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Monstress #9
Monstress, Volume 9: The Possessed
The ninth volume of the multiple Eisner, Harvey, Hugo, and British Fantasy Award-winning series.
Can loyalty and love transcend a history of betrayal and blood?
Maika, Kippa, and Ren return to their own world to discover a full year has passed in their absence—and Zinn is back in the clutches of Maika’s father, the megalomaniacal Lord Doctor. From the relative safety of the pirate-controlled Spice Islands, Maika and her friends must regroup, recover, and find a way stop the Lord Doctor’s murderous rampage before he destroys the Known World.
Collects MONSTRESS #49-54
Can loyalty and love transcend a history of betrayal and blood?
Maika, Kippa, and Ren return to their own world to discover a full year has passed in their absence—and Zinn is back in the clutches of Maika’s father, the megalomaniacal Lord Doctor. From the relative safety of the pirate-controlled Spice Islands, Maika and her friends must regroup, recover, and find a way stop the Lord Doctor’s murderous rampage before he destroys the Known World.
Collects MONSTRESS #49-54
192 pages, Paperback
First published November 13, 2024
35 people are currently reading
1173 people want to read
About the author
Marjorie M. Liu
322 books4,299 followersNew 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
June 18, 2025
(A-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: Shock returns, key info learned, big hero team formation, a prepping arc, but stuff gets dark (re: torture/amputation).
*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #49-50 ◦ Issues #51-52 ◦ Issues #53-54
Notes: Shock returns, key info learned, big hero team formation, a prepping arc, but stuff gets dark (re: torture/amputation).
*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #49-50 ◦ Issues #51-52 ◦ Issues #53-54
December 1, 2024
Beautiful artwork!
January 1, 2025
3.5 stars - I think the plane is starting to land. Maybe that's hopeful thinking but I think I see how things are coming together. I do think the current story needs to be wrapped up, but I also appreciate that we're getting new conflict based on what happened at the end of Volume 8
October 1, 2024
I have, for the year so far, been reading one volume of the Monstress a month as a sort of regular treat or change of pace. And so after nine months, I’ve finally caught up with just under a decade’s worth of narrative. Which is, honestly, largely a matter of falling entirely in love with the first few volumes, and then progressively falling out of love over the last plot arcs. It never becomes dire – this volume is honestly rather better than the last, at least for y tastes – but the magic is very thoroughly gone.
After their dream sojourn in Golga, the prison-planet of the Old Gods, Maika, Zinn, Kippa and Ren awaken to discover that a full year has passed while they slept – and that in the meantime, Maika’s father has somehow cut Zinn out of her and bound him to his will. With the armies of the Blood Court and the power of an Old God, he’s well on his way to conquering the whole continent – or at least the specific cities with laboratories and relics of the Shaman-Empress he requires to reassemble the Mask and – well, that’s unclear, but something bad. Combined with the news that he’s taken her godfather Seizi hostage, it’s’ more than enough for Maika to leave the remote island sanctuary she awoke in and jump back into the wolf’s jaws, dragging everyone else along with her. Returning to the city of Thyria and her mother’s home and library, she just about has a plan going when – well, when the world seems to start ending, as Old Gods suddenly follow the protagonists back from Golga and begin possessing every host they can.
I’m not entirely opposed to big timeskips to shake up the setting and let the plot develop, but this one really just completed the process of shaking things up by shoving all the parts that every really compelled me as far to the side as can be (okay, not entirely fair – it is nice to see Seizi again). The Lord Doctor’s the most offensive part of this, not because he couldn’t be an interesting character in his own right (parts of him are pretty compelling!) but just because he’s such an utter comic book villain. Deep ties to the Lore and a personal connection to the protagonist, but seemingly untied to any of the actual politics and context of the setting, tossing aside the carefully arranged political status quo into just being a cackling cannibal mad scientist cult leader megalomaniac who suddenly has the capacity to conquer the world. He could be fighting Captain America and no one would blink an eye. He’s just very emblematic, I suppose.
And maybe I’m looking at the earliest volumes with rose-tinted glasses here, but I can’t help but feel like at some point over the writing process the shape of the story Liui and Takeda wanted to tell has changed substantially, and the dream-world diversion and year of table-setting were necessary to make the plot they wanted more practical. Which is probably inevitable when you’re doing 6 issues of comics a year, but that doesn’t mean I need to enjoy the shift or the obvious artifice of it.
