Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery

I was certain I would adore this series the first time I read the title of Volume One - anything with "sass" in the title had to be good. I was right! The writers created a story imbued with both humor and depth. I adored the relationship between the four main characters – it had an authenticity to it that made it amazing. Even the secondary characters had depth and complexity. The plot complimented the character development nicely – and provided ample spots for sarcasm, snark, and sass. I must have laughed out loud about a dozen times. There was a lovely mixed of tribute and parody of D&D, which as a player, I enjoyed immensely.
My only qualm was the art changed in volume three, not for the better. I preferred the style of the first two. But this is a personal thing and doesn’t detract from the story.
Volume one and two are one story, with volume three starting another story arc. I’m eager for volume four – which won’t be out for at least a year, although two of the show more individual issues are out.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys snarky stories with complex characters. And it’s a must read for any D&D player. show less

Summary: The Rat Queens are a band of adventuring mercenaries - Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarf Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric, and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief. They fight hard, and party harder. After one too many bar brawls with other bands of fighters, though, the Mayor of Palisade sends each of the town's bands on a separate quest to get them out of the city and keep them out of trouble. But the quests turn out to be death traps, which only the Queens and a few others survive. Now they must figure out who's ordered their deaths and why… and kick some ass along the way.

Review: I enjoyed the heck out of this one. I enjoyed it so much that I bought myself a copy (!) after initially checking it out from the library, and I bought myself a copy of the second volume, sight unseen (!!). (It should be arriving today; hooray!) This book is clearly based on a role-playing game campaign (or at least operating in that universe), but it works almost as show more well if, like me, you're not a gamer but just want a good fantasy story about a band of women who kick ass. And they do kick some serious ass. (Some with stand-and-point powers, but there's a fair bit of actual physical fighting going on, too.) But my favorite thing about it is that it takes something that is still (sadly) unusual and worth of comment in our society - women characters of diverse backgrounds and body types, who party as hard as they fight, use bad words in mixed company, enjoy having sex, and enjoy each other's company without trying to cut each other down - and treats it as something expected and un-note-worthy. And it's funny. Funny always helps. This volume has a clear story arc that wraps up nicely, but simultaneously sets up future installments, as it's clear that there are plenty of things we don't know yet… and I can't wait to find out. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Definitely worth reading if you like fantasy graphic novels. show less

Rat Queens is pretty danged adorable. Four life-long, perpetually-young friends in a self-aware sword and sorcery 'verse (with a pinch of Lovecraft) get by on mercenary pay and drunken brawls.

[N.B. This review includes images, and was formatted for my site, dendrobibliography -- located here.]

The first five issues collected here provide a good setup with a fair share of weaknesses. It reminded me a lot of a foul-mouthed version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's first season -- all four characters are walking one-liners that embody different Strong Female Character(TM) roles. This leaves their dialogue and sense of humor feeling forced and fake -- especially in the first issue, in which the dialogue is exclusively one-liners -- but impossibly likable. Under Wiebe's authorial weaknesses, Hannah et al. are a crew I know I could come to love for their stupid jokes and stubborn loyalty (and despite the slightly-shitty, ignorant pseudo-feminism behind them).

The "Sass & Sorcery" arc is show more mostly a set-up for the characters and the subsequent arc, "The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'Rygoth." Our heroes are targeted by assassins, leading to bloodthirsty encounters with trolls, goblin armies, rival mercenaries, and Vol. 2's tragic, tentacle'd conspiracy. It's a lot of fun, and most of the weaknesses are shed immediately in Vol. 2. Definitely worth checking out if you're hankering for dumb fun. show less

My friend Genny had been recommending this series for a while, so when I started reading this volume I had my usual contrary "but is this really as good as it's made out to be?" resistance going on. Resistance that started thawing right around "What's with men and tentacles? Sick of this shit." Resistance that cracked at "You put an arrow in my favourite boob, fuckwit!" And then, I fell in love when Betty, the sex, drugs, and candy obsessed Smidgen brags, "Who's officially scarier than a squirrel now?" after attempting (and failing, I might add) to intimidate a merchant approximately six times her size.

Funny, badass, self-aware, filled with sly D&D references, and characters with fully-formed personalities and back-stories that never feel like cardboard cut-outs. And, oh yeah, the art is fantastic. Dee with her face-markings and head full of curls is swoon-worthy, orc-Dave with his flat nose and beard full of bluebirds (seriously) is strangely. Fight scenes are dark and bloody, but show more you can always tell what is going on. And black-eyed Hannah is kind of my fave.

