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.

Red Sonja #2 – Review

Gail Simone (Writer), Walter Geovani (Artist), Adriano Lucas (Colorist)

The Story: Red Sonja tries to defend a village from Dark Annisia as she learn a great deal about what is happening to others and herself.

The Review: The propensity to surprise is not something that many writers have the ability to create very often. In a world where perhaps hundreds of stories are produced each and every day, originality and the potential to twist the audience expectation is not something that everyone can pull off.

Thankfully, Gail Simone is not a run-of-the-mill writer, as she do know how to build up a situation, only to subvert it for the readers pleasure. What she has done, in this issue, is construct a premise that could have very well offered a potent, yet unsurprising premise for a sword and sorcery title, only to reveal some key information at the right time, creating a delightful plot twist that bodes well for the future of this title.

The issue opens where the first one left off, as the conflict between the invaders and the village that Red Sonja is trying to defend open. Right off the bat, Simone goes a bit deeper in the first scenes of the previous comic as we get some explanation of just what kind of character Dark Annisia is. What we get from this character is something strange, yet compelling as this new character starts off as a clear foe, yet evolve into something more as the story develops and the connection between Sonja and her is explained. The evolution of the situation from the readers grasp is something that is handled well and that promise more from that specific character, which is something to look forward to.

Sandman: The Dream Hunters #1 (of 4) – Review

By Neil Gaiman (original story), P. Craig Russell (art)

The Story: To celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Sandman, P. Craig Russell has gone back to adapt Gaiman’s original prose novella into a four issue limited series.  Originally published in 1999 with accompanying painted illustrations from Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano, “The Dream Hunters” is a Japanese-inspired fantasy about a young monk and a shape-changing fox who fall in love.  When the fox learns of a group of demons who intend to kill the monk, she turns to Morpheus for help in saving her true love.

The Good: Seeing this story translated to comics gives new life to the original novella, and Russell was a brilliant choice for the job.  I have been a great admirer of his since I first saw his work in the “Ramadan” issue of Sandman, and I think his style is well suited to Gaiman’s fantasy.  Russell’s pages are complex and inventive in their composition, nevertheless, he keeps art beautiful and elegant.  If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of seeing what Russell can do with a comic page, this would be a wonderful introduction to his work.

The Not So Good: Not much, really.  I suppose my only problem is that this story is being serialized when it would have been better released as a complete graphic novel, much like how the original was published.  Being serialized like this, I fear people will lose interest in the story by the time it concludes in February, which would be a shame, really, as it is so well done.

Conclusion: Whether you were a fan of The Sandman or just love a well-told story, I think this series will delight and impress you.  P. Craig Russell reinterprets Gaiman’s original story with a graceful style, and offers a lasting tribute to one of the best series in comics history.  Not to be missed!

Grade: A

-Tony Rakittke

Stardust (Graphic Novel) – Review

By: Neil Gaiman (Writer), Charles Vess (Art)

Written by superstar scribe Neil Gaiman, Stardust is a pleasant departure from the traditional presentation of graphic storytelling. The story is presented in the form of a text based book with wonderful illustrations by Charles Vess strategically placed throughout its entirety.

Gaiman doesn’t disappoint with his straightforward (by Gaiman standards), but skillfully developed, fairy tale following a young man’s quest to win the heart of his true love. Set in the era of Victorian England, the tale begins in a mostly quiet village but quickly moves into realms of magic and witchcraft as readers follow the young man in pursuit of a fallen star which he must retrieve to claim his heart’s desire. His journey affords Gaiman the ability to do what Gaiman does best as he expertly creates detailed landscapes and colorful characters. Needless to say the young man isn’t the only one after the fallen star as numerous antagonists are added to the mix making for an excellent yarn all around.

The story is not hard to follow, pedantic or painfully verbose. It is, simply put, a well crafted short story collected in a trade paperback that presents nicely. Extras include a sketch and cover gallery at the back. Of note: this book is not a children’s fairy tale as it contains sexual content and graphic violence (probably should have mentioned that right off the bat as a selling point). Suggested for Mature Readers. (Grade: A)

– Chris Williamson