The art of the series was always reliably stunning even when I was getting irritated with the writing, and that’s still largely true but – look, after years of teasing and buildup, the fact that Maika’s deadly loyal-to-her-father sister just looks like someone’s Hazbin Hotel OC on Deviantart really just feels bathetic.
So yeah, the series will continue next year – will have to, with that sudden cliffhanger – but I feel pretty confident in saying I’m not going to pick it up when it does.
After their dream sojourn in Golga, the prison-planet of the Old Gods, Maika, Zinn, Kippa and Ren awaken to discover that a full year has passed while they slept – and that in the meantime, Maika’s father has somehow cut Zinn out of her and bound him to his will. With the armies of the Blood Court and the power of an Old God, he’s well on his way to conquering the whole continent – or at least the specific cities with laboratories and relics of the Shaman-Empress he requires to reassemble the Mask and – well, that’s unclear, but something bad. Combined with the news that he’s taken her godfather Seizi hostage, it’s’ more than enough for Maika to leave the remote island sanctuary she awoke in and jump back into the wolf’s jaws, dragging everyone else along with her. Returning to the city of Thyria and her mother’s home and library, she just about has a plan going when – well, when the world seems to start ending, as Old Gods suddenly follow the protagonists back from Golga and begin possessing every host they can.
I’m not entirely opposed to big timeskips to shake up the setting and let the plot develop, but this one really just completed the process of shaking things up by shoving all the parts that every really compelled me as far to the side as can be (okay, not entirely fair – it is nice to see Seizi again). The Lord Doctor’s the most offensive part of this, not because he couldn’t be an interesting character in his own right (parts of him are pretty compelling!) but just because he’s such an utter comic book villain. Deep ties to the Lore and a personal connection to the protagonist, but seemingly untied to any of the actual politics and context of the setting, tossing aside the carefully arranged political status quo into just being a cackling cannibal mad scientist cult leader megalomaniac who suddenly has the capacity to conquer the world. He could be fighting Captain America and no one would blink an eye. He’s just very emblematic, I suppose.
And maybe I’m looking at the earliest volumes with rose-tinted glasses here, but I can’t help but feel like at some point over the writing process the shape of the story Liui and Takeda wanted to tell has changed substantially, and the dream-world diversion and year of table-setting were necessary to make the plot they wanted more practical. Which is probably inevitable when you’re doing 6 issues of comics a year, but that doesn’t mean I need to enjoy the shift or the obvious artifice of it.
The art of the series was always reliably stunning even when I was getting irritated with the writing, and that’s still largely true but – look, after years of teasing and buildup, the fact that Maika’s deadly loyal-to-her-father sister just looks like someone’s Hazbin Hotel OC on Deviantart really just feels bathetic.
So yeah, the series will continue next year – will have to, with that sudden cliffhanger – but I feel pretty confident in saying I’m not going to pick it up when it does.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2024
Like always, I'm stuck between being impressed or confused as hell with this series.
September 8, 2025
The art was a solid 5 star as always. It was stunning. The story though, was confusing. Some of that is on me for not having the patience to go back and reread volume 8, but also the story is structured in such a way that it’s bound to be confusing. There is mystery, revelation and many factions operating on many levels, double crossing and obfuscating their true intentions. Whose side are they on and which side is it because there are many? As a reader, one has to be patient and wait for all to be revealed while having more mysteries arise. It is a complex and deeply rewarding read, as the world and those who are part of it are fascinating and rich with depth and detail. This volume felt very much like a lot of time was spent in setting up for the next volumes of the story and I’m pretty excited for volume 10 coming out in December. Now the question is will I have the patience to reread these last 2 issues before the release?
June 10, 2025
Glad I did not give up with this series after the wreck they call volume 8. The story moves forward with stable pacing, our heroes (and antiheroes) gathered and did their thing, plus Kippa and especially Ren took more initiative. Maika is still angry but that's her thing. Poor Zinn and Seizi. I really like the Spice Islands and the whole worldbuilding even though I am kinda forgetting who in which Court - gosh it's been a while. The artwork is back to its excellent form. Vol 8's was imcomprensible but this one *chef's kiss*
Anyway, the story is definitely a setup for a more actiony vol 10. Cannot wait for that one!