Fantastic and fun. I can't wait to learn more about these ladies. show less

The story follows a group of four women -- an (atheist!) human bard, a dwarf fighter, a smidgen (a halfling / Santa's Elf-inspired creature) thief and an elf mage -- who are very successful adventurers, hated in the community as their days of boredom between quests often turning into drunken brawls. The book is a fun riff on roleplaying game tropes -- the kind where the world is original and occasionally inventive, but overall stays close enough to typical D&D fare that until stated otherwise, the reader can assume things work the way they usually do in the genre -- but it mostly shines in the dynamics between the four very different, but very mutually loyal, protagonists. There's banter, there's exciting violence, and there's even a (despite the often sillly tone) rather ominous murder conspiracy behind the scenes. Two thumbs up, bring on volume 2!

This was delightful! Funny, ribald, foul-mouthed, and bad-ass, this one isn't for the faint of heart. However, if you love diverse, ass-kickin' women and dirty-minded humor, read this immediately!!

The Rat Queens, Betty Dee, Hannah, and Violet, are given a chance to get out of jail free (following an ill-advised bar brawl) if they head out on a mercenary mission for the town of palisade, which is more than a little tired of the many mercenary bands causing mischief. However, when the Rat Queens survive an unexpected assassination attempt, they must figure out who's targeting the bands before they are murdered.

Highly recommended!!

Holy Moly! What did I just read? Rat Queens follows a band of all lady Dungeons and Dragons-type adventurers who fight monsters, make trouble, and frequent the pub. In other words: these ladies kick ass and are seriously sassy. And they seem like real, diverse ladies who genuinely care about each other too.

Rat Queens is funny, irreverent, bloody and full of wit (and definitively not for kids).

This was pretty good, styled like the adventures of a standard DnD party, but seen from inside of the setting (though with a much greater focus on women and their agency than I'd expect from a DnD group...)

A bit gratuitous in a way that dated it oddly; I kinda guessed the comic was written around 2013 by a dude, or 2020 by a trans woman and... that was kind of a fun moment.

Silly, fun, crass. It's got a bit of everything and it's pretty good.

Meet the Rat Queens: Hannah the Rockability Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric, and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief. Together they form a group of maidens-for-hire who are looking for a good time mixed with a bit of trouble. Recently sent to jail for starting a bar brawl, the Queens have been sentenced to a quest in order to smooth things over with their town. While on the quest, the Queens get more than bargained for when an assassin sent to take the out shows up.

Each of the Rat Queens harness a unique talent, which they showcase in this battle against the assassin. Upon defeating him and returning back to town, they discover that they were not the only group of adventurers being hunted down. Someone wants all of the trouble-causing adventuring groups out of their town and is willing to stop at nothing to make sure this happens. Can the badass Rat Queens get to the bottom of who sent an assassin after them and defeat this evil show more villain?

Kurtis Wiebe’s first volume (containing issues #1-5), allows the reader to meet each Rat Queen and start to learn what makes them tick. Snippets of their pasts intermingle with the present, forming a band of women the reader can’t help but want to learn more about. The Rat Queens are a bunch of hard partying, ass-kicking maidens out to live life to the fullest. When the assassination plot arises, you see that they care more about just these things, as they focus on saving their town from an impeding threat. This is a great graphic novel for anyone looking for a fun, action-packed story about strong women. I’m looking forward to grabbing volume 2 on my next comic book store trip and seeing where the story takes me! show less

Having just read this, I am now 200% happier and grinning like a loon. This book is the piss-funny love child of Dungeons-and-Dragons and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that you never knew you wanted UNTIL YOU READ THAT. Don't take it seriously, just lay back and let the blood- and booze-soaked hilarity wash away your cares.

The Rat Queens are a group of four adventurers in a medieval fantasy setting whose drinking, carousing, and brawling leads them to be sent out on quests as punishment. In this first collection, the Rat Queens discover that someone is trying to kill them and there rival adventure crews and have to solve the mystery. It's a riotous mix of humor, profanity, drug references, and lots and lots of bloody gore. It's a good send up of the strong female characters trope and the sword and sorcery genre, although I think many allusions were lost on me as I'm not familiar with that genre. This is a comic series worth reading but much too violent for my tastes.

