Monstress Volume 2: The Blood (Monstress, #2)

by Marjorie M. Liu

Sana Takeda (Artist)

The Eisner-nominated MONSTRESS is back! Maika, Kippa,and Ren journey to Thyria in search of answers to her past... and discover anew, terrible, threat. Collects MONSTRESS #7-12

• ISBN10: 1534300414
• ISBN13: 9781534300415
• Publish Date: 11 July 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Image Comics
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 152
• Language: English

Reviews

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating//// 5 Stars !

FANTASTIC, just bloody brilliant. The STUNNING artwork, the absolutely unique, page turning storyline... unlike anything I’ve ever read.

Each character- no matter how great or small of a part they play in the storyline is SO incredibly 3- Dimensional.

Loved it.

[nannah]

Ahhh, it feels so good returning to this universe. This really, Really, well-drawn universe (not that it's a particularly happy one, but it's just so original and refreshing!).

Book content warnings (oh boy):
TONS of gore and blood, as usual
some child abuse/manipulation
visual scenes ft. mass animal death

Speaking of its originality, I remember one reviewer saying they had to read Monstress a couple times and that its fault was that its universe was too far from anything Tolkienesque and so was too difficult to absorb.

Lol! Its fault? Nah, that's one of its strengths! the publishing industry is already too flooded with Tolkienesque fantasies! Besides, Monstress takes place in -- what -- 1900's Asia (aka All of Asia, not just Eastern Asia)? It makes sense the mythology isn't Western European.

Anyway ...

We return to Maika Halfwolf, who's on the run from basically ... everyone who wants a piece of that Monstrum inside her. And when you're on the run, you usually go to somewhere and someone you trust. For Maika, it's Seizi Imura, one of the Brothers Imura who command the Thyrian Pirates.

With them, she plans to sail to the Isle of Bones to unlock her mother's secrets and find out why her body has been attached to a monster's. Instead, she finds more questions and plans with a wider scope than she could have ever imagined. This goes beyond wars between Humans and Arcanics, and she has been forced right into the middle of it.

My summary is so lackluster, I'm sorry.

There was great character development in this volume, and that surprised me. It's not easy having such development in series - unless it's a miniseries (I'm not sure how long this'll be but I assume it'll be longer than say, a tetralogy). Even the frickin' monster had lots of character development! But what really surprised me is that the person who really had the best arc was someone who had no -current- page time. If I said their name it'd be a spoiler, so Maika's mother, Moriko. I Loved that arc - and really, twist. .

The mythology deepened, as well as our understanding of it. I just ... I can't get enough of this comic and its universe. I can't wait for more, and I'm simply lucky that volume 3 happened to come out this month.

[leahrosereads]

Re-read 2019
Just like after re-reading the 1st volume, I was able to pick up more this go around, and upped it by a star. I don't know why I didn't love this more than the 1st volume, the first go around, but I definitely did this time! Seriously, what was I thinking? This volume is more intriguing, allows for a deeper connection with the characters and has pirates!

Why did I love it less???

I don't know, but I don't now.


I can't talk to the plot since this is the second volume, but it's definitely an excellent continuation of the story. I didn't love it quite as much as the first volume (even though there were pirates and that makes everything AWESOME).

This journey felt necessary, and I think volume 3 is going to be epic because of it, but this one felt like something was missing. And I know it's because of the ending and it felt like nothing got resolved and yada yada yada but still, it seemed like we could've been given more and weren't in this story.

I'm definitely looking forward to the third volume and am expecting it to be another roller coaster of pure spectacular storytelling and artwork.

Can't wait.

[wyvernfriend]

No idea what's going on I have no idea what's going on here, I adore the art-work and several of the characters are very interesting but I want to care more and I can't find it in me, I care about a lot of the peripheral characters but the main characters aren't as compelling.  I'm following more of the art than the story and finding myself lost in the pretty.

[Quirky Cat]

One of my favorite things about this series has and always will be the artwork. It’s absolutely stunning – even the background has rich details and texture that just bring the world to life. It’s hard to put down a book like this. If I’m ever giving the opportunity to have a print or two from this artist, you can bet I would jump all over that. As for the story, don’t worry, volume two holds up to the same quality as volume one, and then some.

Maybe it was the long (ok, not all that long) wait, but I feel like volume two was even better than the first. The artwork seems more crips, and the plot better defined. Regardless of the reason, I am very happy to finally have my hands on volume two (now, when’s volume three releasing?). I picked up the alternate cover version and I am absolutely in love with it.
Maika is losing control over her own body, and thus, her life. She’s convinced the only way to stop it is to learn about her past, and so she, Kippa and Ren all journey to Thyria to get answers. This is easier said than done, but I imagine Maika has gotten quite used to that sentiment.
A lot happens in this volume, so I’m just going to focus on the highlights. To start with, I adore the crew on The Jolly Ravenger, specifically I love their design and the fact that they helped Kippa learn to swim. It really showed that even rough exteriors can hide a passionate and caring person within.
Maika’s beast is chattier in this volume (also hungrier, I’m sure there’s a correlation there), though his speech seems…confused and almost hesitant? Especially when he’s talking about the past; I think perhaps it’s having trouble recalling information? I also believe there’s likely more to it than that, as even when presented with blatant facts about the past (ie; what he had done) the disbelief towards his actions seemed genuine.
Thyria wasn’t what I expected – it was better. It reminded me of Knowhere a bit (Guardians of the Galaxy), but unlike Knowhere, you can see it affecting the material world around it (ghouls in the water are clearly being fed/created by the rotting flesh, etc). The Ferryman was a fantastic addition to the whole thing – both what he is made of and his motives (clearly he was trying to trick them so he could add three more prisoners to the island). I have to wonder though – how many more bones is he missing? We heard him state “almost whole” when he received the key, but he didn’t say how close he actually was.
I would have liked to learn more about the Blood Fox and more details about the why and how he became prisoner, but that is likely too much to ask. I think if we had been provided more information on this matter, it would have crossed the show/tell line and ruined the effect of the scene itself. So I’ll take what I can and be happy with it!
All in all I am really very happy with where this series is going, as well as pretty curious about where it’ll go next. I’m hoping Maika can gain better control before she loses more of herself to the beast but I also anticipate we’ll see it happen at least one more time, as it’s a fairly major plot point.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks