WEEK 12: Rat Queens

Rat Queens (First impressions)

Back before quarantine, I stumbled upon this series when I was looking for new comics to read in Ringling’s collection. Previously, I had read Lumberjanes. A fun, comedic, adventure with five interesting girls. It reminded me of Gravity Falls with the times they would get into supernatural encounters from meeting an old lady who turns into a bear to getting stuck in the past with dinosaurs. The characters' interactions were fun and relatable like a flashback to when I was a girl scout but if I were going on epic adventures. On the other hand, when I read Rat Queens it's darker and felt a little more masculine. The characters were strong physically and magically but I found it interesting that the series was written by men. The Rat Queens had some romance with some of them having significant others but it felt like a motivator somewhat for the second arc when trying to stop the summoning of the elder god. It’s possible there might be more later on but as of right now the two arcs I’ve read, I feel like there’s something missing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the fantasy, fighting, and hardcore ladies but it kind of felt like I was reading a DnD session and the characters were played by men. If you were to change the queens with kings the story could be the same. It’s possible I’m still missing something and have to read more to learn more about these characters. In the end, Rat Queens is more like a DnD party going around the world on quests while learning more about themselves. Free to do what they want, free for hire and free from their previous life, for the most part.