Another Graphic Novel Book Club Read -- This was fabulously fun from start to finish. I love the characters, the setting, the way they play with everything, the friendships, each of the girl's relationships to other people, the smooth way you totally feel like each person has a fully realized life of their own and their friendships brought them together for this violent, hilarious, heart-warming DND-rumble questing group.

Wow. That was amazing. I feel like I should have found and picked up the next one so I could continue the story! Talk about a cliff-hanger! While the book was gory and graphic and foul language abounds, I feel I could not possibly give this any less than five stars. It felt REAL in an unreal world and I think that is so difficult to achieve. I want to know more about these characters, not just for the sake of the plot, but for the sake of who they are. And that counts for more than just the Rat Queens themselves. Even the secondary characters felt layered and complicated. Basically I loved this book. Way to go, Nerd Girls! ;)

Imagine a world in which a number of the inhabitants behave like the players in a typical role-playing game, with the same disdain for social mores, other people's property, and other people's lives. Imagine that the protagonists in this world were a sassy, snarky, narcissistic, and destructive quartet of women named Betty, Dee, Hannah, and Violet, who blast and hack their way through adventures so they can get to the copious amounts of alcohol, drugs, and sex that awaits them thereafter. These are The Rat Queens.

The main storyline is one of intrigue, backstabbing, and betrayal, all packaged in a container filled with almost gratuitous violence and more than a little humor. The Rat Queens, along with the other adventuring parties in the town of Palisade - the Peaches, the Brother Ponies, the Four Daves, and the Obsidian Darkness, find themselves labeled persona non grata and given the choice of agreeing to undertake assigned tasks or face prison. As each crew heads off to their show more designated duty, things begin to go awry fairly quickly, and then even more trouble shows up and things get messy.

Because even the most exciting adventure story would be somewhat dull if one doesn't connect with the characters, the primary story arc is interlaced with individual stories related to each of the four main characters that make them more than just ale-drinking, drug-taking, bar-brawling hellions - instead each has an almost-to-be-expected quasi-tragic personal story. Betty's love for drugs and candy hides her love for a woman who has moved past the party lifestyle and refuses to return the smidgen's affections unless she gives up her drugging and drinking ways. Violet has rebelliously shaved off her beard and is estranged from her family, represented by her twin brother Barrie. Dee is an incredible socially awkward atheist priestess whose parents worship Lovecraftian horrors from beyond the world, while Violet has a somewhat strained relationship with her necromantically inclined parents and what seems to be an on-again off-again love affair with Sawyer, the captain of the town guard.

But the deft characterization doesn't end with just the four Rat Queens, but is carried through to the minor characters that surround them. Sawyer is the captain of the guard, but there are indications that he has a somewhat less than savory past. "Old Lady" Bernadette, a local merchant, serves as the unlikely foil for the Rat Queens for most of the volume. Braga, the hulking half-orc member of the Peaches, is a figure of terror among the orcs that show up in the story, referring to Braga as "the bastard". Dee has a long-standing and impolite rivalry with Tizzie the leader of the Peaches. And there are the Four Daves, most notably Orc Dave who keeps bluebirds in his beard. Though these bits of character development are just that - bits - they build a world around the Rat Queens that feels real.

The strong art style in the volume matches the over the top nature of the story while still being able to capture the somewhat few and far between subtle emotional moments. There is plenty of action in the panels, along with a fair amount of splashy gore in the fighting scenes, but never so much as to overwhelm the story. The art also manages to walk a very fine line in its depictions of Betty, portraying her as a fully adult woman with fully adult desires, without avoiding the possible creepy overtones that might result given that she's the size of a seven year old child.

As a loving tribute to the sometimes absurd tropes of fantasy fiction and gaming, The Rat Queens is an almost perfect book. With generous helpings of violence, drug-use, and sexual references, the volume probably isn't suited to younger readers, but anyone who grew up watching Conan, playing Dungeons & Dragons, or reading Fritz Lieber's books will find something to enjoy here. If you think you'd enjoy a story where characters skewer the eyeballs out of their enemies after a lunch of candy and drugs, then The Rat Queens is the book for you. Or if you think a story about four women who have grabbed life by the horns and refuse to accept anything less than the most decadent experience they can get, then The Rat Queens is the book for you. Or if you think you'd enjoy a book filled with fantasy adventure, gallows humor, and darkly twisted intrigue, then The Rat Queens is the book for you. And if you think you'd enjoy all of these things, then Rat Queens is really the book for you.

