Red Sonja #100
Written by Eric Trautmann, Roy Thomas, Michael Avon Oeming, Gail Simone and Luke Lieberman
Art by Dave Acosta, Pablo Marcos, Taki Soma, Noah Salonga and Sergio Fernandez Davila
Colors by Valentina Pinto and Salvatore Aiala Studios
Letters by Joshua Cozine
Cover art by Ed Benes & Alex Guimaraes, Robert Hack, Andrew Pepoy & Paul Mounts, Ken Haeser and Pablo Marcos & Austin Janosky
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 18, 2015
Cover Price: $7.99

Red Sonja #100 is truly the definition of “jam packed”! Dynamite Entertainment has truly gotten the gang back together, and in doing so, we get just about every single kind of Red Sonja story that there is right here in this single comic. In this giant issue, you get sword and sorcery, horror, action, and even a little heartwarming drama. What’s not to love?

Consisting of five different stories, by legendary Red Sonja writers like Eric Trautmann, Roy Thomas, Michael Avon Oeming, Gail Simone, and Luke Lieberman, you get everything you want and more in this comic book. Roy Thomas pens a truly great old fashioned sword and sorcery tale with a hint of mystery. Current Red Sonja scribe Gail Simone writes a very entertaining story about Red Sonja finally meeting her childhood “idol.” Then there’s Luke Lieberman’s (Queen Sonja) story about Sonja, a companion, and a sorcerer that is thrilling, yet very heartwarming. Out of all five stories, there’s not a bad one in the bunch.

Lord of the Jungle #3
Written by Arvid Nelson
Illustrated by Roberto Castro
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Colors by Alex Guimaraes
Covers by Paul Reaud, Lucio Parrillo, and Francesco Francavilla
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 11, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

If you like the character of Tarzan, you’re going to love Lord of the Jungle #3. Simply put, it’s a fantastic Tarzan story. Dynamite Entertainment is really turning their books up a notch creatively. Line wide, they are dismissed by many as just a licensed comic publisher, but honestly, if you take the time to READ their books, you’re going to find that a big percentage of them are well thought out, well-crafted comics.

In this issue, writer Arvid Nelson continues telling a great story that he started two issues ago. Yes, it’s origin-like, but not completely an origin, if that makes any sense. It will when you read the book.

Lord of the Jungle #1
Written by Arvid Nelson
Illustrated by Roberto Castro
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Colored by Alex Guimaraes
Covers by Alex Ross, Ryan Sook, Paul Renaud, and Lucio Parrillo
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: January 18, 2012
Cover Price: $1.00

Just about everyone knows the basic premise behind the story of Tarzan. For some reason, that’s NOT the loincloth, he’s always been one of my favorite characters since I was a kid. That’s why, when I got the chance to review Lord of the Jungle #1, I jumped at it.

Writer Arvid Nelson had a pretty humongous task ahead of him. Since the 1940s pretty much any incarnation in any entertainment medium of the Tarzan character has been a bust. Thankfully, Nelson took what everyone knew about the character, chose the best parts, and wrote a comic.

Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom #2
Written by Robert Place Napton
Illustrated by Roberto Castro
Colored by Alex Guimaraes
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Covers by Joe Jusko, Francesco Francavilla
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 31, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

“100,000 years before John Carter first arrived on Mars…” I present to you Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom #2. The atmosphere is depleted and the only way for the races of Mars to survive is to artificially create a new one. Of course, it would be easier if they weren’t constantly trying to kill one another.

I have to say this has to be the most unfriendly read I have had in a long while. Between the lack of a lead-in and the overabundance of storylines, I was thrown into a mess of a comic. I quoted the entire printed premise at the beginning of this review, by the way. Given that I was very familiar with the the original books, I felt I would be able to catch up quickly and obtain some semblance of the plot. I was mistaken.