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Well, as nobody was brave enough to comment on the previous post, let's try another one. Here's a recent purchase, a facsimile edition by Dynamite Comics of Red Sonja #1, originally published by Marvel Comics in 1977. I still remember buying my original copy from John Menzies at the time, but for some obscure reason I no longer recall, I didn't keep it. Must be honest and confess I'm not altogether sure whether I even knew who Sonja was back then, but it was my appreciation of 'good girl art' that induced me to buy it.
Anyway, it surprised me that Marvel didn't do a facsimile edition of the mag, so I can only assume it's to do with some copyright thingy-do. If Marvel ever does get around to doing their own reprint, I'll be sure to buy that too, 'cos I'm a greedy boy. Whaddya think, Crivvies - does this cover ring your bell? It does mine! Ding-dong! (To be read aloud in your best Leslie Phillips voice.)
Note that Sonja says the exact same thing Conan said on the cover of his first issue.
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Footnote: The Marvel version of this comic contained only the main story (above), but the Dynamite incarnation also includes what appears to be a coloured version (below) of what might've originally been a monotone strip from one of their b&w mags. It also looks like it's been relettered by computer font, and a spelling mistake has crept in on the last page. However, this second story is an apt inclusion as it reveals in more detail events alluded to in the first tale.
12 comments:
I had the very last issue of that run of Red Sonja which was #15 I think.
I assume I bought more than just the first ish, CJ, but for the life of me, I can't recall how many that might've been. I'd have to see them again to prompt my ailing memory.
Frank Thorne's Red Sonja is the definitive one in my memory. Beautiful and lusty!
Rip Off
I'd agree with that, RJ. It's certainly who I think of when I hear or see her name anywhere.
Ahhh Frank Thorne's Red Sonja was one of my favourite comics back in the day and not just because of my adolescent leering at a near naked lady ( a drawn version as well lol) it was just a good read. Frank was a bri!list artist I miss seeing his work.
Funnily enough, McS, I recall next to nothing about the comic - apart from leering at a drawn version of a near nekkid lady. Seems that nothing has changed in my life in the last 40-odd years.
The issue of Red Sonja I owned involved Red getting trapped inside a giant clam for some reason but obviously she escaped. I wonder why Red Sonja didn't take off like Conan?
Because Conan had a rocket strapped under his furry pants and Red Sonja didn't, CJ. Simple as that! Oh, you mean sales-wise? Silly me.
That second Red Sonja story's from Savage Sword Of Conan #1
I don't think it's been relettered, and if the spelling mistake on the last page is "past unchallenged" (instead of "passed unchallenged"), then that's in the original comic
Actually, it should be 'pass unchallenged', and even if the mistake was in the original comic, that's definitely a computer font which has been used (you can tell by the letter 'I' within words), and Marvel didn't use computer fonts back in 1974 so it would appear it's been relettered. Dark Horse did the same with a lot of the Buscema Conan's, and the amount of mistakes they made was shocking. So much so that I stopped buying them from that point on.
H'mm, having had a quick search on the Internet, I note that credits in various places for the mag say that the lettering on the Sonja tale was typeset, but that was unusual for Marvel at the time. However, without seeing an original published page to compare, it looks like a more modern 'typeset' in the facsimile edition. I'll keep looking.
I've now tracked the complete story to an online site, and it was originally hand-lettered. Mention of it being typeset must stem from people referencing the Dark Horse reprints, which Dynamite appear to have used, as DH relettered a lot of strips with computer fonts. The mistake is in the original lettering though, so Marvel are to blame for that one.
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