First things first: Red Sonja: Queen Of Plagues is not a fully animated feature. It is a motion comic that adapts the storyline written by Gail Simon and illustrated by Walter Geovani that was published in traditional comic book form by Dynamite Entertainment. Motion comics aren't everyone's cup of tea, but when they're done well, they can be pretty interesting. Thankfully, this one is done well.

The story begins at the end of a bloody and harsh battle where we meet the victors, King Dimath and his son who free the surviving prisoners held captive in a dank and dreary dungeon. One of these survivors is Red Sonja. Sometime later, Sonja is approached by some of Dimath's emissaries who request on his behalf her help in training some of his soldiers to better defend his kingdom. Recently, it seems, there are those who would usurp the throne from his command and he aims to put a stop to these Zamorans invaders.

Sonja, owing Dimath a debt for his freeing her earlier in the story, obliges. She trains whoever will allow her and before you know it, has done what she can for Dimath's troops. On the opposing side, Dark Annisia, a woman with whom Sonja has a past, prepares the Zamoran's for battle. As we leran about Sonja and Annisia's past and how that past literally haunts Sonja's former comrade in arms, things become even more complex when Dimath is murdered and Sonja contracts the dreaded plague…

Walter Geovani translates to the animated facelift it receives here well enough. There's movement within what are basically panels, though this is not fluid, complete animation. The colors look fantastic here and the details that is inherent in the original penciling comes through nicely as well. This was an attractive looking comic when it was first published and so it stands to reason that it would look just as good in this form. As to the story itself, Simone has proven herself to be one of the best writers around when it comes to writing believable characters, male or female, and she brings that knack for personality to Red Sonja in a big way. Sonja's got a sense of humor, she's quick with her wit, but so too is she strong, sexy and powerful. She's established early on as enough of a bad ass that we have no questions as to why Dimath might ask her to help him as he does, while the backstory that exists between she and the equally interesting Annisia fills in some of the character's origin points nicely. This is a good read, it delivers what you'd want out of a sword and sorcery comic: great characters, fantastic settings, monsters, action, violence, sex appeal and just a whole lot of big, bold and bloody fun.

As to the voice acting, Sonja sounds good here, very committed to what's happening and engaged in the storyline. The rest of the characters are a bit more hit or miss, with some of the voice talent sounding uninterested. A bit more enthusiasm here would have probably helped things out a bit, but aside from that, this is solid entertainment. Simone's storytelling is top notch, Geovani's artwork shines and while some will no doubt lament the fact that this is not a full animated feature film, Red Sonja: Queen Of Plagues offers up seventy-five minutes of solid entertainment.

Video:

Red Sonja: Queen Of Plagues arrives on Blu-ray in a nice AVC encoded 1.78.1 widescreen 1080p high definition transfer that replicates the art style well. This is a softer looking presentation than some might be accustomed to but it's in keeping with the original illustrations. There aren't any compression artifacts and as this was all done digitally, there are no issues with print damage. Some scenes and frames look noticeably softer than others for some reason but the colors are bright, bold and often times very beautiful and there's nary a trace of compression or edge enhancement to note.