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One Year Later: Red Sonja writer Michael Avon Oeming

Eisner award winner Michael Avon Oeming has been very busy over the past year. He scripted two Marvel mini-series (Thor: Blood Oath and Ares), he continues to produce Image Comics work (like co-writing the Blood River graphic novel and drawing and co-writing the upcoming four issue mini-series Cross Bronx, which he also co-created), and he remains the artist of the series that earned him an Eisner in the first place, Powers.

Some may not realize though that Oeming’s best selling comic book over this past year has been the one focused on the red-haired, sword wielding, tenacious “warrior-woman out of majestic Hyrkania.” Red Sonja may be “one of the few swords worthy to cross with” Conan, but of late she has consistently been his superior on the sales charts. I had the chance to meet with Oeming during the recent Philadelphia Wizard World convention, and in this interview he discusses his first year writing Red Sonja as well as what to expect next in the title.

Keith Dallas: Just over one year has passed since the publication of Red Sonja #0, an issue which sold over 200,000 copies at the attractive price of $0.25. Tell me your thoughts and feelings about what you’ve produced over the past 12 months. What are you particularly proud of?

Michael Avon Oeming: Wow, it’s been quite a ride. When Sonja started, I had no idea it would do this. 200,000 copies sold is insane. The best thing for me has been exploring Sonja’s character slowly. We have time to lay things out. I think working with Mel and some of the covers from guys like Adam Hughes (who is a close friend) and Frank Cho have been among the highlights. Adam and I are actually on the cover of issue #7 as two of the pirates!

KD: If you could go back, is there anything you would have changed about the first year?

MAO: Nothing major. There’s always some sort of minor dialogue mistakes that happen that nobody catches. Little stuff like that that can be touched up for the trade. But otherwise, no, I’m happy with everything we’ve done.

KD: Stuff like a particular line of dialogue doesn’t “ring true”?

MAO: Yeah, I can write an issue but by the time it gets lettered, there can be some relative “big mistakes,” like a particular sentence just doesn’t make sense (Ha Ha!), but nobody caught it because there’s such a huge amount of material to look over before publication. For some reason I can only see those mistakes clearly once the issue gets published (Ha Ha!). We work very hard to make sure stuff like that doesn’t happen, but still, it happens.

KD: What attracted (and continues to attract) you to this project?

MAO: Bikini Chain mail? Well again, it’s getting to work with Sonja as a character. I think she’s incredibly interesting, a woman who was violated as a child takes an oath to never have a man unless he can beat her with a sword, runs around in chain mail bikini armor looking for fights as she acts out cold vengeance on any evil she can find…. Wow, she’s incredibly screwed up seen through our modern eyes. I love that. I also love the fact that in her world, killing someone and displaying their heads on pikes is sometimes the right thing to do!

I also find she’s a great contrast between a warrior woman and a feminine hero.

KD: Considering Red Sonja is a non-DC/Marvel title, it has sold remarkably well. Indeed, Red Sonja is the top selling comic book not published by DC or Marvel, and it even sells better than many DC/Marvel titles. What in your estimation accounts for the title’s success?

MAO: Bikini Armor…

KD: HA HA! I guess that falls under “ask an obvious question…”

MAO: Well, there’s also the great stories with great art and a lead character that people get to know more and more each issue.

KD: Much commentary has been provided to the three or four different covers each issue of Red Sonja offers. How would you respond to those who find this an unnecessary marketing “gimmick”?

MAO: Well, people love them. I haven’t heard any complaints and frankly I think it totally makes sense. If Marvel/DC did it, it would certainly be a gimmick, but hell, coming out of Dynamic, it totally works.

KD: I’m curious to know how far ahead you plot these Red Sonja stories. To what issue have you plotted and scripted right now?

MAO: In general terms, we have the next few YEARS figured out. I’m about an arc ahead of the art.

KD: In issue #12 Sonja will confront Kulan Gath, the wizard who has opposed Conan, The Avengers, The X-Men and Spider-Man in various Marvel Comics publications over the years. Describe how you conceived the use of Kulan Gath as a villain for this title.

MAO: Once a character like that lands in your lap, you have to go for it. He’s been of use from the start, but we’ll be doing the full reveal starting with issue #12. Really, he’s the same character as before, but much like Red Sonja, we are expanding his background and his character. Again, it’s the slow reveal too. I’m not having Gath leap out of a box and start killing people and casting spells right away. There is a build up to something amazing with him.

KD: Do you have a finite number of Red Sonja stories that you can tell, or is this a title that you can foresee yourself attached to for years to come (publisher willing)?

MAO: Honestly, I think I have a finite amount of stories. I want to tell them over the next few years and leave on a high note. I’d say we have at least two more years with me on as writer.

