Kurtis J. Wiebe

Rat Queens #1

"Originally published in single magazine form as Rat Queens Vol. 2 #1-5"--Title page verso.

High fantasies. Volume four

Rat Queens

Dimitris Papastergiou

Rat Queens! 

Was one of my top favourite Image series. Now it's just good and fun and all, but not that important for me to purchase every time there's a new release. Oh well...

I think it's the artwork's fault. Too sketchy... too weird for Rat Queens (and even though that would be right on point for Rat Queens.. it's not). It's just too NOT Rat Queensy. 

And even though it grows on you and I like it at times... I want the old artwork back. The way we got introduced to them.. with this art, half the times Violet doesn't even look like Violet. And the other thing I hate but that's a personal complex, is that thing they're doing with changing the artwork halfway through to a fucking disney mickey mouse club fucking art, because... drugs. Like.... no. Hate that shit. 

Also, dunno why the writer decided to do this, but they completely disregarded everything that happened on vol. 3 and it's like it didn't happen? O_o 

With that fucking awesome cliffhanger on last issue (#16) with Orc Dave and Hannah being a demon with a makeover and all of that shit, all of a sudden we are to pretend nothing happened. Well that's a fucking bitch slap on your fans' faces. Oh well!

It's STILL Rat Queens and all. Fun and adventures and fantasy and all that. It's just... it's missing something. I'm keep reading the series of course and already waiting for Volume 5 this summer, but yeah!

A group of mercenaries known as the Rat Queens, who are in the business of killing for profit, search for the mastermind behind the missions they are being sent on that set them up as targets for assassination.

Sass and Sorcery

kickass girls, lots of fighting, magic, booze, friendship, humor, ugh! i'm in love.

Isadora Cal

Eh... I think the characters are very stereotyped. The plot is weak, and developed in such a hurry that becomes shallow.

Alexa M

This was so badass, hell ya! I read it in like 20 mins, it was my first graphic novel and I really wanna read more!!

"This booze-soaked second volume of RAT QUEENS reveals a growing menace within the very walls of Palisade. And while Dee may have run from her past, the bloated, blood-feasting sky god N'rygoth never really lets his children stray too far"--Publisher's website.

The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth

Rat Queens, Vol. 2

BooktubeAThon challenge 2: read a book without letting go of it complete! ✔️

brianna

some parts i enjoyed more than i did in v1 and some parts i disliked but it was still good!!

Jeff James

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from Net Galley.

Rat Queens is a modern spin on classic fantasy tropes that plays within those boundaries while also subverting clichés, and does so with a light touch. It has a great premise: a group of rowdy adventurers in a fantasy world fight, fuck, and generally incite civic destruction. The twist is that they’re all women, and they work both with and against other adventuring parties with similar mixes of race and gender.

The character designs are great, and Wiebe has a fantastic sense of humor. The character development is especially well-done, and each of the women at the center of the story feel both fully developed and entirely unique. In fact, characterization is probably the strongest aspect of the series so far.

I definitely enjoyed the first volume, Sass & Sorcery, which was a story about the team as they dealt with a surprising betrayal. This second volume, The Far-Reaching tentacles of N’Rygoth, tells a story that focuses on Dee, a semi-lapsed member of a religion that worships Lovecraftian horrors. I get the impression that future volumes of the series will tell similar stories that focus on each member of the Queens, so this volume is probably a good template for things to come.

Unfortunately, although I did enjoy volume two, it wasn’t as funny as volume one, and the pacing felt a little rushed at times. It opens with the Queens fighting against invading inter-dimensional horrors, and doesn’t really let up much from there. There are flashbacks interspersed throughout – part of the invasion involves strange mind control that distracts the Queens with hallucinated memories while they try to fight – so we do get a bit more back story for the characters, but it still felt like this volume didn’t gel quite as well as the first.

There was also a significant change behind the scenes when the original artist, Roc Upchurch, got arrested for domestic abuse charges and Wiebe fired him from the series. Stjepan Sejic, the artist who completed the last few issues in this volume, has his own unique style, but definitely fits very well within the established Rat Queens universe.

Although I do think this volume had a slight dip in quality, I would still heartily recommend picking up the series, and I look forward to future issues. Definitely worth checking out.

Originally posted at Full of Words.

Rat Queens#1

Abi Baker

Gosh this comic misses Tess Fowler so much.

So essentially Rat Queens has 'soft rebooted', so after almost a year long hiatus we have the same characters, the same writer, the same world and shenanigans, but a different artist.
So the feel shouldn't be that different right?