This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. show less

I loved this volume about an all-female group of sword-wielding, spell conjuring, bar brawling, trouble-making adventurers. It never felt like it was trying too hard to pander to the reader or be inclusive or edgy. It’s just plain fun to read, especially as a former RPG nerd. Unfortunately, one of the creators of Rat Queens was embroiled in a domestic abuse scandal which affected the run of the series. Aaaand, it makes buying these personally problematic. But hey, at least there’s the library right?

Hey, this was pretty damn good!

A diverse main cast of ladies, some real good jokes (and some not-so-good-jokes), some serious carnage, artful swearing, and just lovely art all combine into a candy-flavored asskicking stew that I didn't know I wanted! And now I want the next volume too!

This intro 'the fucking Rat Queens' is definitely worth checking out. (There's a killer pun in this book too just sayin)

The Rat Queens are a group of female mercenaries for hire in a fantasy world that includes elves, orcs, trolls, smidgens, etc. Someone has sent an assassin to start killing off the mercenary guilds and the Rat Queens want to find out whose behind all the death. This graphic novel is intended for adults due to its gore content and foul language, however older teens will enjoy the carnage and of course the language. At first I thought the characters a bit odd and the premise just okay, but I found by the end I really grew attached to the characters and couldn't get them out of my head. The girls are cute, fun, and kick-ass. The artwork is top notch. Sometimes the writing tries to hard, but overall I found myself wanting to read a sequel and continue in the world. I'm a huge fan of heroics and stories that bring friends together to fight side by side, do or die, and there is plenty of that in Rat Queens. Recommended.

This is a really fun story about a rag-tag band of adventurers in a D&D-like world. All four members of the party are women, which seems to be normal in-world; this makes the story refreshingly different from the usual hack&slash fare. The characters all have very distinct personalities without being one-dimensional; they are also drawn to be easily distinguishable even in chaotic fight scenes. Also, there's a good mix of funny (e.g. an adventuring band who are all named Dave) and poignant (some of the main characters' interactions with their family and romantic partners). Looking forward to reading the next volume of this story.

This was fun, kinda "lite" for me. Extremely lovable characters with very filthy mouths and bad attitudes. If you're not a gamer or a reader of fantasy novels you probably won't get a lot of the humor but if you're not a gamer or reader of fantasy novels you probably wouldn't be reading this book anyway.

Well that was hilarious. A gung-ho, irreverent and loving mockery of D&D-party-adventuring, with modern attitude and so many fantastic ladies. I love everyone in this bar.

This historical fantasy world has a conventional start, a medieval city with a council in need of a solution to an urgent problem.
The conventional part of the story is over once the Rat Queens, an all-female mercenary group, is forced to help the council.
The ladies are, of course, as, bar-brawling, raunchy and in some cases, kinky as the best of them.
I didn’t expect to love and appreciate them as much as I did. It’s interesting to see how this apparently misfit group works so organically, based on the natural talent and personality of each member.
There’s humor, lightness with a fair bit of substance. The glimpse that we get of their past and the ending mean that I want to know what happens next.
Buckle up, it will be a fun and bumpy ride!

This comic makes me so happy. I wish I'd had this to read ten years ago when I was a role-play addicted teenager who needed more female characters to look up to in comics. Rat Queens reminds me of the characters my friends and I used to write about together - tough, smart, feminine but kick ass - and I adored every minute of it. Pick this one up, you won't regret it.

I'm bordering on two-stars for this generic dark fantasy D&D adventure. The main thing it has going for it is that the party of angry, violent, drunken, and occasionally humorous mercenaries is entirely female. Three out of the four, though, aren't much to speak of. But I am finding myself liking Betty, the Smidgen thief. I also like Bernadette Song, a village merchant, who seems like the most sensible person in the book, but I worry that the story is going to do her dirty.

The story, by the way, is a string of fights, dumb coincidences, and random plot developments. And the writer basically steals the big Samuel Jackson scene in Deep Blue not once, but twice -- and if you've gone that far, why not at least try to meet the "rule of three" to make it at least seem more intentional than lazy?

Anyhow, I'll give Vol. 2 a try in the near future.

