Comic Info
Comic Name: Rat Queens (Volume 1)
Publisher: Image
Writer: Kurtis J. Wiebe
Artist: Roc Upchurch/Stiepan Sejic
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2015
Rat Queens (1) #5
Reprints Rat Queen (1) #6-10 (May 2014-April 2015). Riding high from their victory, the Rat Queens are about to discover that peace isn’t easily one. The Abyssal Shibagu has taken root in Palisade and the population is under attack. To free Sawyer, the Rat Queens must face their pasts and defeat the beast.
Written by Kurtis J. Wiebe, Rat Queens Volume 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’rygoth is an Image fantasy action-adventure comedy comic book collection released under the Shadowline imprint. Following Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery, the series features art by Roc Upchurch (who hands off the duty to Stiepan Sejic in Rat Queens #9). The issues in the volume have also been collected as part of Rat Queens Deluxe—Volume 1.
I read the first volume of Rat Queens and loved it for everything you were supposed to love it for. It was filthy, funny, and at points, violent. It features a fun cast of characters and all the characters had unexplored backgrounds that you figured would play into future issues. Despite keeping the premise and playing out as expected, Rat Queens 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’rygoth doesn’t seem as fun.
The basic plot for the storyline is a bit garbled. You have Dee’s husband showing up, and Sawyer the prisoner of man living a shattered life. The Abyssal Shibagu is able to tap into the lives of those it enthralls, and through the magic, you see a bit of how some of the Rat Queens lived before they all met up. It isn’t bad, but it doesn’t flow as well as the first collection.
Rat Queens (1) #9 Variant
What the series does do is keep up the strange and fun tone. There is a lot of humor, swearing, and violence. The best parts of Rat Queens, however, are the moments between the fights and action. The series is about a strange comradery between the characters and a love even though as it is revealed in this volume, they are battle bonded and maybe not as aware of each other’s pasts. The ramifications of this could reflect in future volumes.
A side note, my favorite part of Rat Queens is probably Betty and this volume is rather Betty lacking. The best part of the collection is when Betty gets high on mushroom people and gnawing on Violet who she sees as a peppermint person. It is that little moments of humor that has me tuning in to Rat Queens and liking its weirdness…and there wasn’t enough of that in the issues covered here.
Rat Queens 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’rygoth is a solid second outing for the Rat Queens, but it isn’t as fun as it works to expand the characters. This is a necessity for the series, but it doesn’t mean that it is as fun as it can be. Hopefully, the backstory of the Rat Queens will expand with smaller entries as the series movies forward now that some base has been established. Rat Queens 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’rygoth is followed by Rat Queens 3: Demons.
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