In "Reason to be Excited," I spotlight things from modern comics that I think are worth getting excited about. I mean stuff more specific than "this comic is good," ya know? More like a specific bit from a writer or artist that impressed me.

Today, I spotlight Mark Russell's excellent Red Sonja series, which is an epic war story, but with a distinctive Russell spin on it all.

Before I start, let's just take a moment to applaud Dynamite for the talent they've collected over the years on Red Sonja since they've got the license. We're talking Mike Carey, Mike Avon Oeming, Gail Simone, Amy Chu and now Mark Russell. Holy cow, that's a ton of really good writers!

But anyhow, we're talking now about Russell's current run on the series, which is up to #10 (along with a pair of one-shots tying into the story and giving some background on the epic). He has mostly been working with the excellent art team of Mirko Colak and Dearbhla Kelly, with Bob Q doing some important work here and there, as well (I believe Bob Q will be taking over in Year Two). The first year is almost finished and it's looking like quite the doozy.

The other day, I wrote about an awesome Russell Sinestro one-shot and I explained what really sets Russell apart is how he comes at stories from an out of the box approach. Imagine turning a satirist's eye on to everything? That sort of explains Russell's work, in general. However, that should not be confused for a guy who does only satire. Not at all, but what it means is that he has that sort of eye towards situations, so right in the middle of an otherwise straightforward war tale, he can surprise you with some sardonic awesomeness. It's really a delightful combination and it makes his writing a treat.

The main antagonist of this current volume is Emperor Dragan the Magnificent, who is stuck with the problem that all emperors face. If your whole deal is based on constantly expanding your empire, then what do you do when you hit a land that you can't conquer? One of the kings whose kingdom he just conquered warns him against trying to take over Dragan's next target...

Dragan is such an amazingly absurd character. You can tell Russell has a lot of fun writing him.

Red Sonja, meanwhile, has returned to her homeland of Hyrkania at a low point in her life. She arrives to learn that she is now the Queen of Hyrkania, which she learns is because the previous rulers found out about Dragan's impending invasion...

Sonja being Sonja, though, she is not about to bow down to Dragan, leading to the war storyline that is still continuing now and has been a real blast.

One of the things Sonja was shocked to find out is that she still had a living cousin in Hyrkania, and so that added a new dimension to her willingness to stand up for this land. In a hilarious bit, we learn that there is a special contest for the "most honest Hyrkanian" and the "winner" is force to be on Sonja's council, because the thought is that he/she will not lie to Sonja...

After goading Dragan into taking his forces into Hyrkania, we see that Sonja has sent her cousin around the way to attack and capture Dragan's supply wagons, instantly sending notice that Sonja will not be fighting the typical battles that Dragan is used to...

We see that in #5, as well, when Sonja, sick of Dragan's invaders setting torch to Hyrkanian land, begins to instruct her people to burn the land FIRST, so that the invaders can't use it before they burn it themselves...

It's this sort of clever, out there stuff that you expect from Russell and he's delivered it here and then some. There are also multitudes of flashbacks to Sonja's past, where we see her influences and how they shape her current actions. It's very clever, heartfelt stuff. Red Sonja has been one of the ongoings I look forward to the most this year and I believe that Year Two might be even MORE right up Russell's alley.

Okay, this feature is a bit less of a reader-interactive one, as I'm just spotlight stuff in modern comics that specifically impressed ME, but heck, if you'd like to send in some suggestions anyways, maybe you and I have the same taste! It's certainly not improbably that something you found cool would be something that I found cool, too, so feel free to send ideas to me at brianc@cbr.com!