Rat Queens #4
It doesn’t matter how badass you are, when you’re public enemy number one, it’s bound to get you into trouble. Thankfully despite all the crap that’s being thrown at them the Rat Queen’s might not be everyone’s enemy—except for that one troll, who really hates them.
Writer: Kurtis J Wiebe
Artist: Roc Upchurch
Cover: Roc Upchurch
Publisher: Image
Every time Rat Queens comes out, it’s like this little hidden gem in the comics pile. When the previous issue came out, there was a lot of praise for the in-depth story for the characters, making a roughhousing gang of hooligan ladies seem fairly relatable on the scale of things, despite their thirst for violence. This issue takes a complete turnaround and there is less to do with character as it brings on the violence and swearing, which is awesome. It’s an interesting way to choose to balance the story and it works very much in favour for Wiebe and the story he’s trying to tell. These ladies aren’t an easy bunch, and they live off the action, so why limit them to harbouring backstories that explain every little detail of why they are the way they are. That’s not to say the backstory isn’t appreciated, that’s what keeps a story going, but it’s refreshing to see some good ol’ butt kicking, and blood, and swearing. There is absolutely no censorship on where these characters can go and what they’re capable of doing and that’s half of what makes it so exciting.
It’s not like they’ve dropped the premise completely of character development, we still see some great snippets here and there, some coming from mysterious Captain Sawyer himself, and Violet showing a great moment of maturity, beyond mindless fighting, and even though some mysteries have been solved—like the one about the hired assassins, it’s almost certain Bernadette’s not done yet with the Rat Queens.
Unfortunately the Rat Queens don’t have time to focus on Bernadette when there’s a crazy troll out for their blood. Of course this troll doesn’t come alone which means serious trouble for the Queens, their numbers sadly outnumbered, but hooligan’s are very much like us, and find solidarity in one another. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they like the Rat Queens, but when the others start to fight alongside them, it’s easy to almost get some warm fuzzy feelings, until it starts to get bloody. But hey, at least it’s funny!
The art as well continues to be astounding with dynamic character work in every character’s expressions as well as the warm colouring to prevent the story from getting too dark on itself. Of course the standout point for this issue is how engaging the art manages to be in the action, there’s a lot of fighting and blood and some gore, but it’s not overdone and remains to stay consistently tactful about it.
Rat Queens is back to being is action-packed witty essence that it’s mostly just a fun ride as a gang of extremely hardcore ladies (who seem to be breaking many stereotypes of hardcore lady warrior types) and while it’s nice to see some character work once in a while, it’s just as good to just enjoy the ride at a good brawl with some trolls.
Writer: Kurtis J Wiebe
Artist: Roc Upchurch
Cover: Roc Upchurch
Publisher: Image
Every time Rat Queens comes out, it’s like this little hidden gem in the comics pile. When the previous issue came out, there was a lot of praise for the in-depth story for the characters, making a roughhousing gang of hooligan ladies seem fairly relatable on the scale of things, despite their thirst for violence. This issue takes a complete turnaround and there is less to do with character as it brings on the violence and swearing, which is awesome. It’s an interesting way to choose to balance the story and it works very much in favour for Wiebe and the story he’s trying to tell. These ladies aren’t an easy bunch, and they live off the action, so why limit them to harbouring backstories that explain every little detail of why they are the way they are. That’s not to say the backstory isn’t appreciated, that’s what keeps a story going, but it’s refreshing to see some good ol’ butt kicking, and blood, and swearing. There is absolutely no censorship on where these characters can go and what they’re capable of doing and that’s half of what makes it so exciting.
It’s not like they’ve dropped the premise completely of character development, we still see some great snippets here and there, some coming from mysterious Captain Sawyer himself, and Violet showing a great moment of maturity, beyond mindless fighting, and even though some mysteries have been solved—like the one about the hired assassins, it’s almost certain Bernadette’s not done yet with the Rat Queens.
Unfortunately the Rat Queens don’t have time to focus on Bernadette when there’s a crazy troll out for their blood. Of course this troll doesn’t come alone which means serious trouble for the Queens, their numbers sadly outnumbered, but hooligan’s are very much like us, and find solidarity in one another. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they like the Rat Queens, but when the others start to fight alongside them, it’s easy to almost get some warm fuzzy feelings, until it starts to get bloody. But hey, at least it’s funny!
The art as well continues to be astounding with dynamic character work in every character’s expressions as well as the warm colouring to prevent the story from getting too dark on itself. Of course the standout point for this issue is how engaging the art manages to be in the action, there’s a lot of fighting and blood and some gore, but it’s not overdone and remains to stay consistently tactful about it.
Rat Queens is back to being is action-packed witty essence that it’s mostly just a fun ride as a gang of extremely hardcore ladies (who seem to be breaking many stereotypes of hardcore lady warrior types) and while it’s nice to see some character work once in a while, it’s just as good to just enjoy the ride at a good brawl with some trolls.
A Look Inside
