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A review by michaeljohnhalseartistry
Rat Queens, Vol. 5: The Colossal Magic Nothing by Kurtis J. Wiebe
2.0
You know when you start something, and it’s really great, but then slowly it becomes something… less great, but you’ve stuck with it for so long that it’d feel like a betrayal to just put it aside? That’s how I feel about Rat Queens.
Sure, the first three volumes of Rat Queens had it’s issues. The constant shift of artwork made it a little jarring and in-cohesive, but the writing was strong and the characters were the pillar of that strength. Things went a little off the rails when the gang ventured to Mage University, but following that things seemed to fall back into place (albeit without much of an explanation). But, if I’m being honest, I didn’t need much of an explanation…
For those who haven’t read Volume 3, the storyline revolved around Hannah (the misunderstood, bad-girl of the group) returning to Mage U to save her father who had been arrested by the Council of Mages for attempting to overthrow them. In the end, Hannah was cleaved from the Rat Queens, burned that bridge, and was imprisoned herself. In the following volume, Hannah and the girls are back, her father is living with her, and someone makes a comment about how another character (who also went to Mage U) had cleaned up the Council and the school. It was a simple enough explanation for me. Perhaps this character continued the student revolt, took over the council and freed Hannah and her father? There’s a perfectly good ending to that story…
Then came Volume 5… And in an attempt to tie in the Mage U storyline with the shocking return to normalcy in the volume following, Wiebe concocted some sort of twisted dual reality that never really makes much sense. So the Hannah from the original timeline still exists, and has become some evil sorceress, while the gang who left Mage U intact exists in another timeline that’s now being ravaged by evil Hannah… The writing is sloppy, and frankly, doesn’t work.
And that’s a shame, because (for the most part) I enjoyed this volume. It was a continued return to normalcy that we saw in the previous volume, and I was happy that the Rat Queens were back to taking quests and killing monsters. Will I continue reading Rat Queens? Yeah, most likely… I’ve come this far… and I love the characters… I just wish things were different.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
Sure, the first three volumes of Rat Queens had it’s issues. The constant shift of artwork made it a little jarring and in-cohesive, but the writing was strong and the characters were the pillar of that strength. Things went a little off the rails when the gang ventured to Mage University, but following that things seemed to fall back into place (albeit without much of an explanation). But, if I’m being honest, I didn’t need much of an explanation…
For those who haven’t read Volume 3, the storyline revolved around Hannah (the misunderstood, bad-girl of the group) returning to Mage U to save her father who had been arrested by the Council of Mages for attempting to overthrow them. In the end, Hannah was cleaved from the Rat Queens, burned that bridge, and was imprisoned herself. In the following volume, Hannah and the girls are back, her father is living with her, and someone makes a comment about how another character (who also went to Mage U) had cleaned up the Council and the school. It was a simple enough explanation for me. Perhaps this character continued the student revolt, took over the council and freed Hannah and her father? There’s a perfectly good ending to that story…
Then came Volume 5… And in an attempt to tie in the Mage U storyline with the shocking return to normalcy in the volume following, Wiebe concocted some sort of twisted dual reality that never really makes much sense. So the Hannah from the original timeline still exists, and has become some evil sorceress, while the gang who left Mage U intact exists in another timeline that’s now being ravaged by evil Hannah… The writing is sloppy, and frankly, doesn’t work.
And that’s a shame, because (for the most part) I enjoyed this volume. It was a continued return to normalcy that we saw in the previous volume, and I was happy that the Rat Queens were back to taking quests and killing monsters. Will I continue reading Rat Queens? Yeah, most likely… I’ve come this far… and I love the characters… I just wish things were different.
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse