Comics
[Comic Book Review] “Rat Queens” #8 Wants To Fuck With You
First, let me admit my bias: I love Rat Queens. I have the T-shirt, I did an interview with the creators on my own site, I drove up to New York for the D20 Burlesque Show, my phone autosuggests “Dave” when I type “Orc,” and I have a quarter sleeve tattoo. So it would be impossible to pretend that this review is an impartial one. However, as a (possibly insane, obsessive) fan, I love this series because it is great. It is well written, it is funny, it is beautiful. If it stopped being any of those things, you can bet I would have a problem with it. I’m not cutting this series any breaks, because I love it so much.
WRITTEN BY: Kurtis J. Wiebe
ART BY: Roc Upchurch
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: #3.50
RELEASE: October 1, 2014
Reviewed By Katy Rex
All that said, oh my goodness. Issue #8, debuting on Oct 1, is mostly a Violet origin story. More than that, though, it hints at a Rat Queens origin story. Wait, you say. What about that cliffhanger? What do you mean, origin story? Sorry, folks. Kurtis J. Wiebe is fucking with you. And if you’re like me, you won’t even be mad about it. Sure, the issue after the “most epic cliffhanger to date” is a flashback, leaving you on the edge of your seat for another month. But this issue gives Violet more depth and character, it puts her temper into context, and it explains (at least a little) what the deal was with Barrie a few issues ago. Plus, it gives us the slightest little hint about the name “Rat Queens.”
Roc Upchurch, who apparently doesn’t want to have any free time, does the colors, the pencils, and the inks. The colors in this issue are phenomenal. There are panels, like the one below, where details like Barrie and Violet’s eyes speak volumes about siblinghood (the same eye color) and resentment. Some of the panels, however, suffer from a lack of detail. In contrast to the single page portrait of Vi on page 2, the following splash features inset panels with characters with no faces. This lack of detail isn’t present through most of the book, but it is slightly off-putting. On the other hand, the depth of detail in the shaving scene later makes the moment truly heartwarming.
If you’re trade-waiting on this series, you’re missing the letters page, which is your usual collection of cosplays, fan art, and love letters—but this issue, we get to see Kurtis’ new daughter, Willow Kate, and we get a recipe for a new “vomit inducing, blood poisoning [alcoholic] beverage,” dubbed “Betty’s Candy Coated Dreams.”
Be sure to pick this issue up today!
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Katy Rex writes comics analysis at endoftheuniversecomics.com, comicsbulletin.com, and bloody-disgusting.com. She also writes scholarly articles for various academic journals. She really likes butt jokes, dinosaurs, and killing psychos and midgets in Borderlands 2. She has a great sense of humor if you’re not an asshole.
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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