Someone wants to get rid of all the adventurers in town. They're sent out on missions only to find those missions are deadly traps. But the Rat Queens (and a few others) survive and now they're going to find out who set them up and get revenge.

This was awesome. This was D&D with badass ladies who like drinking, candy, and sex. There's adventure, violence, and a few love stories brewing underneath the surface.

I'm definitely picking up this comic.

(Provided by publisher)

Finally, good D&D with an all girl band and fantastic writing. It has all the classics, mixing in blackmail, selling drugs, puke till you drop antics, and sex with men named Dave.

Oh, and the art is great, too. No complaints. The dwarf chick is HOT. And the best part is, it's not all big boobs and unrealistic women, either. They know their own minds, and don't mind letting the black flying squid take over their minds when the situation really calls for it.

Reading for the Hugo 2015 Graphic Novel nominations. It's definitely damn good. I'm going to have a hard time choosing between Saga, Ms. Marvel, and this one. I'm going to have to drop Sex Criminals of my favorites for the award, no matter how good it is.

It's a matter of pride that I'll be following each of these comics closely as they come out. They're all really special.

I read this as part of the Hugo packet.

There's a lot to enjoy here. It's an unabashed send-up of fantasy tropes, with a vibrant, diverse cast of ladies. The artwork is just plain fantastic. That said, I found the overall tone too crass for my taste. I liked this volume well enough and I'm glad I got to see what all the buzz was about, but I don't think I'll read onward.

The Rat Queens are four mercenaries of differing talents, cultures, and sexualities who are out of favor in a once-lawless, now more lawful town. When they’re attacked by an assassin, they have to figure out who’s behind the assault. But the real pleasures here are in the variety of characters and the joy of watching brawling, cussing, vicious women kick ass. I read Vol. 2 first, but now I’m along for the whole ride.

I have heard about this for a while now and since it is on the Hugo ballot now is a good time to read it. The Rat Queens are a female group of hard partying mercs that also do a great job fighting. This is the usual mixed skill group of fighter, thief, magic user, and such. Too much in town brawling has them sent on a quest of kill the problem or don’t come back. Turns out all the mercenary groups got the same marching orders. Of course things are not what they appear and the story develops. The writing is fun and clever and I was giggling at the jokes in this. I’ll be reading the next collection ASAP.

Hilarious! How to describe this? Wildly inappropriate D&D humor with a cast of bad-ass women as the main characters. Laughed out loud repeatedly. Now I can't wait for Vol. 2

Review from Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2017/01/27/backlist-burndown-review-rat-queens/

I’ve not read all that many graphic novels, and Rat Queens is quite a departure from the ones I have read. The title of this volume is “Sass and Sorcery” and quite frankly, that’s very fitting, particularly the sass.

Rat Queens is a group of mercenaries, made up of irreverent, sarcastic women who enjoy indulging in their share of drink, drugs, sex, fighting and whatever else makes them happy. These girls kick ass, take no shit and have fun however they damn well please. How could you not love them? At least a little?

In their latest job, the Rat Queens find they’ve been sent into a trap. Turns out there is a killer that is specifically targeting mercenaries. Not cool, but that’s OK, the Rat Queens will come to save the day.

I found this to be a fun read, but for me it falls short of the amazing status I’ve seen others give it. I suspect much of this has to do with show more the humor. I mean, it is funny, I will give it that (assuming you love inappropriate humor, and really, who doesn’t?) But, sometimes the amount of jokes was just a bit much for me. Also, I’m not a huge fan of puns, and this has plenty of those.

Overall, I think the strength of this is the characters. They are all strong women with a completely different personalities, strengths and interests. They each kick ass in their own unique way, showing how there are many different ways a female character can take charge of her own destiny and path. They can all be completely unique, and strong in their own right. Put them all together, and you have the Rat Queens, a fierce group of mercenaries out for blood and fun. show less

I've come to realise that Dungeons and Dragons is its own genre of fantasy. D&D character archetypes (The Tank, The Healer, The Blaster, The Infiltrator) exist to fight and kill baddie monsters, sometimes with an ironic quip. These fantasy tropes don't all exist in fantasy outside of the game. Anyway 'Rat Queens' is obviously written by a Dungeons and Dragons player. It is well-drawn but rather silly, with conflict resolved by gory battles.

