From Kurtis Wiebe and Tess Fowler.

I have been a fan of Kurtis Wiebe from the beginning.  Debris, Grim Leaper and of course Peter Panzerfaust.  Then Rat Queens came along and I drifted away.  Its a great book, to be sure.  But everyone knows that.  The world discovered my cool indy band and now it wasn’t cool anymore.

Its a ridiculous way to think.

So it was with great pleasure that I opened up my email to see and advance copy of this one shot set in the Rat Queens universe.  A new year and a new issue to start it off.  I read it with an open mind and little preconceptions.

And its good.  Damn good.  So good that I now have to rearrange my schedule for the week to fit in a Rat Queens reading marathon.

My only information going into this book was within the email itself:  “In it we share the story of Braga, a transgender character in the Rat Queens universe.”

Braga shows up on page one and she’s big.  Big, nasty, a hideous orc.  Yet there’s something more there.  An instant feeling that someone must love her deeply and for all the right reasons too.  But why?

With reading comes knowledge and every page opens up Braga’s previous life as Broog.

That is about as much as I want to reveal.  There are multiple shocks in the book.  The story punches you in the face and as you’re getting up some other panel hits you from behind.  I couldn’t believe one thing, then I couldn’t believe the next and then I didn’t know what to believe.  Well, aside from believing that this book is fucking good.

Wiebe is a brilliant writer.  We all know that by now right?  If not do a search on this site for previous reviews.  But this is my first time reading Tess Fowler’s work and wow.  Read this book once for the story and a second time to see how she crafts the pages.  Many of the pages have a symmetry that lures the reader into this false sense of security.  All to make it that more jarring when – pow! – panel break and some bad shit happens.

Its a beautiful book when its meant to be and a rough book when it has to be.  There is a tragic moment inside that shocked me on The Walking Dead levels.  Not only that the writing went that far but that the art did as well.  It is necessary though.  Heroes need tragedy to become heroes and damn if this doesn’t make Braga as heroic as it gets.

You have a little over a week to tell your local comic book shop to reserve an issue for you.  A spectacular new edition to the legend that is becoming Rat Queens.