Announced to coincide with Baltimore Comic Con which starts today, Dynamite Entertainment proudly celebrates the seminal work of a legendary fantasy illustrator with Frank Thorne’s Red Sonja Art Edition, presenting for the first time the actual storyboard artwork from his complete 1976 run of swords-and-sorcery icon Red Sonja‘s appearances in the Marvel Feature comic book series. Scanned in high-resolution color and printed at original size, this gorgeous hardcover collection preserves every detail of the artist’s meticulous skill and hard work, while simultaneously presenting a complete storyline for the enjoyment of longtime She-Devil fans.  Frank Thorne’s Red Sonja Art Edition marks the first in a series of Dynamite Art Editions featuring prestigious creators and comic titles.

Frank Thorne began his comics career in 1948, penciling romance comics for Standard Comics.  He drew the Perry Mason newspaper strip for King Features, plus a multitude of stories for Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim, The Green Hornet, and many more.  Thorne’s name would become synonymous with Red Sonja, the iconic swordswoman from the Robert E. Howard’s Conan mythos, when his stint illustrating her adventures in the Marvel Feature comic book series led to a successful ongoing Red Sonja solo series, a celebrated run of comics from 1976 through 1979.  He established her characteristic image as a ferocious and beautiful female barbarian wearing a chainmail bikini, which later became a popular fantasy literature archetype.

The process of creating the oversized Frank Thorne’s Red Sonja Art Edition involves high-resolution color scanning of original storyboard artwork, capturing the look of the artwork as originally illustrated, with all blue lines, corrections, editorial notes, and other distinctive creative elements intact.  Each scan is then printed on heavy stock paper to give readers a more realistic experience of what it would be like to hold actual storyboard pages.  To ensure the unique nature of this art collectible, Dynamite will limit Frank Thorne’s Red Sonja Art Edition to a single first printing, restricted to initial orders and not to exceed a “mintage” of 1,973 units to commemorate the character’s first year of appearance.

Frank Thorne’s Red Sonja Art Edition will be solicited for retailer order through Diamond Comic Distributors’ October Previews catalog, corresponding to items shipping in December 2013.  Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies of Frank Thorne’s Red Sonja Art Edition with their local comic book shop or hobby specialty store.