After picking up the recently released Red Sonja Noir: The Plunder and the Princess one-shot, I learned that it wasn’t the first Noir-themed story featuring the She-Devil With A Sword. 2025’s more straightforwardly titled one-shot, Red Sonja: Noir, was the first, and I had to check it out. So here we are!

This story tells the tale of a time when Sonja had a partner and ran an agency, of sorts, with her and the male warrior, Tasmin, being swords for hire. One night, a beautiful woman walks in needing their help, and soon enough Sonja is embroiled in the search for a mystical artifact, with several other parties also racing to get their hands on the treasure.

Like pseudo-sequel The Plunder and the Princess, this Red Sonja Noir tale doesn’t take place in the early-to-mid 20th century, which may surprise some readers. However, unlike The Plunder and the Princess, it feels like this story is absolutely overflowing with noir tropes.

The ‘detective’ agency (sort of), the sexy femme fatale, the double crossing, the MacGuffin, the world-weary narration; it all really does feel like a noir story in Sonja’s world.

It’s very well done, and in light of the fact that it so effectively uses the tropes of the genre in Sonja’s world, it makes the noir labelling of The Plunder and the Princess, which you have to really stretch and squint to see the noir elements in, feel like it was a story that wasn’t written to be a noir tale at all.

Regardless, this is a fantastic one-off story on its own terms, with excellent art and a twisting, turning story that keeps the attention and the intrigue going all the way to the climax. Highly recommended.

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