Anyway, the story is definitely a setup for a more actiony vol 10. Cannot wait for that one!
November 22, 2024
Pippa - still the hero of this story.
Though Ren runs a close second this time around.
Though Ren runs a close second this time around.
February 8, 2025
The fantasy world of Monstress is vast. The story continues to be intriguing with more and more mysteries unfolding. With so many moving parts, this story is a bit confusing at times, but the book is worth the investment.
Definitely recommend if you like fantasy.
Definitely recommend if you like fantasy.
March 3, 2025
Actual rating: 3.5☆
This volume was way better than the previous one
This volume was way better than the previous one
January 21, 2025
The series has taken a refresh from both the creators and the characters. Maika and friends have been in a 6 month coma and awake to find themselves in the last bastion for the arcane people.
As usual, this series has fantastic writing and otherworldly artwork page after page. My beef with the series was how hard it was to follow along, but I had no trouble jumping back into this one because of great pacing, and the characters' exposition really helped
Best volume in the series in years
As usual, this series has fantastic writing and otherworldly artwork page after page. My beef with the series was how hard it was to follow along, but I had no trouble jumping back into this one because of great pacing, and the characters' exposition really helped
Best volume in the series in years
January 20, 2025
The artwork in these books still just continue to be amazing
December 30, 2024
This volume really got the story moving and building toward what seems to be big reveals and incredible story point. As usual the art is top-tier.
January 2, 2025
After being disappointed by the last couple instalments and considering giving up on this series, I am happy to say that I loved this volume. Things are coming together and I’m actually intrigued to see where the current storyline is going to lead. As always, the artwork is phenomenal
November 28, 2024
"Love has very little to do with family."
4 1/2 stars
"I will open my own cafe, & adopt many orphans to train in the art of assassination so that I may destroy my rivals & build an underground empire."
I am unhappy with where things currently stand (not that it's bad)
"But now...now you're my home. & homes...homes get broken very easily, Miss."
It's also confusing, I can't wait to be able to reread the full story someday.
"Family isn't about trust daughter, or love. It's about survival. Something you & I have been so very skilled at."
& that cliffhanger 😳
"I like my odds of survival around books."
I hate being caught up 😂
"...for it it is not fear...of the oblivion beyond all knowing...that fortifies my will...it is instead...a ferocious...glorious...hunger...a consuming belief...that I can still be...surprised...for what is my vast sleep...but an interlude...between possibilities...possibilities...beyond dreams...possibilities rare & magnificent...child...I live for those possibilities...I will die fighting for them...for they matter more than misery...more than shame...or suffering..."
4 1/2 stars
"I will open my own cafe, & adopt many orphans to train in the art of assassination so that I may destroy my rivals & build an underground empire."
I am unhappy with where things currently stand (not that it's bad)
"But now...now you're my home. & homes...homes get broken very easily, Miss."
It's also confusing, I can't wait to be able to reread the full story someday.
"Family isn't about trust daughter, or love. It's about survival. Something you & I have been so very skilled at."
& that cliffhanger 😳
"I like my odds of survival around books."
I hate being caught up 😂
"...for it it is not fear...of the oblivion beyond all knowing...that fortifies my will...it is instead...a ferocious...glorious...hunger...a consuming belief...that I can still be...surprised...for what is my vast sleep...but an interlude...between possibilities...possibilities...beyond dreams...possibilities rare & magnificent...child...I live for those possibilities...I will die fighting for them...for they matter more than misery...more than shame...or suffering..."
September 14, 2024
Issue #49: Read 03/03/24 5 stars
Issue #50: Read 04/30/24 4 stars
Issue #51: Read 04/30/24 5 stars
Issue #52: Read 07/04/24 4.5 stars
Issue #53: Read 08/10/24 4.5 stars
Issue #54: Read 09/13/24 5 stars
Issue #50: Read 04/30/24 4 stars
Issue #51: Read 04/30/24 5 stars
Issue #52: Read 07/04/24 4.5 stars
Issue #53: Read 08/10/24 4.5 stars
Issue #54: Read 09/13/24 5 stars
April 16, 2025
One day, I'll re-read this from the beginning and follow everything better, but this day has not come yet. Still, utterly beautiful, terrible, cruel and bloody as always. So much is being set up here - I am very much curious what the results will be.
