Monstress #32 Review
Writer: Marjorie Liu
Artist: Sana Takeda
Letters: Rus Wooton
It’s been obvious since the first issue of Monstress that Marjorie Liu was telling a story on an scale more in line with a Game of Thrones style epic than readers would typically find in a comic. The size of the story is almost overwhelming at times, the worldbuilding so grand and well developed, with a host of instantly memorable characters. And throughout Liu has never felt the need to take the reader by the hand, rather she’s focused on telling the story she wants to tell and the pieces have gradually been put together to tell the larger story. Bearing all of that in mind it’s almost a shock when, in this issue, storylines she’s teased since Monstress #1 are finally coming to fruition. The storytelling has always felt natural and organic, never forced or drawn out, it almost feels surreal watching a confrontation that’s been on the cards since the first volume.
It doesn’t feel like we’re anywhere near approaching the end of the story, but it’s clear that over the course of the next few issues there’ll be some big changes coming to our entire cast of characters and the status quo is going to be completely, and irrevocably, changed forever. As the series has progressed the lines between good and evil have blurred, just like in real life there are very few characters who are truly one or other, and as the coming war has approached everything is in ever greyer shades. It makes for impressive storytelling.
The art from Sana Takeda is as breath-taking and detailed as readers have come to expect from each issue. There is one scene in particular which is wrought with emotion, and just the slightest hint of a smile conveys volumes. Fantastic. Since this issue deals with a number of highly anticipated moments it’s important to get everything just right, and so many of these moments, and of the storytelling, are conveyed through the gorgeous art. It’s incredibly well done, and each page looks fantastic. Monstress has a look and feel that is very unique and special to it, which combine to make it one of the best looking comics on the market.
In such a consistently good series it’s hard to fathom that the already incredible story and art can get better, but somehow the team of Liu and Takeda manage this, and this issues really rewards those readers who’ve been hooked from the first page. Confontations and meetings which have long been on the cards finally occur, and don’t play out how readers would expect. If you haven’t been reading along with Monstress you owe it to yourself to get caught up. Arguably some of the best worldbuilding and one of, if not the, most epic sagas to ever grace the pages of a comic, there hasn’t been a bad issue yet, and this one rates as one of the best.
Artist: Sana Takeda
Letters: Rus Wooton
It’s been obvious since the first issue of Monstress that Marjorie Liu was telling a story on an scale more in line with a Game of Thrones style epic than readers would typically find in a comic. The size of the story is almost overwhelming at times, the worldbuilding so grand and well developed, with a host of instantly memorable characters. And throughout Liu has never felt the need to take the reader by the hand, rather she’s focused on telling the story she wants to tell and the pieces have gradually been put together to tell the larger story. Bearing all of that in mind it’s almost a shock when, in this issue, storylines she’s teased since Monstress #1 are finally coming to fruition. The storytelling has always felt natural and organic, never forced or drawn out, it almost feels surreal watching a confrontation that’s been on the cards since the first volume.
It doesn’t feel like we’re anywhere near approaching the end of the story, but it’s clear that over the course of the next few issues there’ll be some big changes coming to our entire cast of characters and the status quo is going to be completely, and irrevocably, changed forever. As the series has progressed the lines between good and evil have blurred, just like in real life there are very few characters who are truly one or other, and as the coming war has approached everything is in ever greyer shades. It makes for impressive storytelling.
The art from Sana Takeda is as breath-taking and detailed as readers have come to expect from each issue. There is one scene in particular which is wrought with emotion, and just the slightest hint of a smile conveys volumes. Fantastic. Since this issue deals with a number of highly anticipated moments it’s important to get everything just right, and so many of these moments, and of the storytelling, are conveyed through the gorgeous art. It’s incredibly well done, and each page looks fantastic. Monstress has a look and feel that is very unique and special to it, which combine to make it one of the best looking comics on the market.
In such a consistently good series it’s hard to fathom that the already incredible story and art can get better, but somehow the team of Liu and Takeda manage this, and this issues really rewards those readers who’ve been hooked from the first page. Confontations and meetings which have long been on the cards finally occur, and don’t play out how readers would expect. If you haven’t been reading along with Monstress you owe it to yourself to get caught up. Arguably some of the best worldbuilding and one of, if not the, most epic sagas to ever grace the pages of a comic, there hasn’t been a bad issue yet, and this one rates as one of the best.
A Look Inside
