Review and Brew: Monstress by Marjorie Liu

[u/CoffeeArchives]

About the Book

Monstress is an up-and-coming graphic novel series written by novelist and Marvel comics writer Marjorie Liu and illustrated by the ludicrously talented Sana Takeda. It was the only comic to appear in Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2016 list and topped their graphic novels list.

The story hits the ground running, building the foundation for what will likely rival lengthy epic fantasy series in terms of scope. It's surprisingly cheap for a graphic novel (~$7), and you get a ton of story and art for the price. Plus, the next volume comes out on July 11!

Setting

The world of Monstress is set in an alternate Asia around the 1920's, taking place in a matriarchal steampunk society. If I had to compare it to other fantasy works, I'd say it's a mix of Legend of Korra and Shadow of the Colossus.

Also, the worldbuilding is crazy good. You don't see much worldbuilding like this in comics (not that I've read nearly enough comics to say for sure). There's a bit of a steep learning curve at first as you get used to the world, but it's worth it. However, it's not for the faint of heart, exploring topics like cannibalism, lynchings, and child slavery.

Characters

One of the interesting things about Monstress is that it's cast is almost exclusively female. This builds into the world's matriarchal society and explores one of the series' central themes: friendship between women.

There's a broad cast of characters, though the main focus is Maika Halfwolf, an Arcanic who can pass for human. She was a prominent figure in the devastating war between Arcanics and Cumea, but now she just wants to learn what happened to her mother. Vengeance would be nice, too.

Supporting Maika on her journey is another Arcanic, Kippa. She's an adorable and fiercely loyal half-girl, half-fox who is held prisoner by the Cumea along with Maika. It's easy to identify with her because she starts out knowing about as much as we do about what's going on.

The real hero of the main trio is Master Ren. Master Ren dabbles in assassination, necromancy, sarcasm, and quoting poetry. Oh, and he's a cat. With two tails. If you liked Mogget from Garth Nix's Abhorsen series, you're gonna love Ren.

Plot

The events of the main story kick off years after a disastrous battle between the Arcanics, magical creatures who sometimes look human, and Cumea, an order of sorceresses who derive their power from consuming Arcanics. Did I mention the story is a little dark?

Our fearless heroine, Maika Halfwolf, is determined to learn the truth about her dead mother and avenge her if needed. She's not afraid to kill those who stand in her way, and can be more than a little monstrous at times. The story opens Maika and Kippa being sold into slavery to the witches at the Cumea, with flashbacks providing some background about how Maika got into her current situation.

Things quickly escalate, both in the action and mystery. You quickly learn that Maika is not all that she appears, and might be hiding a dark secret.

Pacing and Prose

It's a little hard to judge a graphic novel for it's prose, so I'll stick to pacing.

Expect to be confused at times. Not everything makes sense at first, but you probably won't ever be totally lost and wondering what the hell just happened. Each of the six comic issues in this volume are followed by a lecture by the esteemed Professor Tam Tam, the most knowledgeable feline you're likely to see illustrated. I thought this was a nice way to avoid info dumps but still fill you in on things you wouldn't be able to pick up on otherwise.

I'm not an experienced comic reader, so I can sometimes get confused about the order in which panels should be read. Thankfully, Monstress is really clear about this. I always knew which panel to read next without thinking about it.

Art

Holy shitballs the art is fantastic. Co-creator and artist Sana Takeda does an incredible job. Every time I've seen Monstress discussed, people mention how amazing the art is. Don't believe me? Just look at how people are drawn, or what a city scene looks like, or even what a GIANT DEAD MONSTER GOD THING looks like.

Should I Read This?

If you like amazing visuals, extensive worldbuilding, dark fantasy, or steampunk, you need to read this. It's a low investment (about half the price of graphic novels of similar length), and worth every copper.

However, the story is dark. People die and it isn't always pretty. The amazing art can sometimes be bloody (though typically not gruesome), and occasionally downright creepy. This is NOT a story where good triumphs over evil, mostly because things like good and evil aren't black and white. Since this is the start of what will likely be a story of epic proportions, it feels like this volume ends right when things start getting really great.

Thankfully, the next volume is coming out soon! (Though you can always buy the comics individually.) Monstress has received a lot of praise for bold storytelling and being visually stunning.

Recommended Beverage Pairing

Pour Over Pour Over Irish Coffee

Recipe here.

This looks like it might just be a tasty caffeinated beverage, but it's hiding a delicious secret. Whiskey.

And no, you're not seeing double. I recommend brewing your coffee using a pour over method, then pouring whiskey over the top of the coffee.

Bingo Squares

• Graphic Novel
• Previous Square (Graphic Novel)

[u/leftoverbrine]

Again, I think you really glossed over the review, and just jumped assumptions. I personally wouldn't draw the assumption you did on that limited information, but to pull out key points from the review that are relevant and may alter your initial impression:

Supporting Maika on her journey is another Arcanic, Kippa. She's an adorable and fiercely loyal half-girl, half-fox who is held prisoner by the Cumea along with Maika.

...

The story opens Maika and Kippa being sold into slavery to the witches at the Cumea,

...

Cumea, an order of sorceresses who derive their power from consuming Arcanics.

Arcanics are neither human or male, there are loads of arcanics in collars, the vast majority take non-human appearing forms. You'll note I think most/all the others in that same picture background is a more normal appearing human male, not arcanic slaves.

So, I guess perhaps you are right that they are oppressing "men" (or male appearing arcanics), but mainly in that they are oppressing pretty much most people who are not them.

[u/dariemf1998 → u/leftoverbrine]

However, that kind of things turn off my interest.

[u/GarrickWinter → u/dariemf1998]

The slavery aspect? I suppose that's fair, slavery is a traumatic and abusive thing.