2 out of 5

I’m so confused on Rat Queens.  On the one hand, Wiebe has such a great grasp of bouncing between humor and story-telling, and his characters are always very, very realized.  You know everyone in his books (when that’s the intention), and Rat Queens is all about being the reader’s best friend, so that aspect is just bolstered.  On the other hand…  On the other hand.  Something.  This is the Eric Powell version of the strong dame, the sex-positive, swearin’ and fightin’ roller derby gals.  Obviously these girls exist, and it IS awesome that we have such a female-centric book that truly gives its leads the upper, unjudged hand on all their action, but this personality type is also a symptom of our current age, and no, I’m not too keen on the masculine version of it either…  Which, admittedly, has been allowed out in the open forever as the free-wheeling, fuckable dude who’s just having a good time.

But I realize this is besides the point, and probably something I should rant about in the Rat Queens review itself.  (Or maybe I already did?)

Either way: I’m still confused on Rat Queens, between liking these characters, and not really being able to follow what’s going on.  I’ve sort of gotten this way with Peter Panzerfaust as well.  In Kurtis’ longer books – so Green Wake included – making the direction of his narrative clear is problematic.  And it’s even moreso of an issue with RQ, as the first arc seemed hell bent on establishing that these were wild and crazy girls over trying to clarify their reason for existing as an ongoing series.  Thus, I’m completely baffled why we’re even getting a Braga special, and I’m even more baffled to find out that this character is… transgender?  I guess?  Did that happen previously and I completely missed it?  Or is that the twist to this issue and I just ruined it?  In case of the former – more evidence for my conflict over my reception of this book.  In case of the latter – more evidence for my low rating of this issue.

I still stand by the Preacher one-shots / minis as being the perfect examples of how to ADD to your series.  Those minis EARNED their place: Ennis had established the characters enough that you actually wanted to know more, and the books were written such that you really could skip them and still fully enjoy the main series.  Unfortunately, most splinter books end up either feeling like bits that are purposefully woven into the ongoing so you HAVE to buy them, or – as is the case with Braga – like passion projects.  Like the writer thought it was a good story, and so wanted to write it.  And they might very well be good stories, but without context…  Meh?

In this interview, I seemingly find my opinion confirmed.  Wiebe liked the character and wanted to tell her story, even though she’d only been the background prior to this.  And it doesn’t sound like her gender had been discussed before, so this special is meant to be our first exposure to it…  And I realize I’m dumb, but if I hadn’t read press on the issue mentioning that, Braga’s flashback to her life as Prince Broog was just sorta confusing.  Tess Fowler’s art is also a far cry from the incredibly emotive Roc Upchurch.  Static figures have a pleasant cartoony look to them that pleasantly offsets Braga’s / Broog’s massive features, but when the action ramps up, there are a ton of perspective issues and some sloppy framing that just make the pages unappealing.

So I might remain confused on the ongoing, but – my personal feelings on the RQ’s personalities aside – my response to this special was pretty easy to figure.  Broog’s story is interesting in and of itself, but it never feels like a necessary addition to the RQ world.