Red Sonja Vol. 4: Angel of Death

Red Sonja Vol. 5 (Collected Editions)

by Mark Russell, Alessandro Miracolo (Artist), Vincenzo Federici (Artist)

Sonja The Red, victorious. But ruling is impossible. And a young, old foe returns with a plan, to Kill Red Sonja...
The conclusion to Mark Russell's epic run on Red Sonja.

152 pages, Paperback

Published May 2, 2023

About the author

Mark Russell is the author of God Is Disappointed in You and Apocrypha Now. He also writes the comic book series Prez and The Flintstones for DC Comics. He lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warrior, Contemplative, Beauty

In the storyline, Sonja is presented as a fierce warrior who is constantly slaying as well as ruminating about the dystopian aspect of life.

In the full page art presented in each volume, as well as the reams of cover art, and cosplay pictography, we see Sonja as a beautiful, dominant, and warmblooded woman warrior.

It’s an interesting dichotomy that nevertheless all ties together for the astute reader.

This was the final volume of a four book series. However there are many more series out there with different editors and writers and artists. I had no idea ⚔️ 👩🏻‍🦰

3.75


"High-energy, high-tension battles, a villain you love to hate, and a satisfying conclusion. This comic is a very high recommendation."
- COMICAL OPINIONS

"With great storytelling, fantastic character artwork, gorgeous covers throughout, Red Sonja has reached a real pinnacle with this run under Russell’s guiding hand.”
- THE FANDOM POST

[Mariano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ending to this really fun series. Jae lee covers are sooo gorgeous! And Alessandro Miracolo's artwork in this arc is a huge improvement. It was a cool read, that found its footing along the way. It started humoristic, more in Russell's usual zone, but the story was asking to evolve to something else.

[Brian Heinz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, sadly, the Mark Russell RED SONJA epic concludes with a whimper, rather than a bang. After taking on an empire and it's Emperor in vol 1 & 2, taking on a foolish king to secure her kingdom's future in vol 3, vol 4 ends with Sonja taking on the Emperor's son who gained magic powers in the KILLING RED SONJA book. Vol 3 ends with her happy and it ends almost immediately in vol 4's open. It's a six-issue revenge duel between Red Sonja and a young, if evil, boy. It's not quite the same. The Russell run has been full of Sonja trying to navigate the world of politics and the natural satire that lends itself to that idea. Think of it as PREZ but with swords and beheadings. This was her trying to keep one step ahead of certain death and while that can be entertaining it wasn't what I was expecting from the end of this run. Also the art by Alessandro Miracolo is much more fantastic and wild than the previous artists who were more grounded in a reality style of art. It also felt out of place. The first 3 volumes are a masterpiece. Vol 4 didn't stick the landing, sadly.

[Julia Cannistra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story is good but a step down. Art has improved from previous volumes

The art for this run has been consistently good. Here the art is improved and utilizes a different style. While I think it’s better than the previous volumes, it may come down to taste. It reminds me of the DarkHorse Heir to the Empire comic run’s art.

Unfortunately, the story while good is a slight step down for this volume. The main conflict is essentially resolved over the first three volumes, and here a new-ish enemy is used. It doesn’t work as well as the earlier parts, has some rough spots, but has some pretty good parts too that make up for it. It does tie up loose ends and sets Red Sonja up for further adventures.

This run has been better than most Red Sonja stuff I’ve read recently and much much much better than the Gail Simone run. I definitely recommend the first three volumes of Mark Russel’s run, but this last volume is a weaker recommendation.

Alternate covers are also included, and there’s some really nice ones here.

Overall, it’s still good, but potentially unnecessary.

[Luana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russell sticks the motherfucking landing. If it was Mirko Colak still on art I'd give this mf the full five stars. Walks the tightrope between delivering violence and ruminating on the need for such without coming off as a hand-wringing wet blanket.

I want to say "in the tradition of Howard", even if Sonja is a Marvel comics invention essentially (yeah yeah BASED on some extremely minor Howard side-character, I know), but fuck it man, ain't nobody (that I've read so far) done "meathead pontificatin' about civilization" as good since Milius' movie in 1982.

Oh, the series continues? Oh, it's... it's Lieberman...

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Russell's time on Red Sonja ends with her abdicating her throne in order to go after a tyrant she had a hand in making. You do want to read Killing Red Sonja before reading this.

[Tristan Judice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot wise this is the weakest of the four as the tongue-in-cheek humor of the previous volumes goes missing with the emperor's son who gained off-screen magic powers. Art wise this may be the strongest with some of the carnage ratcheted up a notch.

[Wm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful series.