December 8, 2024
ok i've basically just been keeping up with this because the art is amazing but i think i'm actually fully back on board plotwise after this one
January 29, 2025
okay! there's probably going to be spoilers ahead, but if you're reading a review for the... ninth installation in an ongoing series, then I think that's okay lmfao.
so. there is *a lot* going on here, too much in fact, especially because I read the eighth one like 5 months ago and have... forgotten stuff.
good thing the author make allusions to past volumes, or else I would irrevocably lost!
Maika and our gang of valiant heroes have awoken after being on Zinn's sister-brother's banishment planet, only to find that they have been asleep for a year. Maika's father, the Lord Doctor, has somehow taken Zinn out of Maika and now controls them, although it's not freely given so he struggles a lot trying to hone Zinn's power. not to say that the Lord Doctor doesn't have a lot of power, (he does, and in a year has destroyed/inflitrated many a city across the world,) and uses propaganda to turn people to his side, the Blood Court.
the Lord Doctor is also insane. like truly. and I think he's getting crazier in every volume; he's so crazy that it's hard for him to decide between love for his daughter, and the power he obtains through just having imprisoned Zinn inside of him. and he gets to be a cannibal, but he had been preparing for this for a while. I will say that Zinn tries to give Maika clues whenever they can- which usually happens in dreams.
so that's happening and Maika needs to find her dad and stop him from trying to take over the world, while also being one of like... 7 beings on the planet who know that the Old Gods are trying to also take over the world, (lessons learned from a year of being imprisoned on the Old God Prison Planet,) and I think that part also includes killing, (and eating?) everyone on the planet. so it's a bad time out there, mostly because Maika is feeling the hurt from having Zinn taken out of her and that's a problem.
also her dad is making secret weird clones of her with what looks like Zinn's eyes on her body in some steampunk-scifi-horror laboratory in the Blood Court and that's terrifying!
the Worldwalker cats also came back to the planet with us, and nobody believes them except for literally the Save The World Gang and a few people who happen to know the real history that has been mysteriously eradicated. hm, hope we figure that out! like the *literal* lost continents and the history of the Jagarath? Ren better get a hold on his Worldwalker abilities too because Ubasti gave him those for a reason and I wanna know WHY.
my dear sweet Kippa is also developing some strange new abilities, like honing her skill in seeing the truth in people and being able to... idk, see Maika's past? or her own past and future? there's so much going on in that child and she's too pure for this bloody, savage world but I also know that Maika would be dead without her. they keep each other going, really- they love each other so much and it's one of the best relationships in the series.
I was gonna put a big giant question mark in here about "why did most of the important players get a nosebleed??" but then right at the end we found out that it was the Old Gods using whoever had touched the mask to come back and invade their hosts? maybe? something like that? Kippa, Maika, and the Lord Doctor have all developed one and then I think Gull got ravaged there at the end after developing one so we shall see... mainly we gotta find FIND THOSE PESKY MASK FRAGMENTS!! whether or not they're going to be used for good or evil is still up in the air, but I reallllllly don't want the Lord Doctor to get them all. very happy Maika reminded me that they know that: she has one, her dad has two, the Mother Superior has one, and one is... missing. hm. gotta think on that one.
literally... so many characters and plot lines I'm trying to keep aligned in my head. this review is more of a vague synopsis so when I eventually read the 10th one I can come back to this and rehash what I know.
the war is happening; mostly people against the Blood Court but also the Federation and the Arcanics still hate each other, (this makes sense because of Lilium, the Arcanic-derived potion the Cumaea have been making. also there's been bad blood between them forever because of LIES TOLD BY THE GOVERNMENT.) but also factions who have hated each other forever have to team up to try to defeat the Lord Doctor; all of the courts, including the Wave Court who have notably stayed out of issues on the land, are even providing shelter to the refugees on the Spice Islands, so far like the only untouched place from the war.
fuckin. Maika has a lot of work to do. and I need Zinn back because I love them and they need to defeat their sister-brothers. everyone is up to something in this series and everyone is keeping secrets, yes from Maika BUT MOSTLY FROM ME, THE READER, WHO DESPERATELY NEEDS TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS UNIVERSE.
