After a slight delay, the Rat Queens are back this week and it’s cause for celebration. From the very beginning of Kurtis Wiebe and Roc Upchurch’s series, fans have been treated to a fun, Dungeons & Dragons style book that mixes both fantasy and rowdy comedy. In “Rat Queens” #7 there are secrets and tentacle monsters for the whole family!
Written by Kurtis Wiebe
Illustrated by Roc UpchurchTHE FAR REACHING TENTACLES OF N’RYGOTH, Part Two You didn’t see that coming, did you? Neither did the Queens but now they have an ally on their side with an innate knowledge of N’Rygoth, which is good because they’re going to need every bit of help they can get. Palisade is overrun with tentacle monsters.
Things are getting dicey for the Rat Queens. Last issue it was revealed that Dee is married and that bitch Bernadette has gotten herself into some serious trouble; thanks to that absolutely chilling last panel in issue #6, we know that she’s cursed. Luckily (or unluckily) for her, she’s run into Hannah. Meanwhile back at Rat Queens headquarters, Dee’s husband sheds some light on her past and on the impending doom coming to Palisades, while Gerrig has made his presence known and has a surprise in store for Palisades. It’s an issue full of secrets and disaster that marks a bit of a more dramatic turn for the series.
“Rat Queens” #7 is the strongest issue so far story wise. We’ve been promised from the beginning that we’d eventually get backstory on all of the Queens and while we haven’t gotten a ton of answers just yet, it’s clear that Wiebe and Upchurch are not going to hold back for very long. Each of these characters are becoming fully realized: Dee with her husband and religious upbringing, Hannah and Tizzie’s rivalry and Sawyer’s dark past are all teased, and it sets up some intriguing mysteries going forward. It’s an example of Wiebe’s excellent plotting. He does this in “Peter Panzerfaust” and he’s doing it even better in “Rat Queens”.
Something working in “Rat Queen’s” favor right now is that we, the readers, entered the story from the middle; the series opened with this team already together. Framing the story like this allows for a lot of world building throughout the entire series when it becomes necessary or makes sense, and that’s exactly what we’re getting right now. Wiebe can also take his time with filling in the blanks. With a strict origin story, it all has to be given to us at once; not in a story like “Rat Queens” though. Wiebe can keep writing the clever humor and great single moments that he’s doing so well right now and as the ideas come to him he can drop them in. It’s the perfect situation for a writer.
“Rat Queens” has become so popular because of the way the female characters are handled but I think some attention should be given to how the males are characterized (except Gary of course; that guy sucks). Dee’s husband Kiah is a very interesting male character. He breaks many stereotypes, further proving how modern a tale “Rat Queens” is. He deeply cares for Dee and doesn’t say the typical male character things (such as ordering her home or threatening a divorce). He’s much more sensitive to the clear existential crisis that she’s going through and is really only there right now to help with the threat Palisades is facing. Their relationship is fractured, but it’s hero time and that’s where his head is. It’s extremely refreshing to see a male character in this light — he’s not weak, he’s a real guy in love with a woman. He ultimately just wants her to be happy and does very small things to show that.
Gerrig and Sawyer are also worth looking into deeper. Gerrig is not a mindless megalomaniac. He has a desire to destroy Palisades and get vengeance on Sawyer for what happened to his wife. It gives the plot a very personal touch. It also complicates things more as what he does comes from an emotional place. It makes him unpredictable. Sawyer too has more going on than what we first thought. He began as a heroic male foil to the Rat Queens but is actually another emotional male character with skeletons in his closet. He’s full of remorse and regret and instead of becoming a recluse (like we’ve seen in many superhero titles) he becomes a hero and protector. Wiebe and Upchurch are constantly playing with our preconceived gender roles and the comic industry should take note.
Continued belowThe most interesting and surprising wrinkle to this issue is the movement in development with the Lola character. Lola has some amazing action packed pages but it doesn’t do a lot to move the story along. I like this character and feel she can be a great asset to the story as a whole, but this did feel a little out of place. What it did do though is give us amazing fight scenes which is what Upchurch excels at. Lola moves swiftly and with a purpose.
Speaking of which, I am absolutely in love with Roc Upchurch’s artwork. He consistently puts out some of the best pages. He knows how to draw real women and his facial expressions are top notch. That early scene with Betty is so perfect. However, I do feel he’s at his strongest during action scenes. He details every movement and in those movements there’s character; Lola doesn’t move like Hannah, for example, and Dee doesn’t have the same reactions to things that Violet has. Every issue of “Rat Queens” has a scene that I’d want blown up into a poster so I can hang it up in my room. In this issue it’s the last page; it’s an image that will in all honesty stay with me for quite some time.
As fun as “Rat Queens” has been, it is a nice change of pace to get this more dramatic issue. There are still a fair amount of jokes as Betty and Hannah have some very good moments, but this is the darkest issue so far. I think that the tone may come to a shock to some readers, but in all fairness this series wouldn’t work so well if it were all fun and games. Fantasy is a very big sandbox to play in and it would be a disservice to the talent of both Wiebe and Upchurch if they kept “Rat Queens” purely comedic. Fantasy can get very serious; playing just one RPG or reading some of the best fantasy novels will show you how serious the genre can get and I think they found the right tone in this issue. It still feels like “Rat Queens” but adds in much more action and adventure.
“Rat Queens” #7 is the strongest issue in the series so far and sets a new path for the Queens to take. Kurtis Wiebe and Roc Upchurch are putting together a modern masterpiece, and if you’re not reading this then I think your taste might just have to be questioned a little bit. While there are many great books from Image currently on stands, “Rat Queens” is by far one of the best, and it absolutely deserves all the attention it has been given.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Must buy — unless tentacle monsters freak you out too much. Even then, get over it.
