Book reviews
This review is spoiler-free, as any plot points discussed can be learned from reading the inside of the book jacket.
I’m still fairly new to the world of graphic novels, but so far it’s a world in which I love to immerse myself. The combination of gorgeous artwork and complex storylines appeals to both my inner book nerd and the part of me that always wishes I could draw (or color inside the lines). I also have a special place in my wheelhouse for female characters who don’t need anyone else to take care of them. This last item was the most important factor in my decision to read Monstress, Volume 1, Awakening by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda. Monstress begins after a horrible war between humans and hybrid Arcanics. Maika Halfwolf, Arcanic but with a human appearance, lost her arm and her mother in the war and now she is looking for answers and revenge. Throughout the novel, she teams up with an adorable Arcanic named Little Fox, who reminded me of Mei from Totoro (if you don’t get that reference, take an hour and a half to watch Totoro; it’s fantastic), and a two-tailed cat with a tendency to “quote the poets,” though I don’t recall any poets famously delivering the line, “We’re f***ed.” In her quest for vengeance, Maika ends up in possession of part of a cursed mask, which fills her with a “hunger” that she is powerless to suppress. While the force now residing within Maika causes her to often behave like a villain, it also might be just what she needs to save herself and her friends. (When I say it “might be,” I’m not being coy; I actually don’t know. This is only the first volume, so Liu and Takeda haven’t revealed everything yet.) Though this is my first exposure to Liu’s and Takeda’s work, they’ve possibly earned a lifelong fan through Monstress for one main reason: Maika Halfwolf isn’t always a likeable character. Some of her decisions made me want to throw the book across the room. (I refrained from doing this solely because I was reading it on my laptop and computers are expensive.) Maika also doesn’t seem to have any qualms about killing innocent characters; however, this might have more to do with the hunger residing within her than with her actual personality. Regardless of why she does what she does, the fact that Maika isn’t a perfect, typical heroine makes me love her so much more because it makes her more realistic (as realistic as you can be in a fantasy graphic novel). Another reason I’m a fan of Monstress (and most graphic novels in general), is the handling of diversity. The story takes place in an alternate universe of Asia in the 1900s where society is run by a matriarchy (and we all know I’m a fan of taking down the patriarchy, so I am all about this society). The majority of the characters are women, and not skinny, busty, blonde, white women; realistic-looking Asian women. Some of them (the protagonist included) suffer from some form of physical disability. Some of them aren’t stick-thin. Some of them are lesbians. But they all have one thing in common: All of these women kick ass. They also, for the most part, keep their boobs covered, so you can hand this book off to your teenagers without worrying that they’ll see something within it’s pages that they’ve already seen if they’ve watched almost any movie targeted at teenagers. For all of the high school English teachers out there, with some creative lesson planning, you might even be able to incorporate Monstress into your curriculum. If you’re a fan of graphic novels, I have no doubt you’ll enjoy Monstress. And if you’ve never read a graphic novel before, Monstress is a great place to start.
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Jacinta M. CarterProfessional Book Nerd Archives
March 2017
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