SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Monstress, Volume 1
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"Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening " by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda (BR)
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Allison
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rated it 4 stars
Dec 05, 2021 05:29PM
This is the final selection for the Amazin' Eights buddy read! Join us if you want to discuss this lush, violent, lovely graphic novel. Please use spoiler tags and give us chapters or other info so we can join in!
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Does one have to have been part of the 8’s challenge in order to participate? Had been meaning to read this at some point.
nope! all are welcome! join us!
This is on Scribd! I don’t know when I’ll get to it though! I still have Amatka to read eye first!
I read and loved volume one. Bought volume two but just haven't read it yet. No clue why, honestly.
I recently read vol 1 and liked it. The artwork is beautiful! Currently waiting for vol 2 from the library.
The artwork of this series is some of the most beautiful art I’ve ever seen- not just in comics, in any context.I own the second and third volumes but I haven’t read them yet- I found the relentless violence and grim tone a bit much for me in the current circumstances. I hope I’ll be able to come back to them in the future.
I'm 15% of the way through and my thoughts echo some of what I'm seeing above -- the art quality is excellent, but the world described is violent and dismal. I had picked this up before, but had to put it down because of how depressing the subject matter was, but am hoping to power through this time to give it more of a chance.
It's easily my favourite comic in terms of artwork. It's absolutely beautiful. I read the first 3 volumes as they were released but gave up on it as the quality of the writing failed to keep up with the artwork after the first volume.
Definitely recommend powering through the grimness of volume 1 though. Suspect anyone struggling with that aspect of it will appreciate the later volumes more than I did.
Ryan, I'm kind of on the same page. I loved the first volume back when it was new, kept reading each volume as they came out. I felt like I didn't really connect with the story, but the art is so amazing and there are cute side characters I keep wanting to see. With covid and libraries closing I never got around to the latest (at the time) volume, and by now maybe there's already another one out. I haven't decided if I'll continue, or if I'll wait for it to finish and then read the whole thing together. The story is a bit complicated, so reading back to back would help.The nekomancers are the cutest things ever! ^_^ And Kippa! ^_^
edit: I originally wanted to rate this 5 stars, because the art is so gorgeous, but had to go with 4, because the story was a 3 for me.
They've released six volumes so far. Volume 6 has a standalone Kippa story! If I'm going to finish the series I'll have to pester my library to get hold of them but I probably won't. I'm kinda done with episodic content and this business model that basically guarantees that we don't get proper endings (A complaint probably worth it's own thread).
Everyone should read Monstress Vol. 1!
Yeah I checked and I have volumes 5-6 on hold (frozen) at the library. Kippa story sounds like a good reason to thaw (:P) my holds.Is there info yet how many volumes there will be?
edit: From what I can see, "it's going to be a long run", and there's a rumor it might be near the halfway point.
I've no idea how long it'll run. Episodic content that I like usually ends prematurely due to low sales /vowing figures or drags on longer than the story merits because it's a popular cash cow. I fear this will be the latter, but look forward to finding out.
I'm about 1/3 of the way through... feeling similarly to others in that the artwork is gorgeous, but I'm not yet sold on the story (and man, does it seem complicated). I'll definitely be reading vol. 2 after this at some point, as I bought 1&2 together, so hopefully the story manages to capture my interest.
Now 34% through, art is still great, but I still feel there's a pervasive depravity that makes it difficult to enjoy.
I just finished the first chapter. I enjoyed the art (all those details! the colors! the depiction of motion!), but I'm struggling to parse the world and keep characters straight--which is a me thing, not a book thing. I think I might need more practice reading comics and graphic novels in general. (Reading Mooncakes last month made me more confident about it, but Monstress is very different in aim & complexity--and, uh, tone obviously too, lol.)
Monstress is a complicated one to jump into, for sure. And it sure is brutal. The thing I like about it is that we're dealing with a part of the story we so often skip in these high fantasy epics--we miss all the people who lose in war. I thought this did a great job blending the epic fantasy beginning with the traditional epic fantasy end--the war is over, the supposed "good guys" won, and the world is...at peace? Is it though?
Giving up on this one at 57%. Just not a fit for me. I do admire the artwork.
I've been browsing the buddy read master list and bumped into this one. I'm a fan of comic books and Monstress is a personal favourite.
I was given the first three volumes of the Italian edition as a birthday present and, ever since, receiving each new volume has been a cherished tradition. My collection is therefore up to date to volume 7, although the original edition also has volume 8 (and 54 single issues). I read up to volume 5 a couple of years ago, but I'll need a reread to to familiarise with the finer points of the plot. So I'm currently debating whether I want to do that soon or wait for further volumes.
On the topic of serial fiction: It's in the nature of comic books to not have "proper endings". This has obvious up and downsides.
It's also the case that a self-contained series such as Monstress will probably have its own arc and (eventually) ending, unlike e.g. superhero series that have been going on for half a century or more. And even in that field the norm has been for years to organise stories in arcs, to be repackaged as volumes. Reboots are common, in series numbering if not in plots.
Christopher wrote: "Giving up on this one at 57%. Just not a fit for me. I do admire the artwork."I’m not sure I lasted that long (but forgot to post), but like you did love the artwork.
