Series Info/Source: This is eighth volume in the Monstress series. I got a copy of this in paperback as a Christmas Gift.

Thoughts: At this point I am not even going to try and explain the story. If you have been reading the series then you know how complex the storyline has gotten. This book takes up where the last book left off. Maika has come apart, so to speak, and her allies are scrambling to save her soul. During this process they find themselves the in the world where Monstra have been locked away.

At this point I am a bit confused about what is happening in this series. That's not new for me with this series. I never have time to go back and read all the previous books and the reader is never provided with a synopsis or character list but just dumped right back into this plethora of story lines and characters. Still, somehow I am okay with that.

The story is just so weird and so involved, I have learned just to go with it and enjoy the ride and the confusion. The illustration remains incredibly beautiful and I enjoy just looking at each frame. I am not sure where this is all going and I hope it comes to a fantastic conclusion at some point. For now, though, I am just enjoying the odd turns the story takes and the absolutely stunning artwork.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this is confusing but beautiful. I do wish there was a synopsis and characters list to jog my memory since I don't have time to do a re-read of this series every time a new book comes out. I have enjoyed the strange turns the story has taken but struggle with how this all ties into the broader story. The artwork remains absolutely stunning and I will probably continue to read this series just for that alone. ( )

wow. this distinctive series from Image is still, at Volume 8 (collecting comics #42-48), the most creative and ambitious comic series of this generation, so strong in both writing (by Marjorie Liu) and artwork (by Sana Takeda) it's hard to know where to start with it. but it's important to start with the beginning, given the intricacy of the story it tells. i promise it's worth it. in this one the characters fall into an alternate world, learn much about their own history, and manage to get back to what may be a new beginning, armed with answers to a lot of mysteries about their own world and even about themselves. ( )

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/A1nsimo8FEc

Enjoy! ( )

The eighth collected volume of the dark fantasy comic Monstress.

I always have the same problem with this series. It's all so fantastically complicated -- in terms of plot, worldbuilding, character, and pretty much everything else -- that I manage to mostly lose track of it all in the wait between volumes. (I know, I know. A smart person would deal with this issue with a refresher re-read, or by saving the whole series up to read at once. What can I say? I am not always that smart.) The thing is, though, even when I know there are a lot of things I'm missing because I've forgotten important details, even when I'm honestly not entirely sure what's going on... Even then, it's still weirdly compelling, in its own strange, messed-up, darkly beautiful kind of way. And this volume -- which was probably even weirder than usual -- was no exception. ( )