Tag Archives: Rat Queens

The Haul, Y’all – 4/8/2015

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9 books plus bags n’ boards for them, about $35 bucks. Almost all Image Comics, which is no surprise for me. A few notes:  I’m so behind on reading Grant Morrison’s The Multiversity. I’ll have to devote a weekend to it sometime soon.  Birthright and Copperhead are both starting their second arcs. I’ve heard great things about Red One, and I’m stoked to close out the harrowing “Gridiron” arc in Southern Bastards. Descender started out strong last month. I still need to read  Secret Identities (I’ve only read a 5-page preview so far). And finally, this might be my last issue of Rat Queens I’m sad to say.

My last few trips to the LCS have left me a bit bummed because there are so many other books I’d love to be collecting, but for all the usual reasons it’s just not a possibility. Boom! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, Black Mask and others have been making really solid plays in the indie/creator-owned game that’s dominated by Image Comics. For the discerning comic book fan who largely doesn’t read superhero comics, we’re in a golden age of diverse options to chose from in the marketplace, niche as it is in these modern times.

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In the Courtyard | Thoughts on Rat Queens #8

Rat Queens #8 (Image) — Glad to have one of my absolute favorite series back (after a three month layoff), but sad that it’s a single character issue starring Violet, the Dwarf member of the Queens, dealing with her family’s tradition at the gathering of eight families in the courtyard, as well as her well-groomed beard. Timing for this one-off is odd because the previous storyline is unresolved and judging by future solicits, that story is not over. This is a perfectly serviceable character-driven spotlight issue. However, with the long layoff between #7 & #8, I can’t deny I was a little underwhelmed. For such a delayed issue, it was surprising to see artist/colorist Roc Upchurch’s work not look as good as the previous seven issues. I imagine that plenty of the Rat Queens faithful will recoil at this critique (and I’m usually not one to complain too much about the lateness of comics), but when a series instantly becomes your new favorite, your expectations tend to rise. However, I see no reason why this series can’t bounce back into form next issue. — Rating: 3.5 (out of 5) 
 

 

Comic Book Fetish Favorites – June 2014

Rough month considering Rat Queens, Velvet, Lazarus, Southern Bastards and Veil did not ship as solicited. Naturally my read list is still Image-dominated, but I did manage to read an anomaly of a Marvel title. Just as May was led by the much anticipated returns of Rat Queens and Saga, June was led, of course, by the triumphant return of Sex Criminals as well as a certain promising debut. However, there was one debut this month that was rather sleepy.

Read List for June 2014
  1. Sex Criminals #6 (Image) 5.0 – Excellent return.
  2. The Wicked and the Divine #1 (Image) 4.5 – Intriguing debut.
  3. Cyclops #2 (Marvel) 4.0 – Best X-book in a while.
  4. Saga #20 (Image) 4.0 – Is the luster fading?
  5. The Private Eye #7 (Panel Syndicate) 4.0 – Still wishing this was on paper. 
  6. Rise of the Magi #1 (Image) 3.5 – Promising.
  7. C.O.W.L. #2 (Image) 3.5 – Getting there.
  8. Red City #1 (Image)  2.5 – See my review here.
  9. Trees #2 (Image)  2.5 – Oddly, the first issue was better.
  10. One-Hit Wonder #3 (Image)  1.5 – Speculation buy, what can I say?

Dishonorable Mention: Outcast #1 (Image) 1.0 – I was disconnected during the entire read

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Read List for May 2014 (last month’s Fetish Five in bold)

  1. Rat Queens #6 (Image) 5.0
  2. Velvet #5 (Image) 4.0
  3. Saga #19 (Image) 4.0
  4. Cyclops #1 (Marvel) 4.0
  5. Southern Bastards #2 (Image) 4.0
  6. Veil #3 (Dark Horse) 3.5
  7. Rocket Girl #5 (Image) 3.5
  8. Rise of the Magi #0 (Image) 3.0
  9. C.O.W.L. #1 (Image) 3.0
  10. Trees #1 (Image) 3.0