Writer: Kurtis J. Wiebe
Artist: Roc Upchurch

When the first issue of Rat Queens hit, I was expecting to find myself faced with yet another tired, generic, swords and sorcery title. And then I read it, and was absolutely blown away. Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Uprhurch have combined to make something truly special here. An utterly hilarious title featuring four loveably debauched female protagonists and all manner of humorous jibes and in-jokes aimed squarely at the absurdity of the genre.

The second issue capitalizes on the momentum of the first and doesn’t let up for a second , firing off its machine gun one-liners with startling precision, and managing to further develop the gloriously realistic main characters. As sharp and hilarious as Wiebe’s writing is, Upchuch also brings his a-game here, improving on his solid work of the first issue and showing a terrific comic timing of his own, particularly in the issue-opening ogre attack.

While it remains to be seen just how long the appeal of seeing Dungeons & Dragons-style characters swearing like dockers and acting in a generally uncouth manner will last, it’s safe to say that this title is like nothing else on the shelves right now, and is something you really owe it to yourself to start picking up. If you’re looking for serious, gritty, earnest writing, this might not be the title for you, but if you want to find yourself smiling pretty much from cover to cover, Rat Queens is a quest you need to accept.

Rating: 9/10.

The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson (aka Ceej)
Article Archive: Ceej Says