Cosplay: Red Sonja Charges to Victory

4 Minute Read

Mar 8 2023

The Day of the Sword is upon us! Lets check out the fierce sword and sorcery heroics of classic Red Sonja cosplays!

The 1980s was the heady heyday of the Sword and Sorcery genre. Giants like The Beastmaster, Hawk the Slayer, Conan the Barbarian, Krull, Dragonslayer, and others graced the pages of comics and the big screen in tales of epic fantasy. One of the greatest among these is the fierce sword-wielding maven Red Sonja, created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973.

Red Sonja has undertaken many iterations over the years, starting with the Robert E. Howard stories and then into comics, and eventually onto the silver screen portrayed by the stunning Brigette Nielsen in the title role. Strong independent female characters with agency were few and far between in the genre, so seeing a leading lady hold her own and shape the world around her was a very refreshing change. (Can we have a talk about the chaffing issues that are caused by leather strapping and chain mail on bare skin for a moment PLEASE?!).

This week we’re paying tribute to the newest generation of Red Sonja adaptation. We have Red Sonja cosplays ripped right off the comic book pages! It takes a ton of confidence (and bra support) to depict the red-headed heroine. We’re paying tribute to these gorgeous recreations!

Red Sonja Cosplay by Tatiana Neva

*“No man may have me, unless he’s beaten me in a fair fight.”-Red Sonja*

*“I don’t need eyes to find you, I can smell you at a hundred paces!”-Red Sonja*

“*If danger is a trade, I’ll learn it by myself.”-Red Sonja*

Red Sonja Cosplay by The Crystal Wolf

*“No “king” summons Sonja, children. And your radiant ladyship isn’t quite herself at the moment. Run along please.”-Red Sonja*

“Stand and fight, you dogs from some southern Hell — or else crawl back into the Hell-hole that opened up and spat you out!”-Red Sonja

Red Sonja Cosplay by It’s Raining Neon

“Let’s show the gutless pigs how the warriors of **Pah-Dishah** can fight! By Tarim, we’ll give the devils **scarlet wine** to drink this dawn… **or my name is not Red Sonja!”-Red Sonja**

“We are **not** rivals — save in **your** eyes. Conan has been my **friend** — my **comrade** — even my **foeman** at times — but neither he nor **any** man has been my **lover**!”-Red Sonja

Red Sonya Cosplay by Rosanna Rocha

“*No half-baked Hellhorde slays Red Sonja!*“

*“**No man** touches **Red Sonja! Death** to the Man-Spider!”-Red Sonja*

“Gath’s men slaughtered my **family** before my **eyes** and stole my **innocence!** But on that day, I was blessed by a goddess to exact revenge… against such evil as yourself, demon, and all that serve Gath!”-Red Sonja

~Join us next week for more Cosplay Coverage~

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Author: Jennifer Larsen

Jennifer aka "Mayhem's Muse" is the Cosplay Editor for BoLS and manages Ad Sales and Communications. Her cosplay awards include the RTX Judge's Choice Award and Dragon's Lair Austin's Cosplay Symposium. Jennifer has been a Cosplay Guest Judge at RTX, Tacticon and Genghis Con in Colorado. She regularly attends conventions to cover cosplay for BoLS. Her cosplay work has been featured in publications such as Girls Who Love Monsters, Geek Fuel, and Renaissance Magazine. Jennifer has modeled in the Her Universe Fashion Show, Precision Camera's yearly Precision Camera University, and has taught several workshops for photographers about partnering with cosplayers and creative muses/models. Jennifer is a lifelong enthusiast of retro video games and loves Dungeons & Dragons, urban fantasy, tabletop games, VR technology, and historical archery. She has set National Records through USA Archery’s Traditional Division for Asiatic Bows and earned 4th Place in the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan in 2018 for Women’s Korean Archery. Jennifer is currently studying for her Masters's Degree in Organizational Leadership.

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