Except it is. 

I'm not sure if I just got used to not reading Rat Queens over it's hiatus or if the change in artwork is too jarring for me or if the execution of the premise just feels a bit off to me, but I do not enjoy it as much any more.

I like that Braga came back, but it almost felt like they were trying to stuff too many fan favourites in this issue in order to make it land, that it just kind of felt off. 

This first issue follows the Rat Queens getting back to the status quo, with the help of Braga, and on their travels they encounter the Cat Kings, who are a gender swapped version of them down to roles and looks/styles. Not sure what a supposed feminist comic needs is male copycat counterparts but maybe that's just me being overly bitter. There wasn't enough action in this to draw me in and it just felt a little weak compared to issues in the first iteration of Rat Queens.

The colouring is still a treat though, and I really do enjoy the joy it brings to the page. 

I'd suggest if you enjoy the concept of Rat Queens, then just stick to reading the first two volumes of the first series.

Ryan LaFerney

Holy Moly! What did I just read? Rat Queens follows a band of all lady Dungeons and Dragons-type adventurers who fight monsters, make trouble, and frequent the pub. In other words: these ladies kick ass and are seriously sassy. And they seem like real, diverse ladies who genuinely care about each other too.

Rat Queens is funny, irreverent, bloody and full of wit (and definitively not for kids).

This is a fun, silly, adult fantasy graphic novel about a group of female mercenaries. You're likely to enjoy it if you're into: tabletop RPG (like D&D) strong female characters, humor/satire, and qua-cthulian baddies.

Izza

Christine Bruce

probably one of the best new titles this year, and its easy to tell why. With a classic fantasy feel teamed with the freshness of kick ass characters who practically leap of the pages as modern women complete with cell phones, its hard to imagine this comic isn't MORE popular. It's absolute perfection.

"Gold, Guts and Grog," Part Five Well, Palisade has seen better days. It stinks like orc blood. There are bits of troll all over the place. Worst of all, the famous booze ship, Drowned Sorrows, sank to the bottom of the harbor in the attack. This era of Palisade will forever be known as THE DRY SPELL.

Rat Queens #5

High Fidelity

Kelsey Lynn

I picked this up having heard lots of good things about it, and it being nominated for a Hugo and all, and man... was I disappointed.
I didn't HATE it, I enjoyed parts of it, and will probably read the next volume, that has much much much better art. But this was, well forced is an understatement. It's painfully obvious that its a guy writing as girls, and all the girls are the same, say the same things, have the same level of sass, same level of personality, and curse a lot, which is fine, I curse a lot, but it seems like that's the selling point of this.
Look at these super generic girls, but they're sassy and swear wooooooh. They're doing things we incorrectly normally associate as masculine wooooah. They don't feel like strong ladies. 

To go with this sub par writing and character development the now ex artist of this first volume was terribly inconsistent, that poor dwarf looked different on every page. I'm not sure I actually know what she's really supposed to be shaped like.
I just didn't like how generic the girls were, and considering they are the namesake of the graphic novel, that doesn't bode well.

TLDR
It was just too forced, and falls into that weird category of popular with tons of people but I don't like, even though I'm a nerd and I "should" with Red Shirts, Ready Player One, and so many others I'm sure

Shereen Evans

This was a fun book to read. You follow a group of four women who like to get drink and fight. Betty is a fun loving smidgen who can sneak into places. Hannah who controls powers, Dee who is an atheist and healer, and last but not certainly least Violet who is a dwarf. They all have each other's back.

Maggie Gordon

Pardon my language, but the fuq is happening? Volume 4 of Rat Queens ignores the cliffhanger at the end of Vol 3. The girls are all back together and doing their normal thing? It's a jarring read, even if the author promises to address what happened before the hiatus. I had a hard time getting into the book because all the character development and mysteries being revealed were suddenly just gone. Adventuring is fun and all, but restarting the narrative this way was a poor plot choice.

The Rat Queens are back with more booze, drugs, sex, and Lovecraftian horrors! Volume 2 is not quite a strong as the first, but it is filled with background information on our four women, and manages an abrupt artist transition quite well. This series remains one of my current favourites, and if you don't mind nudity (including penises), foul mouthed women, and lots of sword and magic fighting, then you should definitely pick this one up!

Ken Yuen

The Rat Queens are at it again! Alright adventures.

Sarah Escorsa

See these girls right there ↑↑↑↑↑ ?

Well you know what? I'm in love. With all four of them.

