Oeming admits, however, that she is "one of the very first of the bad girls—at least in the modern sense. She's original gangsta."

A steel bikini may not seem like the most effective choice of body armor, but after countless battles over the last 30 years, the crimson-haired warrior Red Sonja has proven that a skimpy costume is no worry when your skill with a sword makes you untouchable. Loosely based on the work of Conan creator Robert E. Howard, Red Sonja was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith in 1973 during their legendary run on the Marvel Comics series Conan the Barbarian. As a sexy femme fatale alternative to Conan’s overwhelming machismo, the "she-devil with a sword" struck a chord with readers and helmed a succession of popular comics series throughout the next decade. Interest in the character waned following the release of the 1985 Red Sonja movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brigitte Neilsen, but requests for her return surged following the successful launch of Dark Horse’s hit new Conan series by Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord in early 2004, leading to Dynamite Entertainment’s Red Sonja: She-Devil With a Sword series the following year.

"I was excited, but honestly, it didn’t hit me at the time how big of a deal it was," says Michael Avon Oeming, the writer of Sonja’s latest adventures. Oeming’s Sonja is a tough, furious warrior, beset by a reputation that makes men feel they have to best her to prove their mettle. Readers may see the skimpy clothing and assume Sonja is just another brainless "bad girl" like the many that glutted store shelves in the mid-90s, but her storied history and high action lift her above the pack. Oeming admits, however, that she is "one of the very first of the bad girls—at least in the modern sense. She's original gangsta."

The first six-issues of She-Devil With a Sword are collected in Dynamite’s first Sonja graphic novel, due this June. The book finds Sonja venturing to the town of Gathia, where a holy being named the Celestial One grants all who live there peace and prosperity, but at the cost of their freedom. Sonja’s appearance causes a rift between the Celestial One and the high priest Fa, and soon Sonja finds herself drawn into the center of a war that tears the entire city apart. Oeming was initially assisted by co-writer Mike Carey, a partnership that yielded a thrilling yarn packed with action and political intrigue. "Carey and I worked like magic," he raves. "I’d write it the best I could and he would take my coal, crush it in his hands and give me back a diamond. Now I just have to work harder without him." Looking back on his first stab at Sonja, Oeming says, "I have mixed feelings because I hate everything I do. That said, I’m pretty proud of the first arc, and there’s some nice seeds we've planted that will pan out [later] in the series."

Oeming is best known by comics fans as an artist thanks to his work with Brian Michael Bendis on the cult hit series Powers, but he sees little difference between working as a writer or an artist in the field. "I see writing as an extension of art and art an extension of writing," he explains. "It’s kind of the same thing." Red Sonja gains massive points on the art side thanks to Mel Rubi, whose pencilwork—as strikingly fluid as Nord’s work on Conan—not only exudes Sonja’s sexiness but also turns it up a notch during the often brutal action scenes. How did he get the job? "He had to wear the Sonja armor," Oeming jokes. "If he could work it, he got the job. He worked it. Oh, and he can draw really, really, really good."

Oeming downplays the relationship between his book and Dark Horse’s Conan, though his response cryptically refers to some big changes coming down the pike. "Both take place in the same physical world and are really well done," he states, "but soon enough there is going to be a huge rift between the two worlds. We'll see that in the second year of Sonja."

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