A fun, light story about a dungeon fantasy RPG-style adventuring party (comprised of four women), set in a fantasy world where such things are common. The plot is fairly light, but but it has enough fighting and partying (and sneaking) to work. The characters and dialog are however what make this; the four Rat Queens are decently well developed and distinguished (especially for volume 1), and are all entertaining and likable.

The art, in general was good. The only thing that bothered me was the Rat Queens' noses; they all look the same, and are frequently colored darker/redder such that the characters look they have a cold.

I loved the concept! It is really good fun and funny in places but not subtle enough for my personal tastes! The characters were all great and there's a good amount of magic and violence.

I just really don't like drugs and always feel uncomfortable with stories that normalise them... so I won't read any more in this series

Rat Queens Vol 1: Sass & Sorcery written by Kurtis J. Wiebe and illustrated by Roc Upchurch is a new-to-me comic I picked up on a whim a few weeks ago. It's a fantasy series rather than superhero or science fiction and it didn't grab me as much as other comics have.

Who are the Rat Queens?

A pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they're in the business of killing all god's creatures for profit.

It's also a darkly comedic sass-and-sorcery series starring Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief. 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!

The blurb describes the idea pretty well. I've also heard it described as "Dungeons and Dragons meets Sex and the City" which is not entirely inaccurate. The titular characters are a band of all-female mercenaries of various show more races (elf, dwarf, not sure) who periodically go off on quests and spend their down-time drinking heavily. There are also other bands of mercenaries, like a group who are all called Dave, but they're not the main characters and only appear occasionally.

The general plot idea over the course of this volume is that the Rat Queens (and other mercenary bands) get sent on quests, all of which go horribly wrong and smell of conspiracy. Most of the action centres around fighting, almost dying, getting drunk and high to celebrate not dying, and talking about having sex. The violence is drawn in a slightly splatterpunk way (well, OK, this isn't horror, but I wanted to use that word), with lots of literal blood splattering all over the place.

I wasn't particularly taken with the art style, partly on just a personal level and partly because it was a bit more boring than, say, the art in Ms Marvel which had a lot of little funny details in the background. (And to avoid confusion, the cover art above is by Fiona Staples, a different artist to the internal art.) I've heard that the artist changes somewhere in Volume 2 (I believe from issue #9 onwards) so I'm willing to give it another shot before deciding whether to stick with it. Hopefully I'll also become more invested in the story.

I didn't hate Rat Queens Volume 1, but it didn't grab me as much as I was hoping either. If you're a fan of D&D and sarcastic female characters who also kick literal butt, then I would definitely consider giving it a try.

4 / 5 stars

Read more reviews on my blog. show less

See this review in its natural environment, Dani Reviews Things.Actual rating: 4.5

It’s been a while since I’ve read a graphic novel, and this reminded me that I should do it more often. The characters were great, individual and flawed. I loved how it depicted a range of body types, shapes and races, but they intermingled and were attracted to each other despite their differences.

This was definitely a Mature Audience novel, with plenty of gore, drug use and talk of sex. It was hilarious and fun, and I loved the art style. I prefer cartoonish art with clear, clean lines, as it’s easier to take in than more sketchy or highly detailed art.

I’ve been told the next two volumes aren’t as good, but I’m still willing to give them a go!

Booze-guzzling, death-dealing, battle maidens-for-hire.

This is so not my thing.

The art is excellent. The writing is quite good. There's a plot--but here's where I run into trouble. The plot appears to be mainly a vehicle for as much violence and carousing as possible. There's more than just violence and carousing. There is character development, and despite this being identified as Volume 1, I had a strong sense of there being more backstory than is included, that might have featured in earlier works in which perhaps the Rat Queens weren't the central characters, but played a role.

If that's correct, if this is part of a larger whole, I'm at a disadvantage in evaluating it. Yet even if that's correct, this is still not something I would ordinarily choose to read. That's not to say other people won't love it, particularly as I do think the art is excellent.

I received this work in the Hugo Voters' packet.

The Rat Queens are a group of female mercenaries for hire in a fantasy world that includes elves, orcs, trolls, smidgens, etc. Someone has sent an assassin to start killing off the mercenary guilds and the Rat Queens want to find out whose behind all the death. This graphic novel is intended for adults due to its gore content and foul language, however older teens will enjoy the carnage and of course the language. At first I thought the characters a bit odd and the premise just okay, but I found by the end I really grew attached to the characters and couldn't get them out of my head. The girls are cute, fun, and kick-ass. The artwork is top notch. Sometimes the writing tries to hard, but overall I found myself wanting to read a sequel and continue in the world. I'm a huge fan of heroics and stories that bring friends together to fight side by side, do or die, and there is plenty of that in Rat Queens. Recommended.

