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Monstress (Single Issues)
Monstress #27
Maika takes control of the city's forces on the eve of battle with the Federation…
35 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 25, 2020
4 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Marjorie M. Liu
322 books4,300 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 9, 2025
(B+) 78% | 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.
May 1, 2020
Corvin and Tuya are what! O.O
Kippa is again stealing the show.
...Poor decisions et all.
Man, what a nasty cliffhanger.
Kippa is again stealing the show.
...Poor decisions et all.
Man, what a nasty cliffhanger.
April 1, 2020
”that’s her isn’t it? she who will eat the world? crack the stars, turn us to ash, make us drink blood?”
i’m a maika apologist. she has done absolutely nothing wrong. i love this story so much!!! i hope maika and tuya meet in the next issue, that’s tantalizingly in may, sigh. kippa is stupid for letting those pacifists into the city, but i think she’s dead so i’m letting sleeping dogs lie.
i’m a maika apologist. she has done absolutely nothing wrong. i love this story so much!!! i hope maika and tuya meet in the next issue, that’s tantalizingly in may, sigh. kippa is stupid for letting those pacifists into the city, but i think she’s dead so i’m letting sleeping dogs lie.
March 19, 2022
It’s kind of a meandering issue but one that illustrates so many of the reasons why this is just a damned amazing book.
- weird, horror of a war-torn society: advance human soldiers wrought into zombies and sent back as body-bag messengers
- the grotesque and surprising intertwining of human and arcanic: weapons made from arcanic essence that arcanic a now need to fight humans, even if it makes them sick to hoist the arms
- misc.: cats with eye patches and half-remembered dreams of ancient gods and monsters fucking
- weird, horror of a war-torn society: advance human soldiers wrought into zombies and sent back as body-bag messengers
- the grotesque and surprising intertwining of human and arcanic: weapons made from arcanic essence that arcanic a now need to fight humans, even if it makes them sick to hoist the arms
- misc.: cats with eye patches and half-remembered dreams of ancient gods and monsters fucking
February 18, 2025
Monstress
Issue#27
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#27
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!
March 28, 2020
Good meaty issue
April 6, 2020
I would love if this series would be a bit more focused
April 18, 2020
May couldn't come soon enough for the monstress continuation.
August 23, 2020
Great issue, really enjoyed it. Maika is turning into a fierce leader, and Kippa stole the show once again. The art was amazing in this one as well.
September 29, 2020
Rating: 5 Stars.
June 17, 2021
Betrayal is everywhere. You can trust no one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2021
#27
“These orders are SHIT.”
War is ghastly
“These orders are SHIT.”
War is ghastly
December 31, 2023
Crying in the club rn
July 10, 2025
As Maika gets pulled into a Federation plot involving monstrous war children — genetically engineered, magically-infused child soldiers — the story hits a new level of moral horror. The “Warchild” program parallels Maika’s own stolen childhood, making the violence feel personal. Maika is beginning to realize that to protect those she loves, she may have to become something monstrous again.
Kippa continues to shine as the emotional compass of the series. Her kindness in a world full of cruelty never feels naïve — it feels brave.
Kippa continues to shine as the emotional compass of the series. Her kindness in a world full of cruelty never feels naïve — it feels brave.
February 13, 2021
You don't have to kill many people to turn a war... you just have to kill them horribly. Fear does the rest.
Another excellent issue with beautiful artwork. The comic starts with a brief continuation of the horrors from Maika's youth that we have been visiting in the past several issues. After we move to the present time, we get to see some of the gruesome sights of their war and the things they do to their enemies to show they aren't messing around. Kippa gets some good spotlight and we are left with a hell of a cliffhanger!
Another excellent issue with beautiful artwork. The comic starts with a brief continuation of the horrors from Maika's youth that we have been visiting in the past several issues. After we move to the present time, we get to see some of the gruesome sights of their war and the things they do to their enemies to show they aren't messing around. Kippa gets some good spotlight and we are left with a hell of a cliffhanger!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews