Rat Queens: Sass and Sorcery (Volume 1)

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Rat Queens:  Sass and Sorcery (Volume 1)
Kurtis J. Wiebe
Roc Upchurch
2014

The Summary
"Who are the Rat Queens?

"They're a pack of booze guzzling, death dealing, battle maidens-for-hire and they're in the business of kill all the gods' creatures for profit.  Meet Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief."

The Good
On the back of the first volume, it reads:  "This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent, monster killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack!"  It might leave you wondering, "Is that really a thing?"

Yes.  Yes, it is.

It's a genre bending epic that hearkens to its roots in traditional fantasy, but it doesn't take itself too seriously.  It pokes fun at Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft, and the fantasy genre as a whole.  Rat Queens:  Sass and Sorcery combines fantastic characters, humor, and irreverent, bloody adventures.

Oh, it's possibly one of the weirdest graphic novels I've read, but it's also one of the more interesting volumes I've had the chance to read.  An amalgamation of traditional fantasy epics, role-playing games and quest-based video games, it's possibly one of the quirkiest, oddball adventure stories I've had the pleasure to read.  Throw in a few modern amenities, like enchanted stones serving as cell phones and designer drugs, it's sometimes just plain weird.

And, oddly enough, I really liked the characters.  Betty is strange and flighty (or, more likely, simply fried from the drugs in her system), but she's a mighty fun character who simply goes with the flow; whereas Dee is quieter, more introspective, more prone to commonsense and good decisions among her friends.  Hannah is the wild child, a bawdy battle-maiden with a sharp wit and a foul mouth and a wicked grasp on magic.  And then there's Violet.

I'll be honest, I thought Hannah and Betty were fun, and Dee is the best friend I'd love to have in my life, but, for some reason, I just adored Violet.  All these ladies are setting off on their own, trying to forge their own paths and defy the expectations set out for them; however, Violet struck a cord with me that instantly made her my favorite character.

She's tough, she's strong, she's battle savvy, and she's desperate to prove a point.  Like Hannah, Betty, and Dee who are set on starting new lives, she wants to separate herself from her parents' world, differentiate herself from the dwarven culture she feels has consumed her.  She doesn't want to model armor, she wants to wear it and use it--and she wants to fight.  She wants to be a warrior, regardless of the expectations of her family and culture.

And that's what I like about her:  she's true to herself.  She wants what she wants, and she'll be damned before she fails.

Overall, I enjoyed Rat Queens.  It's fun, it's weird, it's a raucous delight, but it has charming characters and an interesting plot--and I loved the art.  Roc Upchurch does an excellent job of bring Kurtis Wiebe's characters and story to life.  He gives it a gritty, edgy vibe that meshes well with the attitudes of the Rat Queens.

I liked it.  I liked it a lot.

The Bad
Not much to say, honestly.  Strong story, great characters, wonderful art--what's to complain about?

I suppose, if I really want to complain, I will note that I didn't always understand the world in which the Rat Queens lived.  I mean, it pulls heavily from fantasy and RPGs, so it's easy to make connections if you have a basis in the genre or have experience with Dungeons & Dragons.  But it doesn't delve too deeply into the culture or mythology of the world.

It relies on some familiar tropes, but it doesn't give too much depth.  Rather, it gives you just enough information to let you figure it out for yourself.

The Ugly
Violent.  Crude.  Graphic.  And explicit.

It's not for the faint of heart or younger readers.  I wouldn't recommend it if you're easily offended by or vehemently against drugs, crude language, explicit content, sexual innuendo and general misconduct, graphic depictions of violence, blood, gore, murder, and/or all of the above.