Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening
Ratings215
Average rating3.9
4/5 stars
I really enjoyed the art in this, and it was extremely beautiful! I enjoyed the character and the themes, but I often got confused at the world and with the worldbuilding. In many darker fantasy graphic novels that happens for me so idk if it was this one specifically!
To me, there's a difference between graphic novels and comics. For starters, comics are often serialized, and graphic novels can stand on their own (though they may be part of a series). There's a stylistic difference—comics either move at a breakneck speed for larger stories or provide a small snippet of daily living; graphic novels, on the other hand, tend to have a slow burn. Surely, there's some overlap and some comics may indeed fall under the umbrella of graphic novel, but I do think the two terms are used interchangeably often when a distinction is in order.
Because of its epic nature, Monstress may blur the lines some, but I do think it bears much more similarity to traditional comics. My views, therefore, are reflective of this categorization.
Of the handful of comics I've read throughout the years, Monstress has some of the best illustrations I recall seeing. Details of both the foreground and background are not skimped on. Each page is bursting with lines. Though the nature of the comic is rather dark, the blacks, grays, browns, and blues have a certain vibrance to them. In both text and illustration, the world created here is interesting and vividly drawn. It has an alluring quality that pulls the reader in.
Unfortunately, there's something about comics that keeps me at a distance, and while Monstress succeeded in being breathtaking, it failed to bring me into the fold. The biggest issue was that I couldn't follow the story. Throughout this entire volume, I couldn't quite follow who the various factions were. I had a tough time distinguishing characters and how they were related to one another. There's just such a strong emphasis on keeping the action moving, and action has a tendency to bore me. Entire pages were filled with it: weapons wielded, powers displayed, blood splattered, and BOOMs, BLAMs, WHAMs, ZZZHAMMs, YAHHs, AAIIEEEs, UMMMPHs, KRRNCHs uttered. Holy comics, Batman, this just isn't quite for me!
For the sake of being able to recommend a quality comic, I'm glad I read Monstress, but my lack of connect and understanding will keep me from reading more in this series. I'm still open to other comic recommendations, however, so if you know of one I just have to read, let me know.
Merged review:
To me, there's a difference between graphic novels and comics. For starters, comics are often serialized, and graphic novels can stand on their own (though they may be part of a series). There's a stylistic difference—comics either move at a breakneck speed for larger stories or provide a small snippet of daily living; graphic novels, on the other hand, tend to have a slow burn. Surely, there's some overlap and some comics may indeed fall under the umbrella of graphic novel, but I do think the two terms are used interchangeably often when a distinction is in order.
Because of its epic nature, Monstress may blur the lines some, but I do think it bears much more similarity to traditional comics. My views, therefore, are reflective of this categorization.
Of the handful of comics I've read throughout the years, Monstress has some of the best illustrations I recall seeing. Details of both the foreground and background are not skimped on. Each page is bursting with lines. Though the nature of the comic is rather dark, the blacks, grays, browns, and blues have a certain vibrance to them. In both text and illustration, the world created here is interesting and vividly drawn. It has an alluring quality that pulls the reader in.
Unfortunately, there's something about comics that keeps me at a distance, and while Monstress succeeded in being breathtaking, it failed to bring me into the fold. The biggest issue was that I couldn't follow the story. Throughout this entire volume, I couldn't quite follow who the various factions were. I had a tough time distinguishing characters and how they were related to one another. There's just such a strong emphasis on keeping the action moving, and action has a tendency to bore me. Entire pages were filled with it: weapons wielded, powers displayed, blood splattered, and BOOMs, BLAMs, WHAMs, ZZZHAMMs, YAHHs, AAIIEEEs, UMMMPHs, KRRNCHs uttered. Holy comics, Batman, this just isn't quite for me!
For the sake of being able to recommend a quality comic, I'm glad I read Monstress, but my lack of connect and understanding will keep me from reading more in this series. I'm still open to other comic recommendations, however, so if you know of one I just have to read, let me know.
Such a stunning and intricate story and world! I absolutely loved it.
The writing and world-building were so intricately woven and vast. I quickly fell into the protagonist's journey of capture and escape while at the same time learning the many political upheavals between these different races and the symbolic struggles that greatly resemble our world. There's a main conflict between two races: the Cumea and the Arcanics but within their own races more strife and secrets can be found. I applaud Ms. Liu for her fantastic crafting of the detailed world because, while there were some info-dumps toward the start, I soon began to enjoy the intermittent visits from a cat professor who had nothing to do with the narrative besides give the reader some context of the cities, races and history of the world.
The art was absolutely stunning and was the perfect tone with its dark ambiance and beautiful monstrosities. It really tied well with Liu's theme of survival from surviving and the infinite cruelties that can be disseminated during war-times, as well as the illusive but ever-present need and strive for hope.
The plot was bang on because while we follow the protagonist as she encounters the different races that want to kill or use her for their own purposes, there's still a driving force behind her journey to self-discovery and unveiling the mystery of her past. It was so dang good! The author really knew how to linger on important scenes but also how to ramp up the tension and climactic energy for a thrilling finish to the first volume. I can't wait to read more!
