It's Graphic Time!: Rat Queens Vol 1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch

It's Graphic Time is a feature where we review graphic novels and comic books.

Title: Sass and Sorcery 

Author: Kuris J. Wiebe
Illustrator: Roc Upchurch

Publisher: Image Comics

Publishing Date: March 26th, 2014

Pages: 128

Genre: Fantasy Graphic Novel 
TW: Cussing, gore, sex (Consensual but this book is not for under 18!)

Series: Rat Queens Vol. 1

Source: Book

 

Who are the Rat Queens?

They're a pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire and they're in the business of killing all the god's creatures for profit. Meet Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief.

This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent, monster-killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack!

Collecting Rat Queens #1-5!

What made me pick this book up: 

I have been really into comics lately and I go to Half Price Books and find cheap graphic novels there to see if I like them, instead of paying full price.

What made me read this book: 

Well this one looked like fun and I wanted to know why they're called rat queens and also to see if they are tiny, because rats are tiny and they look tiny on the cover.

Also. Just read that part of the synopsis "This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent, monster-killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack!"

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
YES! I have read 2 of them so far and I am IN LOVE.




The artwork is great in this book, it's all badass looking and the colors are amazing together. 

Ohhhkay. The characters... The characters... I don't know what to say. These characters are so awesome. They each have such a strong and unique personality. 

You have Betty who is kinda spastic, totally into shrooms, and has absolutely no filter.

Then you have Dee. Who is like a witch type? But like with books and spells unlike Hannah. She's quiet, has obviously had a rough time. Likes to keep to herself. But is always there if needed.

Then there's Violet. Who is a badass Dwarf. She knows what she wants and she's not afraid to get it. She's actually my least favorite, because she doesn't seem to have as strong a personality as the others.

And then there's Hannah. She's a spellcaster using a wand. She is very much full of attitude, and all about her. She loves her group, but she's very self centered. Also a badass.

They are all badass in their own way. But I think that's one of my favorite things about this book, is all the different personalities into one. It adds a lot of humor to the book.

This book is very much BOOM BOOM BOOM. Something is ALWAYS happening. There's very little downtime. That's why I rated it a 4. It almost didn't give my brain a second to catch up with the story.





There was very little ACTUAL story in this one. The second one has more, and this is definitely a build up for the rest of the series.

I absolutely loved this book. It had me cracking up so much, and I could not put it down. I finished it and gave it to Hubby and said "You absolutely HAVE to read this book!" And even he enjoyed it.

Kurtis Wiebe is a Vancouver, Canada based author who’s been established in the world of comic writing since 2009. For his contribution to the critically acclaimed Green Wake, Kurtis was presented with the Outstanding Comic Book Writer Shuster Award.

Never satisfied with a specific style of writing, Kurtis has branched out to novels, videogames and screenplays. He spends his days at home, writing about the mad things that float around his brain, and occasionally escapes to various cities around North America to promote his projects.