I appreciated this volume for bringing in more background with Maika's mom, because I feel like she's a big player in the background of the story and up until now we hadn't seen many of the threads of the story that lead to where Maika currently is in the chaos of the story. I still feel like there is A LOT going on and I think things will be even more clear when I re-read it at some point, but I'm still enjoying seeing where this story is going.

Excellent continuation from the previous volume from the brilliant Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda. The menagerie of cats, lions, foxes and shark humanoids reminded me of the art in Da qualche parte tra le ombre. The story is still a little convoluted but nonetheless fascinating and engaging. Will Maika come to terms with her dual nature? The Isle of Bones was gorgeously illustrated and I loved the storyline. Only downside is that we have to wait a few more months for Monstress, Vol. 3: HavenVol 3....

If I was rating this on artistic style alone, this would get all the stars. Seriously, the illustrations in this are jaw-dropping and gorgeous, and should be enough for anyone to give this series a chance. The story elements are only slightly less impressive when placed in comparison. Clearly, the world-building and history of the land/lore is on point in this series, but I think the one thing that's weighing it down is the tendency to try and accomplish too much too quickly. The story often fli...

A lot of people have raved about Monstress and I am no exception. From the brilliantly detailed and gorgeous artwork to the dark tale of a demon finding its way out of a girl who was born to carry it and destroy the world, I'm lost in my absolute-favorite iteration of dark fantasy.My only complaint is that I can't keep reading this forever. I want to jump ahead in the future and have in my hands 10 or 20 full volumes and not just two. I want to savor them and gush over them.You know, gush like I...

The art is still gorgeous, the plot is still creepily intriguing if occasionally brain-befuddling, and the characterization still ranges from compelling to someone-shove-fifty-pounds-of-catnip-in-that-overly-garrulous-cat’s-mouth-to-shut-him-the-hell-up-before-I-decide-it’s-time-make-a-new-tennis-racket. Add it all up and I’m game for more.

6.29 on CAWPILE

I freaking loved it! This one is even better than the first one. Maika Halfwolf, Kippa, and Captain Ren are all together again in this one. Maika is on a journey to find something and get rid of something. There are a ton of wonderful characters in the book! I took some pictures from my book. They aren't that great but you will get an idea of some of the awesome graphics and creatures =) And they are not in order, just like my life! ENJOY! Mel ♥

4.5 stars! I didn't love this volume quite as much as volume 1, but still adored it and this story.2021: I enjoyed this even more on reread. Still probably not quite a 5 star, mostly because it wasn’t as expansive as the first volume, but I think I’m connecting more of the dots during this re-read. 4.75 stars

Vol. 1: Awakening ★★★★★ “Halfwolf’s daughter has returned.” In Volume Two: The Blood, We are thrown back into this amazing world that I love so much. We are reintroduced to a girl that is living with a monster inside of her. She is being hunted, but trying to piece together all the parts that make up her past, including what happened to her mother, who taught her at a young age to be strong in a world that will refuse to ever accept you.Moriko and her sidekicks that she doesn’t want to...

Monstress returns with another great installment. “Just because you are afraid you won't have anything tomorrow doesn't mean you shouldn't help people today.” Monstress is the only one out of two graphic novels—the other is Elric adaptation by Julien Blondel—that I’m willing to continue until the end. I know it will still be a while until its completion but to me, the two volume in Monstress is already better than my entire experience with the six-volume I’ve read of Saga by Brian K. V...

Updated review:First of all, I have no idea what previously led me to give this 3.0 stars. Obviously, part of it was not rereading vol. 1 beforehand, so a lot of the details flew over my head (b/c crappy memory), but it was more than that, b/c I had tangible feelings of resentment over the "lesser quality" of this second volume. *rolls eyes at self*I still think vol. 1 was slightly better. The ending socked me in the FEELS in a way this one didn't, and (despite vol. 2's content) I connected more...

Rating: 4.5 stars!Really enjoying this series so far, and the illustrations are absolutely superb!

Update 7/22/18: Eisner Awards 2018, just announced: Monstress took best continuing series, best publication for teens, best painter/multimedia artist (for Takeda), best cover artist (again, for Takeda) and best writer (for Liu). Reread for summer 2018 summer comics class and enjoying it more this time.8/5/17: “Cats are the great mystery, born in that space where shadow meets light. . . that borderland of dreams and death, and death and life. No door is closed against us. No secret can defy us. W...

I cannot get over the graphics in these books! So amazing!

Arrgh, me matey!Volume 2 probably would have been cool even if Liu hadn't decided to make it pirate-themed, but with the addition of the high seas adventure she really kicked that shit up a notch. Or is that just me? You know, sailors just don't get enough credit for being badass in my opinion. Think about it! Mother Nature is a vicious bitch and she's at her most terrifying in the ocean. I mean, who knows what the fuck is lurking down at the bottom of that sucker?! And all that horrific aquatic...

I guess this is just way over my head. The art is phenomenal and the world seems legitmately awesome; but I just don’t know what the heck is going on the majority of the time and I am just looking at all the pretty pictures.Oh well, to each their own. I’m just going to go read things that make me smile and cry all at once and not make me feel like an idiot.

Sana Takeda, you're a GOD. The graphic part of this series is so absolutely gorgeous that it works like a portal to another world. At some point while reading you feel like you're immersed into Maika's world, which is beautiful, wild, unpredictable and cruel. One feels like participating in this wicked fairy tale. So fantastic and so real at the same time.That's why phrases like "are you fucking insane?" or many other f-bombs author likes to insert here and there feel so unnatural and out of pla...

I think I'm repeating myself when saying that I'm completely stunned, both by this graphic novel's story and the artwork. But it's true. The second volume is no different from the first - impeccable.The young Halfwolf travels further to find out what all her mother's actions MEAN, what is living inside of her and why. She is, once again, accompanied by the little fox girl and Ren (the necromancer cat). But we are introduced to new players as well, some of which are characters from Maika's past a...

The closest thing I've read to a true illustrated fantasy novel. The art and story combine with Manga and Lovecraftian influences for a unique experience. I'm not sure how a book can look both ethereally beautiful and gut-wrenchingly bloody and awful at the same time. Reading this often feels like the first time I read Sandman back in the day, like we're in on something uniquely special that no one else has discovered yet.BTW, I love Kippa. At first, she comes across as this stupid little girl a...

This is, simply put, absolutely stunning story-telling, on all possible levels. There is a reason why Marjorie Liu won the Eisner Award this year (as the first woman, I might add incredulously in the year 2018).Picking up after the events of the last volume and not losing even the slightest bit of steam, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda build on their already impressive worldbuilding, adding new cultures and more depth to this world that already feels much bigger than what we have seen so far. And a...