Graphic Novel Review – High Fantasies (Rat Queens, Vol 4) by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Owen Gieni (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Length: 128 pages
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: October 17, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1632158994
Stand Alone or Series: 4th volume in the Rat Queen series
Source: Gift
Rating: 3/5 stars

“The Queens are back! Palisade is still a rat infested hell hole and the only hope of saving it are Violet, Hannah, Dee, Betty and the brand new Queen, Braga! It’s been a long time since they’ve done a good slaughter, so join them as they get back to the basics of killing monsters and drinking away the profits! This is a fresh, hilarious new take on the Rat Queens with new artist Owen Gieni!”

I was very excited to see that another volume in the Rat Queen’s series was released; I was worried that this series was done for good. While this wasn’t as good as previous installments, it as still a fun continuation of the Rat Queen’s series.

I am a bit disappointed in the switch in artists; I like this artwork even less than the previous artwork and I liked that less than the first couple volumes. I know there has been a lot of controversy around the artists doing this series. Although this artwork was okay, I felt like the a lot of the characters (especially Violet) suffered from the change in artist. It just feels more unfinished and doesn’t convey the story as well.

I feel like this series is going downhill, which is a pity because it is very fun concept. This story also feels very disjointed from the last book which left us at a cliffhanger. The last book implied that Violet was turning seriously evil, however that whole storyline is dropped here. Suddenly now we start back in town with all the Rat Queens there and it seems like a lot of time has passed. The Rat Queens are trying to get back together for some new adventures.

Overall this was an okay addition to the Rat Queens series. I still found it entertaining but was disappointed both in the artwork and the disjointed story. I would recommend if you are a huge Rat Queens fan and just hope that the series improves in the next volume. I have been such a huge fan of this series that I am willing to stick with it for one more book, but if the next one is as mediocre as this one I might be setting this series aside.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge