Ashes and Emblems!

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RED SONJA — Issue no. 12, August 1978

Book: Red Sonja

Issue No.: 12

Published: August 8, 1978

Title: “Ashes and Emblems!”

Cover Price: 35¢

Format: Original paper copy

The thing about comic books, and it’s an obvious thing that I still manage to forget sometimes, is that everything matters. I always think of myself as a “story first” guy when it comes to comics. But even a comic book like Watchmen, with writer Alan Moore’s groundbreaking and exciting plotting and characters, wouldn’t be the same without Dave Gibbons’ artwork.

Aside from penciling and inking Watchmen, Dave Gibbons also did the lettering for that book. Which makes him a triple threat, kind of like Red Sonja quadruple threat Frank Thorne (pencils, inks, letters, and colors!). Despite my usual prioritizing of story over art, Thorne’s Red Sonja artwork is one of my absolute favorite things from all the 1978 Marvel books I’ve read so far.

So I was disappointed to find that Frank Thorne didn’t work on this issue of Red Sonja, no. 12. Guest penciler John Buscema is one of the greats, and he knows his way around a fantasy story (Buscema did a lot of late-1970s Conan work). But visually, this story didn’t work for me like Thorne’s Sonja stories. Maybe Buscema just isn’t a good match for the inker here, Joe Rubenstein. Maybe this book was a rush job on the art side. Regardless, I hope Thorne is back next issue.

Two panels from this issue. In the first, Red Sonja and Suumaro stand before a short stairway that leads to a platform and then to an ornate door. Sonja says, “I trust, Suumaro, that your inherited powers will not make a pair of corpses of us.” Suumaro says, “It’s as I said, Sonja — the emblem will be there! But, retrieving it may mean our death, as certainly as failure. I don’t trust that demon — any more than I trust my wizardess mother!” The second panel shows Sonja and Summaro peeking in through a slightly open door. Narration reads, “Inside the tower, the two seekers finally reach the chamber where Suumaro has divined their quest will end...” Sonja says, “The place is peaceful and silent as a tomb. There’s no guard... human or other.”

As for the story, it’s continued from the previous issue, and I’ll admit I don’t remember a lot of details from that one. Since Red Sonja was only published every other month back in 1978, and it is taking me several months to cover a single month of 1978 Marvel books, it has been quite a while since I read Sonja no. 11.

The gist is that Red Sonja and her pal Suumaro are trapped in a weird castle inside a giant tree. There’s a quest for a magic chalice that leads Sonja and Suumaro to a bunch people-eating plants. Then Suumaro’s mom, the sorceress Apah Alah, shows up. She is planning to send the people-eating plants to destroy Suumaro’s dad’s kingdom. Yes, the plants can walk. And yes, Apah Alah’s relationship with Suumaro’s dad apparently didn’t end on good terms.

Unfortunately, the carnivorous plants will probably kill a lot of people unrelated to Suumaro’s dad. So Suumaro banishes himself (and the magic chalice) to some alternate dimension, which foils Apah Alah’s plan (she needed the chalice to control the plants). And it gives Red Sonja a mission for the next issue — rescuing Suumaro.

All said, it’s a pretty good sword-and-sorcery story that I would have liked more if I hadn’t been disappointed because it didn’t feature the artist I was expecting.

Next time — The Fantastic Four! (Probably!)

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