KD: Given what you just said, do you feel, as a writer, you can only do so much with the character of Red Sonja? The current story arc explores her childhood, but is there a realization or recognition on your part that because of Sonja’s iconic status, you can only take this character so far?

MAO: Absolutely. That’s what important about creating a good map and character history so when the next writer comes on, he will have fresh ideas and be able to explore them. Not only ideas that I didn’t think of, but ones that I didn’t necessarily want to do. The next writer though will be able to do it in an interesting way because I hope we created a good universe and supporting characters for Red Sonja stories for years to come.

KD: Is there a danger of Red Sonja stories being formulaic?

MAO: Well, they are! And I think that’s what our first story arc was making a comment on. Sonja is typically fighting wizards and mythical beasts, and what we wanted to do was present that sort of story in our first arc but to give it a radically large twist, so yes, this is the Sonja that readers all know and love, but we also wanted to update her with a lot more character depth and explore what motivates a megalomaniac villain. And that’s what we were doing on the first arc. So we have a wizard in the castle and all the basic Red Sonja story elements, and then with the second arc, we did something completely different that has never been done with Sonja before.

KD: What I really admired about the conclusion to the first story arc is that Sonja didn’t necessarily “save the day”; quite possibly, she made matters worse by killing “the villain.”

MAO: Absolutely. Again, what I like about the universe in which she works is that its “moral ground” is so different than the world we live in now, and sometimes the only right thing to do is to chop everyone’s head off, put them into a barrel, set it on fire and then roll it down into the village.

KD Ha Ha! Right!

MAO: But there are consequences for those actions. And maybe our first Red Sonja story arc was also a commentary on what’s going on in the “real world” right now. We wanted to try to make things better, but we kind of made it worse. The best intentions don’t automatically makes things right.

KD: Have you remained faithful to Robert E. Howard’s portrayal of “Red Sonya”*? Is there an obligation on your part to remain faithful?

MAO: I can say we haven’t, as Red Sonja as we know her really isn’t just a Robert E. Howard character, she’s also a ROY THOMAS character. I think though we have been true to the spirit of Howard’s creations.

Pages from Red Sonja #11

KD: Assess Mel Rubi. What do you think are his most impressive talents as an artist, in general and for this title?

MAO: He draws like a mofo’! He’s a great storyteller, draws a beautiful line and can make Sonja tough and sexual without being slutty or coming off as some cheap fan-boy fantasy pushing her boobies and butt into the camera whenever she swings a sword. He makes Sonja HUMAN.

KD: How detailed are the scripts you provide him? Do you dictate panel layout and perspective or are those matters left up to him?

MAO: They are pretty detailed, but we have an understanding that he can do his own thing. Sometimes I’ll leave a scene open to him, with no direction. A few times I’m very specific, but Mel is the director, the final move is his.

KD: Do you script differently based on who you know will be the artist for that script? For instance, were your Thor: Blood Oath scripts different in style or format than your Red Sonja ones?

MAO: No. I usually have a brief conversation with the artist ahead of time and tell them to take a look at Powers to see what I do, only so that when he’s reading the scripts, he understands what I’m asking for. If he doesn’t want to do it the way that I’m asking for, he at least understands my intention and can do it his own way. So, for instance, I’ll ask the artist for repeating panels, but I don’t expect him to provide them if he doesn’t want to. As long as he understands WHY I’m asking for them. Usually repeating panels are about focusing in on emotion or really soaking up the moment, but there are other ways to accomplish that besides a repeating panel. So as long as they understand WHY I’m asking for certain things, that’s all I care about. I tell them to feel free throw out all my instructions and do what they want, as long as they understand my intention.

KD: The fact that you are an artist helps you communicate your intentions with other artists?

MAO: Yeah. I try to write for them.

KD: Over the past year you’ve also written two Marvel Comics mini-series: Thor: Blood Oath and Ares. Describe to me how similar or how different writing for Marvel Comics and writing Red Sonja has been? How similar or different have the editorial processes been?

MAO: They are actually pretty close. With Marvel there’s more continuity baggage to deal with though. I think because the guys at Dynamite know the Marvel guys so well, and have been on the inside of the process so long through relationships with editors, publishers and artists they really know how the machine works, how to deal with artists and writers. We’re kind of a pain to deal with sometimes.

* In his short story “The Shadow of the Vulture” which appeared in the January 1934 issue of The Magic Carpet Magazine, Robert E. Howard created “Red Sonya of Rogatino,” a Russian warrior-woman who held a grudge against an Ottoman sultan in the 16th century. In 1973 Roy Thomas, then writing Conan the Barbarian, incorporated Sonya (which he changed to Red Sonja) into Marvel’s version of Howard’s “Hyborian Age.” Esteban Maroto designed the now-iconic bikini chain mail armor, which appeared first in Savage Sword of Conan #1.

Special thanks to Dynamite Entertainment and Michael Avon Oeming for their kind assistance.

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