[BOOK REVIEW] Rat Queens Volume 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'Rygoth by

Title:  Rat Queens Volume 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'Rygoth

Author:  Kurtis J. Wiebe

Artists:  Roc Upchurch and Stjepan Sejic

Genre:  Adventure / Friendship / Fantasy / Action / Horror

Year Published:  2015

Year Read: 7/29/2015

Series:  Rat Queens #2

Publisher:  Image Comics

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Strong Language, Nudity and Gory Violence)

Introduction:

After reading the first volume of “Rat Queens,” I just took my little ole self to the library and grabbed the second volume of this fantastic series “Rat Queens Volume Two: The Far Reaching Tentacles for N’Rygoth,” since I really enjoyed the first volume so much and I wanted to see where our lovely Rat Queens would end up at next!  

What is this story about?

In this volume, the Rat Queens are celebrating their victory from the events of the first volume and they now each have a love interest that they spend their time with (except Dee, it appears).  Meanwhile, a mysterious and disturbing force is coming to their city and a vengeful ex-partner of Sawyer’s has kidnapped him! 

What is this nightmarish force that is terrorizing the city and will the Rat Queens save Sawyer from this disaster?

Read this volume to find out!

What I loved about this story:

Kurtis J. Wiebe’s writing: Wow! This volume was just as good as the first as the characters are still highly entertaining to read about and the threats just keep getting bigger!  I loved the way that Kurtis J. Wiebe developed the mysterious conspiracy that was hinted at in the first volume as we actually get our first look into the evil demon N’Rygoth and the mayhem it caused for the characters and their hometown.  I also like the fact that this volume was much darker and intense than the first volume as the stakes are higher for the main protagonists and the ancient conspiracy actually takes center stage in this volume.  Kurtis J. Wiebe also did a fantastic job at developing each member of the Rat Queens, especially Dee and Hannah as we find out more about their background history, especially with Dee and her history with the demon N’Rygoth.  I also like the fact that Sawyer and Hannah’s relationship with each other is developing in this volume as it shows that Hannah truly cares about Sawyer when she found out that he got kidnapped and tried everything in her power to rescue Sawyer.

Roc Upchurch and Stjepan Sejic’s artwork:  The combination of Roc Upchurch and Stjepan Sejic’s artwork really brought so much creativity to this volume as Roc Upchurch’s artwork continues to be just as amazing as the previous volumes, while Stjepan Sejic’s artwork is even more gorgeous with the characters’ faces looking so realistic and fitting in with the more intense atmosphere of this volume!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like nudity, gore and strong language, this volume contains quite a bit of all of the above.  The nudity is especially dialed up in this volume as we see many characters completely nude and performing sexual acts that might not go over too well with some readers.  Also, there are many images of characters being cut in half or being stabbed to death, which are all shown in graphic detail and that could be disturbing for some readers.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Rat Queens Volume Two: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’Rygoth” is definitely one volume you should check out, especially if you have been enjoying the “Rat Queens” series as much as I have and want to see more adventures from everyone’s favorite tough as nails girls!

[BOOK REVIEW] Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe

Title:  Rat Queens Volume 1:  Sass and Sorcery

Author:  Kurtis J. Wiebe

Artist:  Roc Upchurch

Genre:  Adventure / Friendship / Fantasy / Action

Year Published:  2014

Year Read: 6/13/2015

Series:  Rat Queens #1

Publisher:  Image Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Gory Violence and Strong Language)

Introduction:

Move over “SAGA,” a new brand of witty and fun loving storytelling has arrived!

Well, I still love Brian K. Vaughan’s “Saga” series, but after reading this first volume of “Rat Queens Volume One: Sass and Sorcery” by Kurtis J. Wiebe along with artwork by Roc Upchurch, this series has moved up a slot on my most favorite comic book series of all time, with “Saga” still being at the top of the list!

What is this story about?

Meet the Rat Queens, a group of strong and high spirited young women who get involved in various battles whenever they are hired to do so.  The members of this crazy group are Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage who is the leader of the group, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter who is second in command, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief who is like the funniest member of the group.  This rambunctious group of female fighters will do battle with anyone, however they will soon find out that there is a conspiracy going on in their town that might change their lives forever once they discover the secrets of the conspiracy!

What I loved about this story:

Kurtis J. Wiebe’s writing: Wow…just wow… I never would have thought that I would read another comic book that was as exciting and creative as “Saga” was, but man did “Rat Queens” took me by surprise and in an extremely good way!  Kurtis J. Wiebe’s writing was truly witty and fantastic to read as I was literally laughing at all the sarcastic dialogue between the characters, especially between the Rat Queens and it really gave this volume a comical edge to the intense battle sequences.  I also loved the fact that Kurtis J. Wiebe made this series reminiscent to the “Dungeons and Dragons” series with the main characters using all kinds of sorcery and sword fighting to defeat their foes in battle, while also combing the sarcastic wit and female empowerment of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” into the story.  I also loved the fact that the Rat Queens are diverse characters as we have Dee who is a Black Human Cleric, Violet who is a White Dwarven Fighter and Betty who is a Homosexual Smidgen Thief and it really rounds out the characters extremely well and brings a lot of dimension to the story.  I also loved the fact that we have a comic book that has a group of strong female protagonists (even though this has been done a dozen times over in comic books like “X-Men” and “Birds of Prey”) and each character really bring out something interesting to the storyline, with my favorite character so far being Betty the Smidgen Thief as she is the comic relief of the group!

Roc Upchurch’s artwork:  Roc Upchurch’s artwork was amazing as the sorcery world that the Rat Queens live in is extremely creative and detailed and I really love the ancient technology that the girls use in this universe as it gives you a sort of Renaissance feel to the whole experience.  I also loved the way that Roc Upchurch drew each Rat Queen character as they all have outfits that distinguish them from each other like Dee is always wearing a purple flowing skirt and Betty is wearing an old thief’s outfit.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like gory violence and strong language, this volume does contain many scenes where characters are smash to death and you can see their blood and guts all over the ground.  Also, this volume contains strong language such as the use of the “s” word and the “f” word many times over.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Rat Queens Volume One: Sass and Sorcery” is definitely one comic book that you ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, and TRULY must seek out at all costs as it is filled with some awesome battle sequences and character interactions that you cannot miss!  Now, I am off to read the second volume of this fantastic series!