3 and a half stars. good characters, but just for laughs. laughs are good, but memorable? no. i will say it's a bit reminiscent in its best moments of Fafyrd and the Grey Mouser, though, so if it ever wants to up its game from, you know, adolescent boy there's a path. just sayin'.

I loved the world it introduced, it seems so expansive. I've only gotten the tip of the iceberg as far as the story goes. The art is lovely and the story is really, really funny. Anyway, I'm excited to read more volumes from this series and even some more series from this author.

This was so much fun! I loved the Rat Queens, the Four Dave's, the Peaches, I love the whole world created here. The art is colorful and inviting, each character feels real and distinct and I think I might actually like to visit Palisade...when the Rat Queens are out of town questing.

A tad bloody and violent, but never out of character and almost always hysterical. Highest recommendations for those who like their fantasy a tad out of the ordinary.

This comic is a comedic take on the typical Dungeons and Dragons adventure story with a load of risque humor and a touch of horror thrown in. I really enjoyed it!

Way too gory for my taste. The artwork is excellent, and the characters are interesting, but I just can't get into a series that focuses so much on blood, gore, and violence.

Really enjoyed it. Foul-mouthed, ass-kicking, humorous, diverse, and entertaining. Recommended!

I actually said - outloud, to the book - "I freaking love these girls!" More than once.

The story was good, but the characters were awesome and totally bad-ass chicks. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Absolutely amazing! I loved this graphic novel. It was hilarious. Phenomenal artwork. Interesting plotline. Unforgettable characters. It has it all and it's definitely worth checking out. Would highly recommend (to a mature audience), especially to fans of Saga.

D&D adventures take the stage -- good fun with some kill-everything and take the treasure mercs who are cutting up their town and marked for assassination. Pleasing archetypes, really excellent faces, very adventure, very bloody.

Read on September 02, 2014

Apparently I didn't love this one as much as everyone else on Goodreads (avg rating is 4.42 at the moment). I like the diversity, the artwork is good, and I am curious about what happens next, but it's also violent (I don't love blood or seeing battle scenes) with random drug use (why?) and lots of drinking (don't mind the drinking as much).

So will I pick up the next volume? It's a firm maybe.

Originally posted here

Unfortunately this was not my cup of tea. From what I could gather, the story follows a group comprised of four women, the Rat Queens, who are mercenaries that get drunk and disorderly so the locals in Palisade are sick of them causing damage. The Rat Queens get given a bogus quest which was really an assassination attempt and the story goes on from there. The plot was lacklustre for me and I really did not find the humour and one liners funny at all. The characters showed a lot of promise but mostly it was about killing things, drugs, partying and wanting to get laid. I found it hard to follow at times.

I felt like I was assaulted with the message that these characters were feminist and awesome because their of laddish behaviour that emulates masculinity. It almost tries too hard and honestly nothing about the way these characters acted or were drawn felt very feminist to me. All of them have sexy boob enhancing armour and Betty is an tiny adult smidgen show more species that was a bizarre blend of sexual but childlike. Many characters liked to infantise her and it was just plain strange.

I really loved the art style and I liked the Rat Queens, my favourite character was Hannah as I thought her use of magic was awesome. I liked the goriness but wasn't really a fan of the almost instant healing. I liked the diverse characters but desperately wanted a bit more world building so I felt compelled to read the next instalment. show less

Really enjoyed this graphic novel. Is it wrong that I want to join the Rat Queens?

Loved this graphic novel. The girls in it were so fun and self-assured. I can't wait to see what other adventures they get in to.

This is a very fun graphic novel, clearly inspired by Dungeons and Dragons, about a band of adventuring mercenaries. Great characters!

A fast paced comic with gorgeous art and kickass women! This was an absolute treat!

2015-05-21: A bit gory but quite funny with modern language dropped in a fantasy setting. I think Betty is my favorite but they're all pretty amusing.

This was fun as hell and a good palate cleanser after previous heavier books. Can't wait to read more of this title.

