Finished reading:
Sass & Sorcery (Rat Queens vol 1) by Kurtis J. Wiebe and illustrator Roc Upchurch ★★★★★
Expectation:
This graphic novel has been on my reading list since Easter. A friend read it in chapters as it came out and she was very positive about it. It has been a while since I read a good graphic novel and I was really looking forward to this one. I haven’t played DnD for a while now and I’m really interested in this story of all female DnD butt kicking party!
Summary
Here we’ve got four quirky women who have banded together and make a living by supporting local city and get things done accepting quests from locals. They call themselves The Rat Queens. The story is set in a classic DnD manner. Local city captain passes out quests to questing groups willing to work as mercenaries. They are almost like police units only a lot more colorful and wild.
One of the authors has explained the story as: Lord of the Rings meets Bridesmaids. The heroines of the story each have a intriguing background: Betty is a halfling rogue who considers packing drugs and candy as food on a quest nutrient sufficient; Dee is a human cleric of a giant floating squid deity in search for her own self; Hannah is an elf wizard with an attitude and a black arts dabbling family; Violet is a dwarf fighter that stopped shaving her beard long before it was a thing with the young today.
What I love about these characters is their energy. They are living in an imagined world but their lives, their troubles and hurts are unbelievably real and urban. They are no damsels that need rescuing – they do their own battles and will not shy from a good bar fight. They will probably be the ones starting it…
The first volume has been nominated for a prestigious Eisner award – which is like an Oscar for graphic novels and comics. It has been nominated for a Hugo this year as well.
This graphic novel has recieved GLAAD Media Award and many praises by the LGBT community for a positive portrayal of characters.
Before it was going to be launched as a Kickstarter project editor for Image Comics picked it up and decided to start with publishing a chapter per month which makes two volumes a year.
Last year Heavy Metal Magazine and Pukeko Pictures have announced an animated series to be made based on the story.
Conclusion
I loved the story and the characters. They make for some good cosplay material already. I recommend you to read this graphic novel and get on the fan bandwagon before this stuff gets more popular!
I’m looking forward to read the next volume and I’m very eager to see how the animated series turn out!
anastasiaadamov 