You guys should read the original R. E. Howard story, "Shadow of the Vulture". Conan #23 is loosely adapted from this story, and is the inspiration for Roy Thomas' Red Sonja. In the original she is Red Sonya of Rogatino. Not the Hyborian Queen we know and love, but a fire haired Ukrainian battle maid. Roy Thomas took the character, and made her his own after a fan had hinted in a letter that another R. E. Howard character, Red Sonya, would make a good companion for Conan. With a change from, "Sonya" to, "Sonja", placing her in the Hyborian age, and mixing in parts of the Irish myth of Scathach, the Goddess she gets her power from, Red Sonja was born.
Though it takes place in the 1500's, and not Hyboria, Red Sonya is as entertaining as ever. You can read R. E. Howards original story, "Shadow of the Vulture" here, for free:
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0608101.txt