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This time, there won't be the slightest chance or escape...

for the poor dragon! 😂😂😂

Unfortunately, even Conan couldn't escape that fiasco back then...

At least until next week, for the love of Mitra...

I guess this is the first time when Sonja is more gentle than ever and invites Conan for a stay a while with her and he refuses it! But this is a story by Chuck Dixon, so this can't be take so serious, it's a good curiosity....

Artwork by Geof Isherwood

Art by Michael Linsner

Artwork by Mateusz Dąbrowski

"Conan was as much a part of this wilderness as Balthus was alien to it. The Cimmerian might have spent years among the great cities of the world; he might have walked with the rulers of civilization; he might even achieve his wild whim some day and rule as king of a civilized nation; stranger things had happened. But he was no less a barbarian. He was concerned only with the naked fundamentals of life. The warm intimacies of small, kindly things, the sentiments and delicious trivialities that make up so much of civilized men's lives were meaningless to him. A wolf was no less a wolf because a whim of chance caused him to run with the watchdogs. Bloodshed and violence and savagery were the natural elements of the life Conan knew; he could not, and would never, understand the little things that are so dear to civilized men and women."

Beyond the black river - Robert E. Howard 

This is what Conan sees the moment he realizes the trap cage has dropped, leaving him trapped alone, and notices that the bag of jewels stolen from the palace—which he had intended to split honestly with his associate—has "magically" vanished from his belt.

Just another bit of Brazilian trivia: The story "Phantasm"—which features one of the rare duels between Conan and Sonja written by Jim Owsley (Priest) and was originally published in *Savage Sword* #153 (1988)—was released in Brazil in 1989 in a special edition of "Espada Selvagem" (Savage Sword, in portuguese) that featured colorized stories. Although the colorist was not credited in the issue, I believe the coloring work was exclusive to this edition.

For the Portuguese release, the story's title was changed to "Desejos," which means "Desires."

*I wrote this post a year ago and published it in a Sonja group on Facebook; I’d like to know about your thoughts.

The other day, I was reading about the history behind the composition of the 1875 French opera "Carmen". It was a show that caused a scandal at its premiere and failed to find success during dozens of performances in the land of Napoleon and Joan of Arc—at least not until its creator, Georges Bizet, had passed away.

The opera told the story of a seductive Gypsy woman living in early 19th-century Spain; she ran with smugglers, worker from a cigar factory, and said and did exactly as she pleased. Through her singing and dancing, she would seduce any man she desired—and just as easily cast him aside for another—justifying that love is a rebellious bird. Such was her independence and personal freedom, that she ultimately met a tragic end, murdered at the story's conclusion.

This type of free-spirited protagonist, combined with the work's use of erotic double entendres, shocked audiences of the time. Acceptance only began when the opera was adapted into other languages ​​for other European countries; it went on to receive standing ovations from figures like Nietzsche (who was surely captivated by the work's iconoclastic nature), Tchaikovsky, and even Wagner. It conquered the world and secured its place in the arts, becoming a timeless masterpiece and one of the most enduring works in classical music.

Reading about this subject reminded me of Sonja—or rather, the women who inspired her: Sonia from Ukraine and the Agnes from France. Perhaps Bizet and Howard shared a similar inspiration: portraying certain women as true forces of nature—courageous beings who unashamedly embrace exactly who they are. They mock or disregard civilized conventions—our dogmas, our rules, the will of gods, and the authority of ideologies—rubbing it in our faces with a certain scorn that all these things will never fully master the instincts that drive us, nor make us forget the animals we are; they will always remain free and independent of the expectations society and men place upon them...

*The art is a work of Rudy Nebres

This could easily be a scene from a graphic novel scripted by Chris Claremont. But i'm dreaming big... really big...

Building on the recent post about Sonja's origin story, I was reminded of this Brazilian curiosity. The story was published by "Editora Abril" a publisher who held the rights to publish Marvel and DC comics in the 1980s in Brazil. In a title called "Heróis da TV"—which featured various Marvel character comics—issue #50 included Sonja's origin story, with art redrawn by Dick Giordano and Terry Austin and then colored. In this specific panel, they removed the text to draw in Sonja's breasts. The Brazilian publisher was known for altering or editing various details from the original Marvel material at the time.

"-Yes, ma'am"

"- What's your name warrior?"

"- Vykron, ma'am"

"- Dull name, now i call you Conan, right?"

"-Yes, ma'am"

"- Now, take off my boots and make me a good foot massage, Conan. i'm tired today"

"- Yes, ma'am"

"- And make t.. (censored according parental guidance standarts)

" And then on the battlefield, the redhead in the sparkling bikini, shouted mockingly: "So, you bunch of dogs and pigs! The hall is ready! Who will invite Sonja for the dance of death??"

Beware with expectations

Preorder is open:

https://www.bossfightstudio.com/products/red-sonja-immortal-red-sonja-1-12-scale-epic-h-a-c-k-s-action-figure

Rope + Serpent Tiara = Sonja by Barry Smith from "Song of Red Sonja"