Rat Queens #5 – Review

by Kurtis J. Wiebe (Writer), Roc Upchurch (Artist)

The Story: The battle for Palisade concludes as the mercenaries then party hard.

The Review: There are a quite a lot of changes in the industry going on these days. With many established and well-liked creators going on to create their own series at companies like Image, Dark Horse, Boom and other such places, we live in an age where creativity in the American market is booming. It is something, however, that require some sacrifices, like titles that are released in waves like Saga and Lazarus, who need time after a bunch of issues to catch up and plan ahead.

Another title that can claim to do so is Rat Queens, with this issue concluding its first arc with the next issue coming up in May. One of the very thing which makes the adventures of the Rat Queens a bit similar to the two aforementioned titles is the quality, which is actually quite high. With but a few honest-to-God pure and atypical fantasy comics out there, it’s a refreshing thing to see a title dedicated to the genre, yet not so stuck in its ways as to forget to bring innovation and quality into the mix. Still, does this conclusion brings a painful realisation that the title won’t be out for a few months, or is it a dull affair that makes the wait a bearable thing?

Unfortunately, it’s the former as this conclusion not only brings many of the title’s strength to the forefront, but also present many of the unique and decidedly charming qualities of the title in a penultimate fashion.

Rat Queens #4 – Review

by Kurtis J. Wiebe (Writer), Roc Upchruch (Artist)

The Story: With the mystery of who is trying to kill the mercenary groups solved, I suppose it is about time for a horde or orcs to attack the town.

The Review: Diversity is awesome. While comics are generally associated, in a rather general manner, with super heroes, most aficionados do know that in this day and age, we are lucky to have comics covering close to every genre. Horror, western, supernatural, mystery and a plethora of others are all represented, perhaps not in an equal manner, but are available on the market nonetheless.

Having a certain fondness of fantasy, with all the tropes connected with the genre (elves, dwarves, orcs, dragons, magic and what-have-you), it’s always nice to see a title delve in what readers know unapologetically. Still, any title needs its own identity, which is why it’s just so refreshing to see a title like Rat Queens on the stand. Full of humor, flawed leads and a willingness to play with the tropes without any restraints, it is a title that is unabashedly fun to read.

Part of this, of course, is due to the characters themselves, with each of them possessing a distinct voice without resorting too much into stereotypes. While Betty may seem like an airhead, she is much more capable than she seems to be, like every others. While Wiebe may seems to purposefully use archetypes of characters and humorous types, there is always a bit more than what is on the surface, with a lot of characters getting rather easy to like, even some of the secondary characters like Braga or Sawyer gets infinitely more interesting in this issue, which bodes well for the future of this series.

The humor is certainly another factor at work here, with a certain dedication to it that is rather amusing to see. The general display of hyper-violence and the normalization of its effects by the characters, the profanity, the general silliness and multiple other factors are at work here to render this book immensely entertaining. Put in some rather memorable one-liners in there and it results in a fun book indeed.

Rat Queens #3 – Review

by Kurtis J. Wiebe (Writer), Roc Upchurch (Artist)

The Story: The Rat Queens investigates a lead about the merchant guild as the readers learn a bit more about them.

The Review: Indie creators have it tough. Of course, any creators do have it tough as they need to sell readers their pitch and stories in order to make them buy their books, but there’s something rather endearing about those going all the way with an ambitious ongoing with a whole lot of unknown factors. It’s much easier to sell a book with Spider-Man or Batman in them, to say the least, as they are known quantities, with decades of previous works in various medias helping those that write them. Not to say that their jobs are easy, but the longevity of the title is never actually a part of the question when it comes to success.

It’s why it’s rather impressive to see that Rat Queens, in the span of three issues, did quite a lot in order to provide a lot of personality to its characters and setting. While the first two issues did help give readers a conflict and mystery to latch onto, Wiebe is able to juggle with a bit more character definition and development to set up a bit more likability to his cast, a job he actually does rather efficiently.

Rat Queens #2 – Review

by Kurtis J Wiebe (Writer), Roc Upchurch (Artist/Colorist)

The Story: The Rat Queens fight the giant, then learn that the other groups charged with small tasks have been targeted by assassins as well.

The Review: I have a certain fondness for fantasy. Having played many role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder through several years, I find myself liking the concept of a group of adventurers doing quests or mercenary work in a world filled with monsters and magic. The downside of such an affection for the genre is that I am very familiar with its many tropes and cliché, which means it takes a bit more effort from the creative team behind any book to actually satisfy my craving for swashbuckling adventures and orc-smashing quests. The regular ”saving a princess”, ”fight a dragon” or ”kill an evil god and destroy its evil artifact” might not exactly do the job.

Thankfully, it seems that Kurtis J. Wiebe understand this very well, as Rat Queens is anything but regular fantasy fare. Putting forward a group of female adventurers that are anything but perfect, the writer already try in his second issue to set up a mystery and to develop his setting and his characters a bit further in the process.

Wiebe immediately starts his story here as a direct continuation to the conclusion of the first one, with the group battling against a giant. It is an abrupt way to start an issue, especially without any recap page whatsoever, yet the way everything start make up for it as the action begins rather quickly. In the first scene against the giant, the group dynamic, at least in terms of capabilities, is firmly set as each of the characters participate in some way. Akin to a D&D game, each of them fits an archetype, just like a lot of functional groups does in this sort of game, with most of them being represented well. The fighter, the rogue, the cleric and the mage are all present, yet what they are capable of is shown in a more expansive way than the usual and basic representation that a lot of games fit them in. The action is quick, rather inventive, brutal and shows just how the world is going to be in this series. For that, it’s pretty fun.