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!
