In Case You Missed It #4

The Column in which Jake tells you to pick up a comic, all you need to know in order to catch-up, and why you should be doing just that. All comics detailed can and should be purchased from your local comics retailer or Comixology








  Rat Queens: Putting the Sexy Back in Wholesale Slaughter


This ain’t your Grandma’s fantasy comic.


 Whoever is off-screen is about to have a very bad day. 
Source:http://d138hkes00e90m.cloudfront.net/release_images/rat-queens-02-covA-web.jpg

First off, if your Grandma read fantasy comics, congratulations: your Grandma is awesome.  All mine ever did was force-feed me prunes and tell me how much better the vaguely-racist old days were (ilu, Gam-Gam).  My prune-deluged childhood aside, Rat Queens is an ongoing fantasy comic published by Image Comics, written by Kurtis J. Wiebe and drawn by Roc Upchurch.  It details the exploits and misadventures of the titular group: Hannah, the rockabilly elf mage who has absolutely zero time for your bullshit and heaven help you if you mess with her friends;  Violet, the hipster dwarven fighter, head honcho of battle cries and empress of Fuckingyourshituptopia; Dee, the atheist cleric, a runaway from a cult of Lovecraftian persuasion and easily the heart of the series; And Betty, the smidgen (so as not to piss of the ghost of Tolkien) thief, who just came out to have a good time and is honestly feeling so elated due to a strict diet of candy and drugs.  Your heroines, fair readers.
Going to a bar in Palisade brings a 70% increase of the chance of getting your shit pushed in. 
Source: http://images.sequart.org/images/rat-queens-by-wiebe-upchurch-coming-in-septem-L-tcurEx.jpeg
 
I’m being fairly vulgar (sorry, Gam-Gam).  But that’s because this comic is vulgar, in the best way.  The characters swear, fight, fornicate, and abuse substances like its their goddamn job, and they’re the goddamn CEO of the goddamn company, a company that’s at the goddamn top of the goddamn Fortune 500 of being goddamn awesome.  This is a FantasyFiction podcast story come to life.  It also takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the fantasy genre, dropping Dungeons and Dragons jokes and references every so often.  But what makes this comic so compelling is how real every one of the characters feel.  Each girl feels like someone you know (or, if you aren’t so lucky, wish you knew).  They’ve all got their flaws and the emotion is so raw it’s broadcast live on Monday nights on whatever channel USA is.  None of the characters, not even those on the side, are one-note.  Except Gary (FUCK YOU, GARY!)
Fucking Gary… 
Source: http://media.tumblr.com/7b175c053e5b4aac851e0e8467e631a9/tumblr_inline_n48lks4s0l1rrfzzz.jpg
 
This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you what’s happened so far, but the great thing about this series is that it’s only on its seventh issue.  Which means the entire run so far is collected in a single trade plus two singles issues.  Easily grabbable from wherever comics are sold.  I’m not going to go into great detail about it, but basic rapid-fire summation: assassins, conspiracy, blood, romance, fighting, drugs, battle, death, debauchery, emotional climax, plot climax, actual climax, hangovers, mistakes, trolls, backstory, adventure.  If that string of nigh-nonsensical words doesn’t evoke a reaction in your undergarments, alert a doctor immediately. 

This series has humor:  

Source: http://31.media.tumblr.com/48f213ea77933553c8b0a664d7c8af93/tumblr_mtyd06HJHb1subd7no1_500.png

This series has heart: 

Source: http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w361/MeetMiniMoose/Comic%20Reviews/Rat-Queens-004-2014-Digital-Fawkes-Empire-015speech.jpg

It has action: 
Source: http://www.eatgeekplay.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Rat-Queens4-19.jpg

It has amazing one-liners: 
Source: http://fangirlsarewe.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/rat-queens-4-alphabet.jpg

It’s goddamn perfect. 
Source: http://dorkshelf.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads//2014/03/Ratqueensheader.jpg

Put on those puppy-dog eyes, kiss your grandma on her wrinkly cheek,, and ask her for $10 whole dollars so you can buy this book.  If she starts with the “Back in my day” spiel or hands you a bowl of prunes, just smile and weather it.  It’s absolutely worth it. 

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