graphic novel

Monstress, Volume 6: The Vow by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda – Graphic Novel Review

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Monstress, Volume 6: The Vow by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda - Graphic Novel Cover

Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s graphic novel series is a mind-blowing creation that takes place in a fantasy world like no other. A world that’s unbelievably complex, brutally unforgiving, and heartbreakingly beautiful all at once. Monstress: The Vow, the sixth volume in the series, continues the saga full of power struggles, hidden supernatural beings, betrayals, and horrors—where Maika Halfwolf, the protagonist, not only faces countless enemies, but can’t even trust her friends—or her own family. The only one she might be able to count on is the ancient, bloodthirsty entity lurking inside her.

Monstress Takes the Graphic Novel to a Whole New Level

The creators of Monstress, the Lennon and McCartney of the graphic novel world—Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda—have basically swept every major sci-fi and fantasy award with their joint masterpiece. And if they haven’t yet, they definitely will. Deservedly so.

The war between humans and Arcanics is being manipulated by otherworldly forces. Supernatural beings walk the earth, sometimes in their true forms, other times hiding behind masks—or in someone else’s skin—fighting each other for power. In this chaotic, utterly opaque, and constantly shifting web of alliances, Maika Halfwolf and her few remaining friends are just trying to stay alive.

All of this is delivered in panels that look like paintings.

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Deadly Class, Volume 8: Never Go Back by Rick Remender – Comic Book Review

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Deadly Class, Volume 8: Never Go Back by Rick Remender - Comic Book

Deadly Class, a comic series with one of the most unbelievable storylines and some of the most downright unlikeable protagonists of all time, kicks off its eighth volume, Never Go Back, with an unusual opening: a lenghty drug trip.

Pls, Don’t Mess With Me, Mr. Remender!

If your protagonist is unreliable, unpredictable, unstable, a chronic backstabber, and endlessly whiny, a drug-induced hallucination is probably the last thing that will make them more relatable to your readers. Drug trips are like listening to someone describe their dreams in excruciating detail: nobody gives a damn except the dreamer. In fact, the more they share, the more irritating it becomes.

The entire first quarter of Never Go Back, which corresponds to issue 36, might as well be flushed down the toilet as a complete waste of ink.

Of course, if only a quarter of Never Go Back were just wasted space, you could count yourself lucky…

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Locke & Key: Master Edition, Volume Three by Joe Hill – Gabriel Rodriguez – Comic Book Review

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Locke & Key: Master Edition, Volume Two by Joe Hill – Gabriel Rodriguez – Comic Book Cover

A Stunning Finale at Breakneck Speed

The grand finale. No dragging things out. (In case you were hoping for more installments.) But perhaps that’s for the best, because in the previous volume, while not excessively, Locke & Key did slow down a bit when the focus shifted to everyday teenage problems. Well, there’s none of that here. Not a single panel is wasted. The conclusion hurtles forward at breakneck speed, right up to the final frames.

You start in 1775, discovering how and why Ben Locke created the keys. Then, instead of immediately stashing them in a very dark place where no one would ever find them, you jump to 1988 to find out what his descendant, Rendell—the father of the Locke kids—messed up. Now, in the present, it’s up to the kids to fix his mistakes, though it will come at a great personal cost.

The Necessary Level of Acceptance

Joe Hill is absolutely a 21st-century, deeply politically correct author. Alongside the dizzying pace of his graphic novel’s plot, he also makes sure to sensitively highlight the importance of accepting others, whether that involves race, sexual orientation, or disabilities. His father must be very proud of him from a parenting perspective. And maybe Hill feels the same about his father, the great Stephen King, given the respectful nods, like the homage to the infamous scene in Carrie.

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Deadly Class, Volume 1: Reagan Youth by Rick Remender – Graphic Novel Review

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Deadly Class, Volume 1: Reagan Youth by Rick Remender - Comic Book Cover

A Dysfunctional Class Community…

You definitely wouldn’t want to attend a school like this, where the world’s deadliest assassins are trained under the leadership of Master Lin, who looks like a 157-year-old shriveled-up vegetable. Why not? Because at this school, most students would make better targets than pupils. From the offspring of Stalin’s assassin to simple gangster wannabes and the children of drug dealers, all the way to descendants of CIA and FBI agents (Seriously? Shouldn’t they be in some sort of law enforcement academy instead?!), they all follow the deadly curriculum of the Assassin’s Class in peaceful discord.

On top of that, they form cliques within the school (black gangsters, drug-affiliated gangsters, racists, slightly-less-racists, Yakuza friends etc.). It’s like something out of a romantic young adult novel or a teen soap opera: the basic premise is a bit questionable, and it strongly reeks of one of the most unpleasant young adult trends of the 2000s—the one where all sorts of mismatched creatures are thrown together in the same educational institution, from vampires to werewolves.

On his first day, the new student is even sent out into the city to kill for educational purposes, so there’s a bit of inconsistency in the curriculum too…

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Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu – Sana Takeda – Comic Book Review

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Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu - Sana Takeda - Comic Book Cover

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).

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Locke & Key: Master Edition, Volume Two by Joe Hill – Gabriel Rodriguez – Comic Book Review

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Overflowing Imagination and Gothic Horror

If, like the author of these lines, you’ve never been a big comic book fan, Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez’s volume is the best way to change your attitude. Don’t worry, there’s no superhero nonsense here; despite the everyday protagonists, the main feature of the illustrated pages of Locke & Key is the overflowing imagination – where teenagers’ struggles to fit in and their romantic troubles are elegantly accompanied by thriller, gothic horror, and surrealism.

