Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Amy Chu, Carlos Gomez, Comics, dynamite, entertainment, red sonja

Writer's Commentary – Amy Chu Talks Red Sonja #3

Published Wed, 15 Mar 2017 16:30:44 -0500

And another writer's commentary from Dynamite, this time we have Amy Chu talking about Red Sonja #3. Cover by Mike McKone and interiors by Carlos Gomez.

Are we having fun yet? Again, thanks for all the positive comments! Know also, O Readers, if you missed the first couple of issues, don't worry — you can jump right in and I don't think it'll take you too long to figure out what's going on….

PAGE ONE

Who doesn't like a hot bath? I hope you enjoyed this page — my husband and my gay sister-in-law were certainly both on board. But as you may have guessed, the towel was a last minute addition… At first I was kind of like whoa, like the childbirth scene in Saga, but look she's getting out of the bath and she's not going to be wrapping a towel around her bod like some kind of soap commercial so let's move on…

PAGE TWO

Boom! Carlos really outdid himself with this page. I'm sure his hand was aching by the time he finished it so please enjoy. For a page like this, please take a moment to give a hand to the colorist Mohan. If you didn't know, most colors in comics are done digitally, which maybe sounds like it's easy to you, but each color on this page needs a line definition, which means someone has to TRACE every single little detail on this page in Photoshop before it gets filled with color, than rendered. This is called FLATTING and it's a pain in the butt, I can tell you, because I've done it and I can't imagine doing it under professional time pressure.

PAGE THREE

Those pesky cultists again! I think Max looks particularly cute in this splash page holding that garbage can lid like it's going to do anything…

PAGE FOUR

Remember I told you last time to keep your eyes on that sword on Max's wall? That sure came in handy…. I'm still laughing at Max's expression…

PAGE FIVE

Okay, now let's get outta here! But how? You're here because you want to see what's going on in my mind, and in my mind, in movies and TV, you can just jump into a car and peel off but this is New York and it's a tricky place, plus Sonja needs to get around in style. She don't uber or lyft or take the bus. So, motorcycle it is. Fortunately, Max has one right in the garage!

PAGE SIX

Max is a good cop, so he's going to respect the law and wear a helmet, but Sonja not so much. And slow is not in Sonja's vocabulary… Last panel, I have to say, I really tried to think of a good taunt or curse that was printable, but it just wasn't forthcoming. I swear, I will try to do better next time. Believe me, a thousand people in the business have stepped up to help me learn to curse better so expect good things coming up.

PAGE SEVEN

All roads lead back to a tavern, it seems… and Spike seems to be a good person to hang with. I like Spike, she's everyone's reliable friend who can talk sense into you when things go off the rails. I hope I can do more with her in the story. We will explore more with craft beer later… no cocktails with fancy garnishes though!

PAGE EIGHT

Here we take care of a practical part of getting Red Sonja around town. I've said in interviews I'm not too concerned about what my characters wear — I'm not here to tell the artist what to draw down to the last button (unless of course that's what they want). But Sonja needs something to get around for a bit without drawing too much attention, so this may be the one and only time you will she the She-Devil in… workout clothes! Older readers may recognize that blue outfit. Carlos put that in as a cute homage….

PAGE NINE

Max is a hero — Sonja and her true love, her sword are reunited. Jay is taking a huge risk! People in law enforcement, I know you're thinking that just wouldn't happen, but hey, good thing she's got an uncle in internal affairs just in case…

PAGE TEN

This was a fun scene. Introducing Holly, smart, librarian, cosplayer, all around geek girl. I really wanted to get a library scene in that made sense. Librarians don't get enough good representation in comics, so shout out to all librarians out there. Respect! If you read my X-Files one shot, I did the same thing with park rangers.

PAGE ELEVEN

Holly geeks out, as any real historian/cosplayer would … bless Carlos for nailing her expressions. I generally have very, very few art notes, but I did ask Carlos if he could add more ear piercings for Holly, which I thought were more in character. I'm pretty pleased.

PAGE TWELVE

Max is up to his old tricks again…

PAGE THIRTEEN

Uh oh, no wonder this department is so well funded….

PAGE FOURTEEN

Swanky! So truth be told, I wanted to put this Temple of Dendur scene in partly because it's my favorite place at the Met Museum. When I was 21, I somehow got invited to a party there and I was agog at how beautiful it was at night, lit up by candlelight and full of swanky people. It's also one of the few places in the museum big enough for an epic showdown. You won't see that in movies or TV without oodles of money in CGI so God bless comics…

PAGE FIFTEEN

Nay, Sonja don't serve… These are moments when the script practically writes itself….

PAGE SIXTEEN

Uh oh, trouble! The fake NSA, ICE Agents of Gath are back! Max is desperately trying to do his duty like a good cop….

PAGE SEVENTEEN – EIGHTEEN

And here we go…. in glorious double page spread. You know Sonja really wants to kill this woman, and so do I…

PAGE NINETEEN

That's right, bow down to Sonja… oh, wait…

PAGE TWENTY

Here comes Kulan Gath! He's looking pretty snazzy. I think he's been doing well in modern times. Dare I say, with a dash of Ian McKellen panache…?

Anyway, I hope you join us for the next issue a month from now. Shoutout to Simon Bowland for his impeccable lettering and the whole Dynamite crew for their support. Follow Carlos and me on twitter @amychu and @nemafronspain and on instagram @amy_chu @carlosgomezartist for little teasers. It's going to be as you can imagine, pretty epic!

PS: I've got my very first Reddit IAMA tomorrow, Thurssday, March 16th, at noon so join in if you've got something you want to ask! (No spoilers!)

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