Following Roc Upchurch’s dismissal from the book after his arrest for domestic violence, Kurtis Wiebe noted that there would be a new artist on the book soon after. Today, that artist has been announced: internet darling and wonderfully talented Stjepan Sejic.
It was teased that Sejic might take over, given the amount of fan art he was suddenly producing and putting online (which you can find below, alongside character sketches), but Sejic makes for a great new artist for the book. His style will wonderfully fit in with the high fantasy and alluring visuals present in the book up to this point, as evidenced by his work over at Top Cow on various “Witchblade” related titles, and his recent creator-owned books like “Death Vigil” have been a smashing success. Sejic is also a very, very funny artist, which should go well with Wiebe’s over-the-top scripts. It’s not a great situation given Upchurch’s departure from the book, but Sejic is decidedly a welcome addition.
Take a look at his cover to “Rat Queens” #10 and some character sketches below:
Sejic is set to officially debut with “Rat Queens” #9, debuting in February. In the meantime, a Tess Fowler-illustrated special one-shot starring Braga will be out in January. And we are very excited to have “Rat Queens” come back into our lives.
For the full press release from Image, please see below.
Image Comics Press Release
Image Comics/Shadowline’s New York Times bestselling high fantasy series RAT QUEENS written by Kurtis J. Wiebe will welcome a new artist: Stjepan Sejic of the #1 Amazon bestseller SUNSTONE for issues 9-11.
The RAT QUEENS SPECIAL: BRAGA #1 will feature guest artist Tess Fowler and release on January 14. Sejic’s art will premiere in the following issue, RAT QUEENS #9, on February 25. The series will be monthly with #12 soliciting for a May release.
“Having admired Stjepan’s work at Top Cow for some time now I’m extremely excited about his coming on board to Rat Queens,” said Jim Valentino, Vice President of Image Comics. “He will usher in an exciting new era for one of our most popular titles.”
Wiebe added: “I’m excited to have Stjepan bring the Rat Queens to life in his distinctive style, a voice that understands both the heart and the humor of Hannah, Dee, Betty and Violet. The future of the series is brighter than ever and we’re looking forward to getting new issues out to fans.”
RAT QUEENS SPECIAL: BRAGA #1 featuring guest artist Tess Fowler hits shelves on 1/14 and can be ordered with Diamond Code NOV140673. RAT QUEENS #9 with new series artist Stjepan Sejic will hit shelves on 2/25 and can be pre-ordered with Diamond Code JUL140569.