Though the comic book version of Red Sonja was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith in 1973, the original inspiration for Red Sonja was created in 1934 by fantasy novelist Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian and the mythical Hyborean Age. Howard's character was named "Red Sonya of Rogatino," and she first appeared in the short story The Shadow of the Vulture (which was adapted into Red Sonja's first comic book story by Marvel). However, Howard's Red Sonya was a saber-and-pistol wielding heroine of the Renaissance era rather than a swordswoman of the Hyborean Age.
In the 1970's, after Conan the Barbarian became a hit series for Marvel Comics, other Howard characters were considered for introduction into the series, including Red Sonya. In order to transform her character so that she could be a contemporary of Conan, writer Roy Thomas altered the spelling of her name to the more exotic "Sonja" and made her a barbarian swordswoman from the land of Hyrkania. Red Sonja was a hit with readers, growing from a supporting character in Conan to starring in several volumes of her own comic book series. She has become the archetypal example of what is now a fantasy staple: The fierce and strikingly beautiful warrior-woman clad in revealing bikini-like armor.
Character Evolution
