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[Comic Book Review] Rat Queens: Braga One Shot Is An Amazing Return To Form

Published

9 years ago

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“Rat Queens” has queer characters, but they don’t make those characters’ arcs entirely about queerness. They have fat characters, but they don’t make those characters’ personalities entirely about their weight. So while this Braga standalone issue took me a little by surprise, it definitely shouldn’t have.

STK661207

WRITTEN BY: Kurtis J. Wiebe
ART BY: Tess Fowler
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: #3.50
RELEASE: January 14, 2015

Reviewed By Katy Rex

Wiebe’s treatment of Braga, a formerly tertiary character but a fan favorite, is as in-depth and engaging as the lead characters, proving how incredibly fleshed-out this world must be in his head. Her flashback is vaguely reminiscent of Violet’s, which I’ve reviewed here previously. It seems like a lot of adventurers in this universe may be in their position because they didn’t quite fit in at home, and rather than trying harder to conform, they left to pursue their own paths.

Rat Queens is doing a really cool thing. It’s telling stories about people who don’t often see themselves in stories, but in a way that doesn’t make it about the differences. It’s been commented on; in almost every interview Kurtis Wiebe has ever done, Rat Queens portrayal of women has come up, and each time, Wiebe talks about his strategy. When he writes about women, he writes them as people. Not as another species, not as a thing fundamentally different from himself, where he still takes into account the different experiences women have that inform their development but doesn’t make that the primary focus.

Tess Fowler, the guest artist on this one shot, has captured the feeling of the universe, of Braga and her Dave (are we divvying up Daves now? Which one can I have?), but more importantly, she did a beautiful job portraying Braga’s Orcish ancestral home. It might be, in theory, difficult designing multiple Orcish characters such that they can easily be differentiated between by the reading audience, but each character in Braga’s family is distinct and unique.

Also, remember all those questions we had? About Braga being called “the Bastard” in that battle in the first arc, about how she lost her eye, about how an Orc became part of an adventuring crew? Well, this is her origin story. Don’t worry, it all gets addressed. This origin story is about huge and formative things that happened to make Braga who she is today, and in any other series this might be a coming-out story, but once again the creative team understands that while the facets of our identity inform who we are, they do not define us, and not every origin story has to be about our labels. As important as representation is, normalizing identities is equally important, and I love the way this series has continued to treat underrepresented populations.

As frustrating as a one shot can be in the middle of a series, because come on, we want to know what happens next, this one is amazing. The Braga One shot is worth picking up, most definitely.

—

yoyos2Katy 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.
Twitter: @eotucomics
Instagram: @katy_rex
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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

2 days ago

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April 18, 2024

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Witchblade cover

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.

  • Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover

  • Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)

  • Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)

  • Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)

  • Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)

  • Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Witchblade comic panel Witchblade #1 cover image

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