Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900’s Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steampunk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both. Entertainment Weekly praised MONSTRESS as one of “Image Comics” most imaginative … imaginative and daring new series and dubbed it the “Best New Original Series” in their year-end ñBest Comics of 2015î list. Collects MONSTRESS #1-6
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Gorgeous and intricate artwork. Vivid gore and brutality among the beauty. A talking cat and sweet little fox girl travel with a girl/warrior searching for answers while struggling with the monster inside her. A captivating start to a story of racism, power and mystery. And the last page reveal…just stab me in the heart.
Easily one of the best graphic novels I’ve ever read. Monstress has amazing world building, brilliant storytelling, and fantastic characters. The art is stunning and brings the story to life. This is a series I’ll forever recommend to everyone!
Monstress is a gritty, lovecraftian, steampunk fantasy following a 17 year old Maika Halfwolf. This world involves the Federation of Humans and the Cumaea, who are their witch-nun allies. They enslave and experiment on the Arcanics, who are half breeds of humans and Ancients. Maika is very different though. She contains a powerful monster who is very Lovecraftian.
This comic is packed with history, politics and characters. While fascinating it was almost too much information because it got a little bit confusing with the constant bombardment of characters and history. I really loved the whole concept and the characters but it was very easy to get confused.
Maika was fascinating and I really love how blood thirsty she was. I really can’t wait to learn more about her and the monster that is inside of her. The two main side characters, Kippa and Master Ren, were also pretty fascinating. I loved that the cats talk in this.
The artwork by Takeda was absolutely stunning. Each panel was beautifully drawn and colored which really helped bring this amazing story to life. I really can’t wait to jump into volume 2.
Reader Warning:
– Graphic violence
– Torture
– Experimentation
– Enslavement
I had very high expectations for this graphic novel mainly because it won many awards in addition to its enormous hype when it was first released. And it very much met my expectations and even more. Definitely a 5 star rating from me and I’ll be continuing on with the series.
This graphic novel was being compared to Game of Thrones meets The Kingkiller Chronicles (I haven’t read those books yet) meets with badass female characters and I can imagine it perfectly well. The plot and setting were both intricate and complicated and you can see the much of work that the author had put into the story.
And let’s not forget about the beauty of the art itself. You just want to keep staring at it and look into all of the details that the illustrator put into. I bet my money it took a very long time for her to illustrate a single page itself and oh my God it is so worth it.
One of the major reasons I wanted to pick it up was because of the art and I was able to avoid what the plot was about and I highly recommend you go into it without knowing anything because then will you be able to enjoy diving into it. At first it is a little bit confusing because you get sucked into a new world but when you are adapted you are in for a wild and gory ride.
Overall, loved the first volume a lot just as I expected and even more and I’m excited to read volume 2.
The was an amazing and quick read. The illustrations were beyond amazing. Set in Asia sometime in the 1900s we find Maika Halfwolf. Maika is a young woman who has lost her family and home in a war. When we join up with Maika she is searching for something or someone. Along the way, she picks up some friends of sorts and runs into a bit of trouble. Due to a gift or curse, she has no problem handling the problems she runs into. I really enjoyed this story and cannot wait to read the second volume.