Tim Seeley is no stranger to blend genres, but in Red Sonya vs. Army of Darkness, he is the first to jump into a whole new kind of mayhem.
The upcoming miniseries, which will be released on April 9th by Dynamite Comic, will be staring at Ashley J. Williams (the dead anti-hero of the wise army of darkness) once again slowly. However, this time he finds himself in face with Red Sonja, her dev with a sword. As if it wasn’t quite confusing, hiding in the shadows is Hyboria’s most terrifying magician, the ominous Clan Gus, whose eyesight is now set in the Necronomicon. Stakes? It is nothing but complete control.
“What we want to do here is to inject it into Sonja’s Hyborian era with something like the magic of the dark, so we can modernize those early (Roy) Thomas (Frank) Thorne, (John) Busima comics,” Sealy said.
He said, “A gritty, dark sword and magician full of strange monsters and harsh moral stories. The difference is that Songja is now overwhelmed by ashes. As always, the idiot who ruins everything.
Courtesy of Dynamite.
Clash of personality
Merging two over-the-top action heroes like Red Sonja and Ash meant finding a way to balance their personalities. Ash is completely out of his element in Songja’s world despite his past run with the medieval warriors.
“I wanted to incorporate things he’s never interacted with,” Seely said. “The old Marvel Redson Ja series has this lush, crazy world with this strange thing, and it was truly a foreigner. I wanted to get it back.”
As for Sonja, when we first met her she was in the middle of a rough patch.
“She is a very capable survivor and that’s why she’s a mercenary doing all this stuff,” Sealy said. “Being caught in ashes is the last thing she wants. All she can think of is, ‘This guy drags me down.’ But they have to work together. Because they’re stuck. ”
result? Buddy Comedy serves as Ash as a professional professional who exclaimed Sonja and as an adorable idiot who somehow survived.
A villain with knowledge of the future
Kulan Gath’s Return adds a new layer of threats.
“He’s a man who saw Ash’s world and saw the future,” Sealy said. “He knows what’s coming, and he sees the Necronomicons increase his strength. His goal is immortal and he serves his Dark Lord, but there are some dark things that he didn’t even know.”
Seeley makes the most of Kulan Gath’s extensive history, interweaving elements from the various incarnations of the characters.
“I just decided I was going to be a fun and nerd,” Sealy said. “I tied it together with all sorts of historical lore for the characters and mixed it into the army of the world of darkness.”
Variant cover by Tim Seeley. Courtesy of Dynamite.
Strange people in strange land
Ash had dealt with time travel before, but this trip is different from the rest.
“He has no reference point for that,” Seely said. “When he is in the Middle Ages, he has at least a rough idea of where he is. But here this is completely foreign.”
To hammer that point, Seely set the story at Castle Kandar.
“It’s before Hyboria that splits it,” Sealy said. “Ash is completely lost and he has no survival skills in this place. He needs Sonja or is dead.”
And of course there is Deadites.
“We can really define how they work,” Seely said. “We have real evil wizards in the mix, so we can explain the different types of dead infectious diseases and how they spread like plagues across the land. And that means Sonja is dealing with the threat of Deadite.”
An artist worthy of work
It is artist Jim Terry, who, beyond his considerable talent, happens to be one of Seeley’s best friends, bringing Seeley’s vision back to life.
“It works,” Sealy said with a clear laugh. “He and I can hang out and talk about this, and I know Jim loves Robert E. Howard-style fantasy. Conan is his go-to character.
Terry’s style is a throwback to classic swords and magic, evoking the works of John Buschema and Frank Thorne.
“Jim makes a perfect red Sonja book with lush yet roughness,” Sealy said. “He’s killing it.”
Variant cover by Nikkolzerenic. Courtesy of Dynamite.
Deadite Unicorn and Swash Back Ring Action
When asked about the surprises fans could hope for, Sealy refused to hesitate, “Ash must fight the Dedite Unicorn.”
That’s not all.
“We’re throwing the classic red Sonja villain transformed into something worse,” Sealy said.
Additionally, the story shifts through different genres, mixing horror, fantasy and high octane action.
“Problem #3 is a straight horror story. Sonja and Ash are trapped in graves and people are owned left and right,” Sealy said. “The next issue is a huge swashbuckling adventure with a huge Eagle and a massive battle. I wanted to cover everything that makes both properties great.”
Perfect for crossover mayhem
Seeley recognizes her versatility as Sonja faces everything from Mars’ attacks to Tarzan. He laughed when asked if he had a dream matchup for her.
“Well, while working on this, I definitely thought of a hack/slash crossover with Sonja,” Seeley said. “I think Cathy and Red Sonja will have quite a lot of fun together.”
As for Ash, Seely points out his cyclical nature.
“Ash is ashes,” Sealy said. “He makes the same mistake many times. That’s what makes it fun. Fans want to see him ruin the spell, go over his head and somehow miraculously survive. It’s an army of darkness.”
Along with Red Sonja vs. The Army of Darkness, Seeley and Terry deliver books that perfectly blend the classic Red Sonja grit with the energies of the dark army man. From Deadite’s plague to time-travel disasters, it promises to become one hell of rides.
