Rat Queens

Image Comics is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and as part of that a select number of its comics each month will feature a variant cover tied to a certain theme. While this month has Image titles with variants based on other Image titles, March is Women's History Month and to celebrate, eleven of Image's titles will feature special variants with 100% of the proceeds going to Planned Parenthood.

After multiple controversies and a lot of questions about the book's future, Rat Queens is returning to Image Comics with a new first issue and a new artist, Owen Gieni, joining writer Kurtis J. Wiebe.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics. For some reason, everyone on this site seems to be talking about fantasy stuff this week, so I thought it would be a cool idea to count down the five best heroes of sword and sorcery, battle axe and chainmail bikini.

Game of Thrones has returned, and though now in its sixth season, it remains one of the most riveting and talked about shows on television. Even after all this time and all this death, we’re still tuning in, hoping against hope that our faves don’t get brutally murdered, and maybe that someone rides on a dragon. Fantasy stories have been appearing in comics since near the very beginning of the medium, and there are so many great stories and series to choose from for fans looking for more of a fantasy fix. We’ve picked out five of the best independent and creator-owned comics to keep you going through the week as you wait for more episodes of Game of Thrones.

Since it first started at Image, the R-rated RPG-themed series Rat Queens has proven to be a fan-favorite book, sparking cosplay, fanfic, and all kinds of devotion from the readership. The third arc for the fantasy series comes to a close this week with issue #15, which does some hugely shocking things to the characters. This is a game-changing issue from writer Kurtis J. Wiebe and artist Tess Fowler, changing the story --- and the cast --- in ways nobody could have expected. The issue comes after a slightly troubled production period for the book, which has only just settled down for the ongoing creative team recently. Fowler is now ongoing artist for the foreseeable future, joining colorist Tamra Bonvillain as the book head into the fourth storyline later this year. ComicsAlliance sat down with Wiebe and Fowler to talk about how they formed a creative partnership, what's been going on over the last few issues, and where things are going next. It's going to get a little rough for our heroes...

With so many great comics series to read, it can be difficult keeping track of everything that happened from issue to issue. The Recap Page is a new feature to help readers get caught up ahead of milestone issues and jumping-on points. This week sees the publication of Rat Queens #15, by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Tess Fowler, published by Image Comics, in which a sort of homecoming has revealed some hidden truths, and created rifts in the group that may be beyond repair. If you've ever been curious aboutt Rat Queens, this issue promises to be a standout.

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent.

Welcome to Cast Party, the feature that imagines a world with even more live action comic book adaptations than we currently have, and comes up with arguably the best casting suggestions you’re ever going to find for the movies and shows we wish could exist. This week we're looking at Rat Queens, the hilarious high fantasy series starring an all-lady team of rowdy adventurers, written by Kurtis J. Wiebe and currently illustrated by Tess Fowler.

Hi, I’m Charlotte Finn. I’m a lifelong comics fan and, last year, I admitted to myself that I am transgender. Coming out as transgender means reassessing a lot about your life, your place in the world, and what that world's been telling you about yourself before you even realized who you really were. In this occasional series, I’m going to be applying that reassessment to comics that feature people like me, or close to being like me, and look them over with a fresh set of eyes, starting with Rat Queens Special #1: Braga, by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Tess Fowler.

It's been a tough eight months or so for Image Comics' Rat Queens, art-wise. Artist John Upchurch was removed from the book last November after he was arrested on domestic abuse charges, and his replacement, Stjepan Sejic, has been fighting illness and was only able to draw two issues in the interim. A Wednesday announcement from Image indicates that clearer skies are ahead, however, as artist Tess Fowler and colorist Tamra Bonvillain have taken the art reins of the series about a band of plundering adventurers full-time, starting with issue #11 in August. Sejic will remain as cover artist through issue #15. Series co-creator Kurtis J. Wiebe remains in place as writer.