A review by joshgauthier
Rat Queens, Vol. 4: High Fantasies by Kurtis J. Wiebe
4.0
Alright, so I'm really tempted to knock off a star because the start of this volume confused me, and I'm still upset about how this transition was handled.
With a little digging--which shouldn't be a requirement when picking up volume 4 in a series--I learned that Rat Queens underwent a bit of a chance in the creative team, leading to a soft reboot of the series. The previous volumes remain unchanged, but volume 4 jumps us forward in time, leaving all the cliffhangers from volume 3 unresolved. My greatest complaint is that this time jump is barely addressed in this volume and--despite Wiebe's promise that we will get more information about the gap between 3 and 4--I am left seriously wanting in the meantime.
Also as a result of the restart, the series looses some of its momentum, returning more or less to where the series started in order to kick of the run of this new creative team. Compared against everything that was happening in volume 3, this switch is rather jarring.
In similar fashion, I find myself regretting the change in art style--which I might not have minded had I not gotten used to the previous style.
So, those are my complaints. This volume struggles from the changes, and I don't think that the transition was handled as well as it could have been.
That being said, this volume had some of my personally favorite moments in the series thus far--from the unexpected merchant to the dungeon crawl, Wiebe and the team continue to capitalize on story elements that are notable familiar within the fantasy genre while twisting them in delightfully humorous ways. There were some missteps here, but ultimately, the series continues to go strong. I just hope that they fill in the gaps sooner rather than later.
With a little digging--which shouldn't be a requirement when picking up volume 4 in a series--I learned that Rat Queens underwent a bit of a chance in the creative team, leading to a soft reboot of the series. The previous volumes remain unchanged, but volume 4 jumps us forward in time, leaving all the cliffhangers from volume 3 unresolved. My greatest complaint is that this time jump is barely addressed in this volume and--despite Wiebe's promise that we will get more information about the gap between 3 and 4--I am left seriously wanting in the meantime.
Also as a result of the restart, the series looses some of its momentum, returning more or less to where the series started in order to kick of the run of this new creative team. Compared against everything that was happening in volume 3, this switch is rather jarring.
In similar fashion, I find myself regretting the change in art style--which I might not have minded had I not gotten used to the previous style.
So, those are my complaints. This volume struggles from the changes, and I don't think that the transition was handled as well as it could have been.
That being said, this volume had some of my personally favorite moments in the series thus far--from the unexpected merchant to the dungeon crawl, Wiebe and the team continue to capitalize on story elements that are notable familiar within the fantasy genre while twisting them in delightfully humorous ways. There were some missteps here, but ultimately, the series continues to go strong. I just hope that they fill in the gaps sooner rather than later.