Monstress #46

Monstress (Single Issues)

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

Maika must confront the embodiment of her child self, whose tragic mistakes she has long been unable to face—or even remember. If she fails, there’s no telling what the Defiled Monstra will do to her young self’s ghostly presence.

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

30 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 26, 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.

[Phoenix · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series needs to end sooner rather than later.

[Doc. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never seen a writer lose the plot so wholly and completely. This needs to be taught in “what not to do” classes. It’s almost hard to believe that any respectable publisher would let this pass the muster, but maybe they were as lost and confused as the author and I am.

[Colin Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Monster Prison World is an interesting mirror to the Arcanic world…there’s this layering and layering of pasts and perspectives going on across these two worlds, and as some parts of the story become more dense, others shine through with a forceful clarity…

I’m really loving the Frankenstein motifs that are coming up in this issue - what happens when you make a monster meant to be destroyed? What happens when that monster resists the cycle and pushes the destruction back on the creator?

[Vyshakh Aravindan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This chapter begins the quiet dread. Maika is traveling toward a fabled haven that may or may not exist—physically and emotionally. Along the way, she’s surrounded by ghosts of her past, literal and metaphorical. The story slows, becomes more reflective, but there’s tension in every panel. Kippa senses change in Maika—Zinn’s grip tightens, and Maika’s humanity starts to feel more fragile. Beautifully paced, this issue feels like the silence before a scream.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

#46 - "To quote the poets.. 'To speak to the past requires courage.'.." - Namron

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.

[Nicole Geub · Rating 3 out of 5]

So wait, zinn and one of the dark ones pulling everyone's strings are with child? Where does Maika fit in this? Wtf is going on?

[Dakota Bedeski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confrontation

The battle to decide who lives, and leaves the prison, commences. While the puzzle behind Makia and Zenin's connection gets another piece.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here We Go Again

This series has always been full of mysteries. That's part of its charm. Still, I hope we will finally get some actual answers soon. And find out what is happening in the so-called "real" world, while Maika and posse are in other ones.