Comic Review: Monstress -- Issues #5 & #6 by Marjorie M. Liu & Sana Takeda

Monstress #5 by Marjorie M. Liu
Review Copy: Provided via NetGalley
Purchase: Trade Paperback -- Single Issue
Publisher: Image Comics

Description From Goodreads:
Maika struggles with the monster inside.

My Review:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fifth issue of Monstress ends on what can only be described as a jaw-dropping cliffhanger.

What I enjoy most about this series is how even the filler episodes have something to offer readers. With most comics, you're lucky to reach multiple issues that can contain the same momentum from the series launch, and yet, Monstress seems to have no trouble doing just that with each new issue. How Liu goes about unraveling Maika's story is so well thought out, it's just impossible to dislike the story being told. And my goodness. The artwork, folks. This comic has some of - if not the best - artwork in comics right now. Each page is a masterpiece.

With only one issue left for the first volume, I'm beyond eager to see how Maika's story ends, while also seeing how Liu intends on setting up the second arc.


Monstress #6 by Marjorie M. Liu
Review Copy: Provided via NetGalley
Purchase: Trade Paperback -- Single Issue
Publisher: Image Comics

Description From Goodreads:
Maika and her friends face betrayal and death, and only the monster inside — and her growing relationship with it — can save them. MONSTRESS will return in August.

My Review: 
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

That, folks, is how you craft a unique and thrilling first volume.

From the very first issue, until the very last page of the sixth issue, I couldn't turn the pages quick enough. Liu's words sing and Takeda's artwork shines. Everything about this series is fantastic.

The sixth issue of Monstress managed to deliver an outstanding conclusion to the first arc of Maika's story, while still leaving plenty of possibilities open to explore come the second arc in August. Although I do wish we'd learned just a tiny bit more about the monster that lives inside of Maika, I'm actually glad Liu decided to take the route that she did with the story. There's still plenty of intrigue left, allowing readers to come up with their own ideas and theories.

Hands down, Monstress is a fantastic read.

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