Pretty good. Some of the characters are a little cliched but I have hopes that they'll grow out of that as the series continues.

Fun and fast paced. Bad ass women kicking ass. And oh, the sass. Such sass.

3.75 stars

This was fun and I liked the characters - a bit too violent and frenetic for me but I'll give the second one a read.

Is there such a thing as awesome in a slightly horrifying way? I'm pretty sure Rat Queens is it. I had to pick this one up from the library, but Mike has the rest of the individual comics, so I'll definitely be reading them that way.

Amazing, hilarious, slightly NSFW, full of good messages and just craziness. Everyone needs to pick up this comic, especially if they like anything fantasy.

Love it! Hilarious, good art, great characters, and a story I am interested in following. Very entertaining!

Great characters, art work, and plenty of humor. A very fun read. Highly recommended.

They're hot-bloodied with goblin gore and heart-pumping, over-the-top action. Get your grimdark fix with Betty, Dee, Hannah, and Violet.

This was a lot of fun! If, you know, something I need to keep out of the reach of the kids.

Good premise and i will probably read a few more to see where they go but nothing amazing.

Bland fantasy world. Forced exposition. Weird pacing. Felt like a generic dnd campaign turned into a book

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2456719.html

Another one of the Hugo finalists for Best Graphic Story, this time about a gang of four warriors, women of assorted races, in a High Fantasy environment. They go on a quest, they uncover a plot, they kick ass and perpetrate mayhem on their foes. It's great fun, but not hugely ambitious; I've read two better finalists in this category so far.

Entertaining, but not my style long-term.

just awesome. so great to see a buddy comic book featuring women. So fun.

I would have given this five stars but Gary totally ruined it.

Loved this even more the second time around. Gotta go out and get Volume 2 this week!

****

I love this even more with each re-read. Bumpin' it up to a fiver. Vi and Orc Dave get me every time. EVERY TIME.

Fun stuff! 4.5 stars. Now I have to decide whether I'll start reading this as it comes out, or wait for the next trade.

Light and fun! I read the second volume like, immediately.

Loved it! Dee is my favorite but I love the other Queens too. must read the rest!!

so funny and witty!

So, so, soooo good.

If you've ever played an RPG you'll understand and love these characters

Rollicking fun. Need the second book now.

4.0

Witty first installment. Plan on continuing with the series.

Love these ladies

Fun spin on classic DnD tropes. :)

This may actually be the best comic I've ever read!!! ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!!!

This may actually be the best comic I've ever read!!! ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!!!

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/T-TB7UkFTgU

Enjoy!

full review here

Ok, cuándo sale el 2?

Awesome

My blog post about this book is at this link

OK, konceptet bakom Rat Queens: Sass and sorcery är bra: fyra unga kvinnor som en äventyrartrupp i en värld i stort sett hämtad ur D&D, med vissa kreativt vårvärldsliga inslag. När de inte dräper svartfolk lever de dålighetsliv med alkohol, krogslagsmål och tillfälliga sexualpartners. Dra dem dessutom en extra gång genom modernitetsfiltret så att krigardvärgen Violet är en sorts hipster som ser snett på andra dvärgar som rakat av sig skägget som en modegrej, alvmagikern Hannah är rebellisk och ilsken och snabbt lägger på när föräldrarna ringer via magiska talismaner, halvlängdskvinnan Betty mer än vanligt glad i svampar och andra substanser, och den mänskliga prästinnan Dee är en ateist som gett sig ut i världen när hon hade tvivel på den flygande jättebläckfisk hennes föräldrar dyrkar (och som tydligen försett henne med krafter efter ett ritualmord), och det finns mycket att intressera en.

Så långt rätt så bra, och något som borde kunna ge show more intressanta historier. Men, jag vet inte: det mysterium med en grupp lönnmördare som är ute efter dem (och andra äventyrare) lyfter aldrig riktigt, utan verkar hoppa runt lite planlöst, gärna i riktningar som ger tillfälle för dem att slåss, gärna med mycket blod och kapade lemmar som resultat, men aldrig någon känsla av att en viss strid spelar någon större roll.

Visst, det finns roliga episoder, som när Violet och Hannah ryker ihop över hur de inte uppfyller gängse stereotyper, eller Dee sitter hopkrupen bakom en bok på en fest och vägrar prata med någon, men överlag känns det lite för löst i kanten för att jag skall vara verkligt nöjd. show less