The Plight Of Orc Dave In Rat Queens #15
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Dee and Betty attack one of the Voon wizards to save some of the Rat Queen. They are successful, but they don’t save all of the group yet. Worse yet, Orc Dave has to grapple with what has become of his estranged son. Elsewhere, Braga is still being tormented by her brother, now a Voon as well. He taunts her over how she left their clan, but Braga isn’t willing to give in. She knows who she is and will fight to the last. Thankfully, the other Rat Queens won’t let her fight alone.
Rat Queens #15 brings the Voon arc to a conclusion. The Queens are reunited and willing to face the phantoms that have followed them to this fight. Dee is grappling with her newfound divinity, Orc Dave has found his son, Braga has met her brother again, and Hannah and Sadie are finally getting along.
As is often the case with Rat Queens, it’s a high-action and high-energy affair with a lot of humor and sisterly bonding. The comic has always been able to balance action with humor and emotionality, and this issue continues that trend.
The heaviest part of the comic is Orc Dave deciding what to do about his recovered son and how it will affect his relationship with Violet. It’s a little heart-wrenching, but it has a sweet ending.
Owen Gieni’s artwork is kinetic, creative, and gorgeous. The fight scenes are a chaotic melee that take advantage of the Queens’ talents and weaponry. The Voon still look quite cool, and their powers are both unnerving and eye-catching. The color work is vibrant and adds even more energy to this lively book in addition to just looking plain good.
Rat Queens #15 is another home run of an issue for Kurtis J. Wiebe and Owen Gieni and a good one for Wiebe to hang his hat on. He’s departing from Rat Queens, but he can rest easy knowing that he contributed many great issues to the series. This one definitely gets a recommendation. Give it a read.
Rat Queens #15 comes to us from writer Kurtis J. Wiebe, artists Owen Gieni and Priscilla Petraites, color artists Gieni and Marco Lesko, letterer Ryan Ferrier, cover artist Jim Valentino, and variant cover artist Gieni.