most of the Ancients are evil, in my opinion, and have abandoned their people in hopes of gaining power for themselves. I do think that even the "bad" guys in this series are redeemable though, as we've seen multiple times through betrayal, forgiveness, pacts made in secret, and just Tuya's character in general. thanks Tuya for saving Maika, Kippa, and Ren's bodies from Maika's dad! but also you gave him two mask fragments for the exchange... but I think she had an ulterior motive there. huh. we shall see. Tuya's weird mini-me, (the next in line to become the Baroness, also Tuya's future,) is kind of annoying but also so would I if I knew I was only bred to be an immortal being's vessel, (good thing Tuya destroyed most of them except for the one-Yuta- who is left.)
ummmmmm yeah. Maika's half-sister(?) wolf who is working for her dad but also helps Maika get information is cool, (I have forgotten her name though,) and I'm happy I at least got to SEE Corvin, although him working with the Lord Doctor is a little creepy... although who knows! this whole world is built on people keeping terrible secrets and betraying each other until you don't know where loyalties lie but I DO think Corvin is really on Maika's side... and in fact that was alluded to with that weird note telling him that she woke up. maybe he's just trying to keep some of his people from being demolished by the Lord Doctor by working with him... he also knows Zinn so maybe they can just make each other feel SAFE.
speaking of which, I think this is like one of the first time I've actually seen Maika get to be chill and not be on the run for more than like two pages for the first time in this series. it was nice! our girl deserves a break. I also desperately need the Berserk-Monstress crossover before I die because I need Guts and Maika to hold each other and cry like trauma bonded soul siblings I know they would be.
okay. this is a really messy chaotic review for a really messy chaotic story that I love to bits and pieces. I'm probably forgetting like 500 things because it's just so freaking much but this world, this art, this... political/steampunk/horror/fantasy/call to action is just so good. like truly I've never read anything like this in my life and one day I just need to buy all of the editions so I can refer back to them as need-be.
can't wait for the next! :)
so. there is *a lot* going on here, too much in fact, especially because I read the eighth one like 5 months ago and have... forgotten stuff.
good thing the author make allusions to past volumes, or else I would irrevocably lost!
Maika and our gang of valiant heroes have awoken after being on Zinn's sister-brother's banishment planet, only to find that they have been asleep for a year. Maika's father, the Lord Doctor, has somehow taken Zinn out of Maika and now controls them, although it's not freely given so he struggles a lot trying to hone Zinn's power. not to say that the Lord Doctor doesn't have a lot of power, (he does, and in a year has destroyed/inflitrated many a city across the world,) and uses propaganda to turn people to his side, the Blood Court.
the Lord Doctor is also insane. like truly. and I think he's getting crazier in every volume; he's so crazy that it's hard for him to decide between love for his daughter, and the power he obtains through just having imprisoned Zinn inside of him. and he gets to be a cannibal, but he had been preparing for this for a while. I will say that Zinn tries to give Maika clues whenever they can- which usually happens in dreams.
so that's happening and Maika needs to find her dad and stop him from trying to take over the world, while also being one of like... 7 beings on the planet who know that the Old Gods are trying to also take over the world, (lessons learned from a year of being imprisoned on the Old God Prison Planet,) and I think that part also includes killing, (and eating?) everyone on the planet. so it's a bad time out there, mostly because Maika is feeling the hurt from having Zinn taken out of her and that's a problem.
also her dad is making secret weird clones of her with what looks like Zinn's eyes on her body in some steampunk-scifi-horror laboratory in the Blood Court and that's terrifying!
the Worldwalker cats also came back to the planet with us, and nobody believes them except for literally the Save The World Gang and a few people who happen to know the real history that has been mysteriously eradicated. hm, hope we figure that out! like the *literal* lost continents and the history of the Jagarath? Ren better get a hold on his Worldwalker abilities too because Ubasti gave him those for a reason and I wanna know WHY.
my dear sweet Kippa is also developing some strange new abilities, like honing her skill in seeing the truth in people and being able to... idk, see Maika's past? or her own past and future? there's so much going on in that child and she's too pure for this bloody, savage world but I also know that Maika would be dead without her. they keep each other going, really- they love each other so much and it's one of the best relationships in the series.
