Kurtis J. Wiebe

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.

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.

Crossovers are all the rage at Dark Horse this year, as the publisher announced two huge new miniseries at Emerald City Comicon this past weekend, mixing up its licensed properties with those of publishers such as Boom Studios and 2000 AD, with Judge Dredd crossing over with some familiar alien threats, and Tarzan paying a visit to a very familiar planet. Dark Horse also unveiled a brand new ongoing series from Rat Queens writer Kurtis Wiebe and newcomer Mindy Lee, which has been described as Rat Queens in space!

What a week! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to sit back and read some comics. The weekend is finally here, and the world can relax and rest once more — but the comics industry has been busy too, you know, and the last seven days have seen a flurry of comics-based news and announcements fly past at high speed. ComicsAlliance have got your back, though: when it comes to comics, we never slow down, and so here’s a look back and just what’s been going on. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

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.

On April 29th, writer Kurtis Wiebe marked his return to horror comics with Pisces, a brand-new series from Image Comics with artist Johnnie Christmas and colors by Tamara Bonvillain. Although I’ve loved all of Wiebe’s work, it was Green Wake, his noir murder-mystery gothic drama with Riley Rossmo, that persuaded me that he was a writer with a natural gift for spinning scary stories, and I’d always hoped he would return to the genre. After just one issue, it’s clear that Wiebe’s talents for building a terrifying world have grown immensely, and for readers who love surreal, nonlinear narratives, this title should be added to pull lists immediately.

The adventure series Rat Queens from Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch took home the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday. The medieval fantasy series centers on a diverse cast of female adventurers, including lesbian halfling thief Betty. This year's other nominees were Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction, David Aja, Annie Wu, and Matt Hollingsworth; Lumberjanes, by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen; Memetic, by James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan; and Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples.

Stjepan Šejic is an artist who's been on the verge of a breakthrough for a while now -- and he's apparently just had two of them back-to-back. Šejic is an excellent artist, remarkably fast, and by all reports very easy to work with, which means he delivers the trifecta for promising talent. That talent will be put to excellent use on a book in dire need of a great artist; Šejic has been named as the new permanent artist on Rat Queens, the hit fantasy series from writer Kurtis J. Wiebe and Image's Shadowline imprint. This news comes just a couple of weeks after reports that Šejic's creator-owned erotic graphic novel Sunstone received the highest ever advance orders for any book published by Image's Top Cow imprint.