Monstress #45

Monstress (Single Issues)

by Marjorie M. Liu (Writer), Sana Takeda (Illustrator), Rus Wooton (Letterer)

Zinn is back in the world where they were once imprisoned, and painful secrets about their past are coming to the surface. Meanwhile, Maika investigates a mask possessed by the imprisoned Defiled—a mask that bears a striking resemblance to the long-sought Mask of the Shaman-Empress.

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Dystopia, Horror, Comix

31 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2023

About the author

New York Times bestselling and award-winning writer Marjorie Liu is best known for her fiction and comic books. She teaches comic book writing at MIT, and she leads a class on Popular Fiction at the Voices of Our Nation (VONA) workshop.

Ms. Liu is a highly celebrated comic book writer. Her extensive work with Marvel includes the bestselling Dark Wolverine series, NYX: No Way Home, X-23, and Black Widow: The Name of the Rose. She received national media attention for Astonishing X-Men, which featured the gay wedding of X-Man Northstar and was subsequently nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for outstanding media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Ms. Liu also wrote the story for the animated film, Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher, which was produced by Marvel, Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and Madhouse Inc.

Her newest work is MONSTRESS, an original, creator-owned comic book series with Japanese artist (and X-23 collaborator) Sana Takeda. Published by Image in Fall 2015, MONSTRESS is set in an alternate, matriarchal 1920’s Asia and follows a girl’s struggle to survive the trauma of war. With a cast of girls and monsters and set against a richly imagined aesthetic of art deco-inflected steam punk, MONSTRESS #1 debuted to critical praise. The Hollywood Reporter remarked that the longer than typical first issue was “world-building on a scale rare in mainstream comics.”

Ms. Liu is also the author of more than 19 novels, most notably the urban fantasy series, Hunter Kiss, and the paranormal romance series, Dirk & Steele. Her novels have also been bestsellers on USA Today, which described Liu “as imaginative as she is prolific.” Her critically praised fiction has twice received the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, for THE MORTAL BONE (Hunter Kiss #6), and TIGER EYE (Dirk & Steele #1). TIGER EYE was the basis for a bestselling paranormal romance video game called Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box.

Liu has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, MTV, and been profiled in the Wall Street Journal.com, Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. She is a frequent lecturer and guest speaker, appearing on panels at San Diego Comic Con, the Tokyo Literary Festival, the New York Times Public Lecture series, Geeks Out; and the Asian American Writers Workshop. Her work has been published internationally, including Germany, France, Japan, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

Ms. Liu was born in Philadelphia, and has lived in numerous cities in the Midwest and Beijing. Prior to writing full-time, she was a lawyer. She currently resides in Boston.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B+) 77% | Good
Notes: Read in trade paperback. Collective review for issues #42-48 can be found here: Monstress, Volume 8: Inferno.

[Doc. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dense and wordy to the point of incoherence with busy and chaotic art, yet I think I’m starting to follow the plot again? I’m happy that we seem closer to getting some answers and that the colouring is quite gorgeous. There was a greater sense of structure to this one and, while I hated the poorly written and tonally awkward dialogue, there was also more emotional heft. But the fact remains: this series is simply not good anymore. I continue to read for the completion-ist in me.

[Vyshakh Aravindan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This issue is full of reckoning. Maika finally begins to confront what she’s done—not just as a soldier or a daughter, but as someone who has hurt people she cared about in the name of purpose. Zinn is no longer simply a monster or ally—he is a reflection, and Maika sees herself in him in ways she never wanted. There are chilling foreshadowings here—something is coming, something ancient and final. The issue closes with quiet dread, but also resilience. Kippa’s presence offers a fragile thread of hope, reminding us why we continue to follow Maika: not just for power, but for redemption.

[M. Basnet · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea what just happened here...

[Issac Bright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Floating Heads, a Prison Colony of Seaweed Gods, the Ghost of the Inner Child of the lead character floating about following a Pied Piper seaweed thing, a hidden clan of cats that have "unknown motives" (as if you ever know the motives of cats); we are way beyond Wackadoodle World in this comic, we have passed over into 'What combination of Meds and Psychedelics is Marj Liu on?' Notwithstanding the fact that we got to this colony through the belly of a Cat Monolith that was floating in outer space and I have no idea what's going on or how any of this relates to the main storyline, which I've now completely forgotten about. Takeda's brilliance is enough to keep following this series but yeesh, cmon, let's get back to the A Story already! Full take and Ted Lasso analogy at:
https://standupcomicreader.blogspot.c...

[Colin Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m loving this excursion into the old gods prison world - as if Takeda needed any other demonstration of her genius, she’s crafted such a surreal, nightmare mirror world to contrast with the world of the ‘flesh-mortals.’ This excursion provides more insight into the origins of the conflict that readers joined in media res at the start of the book, and (surprise) there are no clear-cut good guys or bad guys - just a bunch of different factions each with their own interests vying for limited power.

The series is typically pretty grim and arcane in tone, but the reversal of Zinn and Maika allows for some bits of brief, darkly comedic relief. Maika remains a badass, even when she’s a floating head that can be subsumed inside the body of a monster!

[Jason Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love stories with layers that require several re-reads, re-views to parse out, and this issue dropped me on my head in such a story. Zinn keeps getting deeper and deeper. I miss other characters from earlier issues, but this is some trippy shit.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

#45 - "It is the blessing and curse of all worlds .. that pity and vengeance have no end.." - Zinn

I assume ‘inferno’ correlates with Dante’s depiction of trapped in hell. Epic series, but this volume just gets bogged down in this otherworldly dream- state prison of the old gods.

[G · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story is becoming more confusing, introducing irrelevant elements and characters in every issue that don't advance the plot. I just hope this floating head arc ends.

[Nicole Geub · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always hard to get into these when away for a time. But eventually at the end I made sense of things. Baby maika is about to unleash hell, exciting stuff