In the age of corporate epic fantasy has pulp-era sword and sorcery become more appealing than ever? Wondering where the genre stands as I discover a forgotten fantasy heroine from the Marvel vaults
Nice post Alec. It's interesting hearing your opinion about the treatment of the female hero and how that would have been incorrect for Sonja. I agree.
I've been deep down a Red Sonja rabbit hole the past month or so and cannot see a light at the end of that tunnel. For me, she's more interesting as a loner than the leader of a band of friends. I've found that Gail Simone and Luke Lieberman write very good Sonja, but other writers either don't know how to write a strong, sassy female without unconscious misogyny creeping in, or lean too much into their own feminist narratives and hence weaponise the character for their own socio-political agendas. I don't think, with a character like her that you need to be so on the nose with it. She's a badass, she's at least the equal of any man, she fights injustice, but she has flaws. You don't need to grandstand the anti-sexist sentiment. That becomes a distraction that detracts from the story and the character in my opinion. I think Simone got it spot on.
Anyway, I'm currently working on a pitch for a fantasy epic inspired by songs off the first two Queen albums. It's a heroes journey, the central protagonist is called Farrokh (wonder who that's based on). As much I appreciate the sexiness of classic fantasy, like Sonja or Conan, there isn't too much of that in this. The focus will be on character, world building and normal people coming together to defeat evil. There also might be an Ogre battle or two. But maybe I need more semi naked ladies 🤔.
Thanks, Troy! I’ve always adored Red Sonja, and am really looking forward to seeing what Jim Zub does with her. Loner characters are great, but tricky when it comes to burying exposition as they have no one to talk to! :P Sonja – like so many other sword and sorcery heroines – got woefully short-changed back in the day. Written by blokes on breakneck deadlines who often fell back on certain (sometimes ugly) biases and stereotypes (as did everyone else at the time), it’s no wonder there’s been a few political over-corrections in recent years. :D I think it depends on who you’re writing for and what they’re expecting. If you’re going full-bore fantasy then you need to absorb the reader in another world, not pull them out of it. And you’re always going to end up sacrificing narrative momentum when you’re pausing to get thoughtful about theme and so on. Then again, there’s always room for a left-field political fable. Good luck with the fantasy pitch, Troy. Sounds great!
Nice post Alec. It's interesting hearing your opinion about the treatment of the female hero and how that would have been incorrect for Sonja. I agree.
I've been deep down a Red Sonja rabbit hole the past month or so and cannot see a light at the end of that tunnel. For me, she's more interesting as a loner than the leader of a band of friends. I've found that Gail Simone and Luke Lieberman write very good Sonja, but other writers either don't know how to write a strong, sassy female without unconscious misogyny creeping in, or lean too much into their own feminist narratives and hence weaponise the character for their own socio-political agendas. I don't think, with a character like her that you need to be so on the nose with it. She's a badass, she's at least the equal of any man, she fights injustice, but she has flaws. You don't need to grandstand the anti-sexist sentiment. That becomes a distraction that detracts from the story and the character in my opinion. I think Simone got it spot on.
Anyway, I'm currently working on a pitch for a fantasy epic inspired by songs off the first two Queen albums. It's a heroes journey, the central protagonist is called Farrokh (wonder who that's based on). As much I appreciate the sexiness of classic fantasy, like Sonja or Conan, there isn't too much of that in this. The focus will be on character, world building and normal people coming together to defeat evil. There also might be an Ogre battle or two. But maybe I need more semi naked ladies 🤔.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Troy! I’ve always adored Red Sonja, and am really looking forward to seeing what Jim Zub does with her. Loner characters are great, but tricky when it comes to burying exposition as they have no one to talk to! :P Sonja – like so many other sword and sorcery heroines – got woefully short-changed back in the day. Written by blokes on breakneck deadlines who often fell back on certain (sometimes ugly) biases and stereotypes (as did everyone else at the time), it’s no wonder there’s been a few political over-corrections in recent years. :D I think it depends on who you’re writing for and what they’re expecting. If you’re going full-bore fantasy then you need to absorb the reader in another world, not pull them out of it. And you’re always going to end up sacrificing narrative momentum when you’re pausing to get thoughtful about theme and so on. Then again, there’s always room for a left-field political fable. Good luck with the fantasy pitch, Troy. Sounds great!
Sailors on the Starless Sea is great!
Great post and a very good summary of the issues with Marada. Have you been reading the Cimmerian adaptations by Ablaze?
I think I may still have a copy of Marada squirreled away somewhere . . .
I think Kurt Busiek's run on Conan is my favorite one.