Sass & Sorcery

What can I say about this brilliant graphic novel? I finished it in one sitting, in less than an hour (all graphic novels/comics are quick to read, usually).

Betty is a cute goblin, who mixes and cooks the most potent booze and food you can imagine. She specialises in thievery.
Dee is a sultry black acolyte and, ironically, an atheist. She specialises in healing.
Hannah is an elven, a sex fiend, and a trash talker. She specialises in offensive magic.
Violet is a blood thirsty dwarf powerful enough to slice the strongest diamond into shreds with her sword. She specialises in killing. 

Meet the Rat Queens!

And I'm totally in love with Betty! Actually, no, I want to sleep with the entire Rat Queens gang: Betty, Dee, Hannah and Violet. Damn it! They're all hot, witty and, above all, kick serious arse that would make [INSERT YOUR FAVOURITE SUPER HERO] shit their pants. No, I'm serious! The Rat Queens are my favourite super heroes.

I love their brand of humour – very colourfully profane, sarcastic and raunchy. There's even a subtle dig at Harry Potter (sort of), where the Rat Queens sing a song while they're drunk, that had me laughing out loud. This graphic novel has all the elements of great fantasy: violence, blood & gore, booze, profanity, humour, friendship, rollicking adventures and monster slaying. And sex. 

The characters are fully fleshed out, each of whom has a back story. This makes you care for them and want to know them more. They even openly talk about drugs, sex, men (and women), and bitch & celebrate in equal measure. They have needs, just like us human beings, and therefore people you could hang out and make out with. In other words, they are relatable characters. 

And oh, did I mention that the violence is intense, excessive, over-the-top which makes the gore in other graphic novels tame by comparison? You may want to read this book before a meal. There, I've warned you. But it's totally worth it.

If you liked Game of Thrones, you will love this even better. Go and buy one right now! 
If you're fond of Dungeons & Dragons, role-playing games (RPGs) and Lord of the Rings, then you need pick this one up. 
If you're a woman, then picking this up will make you wet with glee. 
If you're a man, then put aside your male ego and pride and pick this up to enjoy kickass women slay monsters that will make you rock hard.

I can't wait for the next installment! Go Rat Queens!

StoryGruesome and crass, and I loved every minute of it.I'm not really big into comics anymore. I think they are overly expensive and generally uninteresting. But things seem to be changing lately. Or at least there is some really great stuff out there. First [b:Locke & Key 3217221 Locke & Key, Vol. 1 Welcome to Lovecraft (Locke & Key, #1) Joe Hill https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377304780s/3217221.jpg 3251160], then [b:Saga 15704307 Saga, Volume 1 Brian K. Vaughan https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351259514s/15704307.jpg 19113524] and now Rat Queens. These aren't comic books for kids.I could spend time talking about how the story is lead by four women who break all the usual tropes of fantasy stories, but other people have done that already, and it's not precisely the reason why this volume got the rare 5 stars for me.The characters are just great in general. Every one of them. But especially Betty. She's my favorite. I crave new and different stories. Stories where the tropes are either thrown out or turned on their head. This seems to have that in spades.Unlike [b:The Mirror Empire 20646731 The Mirror Empire (Worldbreaker Saga, #1) Kameron Hurley https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399920947s/20646731.jpg 39939919] where the women felt like gender roles simply reversed, the Queens feel like women, even if they are unlike any women than I'm used to seeing, especially in genre fiction.They are not the type of women I'd want to party with. I'm too much of a lightweight to keep up with them. But I sure do seem to love reading about them.As a long time D&D player this story just seemed to press all the right buttons for me. On the surface it's your pretty standard party. You've your halfling thief/assassin, a human (I think?) cleric, an elven mage, and a dwarven warrior. But their battle plans and tactics are just ludicrous, and totally awesome all at the same time.And if that wasn't enough, the humor is just excellent. Mr. Wiebe seems to poke fun not only at role playing tropes, but story tropes as well.“I find it very strange that we've never talked about this before.”“This moment seemed convenient.”This hasn't quite convinced me to start picking up the monthly issues, but it's awfully close. I definitely can't wait to get my hands on the next trade.Highly recommend.ArtworkMr. Upchurch's artwork is excellent. I've seen comments about realistic body images, and I can't really speak too much to that, but I have watched plenty of anime and read many comics with unrealistic body images, so I can say the characters seem more realistic to me. And of course they are wearing proper armor for their class and not the standard +10 bra of super defense.But more importantly (to me anyways) the artwork is really excellent in general. I'm especially impressed at the facial expressions. There are more than a few scenes that are extra awesome due to the art.

holy fucktarts. this comic has just skyrocketed to the top of my favorites list. I'd seen a few friends on Instagram buy it and the cover intrigued me, so when I saw my library had it, I was so excited. this comic is everything I'd hoped for and much MUCH more. strong female leads (more female than male characters in the whole book, actually) are my favorite. the writing is witty, hilarious, and full of beautiful new curse words that I'm gonna steal. the art is AMAZING, it's so gory and just plain perfect.
I. LOVE. THIS. SERIES.

A fun adult D&D style fantasy with some feisty ladies at the forefront - what's not to like? I was apprehensive going into this at first, but the good things I'd heard weren't wrong and I was easily sucked into the first volume of this series. Nothing too deep here, but a lot of humor, adventure and girl power make for an enjoyable read.