Review of Rat Queens vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe

Rat Queens is basically HBO’s Girls meets Dungeons & Dragons, featuring a four-woman adventure group: Betty, a horny, drunken “smidgen” thief (because every fantasy world needs its hobbit analogue). Dee, an atheist, socially awkward, human cleric of Cthulhu. Hannah, a tattooed, ornery, elf mage. Violet, a hipster, dwarf fighter.

Dragon not included

 

Rat Queens takes place in and around Palisade, the sort of frontier town grown-up where once invaluable adventurers have become a liability. The story opens with the town adventuring parties (the Rat Queens, the Peaches, the Four Daves, and Obsidian Darkness) under fire for one property-destroying bar brawl too many. Each group is assigned a task that turns out to be a trap. The rest of Volume 1 deals with the fallout.

Each of the four members has her moments, the story is intriguing enough, and the comic is genuinely funny. They’re foul-mouthed, horny, and have a distinct tendency to cause disproportionate property damage. And can drink their rival adventurers under the table as easily as they kill their enemies. They’re joined by a host of cool minor characters, from a long-suffering captain of the town watch who’s sleeping with one of the Rat Queens to the friendly rival adventurer group named the Four Daves (exactly what it says on the tin) to a villainous local merchant to one very annoying town watchman. All in all, it probably has the best combo of awesome female characters around.

And it only gets better in Volume 2.