The Shadow of the Vulture

Common card · No. 400707

"The Shadow of the Vulture" is a short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, first published in The Magic Carpet Magazine, January 1934. The story introduces the character of Red Sonya of Rogatino, who later became the inspiration for the Marvel Comics character Red Sonja, archetype of the chainmail-bikini clad female warrior. Unlike Howard's better-known fantasy work, "The Shadow of the Vulture" is historical fiction, set in the 16th century. It uses the career of Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (also known as Sultan Suleiman I), the aftermath of the Battle of Mohács (1526) and the later Siege of Vienna of 1529 as a backdrop for imaginary characters and events.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Popular Fiction Publishing / Margaret Brundage, Public domain