Red Monika

Origin

Monika and the main protagonist of Battle Chasers, the legendary swordsman Garrison, knew each other since childhood. At an early age they both shared a natural talent for combat, and when they were children Monika actually had the more advanced skills of the two, first training Garrison in the art of swordsmanship. They also shared a great passion for adventure, but possessed very different moral values: Monika had little regard for the law and felt that personal freedom trumped everything else, while Garrison had a disciplined outlook on life and felt that it was his duty to uphold justice. These differences prevented them from developing a closer relationship as they grew older, and once they reached adulthood they had gone separate ways. 

Monika, true to her amoral nature, decided to pursue a career as a mercenary, offering her services to the highest bidder. She became known as Red Monika due to her bright red hair, and developed a fearsome reputation as a deadly bounty hunter with killer looks.

Creation

Red Monika was created by writer/artist Joe Madureira for Battle Chasers, a successful but short-lived comic book series of the late 1990's. With her bright red hair and over-the-top figure, Monika became arguably the most popular and recognizable character of the series. Despite the popularity of Battle Chasers, the title only ran nine issues due to the extremely slow working pace of its creator.

Character Evolution

Pinup by Michael Bair

Red Monika was inspired by two other red-haired femme fatales: The warrior woman Red Sonja (for her fighting prowess, skimpy attire, and obviously similar name), and the animated toon Jessica Rabbit (for her extremely exaggerated physical attributes). Due to her revealing outfits and impossible curves, Red Monika has remained a popular subject for pinup artists despite only appearing in a handful of comics over a decade ago.

Major Story Arcs

Garrison

Striking an impressive pose

Red Monika later tracked down Garrison and paid him a visit, their first meeting since they had parted ways back in their teenage years. Monika offered Garrison the opportunity for adventure again, saying that she needed his help to break someone out of a formidable prison called Skyhold. But Garrison brusquely turned her down, insisting that his fighting days were over. Disgusted that her childhood friend and fellow warrior had become a dispirited alcoholic, Monika told Garrison to go to hell and left him to his drinking. 

Skyhold

Aiming for trouble

Because of this, Monika and Garrison seemed to have finally brushed their collective differences aside. It was hard to determine whether or not Monika was showing deeper feelings towards Garrison or if she was merely being flirtatious (certainly one of her personality traits), or if she was perhaps delirious from injuries she had sustained while resisting capture. It was very clear that Garrison still loved his deceased wife, always wearing a locket with her picture in it during battle. However, all indications were that Monika and Garrison may have been heading down the relationship road sometime in the near future.