BooktubeSFF Awards discussion

I got this delivered to me today (thank you Amazon Prime) and will be diving in after, or possibly during, reading Armada by Ernest Cline as i've been waiting a year to read that.

I read this earlier this year along with several other Hugo nominees. I think this was my favorite, but I think I can now safely say graphic novels will never be my thing.

I read volume 1 of Rat Queens a few months back now and loved it. I think I'll try and re-read it in August with the group. Either way, I'm sure it will be fun to chat about. I read volume 2 shortly after it was released, and didn't like it nearly as much as the first. Hopefully, the series will pick up again for volume 3.

I tried to order the book itself from my local comic book store months ago but it was apparently out of print, so I got it from the Hugo voting pack instead.

I just had my library hold come in, and even though I already read (and loved!) it earlier this year, I'm SO EXCITED to read through it again with all you lovely people!

I just reread this a month or so ago when I bought Volume 2, but I'll be following the conversation. This is a really fun graphic novel!

I got the digital edition and I can't wait to read it with you guys!

Mine just came in the mail today! I was worried it would be a bit late and was so happy, I tore through the first issue/chapter. It was a little short, but so good! The artwork is so beautiful too that I could easily see myself re-reading it just to look at all the wonderful images again.

Fortunately there's plenty more of the volume still left to read! I love these characters and their irreverent humor. Can't wait to see where the story goes next!

I read this a while ago and loved it. It looks gorgeous and I absolutely love the characters. Very distinct personalities, but all had a lot of depth too with plenty of room to explore more of each of their individual stories. They worked well together and the plot was great too with plenty of action. Everything really came together here.

The smaller (uglier) panels are definitely a bit jarring for me as well. I've seen them employed with much greater frequency in other graphic works and it just looks kind of cheap. There's a DC comic I like and the first volume took that tactic to ridiculous extremes, but calmed that down in the second one. I think it might be particularly unsettling in this particular work, because most of the panels are pretty large and detailed. It still looks great overall in my opinion though.

I'd have to agree with the portrayal of these women. They feel a lot more real and honestly no less sexy or badass than what you'd normally see in a comic.

I also love all of the other mercenary teams and their names, the Four Daves is one in particular that I thought was pretty funny. The guard captain guy is pretty good too and I'm interested to see where the story goes with him. I kinda get the feeling that there either was or will be something between him and Hannah. Not sure if anyone else thinks the same.

Elizabeth wrote: "The first thing that struck me about Rat Queens was probably the art style. I love the large detailed pictures of the Queens and most of the bigger panels were great. But I found it very jarring wh..."

Agreed! (With all the things you said.)

Read this one today and I quite liked it. The story itself was okay, but it characters really did it for me. I found the Queens to be amusingly diverse and fun, with Betty as my favourite. The other characters nicely complemented our main heroines and were a nice addition to the world without outshining the Rats.

Really lovely art as well. The big portraits at the beginning of every chapter were particularly stunning! Lots of gore and foul language, but I don't mind, really. If anything, it gave it all that little extra oomph.

While I'm not really big on graphic novels, I did like it and out of the three I read thus far, my favourite. Will read the second volume soon-ish.

I love graphic novels and comics so I didn't really mind the difference of art between panels. That being said I LOVE RAT QUEENS! I read it today in one sitting because it was so hard to stop reading it.

I love the characters the most - not just their different body shapes and skin colours and features, but their personality too. And especially the friendship between them. SO GOOD!

It made miss my D&D days - my characters (named Morgaine) was an elf and did lots of magic so I might be a bit biased when I say that my favourite character is Hannah.

I love graphic novels and comics. I heard raving reviews on Rat Queens for a few years now. I flipped through one of the issues in a comic book shop a while ago, but my pull list was already huge and nothing impressed me immensely in that issue to immediately pick it up. So I kept postponing reading it up. I decided that this award was a good chance for me to finally read it.

I just finished it. I liked it, but didn't love it. Yes, the book has diversity. Yes, it has women as main characters and each is unique, not a cookie-cutter. Yes, the art is decent and there is no "I'm-so-confused" first issue syndrome. Instead there is too much setup.

This volume has no story. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of action, but no story. This is only a setup for a future story and feels like the setup is not yet complete. We are first arc (5 issues) into the book and we do not yet have a story.

I will check out Vol.2. Hopefully the story will start there.

Aurelia wrote: "I love graphic novels and comics. I heard raving reviews on Rat Queens for a few years now. I flipped through one of the issues in a comic book shop a while ago, but my pull list was already huge a..."

I could see where you might say that, but I think that this one did have a story! Not much of one, maybe, but it's not like they were just wandering around, world exploring and info dumping! It's a loose plot for sure, and it's definitely a set-up piece, but I didn't get that feeling more with Rat Queens than I did with any other first volume of a graphic novel series.