I was gonna put a big giant question mark in here about "why did most of the important players get a nosebleed??" but then right at the end we found out that it was the Old Gods using whoever had touched the mask to come back and invade their hosts? maybe? something like that? Kippa, Maika, and the Lord Doctor have all developed one and then I think Gull got ravaged there at the end after developing one so we shall see... mainly we gotta find FIND THOSE PESKY MASK FRAGMENTS!! whether or not they're going to be used for good or evil is still up in the air, but I reallllllly don't want the Lord Doctor to get them all. very happy Maika reminded me that they know that: she has one, her dad has two, the Mother Superior has one, and one is... missing. hm. gotta think on that one.
literally... so many characters and plot lines I'm trying to keep aligned in my head. this review is more of a vague synopsis so when I eventually read the 10th one I can come back to this and rehash what I know.
the war is happening; mostly people against the Blood Court but also the Federation and the Arcanics still hate each other, (this makes sense because of Lilium, the Arcanic-derived potion the Cumaea have been making. also there's been bad blood between them forever because of LIES TOLD BY THE GOVERNMENT.) but also factions who have hated each other forever have to team up to try to defeat the Lord Doctor; all of the courts, including the Wave Court who have notably stayed out of issues on the land, are even providing shelter to the refugees on the Spice Islands, so far like the only untouched place from the war.
fuckin. Maika has a lot of work to do. and I need Zinn back because I love them and they need to defeat their sister-brothers. everyone is up to something in this series and everyone is keeping secrets, yes from Maika BUT MOSTLY FROM ME, THE READER, WHO DESPERATELY NEEDS TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS UNIVERSE.
most of the Ancients are evil, in my opinion, and have abandoned their people in hopes of gaining power for themselves. I do think that even the "bad" guys in this series are redeemable though, as we've seen multiple times through betrayal, forgiveness, pacts made in secret, and just Tuya's character in general. thanks Tuya for saving Maika, Kippa, and Ren's bodies from Maika's dad! but also you gave him two mask fragments for the exchange... but I think she had an ulterior motive there. huh. we shall see. Tuya's weird mini-me, (the next in line to become the Baroness, also Tuya's future,) is kind of annoying but also so would I if I knew I was only bred to be an immortal being's vessel, (good thing Tuya destroyed most of them except for the one-Yuta- who is left.)
ummmmmm yeah. Maika's half-sister(?) wolf who is working for her dad but also helps Maika get information is cool, (I have forgotten her name though,) and I'm happy I at least got to SEE Corvin, although him working with the Lord Doctor is a little creepy... although who knows! this whole world is built on people keeping terrible secrets and betraying each other until you don't know where loyalties lie but I DO think Corvin is really on Maika's side... and in fact that was alluded to with that weird note telling him that she woke up. maybe he's just trying to keep some of his people from being demolished by the Lord Doctor by working with him... he also knows Zinn so maybe they can just make each other feel SAFE.
speaking of which, I think this is like one of the first time I've actually seen Maika get to be chill and not be on the run for more than like two pages for the first time in this series. it was nice! our girl deserves a break. I also desperately need the Berserk-Monstress crossover before I die because I need Guts and Maika to hold each other and cry like trauma bonded soul siblings I know they would be.
okay. this is a really messy chaotic review for a really messy chaotic story that I love to bits and pieces. I'm probably forgetting like 500 things because it's just so freaking much but this world, this art, this... political/steampunk/horror/fantasy/call to action is just so good. like truly I've never read anything like this in my life and one day I just need to buy all of the editions so I can refer back to them as need-be.
can't wait for the next! :)
January 24, 2025
Sana Takeda’s artwork, an art nouveau/art deco depiction of steampunk fantasy, is as gorgeous as ever. I love the way the images portray the character evolution, not just in continuity (ie. physical ageing, state of injuries, clothing and ‘accessories’, etc.), but also through subtle changes in color tone and complexity that project states of mind. At the same time, Marjorie Liu’s storytelling continues to turn up the volume on tangled webs of politics, changing alliances, and betrayal, while skillfully unwinding enough backstory to keep the audience hanging on.
With this volume, a reset button is hit with Maika, Kippa, and Ren waking from what was a year-long coma in their world’s timeline, but in the previous volume they were briefly navigating the chaotic politics on Golga, the prison planet/dimension of the Old Gods. It was a clever way of making a time jump and engaging the reader by simultaneously bringing the awakened characters and the audience up to speed on all the world changing events they missed.
