Red Sonja / Claw The Unconquered: Devil's Hands (Paperback) [Paperback]

John Layman (Author), Andy Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 24, 2007

Red Sonja, the legendary crimson-haired she-devil with a sword, and DC Comics' Claw, the cursed warrior, are thrown together as unlikely allies against a despotic evil sorcerer who was once a friend to Red Sonja but is now her sworn enemy. The problem is, that enemy may be the only one who holds the key to unlocking the terrible curse Claw must endure.

One thing is certain: should Claw finally succumb to the dark urges that have been slowly consuming him, the only person who can stop him is Sonja!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up—Whether from the Brigitte Nielsen movie in the 1980s, her continually random cameos in any number of Marvel books, or the recent success of her own series, the fiery-haired barbarian known as Red Sonja will be familiar to many readers of fantasy comics. Claw the Unconquered, though, has much less of a following. In many ways he is DC's own version of Conan but with one major difference: due to a curse, his right hand has been turned into a demonic claw. Sonja and Claw meet by chance when he is moments away from ending his own life. The two join forces when bandits ambush them, and they then journey to discover the identity of the leader of the marauders. Layman assumes that most readers know Red Sonja already, so he focuses on developing Claw's past through a series of flashbacks. The backstory becomes vitally important as the climax hinges on his ability to maintain control and not give in to the violent urges he constantly feels to kill everyone around him—including Red Sonja. With Claw's über-enhanced muscles and Sonja's gravity-defying armored bikini, Smith's tightly drawn art shows a unique flair for well-choreographed, and sometimes gory, action scenes. Layman and Smith have created a straightforward sword-and-sorcery comic with all the trimmings, both good and bad. Fans of fantasy will love the fast pace of this sword-slashing action story.—Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: WildStorm (January 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401212107
• ISBN-13: 978-1401212100
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.2 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,148,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Look elsewhere for quality Red Sonja tales, March 15, 2009

By 

Mitchell Brian - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Red Sonja / Claw The Unconquered: Devil's Hands (Paperback) (Paperback)

If you are a fan of Red Sonja, then pick up the four-part short story "Travels" or Dynamite's new Red Sonja series. However, give this one a pass. This graphic novel is a poor attempt to build on the Red Sonja genre. The men in the story are drawn to look simply grotesque, the plot is pretty poor, and "Claw" does not make for a good or credible companion-- not even a decent sidekick. Only high point-- hence the two stars-- is the Sonja artwork. There is plently of good Red Sonja material out there so I would look elsewhere before purchasing this one.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Trite!, July 6, 2007

By 

BruceWayne - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Sonja / Claw The Unconquered: Devil's Hands (Paperback) (Paperback)

I know you're thinking, "how is that even possible"?

Well first off let me say that the story is crap. I didn't know until after reading this book that Claw The Unconquerable was created back in the 70's. I thought Layman created this crap character all by himself and I was really gonna' give him hell over it.

You're off the hook on creating Claw, Layman.

But your story sucks. I don't expect just a whole lot from a character like Red Sonja (though Dynamite does a great ongoing series) but bearing that in mind, you can't just slap your readers across the face with cliche after cliche of "Bring her to me..." and "We fight for freedooooommmm!" and expect to get a positive reaction.

Layman really needs to focus on honing his craft, even for a B-grade character like Red Sonja.

HOWEVER...artist Andy Smith shows an incredible amount of promise. And maybe that was the deal all along---Layman agreed to pull a "Jeph Loeb" and let the dialogue take a seat waaaay in the back for the art (*see "Batman:Hush").

Every image of Smith's Red Sonja could double as a pin-up shot...though some of the other characters lack the same patience and care, and both of the main male characters look like Bizzaro Conans.

This is worth the buy only as a "sketchbook" of Andy Smith. I wouldn't bother reading it, though.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bloody good fun..., March 8, 2007

By 

Brady Chin (Venice, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Red Sonja / Claw The Unconquered: Devil's Hands (Paperback) (Paperback)

Cheesecake (and beefcake) swords and sorcery. If you're a fan of the genre and your intellectual needs are modest, then this is a nice way to spend a couple of hours.