Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, dynamite, entertainment, gail simone, nancy a collins, red sonja

"Sadly, She Slayed The Less Nasty One" – Gail Simone Talks Red Sonja #14

Published Sat, 24 Jan 2015 08:00:47 -0600

Here we have a writer to writer interview with two of the premiere female writers in comics. Nancy Collins, writer on Vampirella #100, talks with writer Gail Simone about Red Sonja #14, both on sale now.. The reverse of this interview will run later this weekend.

NANCY COLLINS: Is there a unifying title for this particular story arc? (I only ask because my review copy didn't list one.)

GAIL SIMONE: It's called "The Forgiveness of Monsters," and the theme of the arc is how difficult and painful and essential the ability to forgive is. Red Sonja is cursed, the ability to forgive even simple transgressions is taken from her, and it very quickly becomes apparent how crushing that is. She thinks it means nothing.

She's wrong.

NC: So, outside of Sonja, who we all know, who are the major players in this particular storyline?

GS: One of the things I've always loved about sword and sorcery is the wild fantasy trappings. And yet, for the most part, our first twelve issues have been much more down-to-Earth. So, I wanted to have a story that had all that nasty stuff; evil sorcerers, giant snakes, chaos magic, all that good junk that makes you think of Ray Harryhausen and Savage Tales.

So that's what this story is. It's a little bit a battle of wizards, and a little bit of Seven Samurai. There are two nasty-ass brothers who are sorcerers, and Sonja up and slays one of them real good.

Sadly, she slayed the less nasty one.

NC: Everyone knows that Red Sonja is a certified bad-ass—but in #14 you depict the more negative aspects of what that means. What inspired you to have Red Sonja explore her own personal heart of darkness?

GS: I love writing stories with violence and badassery, but I always feel there has to be a human cost. I think an action movie where the heroes are just killing and telling quips ultimately feels empty. One of the reasons Die Hard is such a punch to the gut and its imitators and sequels aren't is because you feel so much pain and fear and loneliness in the lead character.

I don't want Sonja to ever be the invincible, untouchable warrior; I find those dull as dry toast. So here, she examines what it means to be the Devil.

NC: At the end of #14, you have Sonja take the matter of the curse placed on her into her own hands, so to speak. Will there be long-term consequences for the character because of what she does?

GS: I think the end of #14 is pretty shocking, and you're right, it seems like a point of no return. I don't want to give too much away, but that's the fun of storytelling: give your hero an impossible situation and see what they do.

NC: What else can your fans look forward to this year?

GS: My last issue of the ongoing series is issue #18. I had originally agreed to do six, but I just loved writing Sonja so much I ended up adding twelve issues, a zero issue, the Conan/Red Sonja crossover, a short story in an upcoming special, AND Sonja's prominent role in the upcoming Women of Dynamite series which I am spearheading.

And it still feels like I could write her forever.

We have Sonja in her blackest night ever in the next couple of issues, and her confronting the thing that made her the She-Devil. It's brutal, but hopefully thrilling as well.

And we do see the return of a much-requested face!

For more on Red Sonja #14, click here.

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