Reed artist: Walter Geovani issue: #43 of 80 release date: April, 2009 cover: B variant commentary: Impaling severed heads on spikes as a demonstration of military might and a warning to those who would defy authorities is a time-honored practice, dating back thousands of years. In realms of fantasy, it is also associated with sacrifice and worship of supernatural entities of malevolent intent.



	6 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Paul Renaud writer: Eric Trautman artist: Walter Geovani issue: #53 of 80 release date: November, 2010 cover: B variant commentary: Red Sonja hoists the head of a fallen foe in triumph.



	7 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Mel Rubi writer: Eric Trautmann artist: Marcio Abreu issue: #75 of 80 release date: May, 2013 cover: A cover commentary: With one mighty sweep of her sword, Red Sonja sends three heads spinning.



	8 title: Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (2005) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Lucio Parrillo writer: Brandon Jerwa artist: Sergio Fernandez Davila issue: #76 of 80 release date: May, 2013 cover: A cover commentary: The borders of uncivilized lands can be lined with grisly markers as a warning to visitors of the savagery of the domain into which they wander.



	9 title: Savage Tales (2007) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Richard Isanove writers: Ron Marz, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Luke Lieberman, Michael Avon Oeming & Mike Raict artists: Adriano Batista, Pablo Marcos, Stjepan Sejic, Kevin Sharpe & Pere Perez issue: #01 of 10 release date: April, 2007 cover: C variant commentary: Decapitation of a general during battle can be used to cause the opposing army to lose morale and flee in a disordered retreat.



	10 title: Red Sonja: Revenge of the Gods (2011) publisher: Dynamite cover artist: Lucio Parrillo writer: Luke Lieberman artist: Daniel Sampere issue: #2 of 5 cover: A cover release date: April, 2011 commentary: With a flourish, Lucio Parrillo depicts Red Sonja decapitating an enemy in the midst of a back flip.



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