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Monstress (Single Issues)
Monstress #49
NEW STORY ARC Maika and her allies have returned, weakened and altered, to a Known World turned upside down by war. From the relative safety of the Wave Empress’s domain, they’ll reunite with old friends and face the new challenges of a status quo they never expected.
31 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 28, 2024
11 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Marjorie M. Liu
320 books4,315 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 23, 2024
(A-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: Read in trade paperback. Collective review for issues #49-54 can be found here: Monstress, Volume 9: The Possessed.
Notes: Read in trade paperback. Collective review for issues #49-54 can be found here: Monstress, Volume 9: The Possessed.
August 2, 2024
An explanater issue. Always great to know what’s happening.
July 4, 2025
Chaos rises again. The temporary calm of previous chapters erupts into violence and confrontation. There’s a breathtaking battle sequence, but the real damage happens in conversation—lines drawn, motives revealed, and consequences made real. A long-dormant character or force (no spoilers!) returns in a big way, and it sends shockwaves through the fragile alliances holding everything together. You can feel the ground cracking beneath the story.
April 7, 2024
3.5 rounded up. Finally the story feels more coherent again. I am hoping this is introducing the final arc this time around. Maika’s getting more rounded out.
…Kippa’s still the GOAT though, in my opinion.
…Kippa’s still the GOAT though, in my opinion.
June 12, 2024
Well, just when things seemed like were back to normal, Makia's father steps in as emperor of the world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2024
Wake up after a year long coma and now you have no idea what is coming
April 24, 2025
Maika, Kippa and Ren are awake after a year in the underworld - now the series feels back on track and gaining momentum.
#49 - "I've been thinking a lot about family."
#49 - "I've been thinking a lot about family."
March 10, 2024
Good start to a new arc that sets up what should be an epic confrontation between Maika and the Lord Doctor. As Maika says, she doesn’t know who her allies are anymore. This book is at its best when the reader is aligned with Maika’s position and we see this fantastical, beautiful and horrible world through her perspective. We’re poised for that now in this upcoming arc.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews