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Monstress (Single Issues)
Monstress #25
The long-dreaded war between the Federation and Arcanics is about to explode as secret peace negotiations are threatened and the Old Gods conspire. Now, Maika must choose her next steps: will she help her friends, or strike out on her own?
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 29, 2020
4 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Marjorie M. Liu
322 books4,301 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 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 9, 2025
(A-) 81% | Very Good
Notes: Read in trade paperback. Collective review for issues #25-30 can be found here: Monstress, Volume 5: Warchild.
Notes: Read in trade paperback. Collective review for issues #25-30 can be found here: Monstress, Volume 5: Warchild.
April 30, 2020
New arc.
The war started.
The darn tigergodfather is still hiding secrets, promises to her mother.
So
Maika is going to Ravenna.
Kippa too, but against Maika wishes.
Mmm, the witches are seeing dissension-
But I think they are just shoving information to the readers and not enough sense , it's not enough to undertand where this is going...
The war started.
The darn tigergodfather is still hiding secrets, promises to her mother.
So
Maika is going to Ravenna.
Kippa too, but against Maika wishes.
Mmm, the witches are seeing dissension-
But I think they are just shoving information to the readers and not enough sense , it's not enough to undertand where this is going...
February 29, 2020
”your reputation precedes you. rumors, gossip. no one can decide if you saved pontus, or destroyed it.”
3.5 stars, rounded down
maika halfwolf still best girl
3.5 stars, rounded down
maika halfwolf still best girl
April 19, 2020
¡Echaba de menos a Kippa!
April 23, 2020
When and how did Ren lose a tail? And where is he?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2020
Good Issue
For me the pacing and the content were well improved from the last issue. I felt like the different threads were much more cohesive than they have been in awhile. I also found everything, the action, the schemes and plots, way more interesting than they’ve been since probably the first two volumes. Plus it’s always awesome to see Kippa and how she’s evolving as a charachter/as her own person.
For me the pacing and the content were well improved from the last issue. I felt like the different threads were much more cohesive than they have been in awhile. I also found everything, the action, the schemes and plots, way more interesting than they’ve been since probably the first two volumes. Plus it’s always awesome to see Kippa and how she’s evolving as a charachter/as her own person.
February 28, 2020
Way too much going on in this one issue. There are dozens of characters and way too many plot lines intersecting. I could hardly understand any of it. It doesn’t help that none of the characters are particularly clear when they speak.
This issue all around feels much lower quality than the rest of the series. A few panels and dialogues seemed unnecessary. Also the art was distracting and not up to Sana Takeda’s usual high quality. Was it just me or did anyone else notice the strange scratchy lines on almost every page. It has an unfinished or rushed quality. I’m starting to consider dropping the series. We are in the fifth arc and it is not getting any clearer in its storytelling.
This issue all around feels much lower quality than the rest of the series. A few panels and dialogues seemed unnecessary. Also the art was distracting and not up to Sana Takeda’s usual high quality. Was it just me or did anyone else notice the strange scratchy lines on almost every page. It has an unfinished or rushed quality. I’m starting to consider dropping the series. We are in the fifth arc and it is not getting any clearer in its storytelling.
July 2, 2025
This chapter is brutal—emotionally and physically. Tuya’s betrayal erupts in full, and the consequences are devastating. It’s not a betrayal born of malice, but of fear, ideology, and grief—and that makes it hurt far more. Maika’s heartbreak is raw, but she responds the only way she knows: with power. The tension with Zinn finally tips. He begins to take shape—not just as a voice, but as a will. And Maika? She steps into a darker version of herself. This chapter is a turning point, a descent, a tragedy—and one of the strongest in the entire series.
February 18, 2025
Monstress
Issue#25
Volume#05
Warchild
Marjorie M. Liu
A new war starts on the doors of Ravena;
We see a flashback into Constantine and how the god's wrath unleashed on the city;
And we get to see Zinn's memories come back to him;
The Half Wolf take control of the situation and fall into her commanding role "I am the Half Wolf and My Word IS LAW";
The artwork continues to be amazing!
Issue#25
Volume#05
Warchild
Marjorie M. Liu
A new war starts on the doors of Ravena;
We see a flashback into Constantine and how the god's wrath unleashed on the city;
And we get to see Zinn's memories come back to him;
The Half Wolf take control of the situation and fall into her commanding role "I am the Half Wolf and My Word IS LAW";
The artwork continues to be amazing!
February 18, 2020
I wonder if the reason nobody is talking about this issue, is because they can’t figure out why there were no highly appropriate f-bombs, and so continue scouring the dense text, hoping it isn’t true.
February 19, 2020
i have no idea whats going on!!!!!!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2020
Four stars for world-building, people telling Maika her shit for once regarding hypocrisy, and for that chilling surprise ending.
March 3, 2020
Exceptional fiction and art
This story combines the very best in graphic art. Monstress is a fantastic adventure of magic and science and the art is beyond exceptional.
This story combines the very best in graphic art. Monstress is a fantastic adventure of magic and science and the art is beyond exceptional.
March 16, 2020
Things are just starting to get HOT! Can't wait to read more of Maika's world.
July 24, 2020
War politics, and it all gets so complicated. I cannot believe how much Kippa grew, she looks so childish and innocent, yet, right now she is making important adult decisions.
September 29, 2020
Rating: 5 Stars.
February 13, 2021
Another great entry with excellent art work and intriguing story. This issue provides us with a new arc that begins the new war.
August 13, 2021
#25
“Marium, save us.” – refugees
“I made a promise …” – Kippa
“Marium, save us.” – refugees
“I made a promise …” – Kippa
March 12, 2022
A solid set-up issue: on the eve of invasion, the disparate parties make their preparations. Plus, we get some gorgeous views of Aurum, Pontus, Constantine — cities in varying states of ruin.
April 8, 2023
4/5
Very good.
Very good.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews