Rat Queens

Rat Queens

Cover of Rat Queens #1, featuring, from top to bottom: Dee, Betty, Violet and Hannah.
Publication information
Publisher Image Comics
Schedule Monthly, with breaks
Format Ongoing series
Genre
Publication date September 2013 – present
Number of issues 8
Creative team
Writer(s) Kurtis J. Wiebe
Artist(s) Roc Upchurch, Stjepan Šejić (series artists)
Tess Fowler (guest artist)
Collected editions
Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery ISBN 978-1-60706-945-4

Rat Queens is an ongoing American comic fantasy comics series written by Kurtis J. Wiebe and published by Image Comics since September 2013. The artwork was drawn by Roc Upchurch until autumn 2014 and is drawn by Stjepan Šejić since then.

Recounting the exploits of a party of four rowdy, foul-mouthed adventurers, the series has received critical praise, was nominated for the 2014 Eisner Award for Best New Series[1] and won the 2015 GLAAD Media Award.[2] It is to be adapted as an animated television series.[3]

Characters and plot

The eponymous "Rat Queens" are a rambunctious party of adventurers in a medieval fantasy setting. They comprise the rockabilly elven mage Hannah, the hipster dwarven warrior Violet who shaved her beard before it became cool, the atheist human cleric Dee who hails from a family of Lovecraftian monster cultists, and the hippy halfling thief Betty, whose idea of a hearty meal is a bag of drugs and candy.[4]

The first five issues follow the group's exploits as they try to defend themselves against assassins intent on killing them and other adventuring groups that have been roughing up their home town of Palisade. The second story arc sees the Rat Queens trying to prevent a vengeful businessman from summoning Dee's people's many-tentacled gods to lay waste to Palisade.

Development

Writer Kurtis Wiebe described the series as a "love letter to my years of D&D (...) and fantasy" with a modern twist, and the concept as "Lord of the Rings meets Bridesmaids". Originally intended to be funded through Kickstarter, it was picked up by Jim Valentino at Image Comics a week before the funding campaign was to start. Rat Queens is intended to be published at a pace of ten issues per year, with two-month breaks between collections.[4]

After artist Roc Upchurch was arrested on charges of domestic violence in November 2014, Wiebe announced that Upchurch would no longer be illustrating the series.[5] In December 2014, Image Comics announced that Stjepan Šejić would continue the series as artist beginning with issue #9 in February 2015, preceded by a special issue about the orc warrior Braga by guest artist Tess Fowler in January 2015.[6]

Reception

Rat Queens received critical praise. It was nominated for the 2014 Eisner Award for best new series,[7] and won the 2015 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for its portrayals of LGBT characters.[8]

In Paste, Robert Tutton noted that the "rowdy, sarcastic and intensely loyal" personalities of the main characters drive the series, and praised its seamless transitions from "gore to humor, sprawling action to small personal moments", as well as artist Roc Upchurch's skill at portraying facial expressions.[9] Augie De Blieck from Comic Book Resources appreciated the "dark, twisted, and hilarious" series for its fast pacing, Wiebe's witty (and foul-mouthed) writing, and the humanity and personality with which Upchurch infused his drawings.[10] Writing for IGN, Benjamin Bailey described the "mix of D20 adventures and modern angst" as perfecting the formula of injecting humor and wit into sword and sorcery tropes,[11] and praised Upchurch's "expressive and unique" character designs.[12]

Trade paperbacks

TV adaptation

Rat Queens is to be adapted as a 30-minute animated television series by Pukeko Pictures and Heavy Metal magazine. Their intent to create the adaptation was made public in June 2014.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "2014 Eisner Award Nominees Announced". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  2. ↑ Washington, Arlene (21 January 2015). "http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/26th-annual-glaad-media-awards-765609". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "Animated "Rat Queens" Could Be On The Way To Your TV". Comics Alliance. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Esposito, Joey (2 May 2013). "Rat Queens Pays Homage to D&D". IGN. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  5. ↑ Pitts, Lan (21 November 2014). "Roc Upchurch Off RAT QUEENS After Domestic Violence Arrest". Newsarama. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Image Comics/Shadowline welcomes new artist on RAT QUEENS". Image Comics. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees 2014". San Diego Comic-Con. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Melrose, Kevin (23 March 2015). Comic Book Resources http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2015/03/rat-queens-wins-glaad-media-award/. Retrieved 5 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ Tutton, Robert (28 March 2014). "Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery Review". Paste. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  10. ↑ De Blieck Jr., Augie (1 April 2014). "Rat Queens". Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  11. ↑ Bailey, Benjamin (25 September 2014). "Rat Queens #1 Review". Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  12. ↑ Bailey, Benjamin (27 November 2013). "Rat Queens #3 Review". Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  13. ↑ Graser, Marc (13 June 2014). "Heavy Metal, Weta Workshop’s Pukeko Pictures to Adapt ‘Rat Queens’". Variety. Retrieved 14 June 2014.

External links