"A flame-tressed warrior of legend, she is called Red
Sonja. As a girl, she lived a quiet life with her brother and
parents, until the day that soldiers came to take away her brother to serve in a
tyrant’s army. When her parents resisted, the soldiers slew her family and raped
Sonja. In the wake of the attack, she was visited by an apparition—a goddess who
offered Sonja strength equal to any man or woman. The condition of this offer
was that Sonja could never give herself to a man who had not first bested her in
a fair fight.
From that offbeat origin came one of the best
characters of the genre, and a welcome counterpoint to the musclebound men who
dominate it. Red Sonja first appeared in Conan the
Barbarian #23, then went on to a solo stint in
Marvel Feature (1st Series). Her adventures continue in this, her
second solo title." - ComicBase™ 7.0.