Glad to hear you liked it well enough, though!

Just finished rat queens, it took an hour to read and what an hour! The story sped along but it was the art work I fell in love with. This is up there with saga as my favourite graphic novel. Bray queens are bad ass.

Aurelia wrote: "I love graphic novels and comics. I heard raving reviews on Rat Queens for a few years now. I flipped through one of the issues in a comic book shop a while ago, but my pull list was already huge a..."

I think I understand what you say, but I think for a first volume setting the world and the characters can maybe be more important than the story?

Andreea wrote: "I think I understand what you say, but I think for a first volume setting the world and the characters can maybe be more important than the story? "

If I have to choose in a work (a book, a comic, an episode, etc.) what is more important, this work is no longer very good for me. Very good/great works do manage to have a perfect balance between different elements.

If we were discussing only first issue of a comic and it only had setup and not much of a story, I would not have as much of an issue. However, here we are talking about 5 issues - a finished story arc.

Here are my few examples (in no particular order) of first volume of comics where, in my opinion, setup, story and character development are done in good balance:
1. Saga Vol.1
2. Locke & Key Vol.1
3. Descender (arc is still not finished, so first 5 issues)

There are others,I'm sure, but these that came to mind immoderately.

Yeah, I see your point and I understand it and I guess I agree with you at some point. But I personally was able to enjoy Rat Queens a lot in spite of its flaws.

I usually don't like works that are just a set up for the next volume, but mainly when it comes to films (agh, I hate it if it's a film that just sets up the next one) and novels. I guess I am used with comics always building towards something rather than standing on its own.

By the way, I love Saga but I have yet to read the other two works you mentioned. Oh, and I just finished Rat Queens vol. 2. Just couldn't help myself, ha ha!

(I also apologize for my English and bad grammar, trying my best here.)

I just wrapped this up a couple of days ago, myself and I think I do see where some of the complaints are coming from. The first two chapters came off really strong for me. They just kind of threw me into this interesting world and explained things along the way rather than delving into a boring origin story. Then it lost some focus in chapter 3. They kind of alluded to lives that the Queens have outside of their job as well as some of their personal history, but it never really went anywhere and then they just kind of solved the mystery of who wanted them dead a little too quickly. The end of 5 did turn things on it's head a little and set up the next volume. My sense of intrigue was renewed, but I also didn't really feel fulfilled with the way things wrapped up.

That said, it was a really thrilling and action packed ride and I DO think there was a good story here, it just wasn't as tied up as it needed to be. I'll definitely be picking up the next volume and hopefully I'll have a slightly better sense of completion by the end of that one.

I read this book a little while back and read Volume 2 fairly recently. I am going to be the controversial one of the judges with this one and say that I actually really liked volume 2 and found that more to my liking than this one because even though I did really enjoy the artwork and especially the larger panels, I felt that the story was not as defined as I would have liked.

I love the idea of this series and for me it's got a lot of fun and humour and snark packed in with the characters and so even though it wasn't my favourite every graphic novel I was happy to continue on and I ended up liking vol. 2 a lot more which I think means it's a series which (at least for me) is improving as it goes.

I'm certainly loving the discussion you guys are having though so keep it coming! :)

It's the art work that really makes this graphic novel special for me, especially the chapter panels where they show a detailed although softer side of the characters, if anyone has read the second one in the series the art work and detail of the characters does get better, it's amazing to have such strong female lead characters who say totally hilarious inappropriate things ( I'm not giving this to my 11 year old)

Elizabeth wrote: "I can see where people are coming from with the plot/character development ratio feeling a bit loose. I adore the story for the characters themselves, the way they've been developed and the way the..."

I think that's why this 'imbalance' didn't really bother me - I think that Rat Queens is meant to be more of a character piece more than anything. Yes, these kickass girls get together and have adventures, but the story (to me) is much more about what these girls are like, and why, and the ways they interact with each other.

Chelsea wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "I can see where people are coming from with the plot/character development ratio feeling a bit loose. I adore the story for the characters themselves, the way they've been develop..."

I totally agree with you, that's why I said earlier that sometimes there are things in a book that's more important than the story. And I love the characters, most awesome ladies ever!!

For me, if I really like the characters, I can forgive a lack of action or shortcomings in story or plot. Not that I noticed any of these things when I read it, but I loved the characters. And it was all of them too, which is hard to pull off. Usually there might be one or two that I don't care for, but I loved all the characters here.

It reminds me somewhat of an Aaron Sorkin show (West Wing, A Few Good Men) or a Quentin Tarantino movie (Pulp Fiction, Death Proof) where you get so wrapped up in the characters that a long conversation can have you riveted, even if there is nothing else going on.

I was expecting a lot and I am kind of disappointed. I didn't really like the storyline and towards the end of the book I was wondering when the graphic novel will end. It just wasn't to my taste.