New tantalizing teases as the mysteries deepen.
Creative Staff:
Story: Marjorie Liu
Art: Sana Takeda
What They Say:
Maika’s world becomes even more dangerous.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As we dig further into Monstress I keep coming back to that feeling of frustration that there aren’t a hundred issues of this out already and a dozen or more trade collections to burn through. That frustration is balanced by the ability to really dig into each individual issue as they come out and savor the details, the dialogue, and the desire to know how it will all expand and reveal itself. Liu and Takeda have created a rich world within just under 150 pages or so by this issue that so many other books aren’t able to do after a couple of years. And that richness is what will create a strong following of fans that will be loyal for years to come because this kind of work is hard to come by. This fourth chapter just cements it all the more as we begin to see more of this world.
There are two main stories running through this chapter, one of which introduces us to the Dusk Council that operates in the realm of the Arcanics. It’s here that we’re introduced to the queen of the wolves who uses her array of hybrids to do her bidding as her powers have weakend over the millennia of her existence. There are some nods toward the larger battles of the recent past and the lies and weapons that were in the mix there as the chosen warlord is intent on pushing back against the Cumaea and the Federation as the other way lies extinction. The back and forth between the two doesn’t exactly fill in any gaps but rather provides waypoints to the past with events that are the foundation to where we are and it gives us an array of races and people in positions of power – and those without any power that are mere tools – that you know will have an impact as time goes on. Liu has really been working in proper novel form to seed a lot here and I can envision an elaborate flow chart track all of this already.
Maika’s story is still getting time in each issue, though I’ll admit I could spend an entire issue on the council and its machinations. With Maika, she’s struggling with Kippa but more so with the thing that’s now inside her that was awakened by the touch of the mask. Its hunger isn’t a surprising element, but I like how the “unquiet mind” of Maika keeps it from sleeping again and the hints we get about Kippa when it tries to turn her into a meal. I can see how this could make for a disturbing companion of sorts as it plays out and I’m all for that as there’s a great darkness to it. This book brings Ren back to her and sets up some of the friction that exists between the three, which means it’s time to introduce a fourth as well on the last page. Prior to that we get a good connection back to the Dusk Council that helps to bind things together a bit more, not that it really needed it, but it’s the small details that work so beautifully.
In Summary:
Monstress is a fantastic realization of world building in comics while also telling the story of the characters themselves. It’s blending the two in the right way without favoring one over the other in an unbalanced way. They complement and build each other and that ends up creating something that’s complex (but not complicated) where you have to work at it just a bit to really engage with it. This is not a casual read but something you sit down to absorb and realize that you will be revisiting past installments regularly to find new context and connections and become even more engaged with it. Liu and Takeda are master weavers with this work right out of the gate and I’m fearful of how it’ll be with a couple of years of issues under their belt as it builds into the endgame. Fantastic stuff worth being here from the start for.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Image Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: March 16th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