When a story is as complex as the Monstress series is, it’s nearly impossible to just pick up where you left off. I had to go back and re-read the last couple of volumes just to get oriented, and I still feel like I have to revisit the first six to fully understand all the developments of this latest volume. Back in the summer, I was really getting frustrated with all the loose threads left hanging while new elements were being introduced, and my tolerance for unanswered questions and unresolved mysteries was reaching its limits. I am relieved that older threads were picked back up and woven into the newer sections, and when read as a whole (ie. volumes 7, 8, and 9 back-to-back), it’s a much better overall experience.
With this volume, a reset button is hit with Maika, Kippa, and Ren waking from what was a year-long coma in their world’s timeline, but in the previous volume they were briefly navigating the chaotic politics on Golga, the prison planet/dimension of the Old Gods. It was a clever way of making a time jump and engaging the reader by simultaneously bringing the awakened characters and the audience up to speed on all the world changing events they missed.
When a story is as complex as the Monstress series is, it’s nearly impossible to just pick up where you left off. I had to go back and re-read the last couple of volumes just to get oriented, and I still feel like I have to revisit the first six to fully understand all the developments of this latest volume. Back in the summer, I was really getting frustrated with all the loose threads left hanging while new elements were being introduced, and my tolerance for unanswered questions and unresolved mysteries was reaching its limits. I am relieved that older threads were picked back up and woven into the newer sections, and when read as a whole (ie. volumes 7, 8, and 9 back-to-back), it’s a much better overall experience.
April 26, 2025
I love that the characters continue to grow and evolve. It feels like, in this volume, the themes of love and grief (how we accept grief as the cost of love, or reject love to avoid grief) and trust (when is trust a prerequisite for love, when do we love in spite of distrust or distrust in spite of love) are extended to larger social structures than individual relationships and families.
I need to reread this in daylight because a lot of the artwork seemed very dark, but it might have just been bad reading conditions.
I need to reread this in daylight because a lot of the artwork seemed very dark, but it might have just been bad reading conditions.
July 13, 2025
This volume collected single issue #s 49-54 and branches the story and the world out in interesting directions while maintaining the unique freshness of the earlier arcs. It's still a visually stunning work, and even though it's become so complex in backstory it's still a pleasure to read. Liu doesn't hesitate to bring old characters back or make changes to the leads in order to keep it all challenging and engaging.
May 28, 2025
I still have no idea what's happening but it's still very pretty.
May 29, 2025
⋆.˚✮ 4.5 stars ✮˚.⋆
July 8, 2025
Not the strongest of the most recent volumes but it's setting a lot of prep work up for what I'm assuming will be in volume 10 in December.
Cannot wait, I'm itching for more from this series 🤩
Cannot wait, I'm itching for more from this series 🤩
December 29, 2024
This volume was packed. The (re-)introduction of Areka, who I already adore. Aside from Kippa, there are so few characters in this universe who manage to remain soft-hearted. The world walking cats. Yuta, that little shit. The glimpses of Zinn . Maika and Kippa unpacking their shared trauma only to have more trauma looming on the horizon as evidenced by THAT CLIFFHANGER
December 21, 2024
I could use a year long time jump to get the next one of these, thanks.
November 15, 2024
Oh, it was so good to be back in this world and all the developments, it was hard, and I can't wait for more!
March 31, 2025
I don't know what to say. I feel like I understand what's happening and where this is going, but I can't really explain it. We're back in the real world after a year long time jump and watch Maika and the others scramble to heal up, catch up, and head out. Based on the last volume, it's looking like the mask is a key to open Golga, but it doesn't appear that anyone actually knows the mask's true purpose. They're going to look for it regardless. The Lord Doctor wants power. The mask is power. And he doesn't seem to care what kind of power he gets, so long as he gets it. Maika has renewed (or new found?) purpose that has made her more determined than ever. Rin continues to learn more about the history the world forgot. And Kippa. Kippa may just be facing the scariest future yet.
January 1, 2025
A return to 'reality' after volume 8's trip into other dimensions, now things are really coming to a head, as the major conflict of this series comes into focus - Maika and her dad. It's gonna be quite the face-off, and this is building to it beautifully. Plus, cats that can travel across planes of space and time? Yes please.
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