Maika’s life continues to take dangerous turns out of her control.
Creative Staff:
Story: Marjorie Liu
Art: Sana Takeda
What They Say:
Maika struggles with the monster inside.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Monstress has been firing on all cylinders from the extended first installment and here within the fifth issue things are continuing to build. We’ve had some good bursts of action here and there with some real violence that solidifies that there are stakes here for the characters, but it’s also invested heavily in dialogue and exposition in order to do the world building it needs to do. Liu and Takeda are creating a complex world with a lot of pieces to it, something that definitely comes from a novelist background, and it’s a design that can be very off-putting to a lot of comic readers who are looking for more of something that’s lighter. For me, everything that this book does is just fantastic even if it is largely raising more questions than answers. Liu and Takeda are crafting a fully realized world here, at least within certain spheres of existence.
This installment has a lot of things going on that keep it moving and altering perceptions. While we get some really good time with Atena and Sophia as they dig into what they’ve been up to and what kind of person Sophia is as she’s going to be getting back into the thick of things sooner rather than later, it’s Atena that gets her time to shine here. With her heading off and connecting up with her brother, learning that she’s more of a double agent with her own agenda adds a new layer to who she is and expands what’s going on. There are a lot of power plays going on among the various factions that exist and with Mother Superior throwing her weight around as well it’s definitely the seeds of a situation that’s about to blossom into something that will have real ramifications.
Maika gets a solid bit of time in this installment that works two-fold. The arrival of Covin from the Dusk Court the last time around has opened things up to the bigger picture in a good way, though Maika is obviously wary of anyone at this stage even as others realize that he can offer the protection that they need to escape from Mother Superior and her vicious forces. Covin has that old school seriousness that comes with his position and origins, being something of a second generation god of sorts (I’m still trying to pin down the mythology here) as there’s a neat hybrid aspect to him that opens this up to even more fascinating turns as we see by the last page. At the same time, we get some really great material with Maika conversing with the monster within her and its wariness, to put it lightly, toward Covin and the Dusk Court. This provides another perception to what’s going on and it’s all intriguing with what it wants to do.
In Summary:
Monstress adds more to its overall mythology and does a lot of great stuff here. Liu’s crafting of this world and its characters is strong and engaging, making for some really great scenes throughout and forward progress in natural ways with great twists. Takeda is fantastic here once again and I feel like I can’t sing her praises enough with what she does with the layouts, details, and just the flow of panels. While there isn’t anything that’s radically creative or over the top it does present a real mastery of what’s going on and how to bring it out in a smooth and engaging way. This is a book worth re-reading multiple times for multiple reasons and taking in all the details of the artwork is a big one.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Image Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: April 13th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
