theuerma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Murder, Slavery, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Violence
nadiaherondale's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Death, War, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Body horror
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, and Death of parent
steppenfreak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Child abuse, Body horror, and Blood
vincci's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Death, Child abuse, and Violence
kylieqrada's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Child abuse
Minor: Slavery, Genocide, and Drug use
halfbloodprincess_hogwarts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Seeing other types of characters with animalistic appearances was really cool. Especially M's family, for some reason I thought she was the sole member of the Halfwolves and was floored that a characteristics knew was her kin (not spoiling).
All I pray is that Little Fox stays unharmed because she puts so much trust into M. She better not break my favorite characters heart🥺🤬
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Bullying, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Violence, Self harm, War, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Cannibalism, Colonisation, and Confinement
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Cursing, Child abuse, Confinement, and Animal death
nannahnannah's review against another edition
5.0
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
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.
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Child abuse
meecespieces's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore and Violence
dreareads_'s review against another edition
4.0
A shorter volume, but the plot is finally becoming clearer! The art continues to be absolutely mesmerizing, and the story does not hold back. The politics and alliances are always shifting, but a thread is beginning to appear. We also learned more about the monster inside of Maika, giving (him/them?) much more depth.
One of m favorite aspects of the comic is when Maika is talking to another person (her mom, Tuya) while the present story continues to move forward in the panel. What a great way to show us more about Maika.
Kippa and Ren continue to be the best sidekicks anyone could ask for!
Graphic: Cannibalism, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Torture, Death of parent, Drug use, War, Murder, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Xenophobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts