Comic Book Tuesday #17: Monstress #6 by Marjorie M. Liu

Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Series: Monstress (Single Issues) #6
Genre: Comic Book, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: May 25th 2016
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Maika and her friends face betrayal and death, and only the monster inside — and her growing relationship with it — can save them. MONSTRESS will return in August.

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley and Image Comics in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or my rating of the book in any way.


This might be my favorite installments out of the first 6 of this story.

We get to see Maika in a very different position here. She's forced to work with the monster inside her to get away from certain people, and I love that. I also loved seeing how this ancient monster, that is trying to escape, starts to look less scary than I initially saw it. The monster also sheds some light into what it is, what it wants.

Again, we get to see a little bit more of Maika's past, in a different way than the past issue, with this monstrous creature exploring her memories. Very interesting way of learning what Maika actually knows, especially concerning some of the revelations about her and her family from the previous issue.

I'm still not sure what Lord Corvin, a.k.a "the stranger", wants. It seems that he's changing his mind about what to do quite a lot. I'm also not sure is he can be trusted.

The ending, although I kind of expected it, was still rather surprising. It was foreshadowed from the fifth issue, but I still wanted it to be just my imagination. I feel like this changes the rules of the game a little bit for Maika, especially because in that case I'm not sure if some other characters can be trusted as well, or if they're also hiding stuff.

I cannot wait for the next issue, to see what happens next with Maika, Kippa, Ren and the rest of the characters.

Comic Book Tuesday #16: Monstress #5 by Marjorie M. Liu

Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Series: Monstress (Single Issues) #5
Genre: Comic Book, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: April 13th 2016
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Maika struggles with the monster inside.

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley and Image Comics in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or my rating of the book in any way.

I really, really loved this installment of the story. When the previous issue ended, we got to meet a new character, and the present timeline picks up right after that moment. The reader also gets to learn more about Maika's past and about her growing up. We also learn how she and Tuya, the other girl on the cover, became friends.

This issue also helped me understand more about Maika herself. She has an interesting way of seeing things, and her inner monologue felt a bit different than how she talks to other people. It's almost like she's a different girl, like she's trying to protect herself from the bad guys, but also the people she cares for from herself, that she becomes someone else when she has to interact with other characters.

Kippa and Ren still make an appearance and they're still cute and funny. The stranger from the last issue is also in this one, and, like Ren, I don't really trust him. I'm still not sure who he is, and if he is who he says he is. Ren certainly thinks he's a liar.

The art is, as usual, beautiful. I love the colors used in the panels that tell Maika's past. Really dark, mostly grey-ish.

The pacing really picks up, and the ending was surprising. We also get to learn more about the Arcanics, from the lectures at the end. Really interesting storyline there, and I hope it gets explored in later installments of this comic book.

Comic Book Tuesday #15: Monstress #4 by Marjorie M. Liu

Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Series: Monstress (Single Issues) #4
Genre: Comic Book, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: March 16th 2016
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Maika's world becomes even more dangerous.

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley and Image Comics in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or my rating of the book in any way.

The fourth installment of the story is a bit different than the previous ones. We get to spend a little bit of time on the other side of the wall and of the war itself, and we get to see a glimpse into the life of the Arcanics. For some feared creatures, they seemed quite human, and in the case of this story, I'm not sure that's such a compliment. I'm not really sure how their society works, though, so I'm really intrigued to find that out, especially what the positions of power are, who is the real ruler of the Arcanics, stuff like that.

Again, Kippa is amazing, and Ren, the very cunning cat, is super funny. Speaking of cats, I'm not really sure what their angle is in this story.

Maika gave me the impression of instability in this issue. I'm not sure how much time she can fight off the monster inside her, but she's certainly putting up a good fight.

A new character appears in this issue, and I'm not really sure if he can be trusted. But he has cool powers, so I'm curious what his role in the story is, as well as his goal.

As usual, the art is pretty amazing and it completes the story. The pacing of the story picks up a little bit compared to the previous issue. The little lectures at the end continue, and I'm very happy for that. I'm very curious about this new character and what will happen next.

Comic Book Tuesday #14: Monstress #3 by Marjorie M. Liu

Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Series: Monstress (Single Issues) #3
Genre: Comic Book, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: January 27th 2016
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Maika must confront the deadly secrets that live inside her.

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley and Image Comics in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or my rating of the book in any way.

The third issue of the Monstress comic sheds a little light into the thing that "lives inside her", as the blurb says. We get to learn about this monster that she's fearing so much. The artwork for this part of the story is stunning, and it made me think of some really ancient evil. There's also a lot of really bright colors in these panels, which I like.

I know I'm repeating myself, but I really enjoy the way Sana Takeda, the illustrator, mixes up the colors in this kind of ironic way, with the scenes with the witch nuns and the soldiers in really bright colors, and Maika in really dark ones. I really love that aspect of the story and the art.

Kippa, the fox girl featured on the cover of the third issue, is absolutely amazing. I love her innocence, as well as her courage. She's a fierce little girl, and I hope she gets a happy ending.

The end of the story is, like in the previous issue, one of my favorite parts. Again, we get to explore the history of the Arcanics and of the war that happened between them and the humans. I'm actually looking forward to getting to these "lectures", as they're called, each time I start reading a new issue.

I did think the pacing of the story was a little slower than the previous two issues, but I didn't have that big of a problem with that.

All in all, a nice continuation of the story, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Comic Book Tuesday #13: Monstress #2 by Marjorie M. Liu

Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Series: Monstress #2
Genre: Comic Book, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: December 9th 2015
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgaley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Maika fights to cross the wall. Elsewhere, the Warlord makes her move.

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley and Image Comics in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or my rating of the book in any way.

This second issue of the Monstress comic book picks up right after the first one ends. We get to see the struggles of Maika to get away from the people hunting her, as well as from herself.

We also get to see a little bit more from the villain's POV, and so far I'm wondering who the biggest threat is. I haven't yet decided if Maika's more in danger because of other people or because of herself.

The art is, as in the first issue, beautiful, with dark colors, although some rich colors do appear because of some new characters.

My favorite thing about this issue was the ending, which presents a different view of the history of the world in this comic book. It's difficult to talk about it without giving too much away, but I like how it gives a sort of unbiased view of what happened before this particular story. I adore it, anyways.

I did however felt the need for the issue to be bigger, maybe not as big as the last one, but I felt like the story is so rich and complex, that I wished it lasted longer. All of that aside, a good installment and I am curious to see what happens next.

Comic Book Tuesday #12: Monstress #1 by Marjorie M. Liu

Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Series: Monstress
Genre: Comic Books, Graphic Novels
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: November 4th 2015
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Steampunk meets Kaiju in this original fantasy epic for mature readers, as young Maika risks everything to control her psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, placing her in the center of a devastating war between human and otherworldly forces.

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley and Image Comics in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or my rating of the book in any way.

My latest foray into the world of comic books takes me into somewhat familiar waters. I was a bit familiar with Marjorie M. Liu's work as a graphic novelist, and I've liked what I've read so far, enough that I didn't hesitate to request the Monstress books when I saw them on Netgalley.

The story is really intriguing. The focus moves from past to present, as we get to see Maika before and after being captured and sold into slavery. We get to see a little bit of her past, enough to know her mindset in the present time, but not enough to understand why she did what she did or how she got captured. I think that's pretty interesting, from a storytelling perspective, to have the story developing on two separate timelines, yet ultimately not answering any questions, at least in this first issue.

Maika seems like a very angry young woman. She's desperate enough to do some extreme things in order to reach her goals, which at the time the first issue ends, the reader knows nothing about. Or at least I couldn't figure out much. What she's looking for is just as much a mystery as the girl herself. I think it's related to her past before the war, or maybe to when she was a little girl, but I'm not sure at this point. The mystery though didn't bother me, as it kept me on my toes and it made me want to read the first issue pretty fast, to find as many things about Maika's backstory as I could.

The graphic part of this book is also pretty awesome. The art is beautiful, with mostly dark colors and harsh lines at times, but that made it even more beautiful. I found it intriguing how the illustrator put some vivid, rich colors into some of the more darker scenes. In a way, it makes sense when you read the book, because it seemed to me that those colors underlined the differences between those who won the war and those who lost it, or at least that's how I interpreted it.

I did have a bit of an issue with how this first book ended, in the sense that it felt a bit too easy, in a way. But based on how the book ended, I'm not sure Maika will have an easy future, at least for now. I'm curious to see how the story moves on from that point. I'm also interested to see if the story will reveal how she got captured. I can't wait to pick up the rest of the issues and see how the story ends.