Coolest mercenaries ever. Why? They're mayhem-inducing badasses. I don't care if there isn't much of a plot here. I wouldn't even care if there was no plot at all. Wherever these Queens go, I want to tag along. 



Damsels in distress begone! These girls will kick the knight in shining armour's ass in less time than it takes to blink.

A typical day in the life of a Rat Queen usually involves:
✔ Killing anything for profit
✔ Drinking lots of booze
✔ Slaughtering things around
✔ Cursing profusely
✔ Getting arrested repeatedly
✔ Destroying property
✔ Going on quests
✔ Trying to hook up with girls/guys/orcs/whatever
✔ Getting all bloodied up
✔ Being generally epic



One of the coolest things about this comic? Diversity. 
► Hannah is a white Elven Mage with a rockabilly haircut (who happens to love conjuring "little fuck you's").
► Betty is a lesbian Smidgen who loves candy, drugs and mixing cocktails.
► Violet is a red-haired, stocky Dwarven Fighter who shaves her beard to make a statement (whatever that statement may be).
► Dee is a socially awkward, curvy, black Atheist Cleric whose parents happen to worship a giant flying squid.

Barbie begone! This ain't no white blondie fantasy world.



Another one of the coolest things about this comic? Humour. And don’t expect cute humour here. It's dark, snarky, aggressive, witty, dry, satirical, mordant and off-colour. I LOVE it.





"Shut the fuck up, Gary!" Hahahahaha!

A word of advice: if you like fluffy bunnies, cute kitties and rainbows, this might not be an ideal read for you. And if you don't like violence and are easily offended then you might want to consider running away from this comic. As fast as you can.

Now if you're a sucker for badass chicks, gruesome battles and offensive humour, this one's for you. READ IT NOW.

· Volume 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth ★★

My reaction after reading Rat Queens, vol 1:



My reaction after reading Rat Queens, vol. 2:



► I'm in mourning right now. I loved volume 1. LOVED it. I fangirled over it like a damn 15-year-old. The release date for volume 2 kept being pushed back and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I waited anxiously. And waited. And waited. I waited all this time… for this?! Seriously?!
 

 
► What the hell happened?! ◄

Gone is the spark, gone is the humour, gone is the excitement. The story is flat, confusing, disjointed. The first part of this volume isn't that bad. But the second half? Ugh. The already dull plot is further weakened by constant, uninspired flashbacks. And a 1-second resolution. And a freaking cliffhanger. 

► What the hell happened?! ◄

I used to LOVE these girls. They were snarky, they were crazy, they were fun, they were hilariously offensive, they were nothing short of amazing. Now they're just a bunch of uninteresting, clichéd characters with mushy personalities. And frankly, I don't give a damn about them anymore. If the Rat Queens from volume 1 saw the way they were portrayed here, I'm pretty sure they'd find it all pathetically ridiculous. 

► What the hell happened?! ◄

The graphics. Damn. Roc Upchurch stopped illustrating the series after issue 8 and Stjepan Šejić took over. And it shows. A lot. And I don't like it. At all. Which is why I didn't even bother to include some of the art in this review. 



►► In my review for volume 1 I said that the characters were so cool I didn't even care if there wasn't much of a plot. Well now the characters are everything but cool. And the plot is fairly non-existent. And totally lackluster. So what happens now? I'll tell you what's *not* going to happen: me reading volume 3. Unless I get the old Rat Queens back. Which seems highly unlikely at this point. Bloody hell, who would have thought?

· Volume 1: Sass & Sorcery ★★★★★

Alexa Jade

Alli

Badass women + lots of dirty jokes, fighting, drinking, & mushrooms. This had me laughing out loud a few times. Will need to pick up the next volume because that ending hooked me!

Sheila

I bought this aaaaaages ago, but for some ridiculous reason I allowed it to gather dust on my bookshelf. I finally took it out of the plastic and I caN'T BELIEVE I ALLOWED MYSELF TO GO WITHOUT THIS FOR SO LONG!!!

Rat Queens is just fantastic! SO FUN! SO HILARIOUS! I love every single damn character & this issue is literally just all of them straight out the gate with little explanation, but beating everything in sight. I, frankly, love the art & everything else about this <3

I needed this so much right now, and this weekend I will be getting more issues & plowing through them I WILL NEVER ALLOW MYSELF TO BE WITHOUT THE RAT QUEENS EVER AGAIN

I still love these girls & I liked getting backstory, but overall the story was way too disjointed. :(