Fans of swords, sorcery and tales of adventure will find a lot to love in the classic comics of Marada the She-Wolf, created by legendary comic book writer Chris Claremont. A serial from the early 1980s, Marada is Claremont and artist John Bolton’s attempt to create a badass, fantasy warrior woman in the vein of Xena or Red Sonja. She’s beautiful, honorable and good with a sword, and a collected edition of of her adventures released this month by Titan Comics goes a long way in establishing her as an exciting action hero – with one major caveat.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

The collected edition of Marada comics features the complete run of the character across three issues, with a lot of behind-the-scenes materials. The story takes place somewhere in the middle of Marada’s heroic career, since she’s already a well-known character at the start. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Marada’s adventures did not continue beyond these three issues, so we only really get the first half of her adventure. The rest is lost to posterity. And I found the comic entertaining enough that I wish I could see what happened next.

Marada is a nomadic warrior princess who travels the world having adventures – which, frankly, is my dream job (minus the princess part). She’s the graddaughter of Caesar, and the story is set during the days of the Roman Empire. Marada’s tale takes her to the African Savannah, the Middle East, the high seas and even into demonic dimensions. She’s your typical heroine, and her adventures are resoundingly fun and filled with a great cast of entertaining supporting characters.

The best way to describe the art by Bolton  is ‘classic’. This is exactly the kind of painted fantasy art I imagine when I think of tales from this era. All of the characters look like they stepped off the cover of a slightly-less air-brushed romance novels, but in a good way.

Not enough romance novels include demon killing

The pages look much cleaner in the actual book. These are just some scans I found online.

Unfortunately, Marada the She-Wolf was written and designed by men in the comic book industry in the early 1980s. Considering the problems some male writers have with female characters in this day and age, it’s no surprise that Marada is not exactly a strong, independent woman.

The collected edition is available on Amazon.com.

Join me after the jump for more review.

The three issues contained in Marada the She-Wolf follow our hero from one adventure to the next, while she and her young sidekick, the magic-wielding Arianrhod, travel across the world to make their way home. Like I said, the book cuts off before they actually get home, but the troubles they get into along the way make for a more than excellent story. Whether she’s being hunted in the jungles of Africa by a friendly princess, slaughtering demons in their home dimension, or sailing the high scenes with a jolly pirate captain, Marada is a fun read.

Especially the pirate captain

The lead character is intelligent and courageous, and Bolton’s art really makes her stand out with her signature silvery hair. Had she been given more time to shine, Marada really could have become something special. Claremont is a true legend in the comic book industry, especially in the 80s. His skill in storytelling and unique, interesting characters is on full display in Marada the She-Wolf.

But I do have one complaint about the comic. It’s kind of sexist.

The book starts with Marada as a meek, flinching flower, which her friends recognize as far different from the boisterous, badass Marada they usually know. We eventually learn that Marada was raped, but it was not just any rape, it was a drugged, demon rape. An evil sorcerer spikes Marada’s drink while she’s celebrating at a bar, then drags her home, chains her up and summons a demon to rape her – all of which Bolton draws, though the art never gets too graphic.

The rest of the first issue is about the evil sorcerer trying to capture her again for more, only to grab Arianrhod instead. Marada must then gear up and head into the demon’s home dimension to kill him, kill the sorcerer and save Arianrhod. That’s all well and good, but using rape as a tool to empower women is a definite bad move, and it’s especially troublesome in the comic book industry, where male writers go to this well far too often.

There’s also a reoccurring theme where Marada’s adventures are sometimes defined by what men appear in the comic, and how they lust after her – and she for them.

It must be all the bling

Marada the She-Wolf is a comic of its time, for both good and bad. It’s a high-action sword and sorcery tale from a time before all of that was cliched. Claremont knows how to tell a good adventure, and populates Marada’s comics with such vivid and fun characters that every new issue is a fun read. Marada herself is your typical action heroine, but that can be fun to read as well. This comic is classic in both story and art, with a beautiful painted style by John Bolton, who is more than up to the challenge of making Claremont’s characters stand out even more.

But sometimes the comic’s treatment of its lead character leaves a lot to be desired. She may be a female hero in a man’s world, but that doesn’t mean she has to be defined by what men (and male demons) do to her.

—————-