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Monstress (Single Issues)
Monstress #29
On the battlefield, Maika confronts the ghosts of Constantine and Kippa tries to make amends.
29 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2020
9 people are currently reading
95 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 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 28, 2024
(A-) 80% | 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.
July 22, 2020
How horrible is everything that happens in this comic.
First: I like the style, the hair in this:
But the action during the attack and the siege are really awful what is happening in Ravena. The humans, the Cumae ... all the betrayals.
Who said anything about women being more compassionate or less bloodthirsty? All leaders are focused on the big picture and don't care about all the death and destruction of common people and soldiers.
The truth is that I don't know where they want to go with all this. So much senseless death is tiring me. :/
First: I like the style, the hair in this:
But the action during the attack and the siege are really awful what is happening in Ravena. The humans, the Cumae ... all the betrayals.
Who said anything about women being more compassionate or less bloodthirsty? All leaders are focused on the big picture and don't care about all the death and destruction of common people and soldiers.
The truth is that I don't know where they want to go with all this. So much senseless death is tiring me. :/
July 27, 2020
Loved the portray of war, hated Touya. Worst ex bestie ever, I mean COME ON.
June 7, 2021
Basically one bis war epic with lots of battle field scenes and people murdering each other. I Usually do not like these kinds of stories but the characters make it work
July 23, 2020
Another incredible entry in a series that just gets better and better as it deepens and clarifies with time. The story is a brutal and desperately sad rumination on the nature of war as the siege of Ravenna drags on. Especially impactful is a two-page spread of mostly anonymous citizens. One panel shows them before the battle starts, reassuring each other, expressing their love, praying to their gods for courage, showing their bravado. The accompanying panel shows what happens to them -most die, some are maimed, all suffer terribly in the face of the unbearable violence. It is truly grim and terrible. Maika returns to playing a major role in the story, but she is not actually in that many panels. More intrigue with Tuya and the return of a major and beloved character. If I have any complaint about the book it is that Sana Takeda's last several issues seem to be poorly inked. It's easy, sometimes, to lose track of events. However, this only slightly detracts from the art and not at all from the impact of the story.
August 20, 2020
Come on man, this issue was moving at a snail's pace. Don't get me wrong, there were some moments of this tumultuous war that shook me to the core. But I feel our key characters are either missing in action themselves or severely under used. I love this story, I adore the characters and Maika's world is fascinating but this issue just felt like filler to me. I need issue 30 to come back with some punches to the guts! Otherwise what is the point of continuing?
February 18, 2025
Monstress
Issue#29
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#29
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!
August 23, 2020
"you can always count on a witch to find new ways to kill."
Things seem to be going uphill, well, somewhat given the circumstances. I cannot believe Tuya most of the time, which indeed makes her more interesting.
Things seem to be going uphill, well, somewhat given the circumstances. I cannot believe Tuya most of the time, which indeed makes her more interesting.
February 13, 2021
Another excellent entry into the series. Beautiful artwork as always. Another scene from Maika's childhood and the horrors she had to endure. Continuation of the bloody war of the present. Some terrible things happening in this one.
July 29, 2020
War is terrible.
August 15, 2020
Fantastic adventure
What an awesome journey into the fantastical world of Imagination. I'm never going to be able to look at a cat the same way again!
What an awesome journey into the fantastical world of Imagination. I'm never going to be able to look at a cat the same way again!
September 29, 2020
Rating: 5 Stars.
October 28, 2020
Great issue
August 13, 2021
#29
“Who is this … she .. who everyone keeps speaking of?”
“Who is this … she .. who everyone keeps speaking of?”
March 20, 2022
The war for Ravenna rages, rendered coldly and brutally. This issue also develops a really interesting critique of the relationship between science/knowledge and violence/weaponry.
July 10, 2025
A visually stunning and emotionally charged issue. Battles rage, decisions are made, and betrayals are uncovered. Maika begins to face the terrifying idea that she might be no different from her enemies if she lets her trauma consume her.
What’s most impressive here is the way Takeda’s art conveys fury and sorrow at once. Panels bleed into one another with chaos, fire, and falling ash, while expressions — especially Maika’s — remain tightly restrained. You can feel the internal war just as vividly as the external one.
What’s most impressive here is the way Takeda’s art conveys fury and sorrow at once. Panels bleed into one another with chaos, fire, and falling ash, while expressions — especially Maika’s — remain tightly restrained. You can feel the internal war just as vividly as the external one.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews