Savage Red Sonja #1

History

The project was first teased at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, where Dynamite used it as a companion announcement to the already-launched Torunn Grønbekk Red Sonja ongoing, framing both titles as pillars of the character's golden anniversary celebration. Writer Dan Panosian, a veteran of Marvel's X-Men and Captain America and an early Image Comics contributor, had a prior relationship with the character through cover work on Unbreakable Red Sonja, and he personally assembled the creative team — specifically seeking out Petillo after following his Italian-market work. The series was formally solicited in Diamond's September 2023 Previews catalog, went on sale November 1, 2023, and ran for five issues, concluding in March 2024. Editor Matt Idelson and assistant editor Marshall Hoyt oversaw the book.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published November 1, 2023 by Dynamite Entertainment; written by Dan Panosian, interior art by Alessio Petillo, colors by Francesco Segala, letters by Dave Sharpe, editing by Matt Idelson.
• Launched as part of Dynamite's 50th anniversary celebration of Red Sonja's comic book debut, running concurrently with — but completely independent from — the Torunn Grønbekk ongoing Red Sonja series.
• Issue #1 is the first chapter of a five-issue miniseries subtitled 'Devil in the Sand Part One,' in which Sonja hunts the Blood Ruby through the ruins of King Gresh's desert kingdom and first encounters the traveling prince Lucian and his red-haired bride Celia.
• Serves as the major American comics debut of artist Alessio Petillo, who had previously worked solely for Italian publisher Sergio Bonelli Editore.
• Panosian described the title as a deliberate evocation of Marvel's black-and-white Savage Sword of Conan magazine in spirit — a rawer, more pulp-inflected adventure — though Savage Red Sonja is published in full color.
• Issue #1 shipped with at least five cover variants on its on-sale date: Cover A by Panosian, Cover B by Frank Cho, Cover C by Arthur Adams, Cover D a cosplay cover featuring Rachel Hollon, and Cover E a Blank Authentix edition; additional limited virgin variants followed the following week.
• The series is wholly standalone — confirmed by reviewers as sharing no narrative continuity with the concurrent Grønbekk run, with only the title character in common.
• The broader overarching antagonist of the miniseries, the Pale Witch (and her scepter), is set up through narrative threads beginning in this first issue and pays off in issue #5.

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