About a year ago, it was my very real pleasure to read and review Fantasy Sports No. 1 by Sam Bosma. It had everything I ever wanted from a kid’s comic. “Giant robot evil undead conquerors, wizards, treasure, skeleton hordes, tea, adventure, puzzles, and basketball. Gosh, this book was so wonderful.” I have been on tenterhooks waiting for the sequel, Fantasy Sports No. 2 and now that I’ve read it, I have to say…it’s even better than No. 1!

In Volume 1, we met Wiz Kid (“call me Wiz”) an intern of the Archmage, who is out and about plundering with her boss Mean Mug. In Volume 1, they are having some office politics issues, but when we see them again in Volume 2, they appear more partner/partner, than boss/intern.

They find themselves in Barbel Bay, a town populated by humans and fishpeople all of whom share a deep loathing for the Mages who, they say, destroyed their town some years ago. Wiz isn’t entirely convinced, but she’s appalled at even the thought that her people were the aggressors. She and Mug lose their treasure and are forced to enter a volleyball tournament to regain it. During the tournament they – once again – deepen their teamwork. I won’t tell you the ending, because there is no good reason at all for you to not get this delightful book and give it to a kid who loves comics or your local library, or keep it on the shelf to re-re-read from time to time. ^_^

The color palette is a little different this time, full of reds and blues and purples, but still very far from primary-colors one expects in children’s comics. It gives Barbel Bay a unique feel of it’s own.

And the story….oh my goodness can Sam Bosma tell a story! In 50 pages, he crams in so many levels of meaning, plot, character development and room to grow. Neal Stephenson could learn a lot about telling densely packed stories with brevity from Bosma. Before I give this volume to the library, I’m definitely going to give it another read or two. It’s that good.

Once again Wiz Kid is a fabulous protagonist and this time, Mug steps up to be the mentor that he hadn’t previously been. But he’s not a bodyguard – Wiz is hero all on her own with her own physical skills and mental wherewithal. She makes a terrific role model for all of us. As for the fishpeople,  there’s always something to be learned from other cultures. The lessons we learn here are sure to come back and help Wiz and Mug on their future adventures.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Character – 10
Story – 10

Overall – 10

Treasure and giant clams and teamwork and shadow history and shiny champions and fishpeople and magic! Volume 3 will feature field hockey. I can’t wait!

Thanks ever so much to Nobrow Press for the review copy. <3

Today is one of those extra-special wonderful Wednesdays – it’s a Guest Review Wednsday! And today we have a brand new Guest Reviewer, Faps! I’d like you all to welcome her warmly and comment appricatively for our new GR! The stage is yours, Faps!

Good old Rat Queens! Where else are you going to find dynamite dames drinking, drugging, doing the do, and destroying dragons? It’s what I always wanted my dungeons and dragons games to be! Not only is their crew diverse in roles, and mythical races, but in their distinct backgrounds and personalities. The include the surly warlock Hannnah, the hyperactive thief Betty, the introverted healer Dee, and the hipster swords-woman Violet. The series has started out strong. It was nominated for a couple big time awards and managed to bag a GLAAD media award. This little baby is even slated for it’s own animation.

But does it really deserve all the praise? Well the art delivers whether we’re talking about Roc Upchurch or Stjepan Sejic. For me, it’s refreshing to see women drinking, fighting, and fucking without the finger-wagging but rather it’s shown as just rowdy fun. If you’re squeamish about violence be warned! These ladies paint the town red quite literally. If you can handle assassins being smeared into a gory pulp, you’re going to find a lot of fist-pumping action but the ladies don’t come out unscathed for it.

However, there is a bit more intelligence to this story than ‘punch the baddie and celebrate with drunken fucking.’ The main plot for the first volume the ladies have to put their heads together to find out who’s been ordering hits on themselves and their fellow mercenaries by using magic, diplomacy, and a keen eye. Though not every attempt is successful.

While the story has a pretty good sense of humor, I feel as if the dialog tries too hard to be witty but usually comes off as annoying, cheesy, too referential, overly cutesy, or just downright bad. Though even with my groaning over lines like, “Worst. Assassin. Ever!”, “I’ll charm him with…uh…blood-loss…hampering wit,” and “Rat Queens put the sexy back in large wholesale slaughter!” I can’t really fault it too much because it’s in line with the fun. The friendships between the leading ladies involve some sass and arguments but deep down they’re fiercely loyal to each other. It’s very much the, “No one calls my friends cunts but me” kind of playful mentality. The characters are pretty enjoyable for the most part but I’ll confess Hannah is a bit hard to love. She doesn’t treat those around her with much respect but a change of heart maybe on the horizon. Hannah also beaver impeded our lady-loving Betty by punching her girlfriend twice and according to the book, “Did the weirdest turkey victory dance.”

Most of the main cast seems (mostly) heterosexual except for adorable, spunky Betty. Though thankfully Betty’s girlfriend, Faeyri, moves past the oddities of her friends and they start the relationship over again. At the end of the first volume 3 out of the 4 girls hook up but, lezbe honest, Faeyri is the hottest out of the partners and Betty and Faeyri are the cutest couple. The romance is minimal in the story but it’s awesome to see a kick-ass sapphically inclined main character.

While it’s not high-brow and it’s dialog can be annoying at times, it’s overall a fun, high-fantasy, action-packed story of ladies both kicking and getting butt.

Art – 9
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 2
Service – 3

Overall – 8

Erica here: Thanks Faps, for a completely different perspective than we usually have here!