Time to band together and collect our rewards as we venture into this month's Do You Even Comic with Rat Queens.
The History
Released in September of 2013 by Image Comics, Rat Queens is written by Kurtis J. Wiebe with art by various artists. The book started with art by Roc Upchurch, followed by Stjepan Sejic taking over and now Tess Fowler is the current artist. The concept for Rat Queens was pitched and described like this "Lord of the Rings meets Bridesmaids." Its a book that blends fantasy with a modern twist. Since its release it has been nominated for Eisner Awards and GLAAD Awards. Unfortunately the book is currently on a hiatus but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate the story that is out there now.
The Story
The story takes place in the fantasy town known as the Palisades and follows the Rat Queens, a group of beer swirling, foul-mouthed, female mercenaries. They aren't the most popular bunch among their fellow mercs and they don't follow traditions, but that's all the more reason to love them.
The team: Hannah (Rockabilly Elven Mage), Violet (Hipster Dwarven Mage), Dee (Atheist Human Cleric), and Betty (Hippy Smidgen Thief).
The Rat Queens often finish quests, leaving their town in ruins while constantly pissing off the other mercenaries who quest in the surrounding area. The story sees the Rat Queens having to face Corrupt business men and assassins. As they face serious threats they don't seem to care too much about this Dungeons and Dragons lifestyle.
Why this book?
What brought me to this book was the word of mouth praise it had been receiving and by the time volume one ("Sass and Socery") hit the shelves, I had to check it out. The book did what a lot of books what to do, it took a genre and put a fresh new spin on it.
Seriously I laughed out loud at some of the lines and hey they play with tropes of fetching quests. I love that it is infused contemporary themes.
I enjoyed every issue that has come out and hope that after the creative differences are settled we will be able to read more Rat Queens.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes adventure/fantasy/jokes.