Rat King #1 Review: A Big-Hearted NYC Sewer Adventure

WEPA! Now this right here is the kind of indie comic energy that makes the sewers feel like Broadway, the cheese feel sacred, and two little rats feel like they are carrying the emotional weight of a full-blown NYC revolution on their tiny shoulders. Rat King #1 by writer Paulie Wenger and artist Francesca Carità comes out swinging with charm, imagination, and that delicious “wait… this is for younger readers but why am I fully invested like this is premium drama?” flavor. Add Gonzalo Duarte on lettering, and this first issue becomes a lively, funny, surprisingly layered all-ages adventure that knows exactly how to entertain kids while quietly elbowing adults in the ribs with its bigger ideas about power, class, fear, friendship, and what happens when a kingdom gets too comfortable believing its own royal nonsense.

The setup is instantly fun: deep beneath New York City, there is a whole rat society doing rat society things. They have markets. They have crowds. They have social structure. They have spectacle. They have leaders who clearly enjoy hearing themselves speak, because apparently even underground, politics still finds a way to wear a little crown and act like it invented oxygen. The opening pages do a fantastic job pulling readers into this sewer-world without overexplaining every nut, bolt, pipe, crumb, and suspiciously available piece of discarded furniture. You look at these pages and immediately understand the vibe. It is busy, warm, weird, crowded, and alive. It feels like if Mouse Guard crawled through a subway grate, grabbed a slice from a Brooklyn pizza box, and said, “Let’s talk about democracy, baby.”

Paulie Wenger’s writing is sharp because it does not talk down to the reader. That is huge. A lot of comics aimed at younger audiences fall into the trap of sanding everything down until the story has no teeth, no risk, and no real flavor. Rat King #1 avoids that. The dialogue is accessible, the characters are easy to follow, and the adventure moves with a brisk pace, but underneath all the cute rat faces and comedic timing is a serious backbone. This is a story about who gets to hold power, who gets pushed into danger, and who gets told to smile while being sent into the darkness. That is not just kid-friendly fantasy. That is life wearing whiskers.

The friendship between Scruff and Whisk is the emotional engine of the book. These two are not grand warriors. They are not chosen-one superheroes glowing with mystical sewer destiny. They feel like regular little citizens who get pulled into something much larger than themselves, and that is what makes them work. Their fear feels real. Their loyalty feels earned. Their back-and-forth has that buddy-adventure rhythm where one character is trying to be brave, the other is trying to be sensible, and both are probably five seconds away from screaming because, hey, the New York City sewer system is not exactly a relaxing spa retreat. Unless your spa has giant monsters, political corruption, and cats with villain energy. In that case, please cancel my membership immediately.

The art by Francesca Carità is phenomenal. Let me say that again with the proper sauce: phenomenal. Every page is packed with personality. The sewer city is not just a backdrop; it is a character. The pipes, stalls, banners, little homes, crowd scenes, and junk-built architecture all give this world a lived-in texture. You can feel the class divide in the environment. You can see who has comfort and who is closer to the grime. That is powerful visual storytelling. The art does not need a character to stop and deliver a lecture about inequality because the pages are already showing it. That is comics doing what comics do best: telling the truth through design, space, expression, and mood.

Carità’s character acting is also a major win. The rats are adorable, but not bland. Each face carries personality, and that matters in a book with a big ensemble feel. Scruff and Whisk are expressive in ways that younger readers will instantly understand, while older readers will appreciate the nuance. The kingly scenes have theatrical grandeur. The tunnel sequences shift into danger and tension. Then when the cats arrive, the book takes on a whole new flavor of menace. These cats are not just “oh no, predators!” They have attitude. They have swagger. They look like trouble dressed in fur and bad intentions. The kind of cats that would knock your glass off the table, steal your kingdom, and then act like you were rude for noticing.

The action scenes are clean, kinetic, and easy to follow. That matters, especially for younger audiences. The chase sequences have momentum without becoming visual spaghetti. You always know where characters are, what they are trying to do, and what danger is closing in. Duarte’s lettering helps tremendously here, keeping the dialogue readable and the sound effects playful without overpowering the artwork. The lettering has that classic adventure-comic snap, giving the book energy in all the right places. When things crash, splash, thump, or squeak, the page lets you feel it. That is the good stuff.

What makes Rat King #1 really stand out is its balance. It is fun without being empty. It is political without becoming a lecture. It is cute without losing its edge. The central idea of democracy overcoming tyranny is handled in a way that feels natural to the world, not stapled onto it like a last-minute school assignment. The class themes work because they are built into the kingdom’s structure and the mission our heroes are pulled into. Who gets protected? Who gets sacrificed? Who benefits from the system? Who is expected to keep quiet? These are big questions, but the book sneaks them in through adventure, humor, and heart.

And let’s be real: using rats to talk about society is brilliant. Rats are survivors. Rats are community creatures. Rats are feared, dismissed, misunderstood, and blamed for living in the ruins people create above them. So when Rat King #1 asks readers to look at these little sewer-dwellers as people with dreams, fears, loyalties, and political problems, it is doing something smarter than just “cute animals go on quest.” It is asking us to think about what makes a society worth saving. Is it a crown? A throne? A speech? Or is it the courage of ordinary folks who decide that friendship and truth matter more than fear?

As a first issue, this does exactly what it needs to do. It introduces the world, gives us lovable leads, establishes a threat, layers in meaningful themes, and leaves enough mystery dangling to make issue #2 feel necessary. Not optional. Necessary. That is the Kickstarter magic right there. You finish this issue and immediately understand why this project found support. There is heart on every page. There is craft in every panel. There is a clear vision behind the whole thing.

Rat King #1 is a fantastic start to a five-issue mini-series and a strong reminder that all-ages comics should never be treated like “lesser” comics. The best ones entertain across generations, and this one does exactly that. Kids will enjoy the adventure, humor, danger, and expressive characters. Adults will catch the deeper themes of power, class, unity, and resistance. Everybody gets the cheese. Everybody wins.

With Rat King #2 now live on Kickstarter from May 1st through June 1st, this is the perfect time to jump into the tunnels and join the crusade. Rat King #1 has the heart of an indie gem, the polish of a professional animated adventure, and enough social bite to remind readers that even the smallest voices can shake a kingdom when they stand together. Long live the Rat King? Maybe. But long live Scruff, Whisk, and every little underdog willing to question the throne.

CRUSADERS SCORE:
4/5

Title: Rat King #1
Writer: Paulie Wenger
Artist: Francesca Carità
Letterer: Gonzalo Duarte
Publisher/Imprint: Bog Iron Books
Format: First issue of a five-issue mini-series
Campaign Note: Rat King #2 launched on Kickstarter May 1st and runs until June 1st