[3] Writer Kurtis Wiebe described the series as a "love letter to my years of D&D (...) and fantasy" with a modern twist, and the concept as "Lord of the Rings meets Bridesmaids".

[12] A new creative team of Ryan Ferrier (writer), Priscilla Petraites (artist), and Marco Lesko (colorist) resumed work on the series in June 2019.

They comprise the rockabilly elven mage Hannah, the hipster dwarven warrior Violet who shaved her beard before it became cool, the atheist human cleric Dee, who hails from a family of Lovecraftian monster cultists, and the hippie halfling (here called "smidgen") thief Betty, whose idea of a hearty meal is a bag of drugs and candy.

The second story arc sees the Rat Queens trying to prevent a vengeful businessman from summoning Dee's people's many-tentacled gods to lay waste to Palisade.

[33] In Paste, Robert Tutton noted that the "rowdy, sarcastic and intensely loyal" personalities of the main characters drive the series, and praised its seamless transitions from "gore to humor, sprawling action to small personal moments", as well as artist Roc Upchurch's skill at portraying facial expressions.

[34] Augie De Blieck from Comic Book Resources appreciated the "dark, twisted, and hilarious" series for its fast pacing, Wiebe's witty (and foul-mouthed) writing, and the humanity and personality with which Upchurch infused his drawings.

[35] Writing for IGN, Benjamin Bailey described the "mix of D20 adventures and modern angst" as perfecting the formula of injecting humor and wit into sword and sorcery tropes,[36] and praised Upchurch's "expressive and unique" character designs.

[73] While Wiebe considers Rat Queens, Volume 3: Demons canon, he said he would not collect the arc in the deluxe hardcovers because of his falling out with the artist, Tess Fowler.

[73] In 2014, Pūkeko Pictures and Heavy Metal magazine announced their intent to adapt Rat Queens as a 30-minute animated television series.

Participants include Emily Jacobson as the game master, Jessica Lynn Verdi as Hannah, Laurie Jones as Violet, Aliza Pearl as Dee, Michelle Nguyen Bradley as Betty, and Riley Silverman as Braga.