Although at the beginning you might feel like you’ve signed up for a teenage story (after all, the main characters are teenagers), and the scheming villain who almost laid all his cards on the table in the previous part isn’t nearly as frightening, you’ll soon be shaken out of your complacency by the captivating “shadow” section. Yes, Zack Wells still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

Locke & Key is an Exceptional Experience

Locke & Key: Master Edition, Volume Two by Joe Hill - Gabriel Rodriguez grapic novel cover

And although there are repetitions in the second part of Locke & Key (if someone comes up with some information, you can bet it’ll be dealt with soon), thus reducing the excitement factor a bit, the absurd ideas, the variety of the Locke family’s keys, and the astonishing twists guarantee an above-average experience.

Especially if the illustration switches to “Tintin” style for a few pages. Okay, maybe not. Besides making you wonder what the point of that is, it probably doesn’t have much point. Unlike the comic book cover within the comic, which doesn’t hesitate to punish with a brutal spoiler!

Brutally Exciting – Joe Hill Shocks You by the End

Did I say something about the excitement factor? Oh yes, the second part of Locke & Key becomes much more thrilling by the end. Can you imagine that? Getting excited over a comic book? Absolutely, when the investigation kicks in, the pieces start to come together, and our heroes race against time – with a cunning bastard as their opponent. And it ends with a nice little cliffhanger in your face. But one that really makes you think: there is no justice in this world.

Rating: 8.1/10

Locke & Key: Master Edition, Volume Two by Joe Hill – Gabriel Rodriguez
312 pages, Hardcover
Published in 2016 by IDW Publishing

(Master Edition, Volume Two collects Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows (#1-6), Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom (#1-6))
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Review of the previous volume:
Locke & Key: Master Edition, Volume One

Saga: Volume Three by Brian K. Vaughan – Fiona Staples – Comic Book Review

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Saga: Volume Three by Brian K. Vaughan - Fiona Staples - Comic Book Cover

The Pace of Saga Slows Down

Our favorite, scandalous space opera, Saga, continues its journey. However, by the third installment, the pace seems to have slowed down a bit. Of course, the never-ending war taking place in a galaxy populated with surreal and bizarre creatures and locations provides a solid foundation that can handle some deceleration.

Still, while most of the events previously felt life-changing for our heroes, now there are episodes that seem more like filler, such as the bickering between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, or various characters’ hallucinations. The only positive aspect of these is the appearance of the series’ (so far) best character, The Stalk, whom the authors clearly can’t let go of. You might rightfully ask, why the hell did those damn fools kill her off in the first place?

The Impact is Gone, but It’s Still Highly Entertaining

In the third part of Saga, the introduction of new characters feels the most unnecessary. The two pesky tabloid journalists won’t uncover anything you haven’t known for a long time. Except perhaps that Alana is an even bigger bitch than you thought.

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Saga: Volume One by Brian K. Vaughan · Fiona Staples – Comic Book Review

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Saga: Volume One by Brian K. Vaughan · Fiona Staples - comic book cover

Everything is shit

“Am I shitting? It feels like I’m shitting!”

With these immortal words, the Saga comic series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples kicks off—in the middle of a childbirth scene, no less. If your immediate reaction is to think, “Maybe this is trying to shock me,” well, you wouldn’t be wrong… But hey, it’s the 21st century, so who doesn’t give a FUCK? who doesn’t give a GOOD GODDAMN?

That said, I wouldn’t exactly recommend the Saga comic to prudes in good conscience, as this is far from the ONLY instance like this.

For example, you’ll encounter dangling male genitalia more than once, swinging in all its glory. Then, you’ll visit a brothel planet and stumble straight into a full-blown orgy. Later, you’ll meet a character with more legs than arms and more eyes than ears. And at this point, you might start doubting yourself: could it be, purely by chance, that you’re just a tad bit twisted for thinking this bizarre creature is sexy as hell…?

But oh yes, it’s entirely possible!

(Oh, and she spends every one of her scenes rocking a monokini. So, if you didn’t already know what arachnophilia is, you’re about to find out.)

And yet, all of this is still not the point.

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Locke ​& Key Master Edition 1. by Joe Hill · Gabriel Rodriguez – Comic Book Review

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Locke ​& Key Master Edition 1. (Locke & Key 1-2.) by Joe Hill · Gabriel Rodriguez

The Lockes and Keys: A Dangerous Combination

After the tragic death of her husband, Nina Locke moves back to her late spouse’s childhood home, Keyhouse, in Lovecraft, Massachusetts, along with her three children. However, as it turns out, the protagonists of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s Locke & Key couldn’t have chosen a worse place to start over. (And let’s be honest, even the town’s name isn’t exactly promising.)

Keyhouse is an incredibly dangerous place. The members of the Locke family share a supernatural connection with the house, which harbors countless secrets. Scattered around the house—or carefully hidden—are various keys that unlock doors leading to unexpected destinations. Some open physical spaces (think something mundane, like our dear Aunt Maggie’s pantry), while others provide access to far more extraordinary places—like inside someone’s BRAIN. There’s even a key that separates your soul from your body.

But with these keys, the Locke kids could also accidentally summon creatures straight from hell if they’re not careful.

So, yeah, best to handle these keys with care!

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