Stunningly Complex World
It’s rare to find a work where saving the world is at stake, yet it doesn’t quickly devolve into a predictable and monotonous clash between good and evil. Fortunately, that’s not the case in Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s Monstress series (and its second volume titled The Blood).
The world of Monstress is so intricately complex that, for now, you have no idea who needs saving from whom. Arcanics, humans, ancients, gods, and cats!—each has their own goals, and amidst this intricate web of relationships, Maika Halfwolf, with her ever-decreasing body mass, pushes forward, knee-deep in blood, seeking answers to many tormenting questions. Such as: Is it good for you if a ravenous monster is awakening inside you? Or: How beneficial is it for your mental health if you’ve been trained to be a killer since early childhood?
(In the long run, probably not at all, but if someone messes with you in a thyrrian ruin-pub, both can come in handy.)
All of this is covered in the continuation of the blog’s highest-rated (8.7/10) and most beautifully executed work to date (see Monstress – The Awakening, Vol. 1).
Monstress is Gorgeous!
The quality of the artwork has not diminished; the second volume, The Blood, is just as stunning. The characters are either magnificently beautiful or adorably cute, and the charisma of the Imura brothers (at least Seizi) radiates even through the painted panels.
While the story may not reach the grandeur of the captivating opening, it doesn’t need to be ashamed. The Blood has a more straightforward narrative, with fewer scenes dedicated to the background scheming of other characters, thus not overwhelming the reader with an initially hard-to-digest flood of information, unlike the first volume.
This is a World Run by Women
And in case it wasn’t clear from the first volume, girl power is prominently featured in the series. The two female creators have written and drawn most key positions to be filled by women: generals, ship captains, sinister witch-nuns, queens, – or just the Shaman-Empress, whose machinations continue to shape the destinies of the characters even after centuries – they’re all major players. Maika Halfwolf will need to brace herself if she plans to take them down with less than two hands in the next episode.
Rating: 8.4/10
Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda
149 pages, Paperback
Published in 2017 by Image Comics
(Monstress, Volume 1 collects MONSTRESS #7-12.)