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cadmanreads's review
4.0
3.5-4 im a little confused by the story but will reread as the artwork is stunning
tophat8855's review
5.0
Just beautiful. It does get a little confusing at times with the history of the setting and all the characters, but it is gorgeous and a great story. Not for children because of violence.
aoc's review
4.0
Clocking at more than double the number of pages you expect to see in a comic Monstress had me intrigued from the start. These additional pages are certainly well used to even give couple of flashbacks as scene setters for what is happening in the present, but this never overtakes the main body of the story. This was also another case of deciding to just read the first issue to see if it would hook me. Before I dive into I guess it should be said, when you look at the writer and artist, it's not that much of a surprise to see some Asian aesthetics going around.
Let's get down to it.
We open to a nude girl with some strategic hair position to cover the contentious parts, seeing as we don't have full-frontal nudity. She has a strange symbol on her chest and is missing one arm, as well as sporting a chain around her neck as she's being paraded to a gathered score of potential buyers. She's apparently an Arcanic, but just close enough to pass for human as she doesn't have any obvious physical markings like animal ears and whatnot. All these plans fall through as she, and other Arcanics with more obvious characteristics, are “donated” to striking lady Cumaea... whoever she may be. Later as they're all being driven via coach to the Cumaea estate our protagonist Maika finds out the lady's name is Sophia Fekete and getting bought by her is fate considered worse than death for she's a scientist and experiments on her slaves. Before she inevitably kills them, that is. All this makes even less sense when you take into account that Mika CHOSE to become a slave so she can get close to someone and has a dastardly revenge plan on her stoic mind.
As far as premises go this isn't a horrible one. Cliche, but solid. It's also somewhat enhanced by two points; Mika and Sophia have a history, although one of them is unaware of it, and flashback talks with Mika's friend Tuya give partial context to how she got here. It's mainly teasing and pretty transparent foreshadowing, but it does the job of reader not feeling completely like a fish out of water. Bulk of the story still happens at the estate/laboratory as, well, I'm sure you can figure out what happens. I do wish they didn't go with a “she has a mysterious power” idea of a character but taking into account it's not all just power fantasy and there's a serious drawback attached it evens out. That also ties into Maika searching what her mother was doing and if it all ties together somehow.
But really I think the setting is far more interesting in Monstress than any of the characters or story I've seen so far. Whole thing appears to a very weird turn-of-the-century China where magic and technology co-exist with one another. Major defining aspect appears to be a war between matriarchal and technologically-driven Motherland and, what I presume because we don't exactly see much of their society, animistic and magic-relying Arcanics. There's a wall there somewhere and being on the wrong side is disastrous as you end up sold into slavery which is where the real horror happens – Arcanics' bodies can be distilled into material called Lilium which has magical properties. Or, you know, someone people just cut body parts from Arcanics and eat them. Those are the rumors, at least...
Tying into the above, this rich and sophisticated looking civilization is brought exquisitely to paper by Sana Takeda. She's not content to leave any surface plain and this comes through with everything looking really... textured, I suppose? Just to contrast that flashback scenes, which take place elsewhere, have a much more subdued and faded presence. Compared to sp,e other recent artists I've been looking at Takeda is certainly not trying to hide her lines and instead makes use of them for a very clearly defined look to her art style. You won't miss any details with this one
Monstress is certainly among those stories that can and should grow to become really amazing, but the foundation present here is solid and can be safely built upon with future issues. I do wish the writing was a bit better and less on the nose in regards to immediate plot, but you take what you have when there's an entire world to build and you have to a story run with. Eye-pleasing visuals, in more ways than one, certainly helped to bring me into the world and to see more of it in the future.
Pretty solid recommendation, but don't expect outlandish originality so far.
Let's get down to it.
We open to a nude girl with some strategic hair position to cover the contentious parts, seeing as we don't have full-frontal nudity. She has a strange symbol on her chest and is missing one arm, as well as sporting a chain around her neck as she's being paraded to a gathered score of potential buyers. She's apparently an Arcanic, but just close enough to pass for human as she doesn't have any obvious physical markings like animal ears and whatnot. All these plans fall through as she, and other Arcanics with more obvious characteristics, are “donated” to striking lady Cumaea... whoever she may be. Later as they're all being driven via coach to the Cumaea estate our protagonist Maika finds out the lady's name is Sophia Fekete and getting bought by her is fate considered worse than death for she's a scientist and experiments on her slaves. Before she inevitably kills them, that is. All this makes even less sense when you take into account that Mika CHOSE to become a slave so she can get close to someone and has a dastardly revenge plan on her stoic mind.
As far as premises go this isn't a horrible one. Cliche, but solid. It's also somewhat enhanced by two points; Mika and Sophia have a history, although one of them is unaware of it, and flashback talks with Mika's friend Tuya give partial context to how she got here. It's mainly teasing and pretty transparent foreshadowing, but it does the job of reader not feeling completely like a fish out of water. Bulk of the story still happens at the estate/laboratory as, well, I'm sure you can figure out what happens. I do wish they didn't go with a “she has a mysterious power” idea of a character but taking into account it's not all just power fantasy and there's a serious drawback attached it evens out. That also ties into Maika searching what her mother was doing and if it all ties together somehow.
But really I think the setting is far more interesting in Monstress than any of the characters or story I've seen so far. Whole thing appears to a very weird turn-of-the-century China where magic and technology co-exist with one another. Major defining aspect appears to be a war between matriarchal and technologically-driven Motherland and, what I presume because we don't exactly see much of their society, animistic and magic-relying Arcanics. There's a wall there somewhere and being on the wrong side is disastrous as you end up sold into slavery which is where the real horror happens – Arcanics' bodies can be distilled into material called Lilium which has magical properties. Or, you know, someone people just cut body parts from Arcanics and eat them. Those are the rumors, at least...
Tying into the above, this rich and sophisticated looking civilization is brought exquisitely to paper by Sana Takeda. She's not content to leave any surface plain and this comes through with everything looking really... textured, I suppose? Just to contrast that flashback scenes, which take place elsewhere, have a much more subdued and faded presence. Compared to sp,e other recent artists I've been looking at Takeda is certainly not trying to hide her lines and instead makes use of them for a very clearly defined look to her art style. You won't miss any details with this one
Monstress is certainly among those stories that can and should grow to become really amazing, but the foundation present here is solid and can be safely built upon with future issues. I do wish the writing was a bit better and less on the nose in regards to immediate plot, but you take what you have when there's an entire world to build and you have to a story run with. Eye-pleasing visuals, in more ways than one, certainly helped to bring me into the world and to see more of it in the future.
Pretty solid recommendation, but don't expect outlandish originality so far.
nikshelby's review
4.0
Usually: when I choose to read a new story, I know a bit about it. I already know the premise, or I am familiar with the author, or a friend has enjoyed it. My personal queue of reading-desirables is so lengthy, I don't choose randomly.
This book is an exception. I knew nothing about it. Solely: the cover. Sana Takeda's art beckoned me in. Good thing I didn't listen to the old adage: "Don't judge a book by its cover".
Marjorie Liu's story is disturbing, and melancholy. And fascinating. Takeda's art is haunting and beautiful. The second I finished Monstress#1...I went in search of Monstress#2.
Marjorie Liu: "Monstress was more a desire than an idea...I had this image in my head of a battered girl standing alone, absolutely furious, and behind her a battlefield that stretched for miles...I don't know anything about war, not having lived through one. But my grandparents experienced the devastation of war firsthand in China. In their stories surviving was more horrifying than dying. Surviving required a desire to live more powerful than any bomb or army, a summoning of superhuman resilience to keep going, day after day. Starvation, biological experimentation, rape camps, occupation, colonization - what ravaged Europe during WWII, also ravaged China and the rest of Asia. And the victims of this horror had to learn how to first survive...and then survive the surviving.
...My imagination is strong. And the root of my desire, I finally realized, was to tell a story about what it means to be a survivor. A survivor, not just of a cataclysmic war, but of racial conflict and its antecedent: hatred. And to confront the question: how does one whom history has made a monster, escape her monstrosity? How does one overcome the monstrousness of others without succumbing to a rising monstrousness within?
...The image of that furious girl never left me. She followed me...and here we are - and here you are. And here she is too. Sana and I thank you, deeply, for partaking in this epic journey of this young woman who believes she's alone, with a war far behind her - and another one, rising, like a doom, like a monster, on the horizon..."
This book is an exception. I knew nothing about it. Solely: the cover. Sana Takeda's art beckoned me in. Good thing I didn't listen to the old adage: "Don't judge a book by its cover".
Marjorie Liu's story is disturbing, and melancholy. And fascinating. Takeda's art is haunting and beautiful. The second I finished Monstress#1...I went in search of Monstress#2.
Marjorie Liu: "Monstress was more a desire than an idea...I had this image in my head of a battered girl standing alone, absolutely furious, and behind her a battlefield that stretched for miles...I don't know anything about war, not having lived through one. But my grandparents experienced the devastation of war firsthand in China. In their stories surviving was more horrifying than dying. Surviving required a desire to live more powerful than any bomb or army, a summoning of superhuman resilience to keep going, day after day. Starvation, biological experimentation, rape camps, occupation, colonization - what ravaged Europe during WWII, also ravaged China and the rest of Asia. And the victims of this horror had to learn how to first survive...and then survive the surviving.
...My imagination is strong. And the root of my desire, I finally realized, was to tell a story about what it means to be a survivor. A survivor, not just of a cataclysmic war, but of racial conflict and its antecedent: hatred. And to confront the question: how does one whom history has made a monster, escape her monstrosity? How does one overcome the monstrousness of others without succumbing to a rising monstrousness within?
...The image of that furious girl never left me. She followed me...and here we are - and here you are. And here she is too. Sana and I thank you, deeply, for partaking in this epic journey of this young woman who believes she's alone, with a war far behind her - and another one, rising, like a doom, like a monster, on the horizon..."
rodneywilhite's review
5.0
Imagine someone who stopped reading comics for 28 years (apart from the occasional graphic novel here and there). That's me. I stopped around 1987/88, and went straight from late Claremont-era X-Men to Monstress, Paper Girls, Twilight Children, and Saga.
Well, a lot has changed--and all for the better.I actually showed up, two-year-old daughter in tow, on release day to pick this up and I am absolutely astounded by the artwork for this title. I mean, I can't even describe it. Sana Takeda is a genius. I mean:
I mean, I mean...
This is very recommended.
Well, a lot has changed--and all for the better.I actually showed up, two-year-old daughter in tow, on release day to pick this up and I am absolutely astounded by the artwork for this title. I mean, I can't even describe it. Sana Takeda is a genius. I mean:
I mean, I mean...
This is very recommended.
redinteeth's review against another edition
4.0
I plan on doing a full review of this over at Mookychick, so in the mean time, I want to jot down a few notes.
LOL IM NOT EVEN DONE BUT WE ARE CLOSING
Pros:
I'm sure everyone is going to talk about the artwork, but damn. Sometimes you see a comic where the beginning is gorgeous and then deadlines and multiple projects start to creep in and the art deteoriates throughout the story. This didn't happen. Monstress is beautiful from beginning to end.
Unique blend of cultures and monsters
Neautrals:
LOL IM NOT EVEN DONE BUT WE ARE CLOSING
Pros:
I'm sure everyone is going to talk about the artwork, but damn. Sometimes you see a comic where the beginning is gorgeous and then deadlines and multiple projects start to creep in and the art deteoriates throughout the story. This didn't happen. Monstress is beautiful from beginning to end.
Unique blend of cultures and monsters
Neautrals:
smolbean_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Oh my god the Art Deco steampunky art in this is just stunning!! An intriguing storyline, on to the next comic straight away!
dreamingdre's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
breevee's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this up on a whim because the cover caught my eye. It's very, very dark, but the artwork is so incredibly beautiful. Your eye constantly wants to jump ahead to the next dramatic image, but at the same time you could linger forever in the detail and filigree in each panel.