2017 Edgar Award for Best Graphic Book! My 1st Award winning book for the month of Feb/19. Honestly the graphics were amazing, it was the story line I had trouble with. Always do with Fantasy and newer SF books however that is me, not the author. I still gave it a 5 anyway! I picked up a used (Like New) copy at Amazon and and was going to swap it at Paperback book swap on the internet but I may keep this. It is about 200 pages 81/2 x 11! If you like Fantasy get this book!! David N.
While I usually don't like books with monsters, I went into this one knowing it would be dark and gory, which helped.
Honestly, I was blown away.
The artwork is fantastic – I would seriously stare at panels taking in the beauty of a scene.
The story is deep and interesting. I usually have a problem with pacing in comic books, but not with this one. Everything flowed really well and there weren't any weird chops. I also really want to know what is going to happen next.
I do think there were times when there were too many words on a panel, but considering how much we need to know about the background, it made sense.
This has become one of my favorite graphic novels and I cannot wait to read the next installment.
Merged review:
While I usually don't like books with monsters, I went into this one knowing it would be dark and gory, which helped.
Honestly, I was blown away.
The artwork is fantastic – I would seriously stare at panels taking in the beauty of a scene.
The story is deep and interesting. I usually have a problem with pacing in comic books, but not with this one. Everything flowed really well and there weren't any weird chops. I also really want to know what is going to happen next.
I do think there were times when there were too many words on a panel, but considering how much we need to know about the background, it made sense.
This has become one of my favorite graphic novels and I cannot wait to read the next installment.
Dark and nightmarish, super atmospheric and rich world building. And so many women.
Merged review:
Dark and nightmarish, super atmospheric and rich world building. And so many women.
The artwork is absolutely stunning! I find that fantasy graphic novels really aren't my thing because they're so confusing and it takes so long for me to adapt to the world and understand what's happening. However, I'm going to try to keep going with this one because of the art and little Kippa! Hopefully the next volume and a reread of this one will clear things up.
Some amazingly gorgeous artwork here, but what the hell was going on?
That question applies from the most literal (frequently throughout, I could tell that an action scene was being depicted, but not what was happening, where people were in relation to each other, who was hitting whom with what, or what the results were)
. . . to the individual (who are these people? what is their relationship with each other? who is that in that mask? who is that in that other mask? is this person literally transforming into a monster or is this a metaphorical depiction of their insanity? Both maybe? Is Tuya her sister? lover? friend? How are all these witches and nuns interrelated? Are there witch-nuns? Wait, now there's a shadow council or something, literally descending from the sky like a mechanical deity in a Greek play?”)
. . . to the meta (do they intend to start us in medias res and fill in information as we go, and they're just really bad at it? Did I literally miss some kind of prequel? Oh, great, here's an clunky infodump accompanied by drawings of cats - that doesn't make it any less yawn-inducing.)
It basically seems like they wanted to reveal an incredibly complex universe and an intricately related web of characters spanning generations, and tried to do it in one comic book instead of the trilogy of novels that might have covered the needed information.
Beautiful artwork but the story felt a little too confusing and underdeveloped for my taste.
Artwork is beautiful. The story seems to be mainly built upon withholding information about the history of the world, so that you want to find out more. I'm not totally invested in the story yet, but the characters are growing on me.
OH my goodness, yes, give me all of this! What an amazing collection - storytelling, art, characters, wold building - so fantastic. The ONLY thing that kept this from being a 5-star read was the sheer volume of information - I'm still not sure I completely understood everything that was happening. But good heavens, I can't wait to jump back into this world.
intriguing storytelling, impeccable artistry, one of the most beautiful sci-fi fantasy graphic novels I've read.
Merged review:
intriguing storytelling, impeccable artistry, one of the most beautiful sci-fi fantasy graphic novels I've read.
So good! The art is incredible and the story is riveting. Also: CATS.
Merged review:
So good! The art is incredible and the story is riveting. Also: CATS.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. However, I decided I didn't like reading a graphic novel on my ereader, so I purchased the volume in hard copy. Trigger warnings should be noted for intense violence and gore. Overall, I thought this fantasy/horror story was somewhat muddled. There is a lot happening right from the beginning, and it wasn't until the third chapter/issue that I really felt stable in the world. Even so, by the end of this volume, I was confused and a bit annoyed. I haven't read many graphic novels or comics, but with the ones I have read, I run into this same issue: The authors seem to be holding something back so they have something for the next issue. But with telling a story, everything you want to say should be in the words you're writing NOW. I almost feel like it's a grab for money, to string the reader along. Can anyone recommend a comic that doesn't do this? With that said, I did enjoy MONSTRESS, VOL. 1 because the world did seem so vast, even if it was a bit confusing and muddled. I want to know more. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. The art was really beautiful. I particularly like darkness and horror and violence with my fantasy, so this fit me. Sometimes the gore seemed over the top, but I think the authors wanted to express how desolate this world is. I can't wait to find out more of the mythology within this story.
Merged review:
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. However, I decided I didn't like reading a graphic novel on my ereader, so I purchased the volume in hard copy. Trigger warnings should be noted for intense violence and gore. Overall, I thought this fantasy/horror story was somewhat muddled. There is a lot happening right from the beginning, and it wasn't until the third chapter/issue that I really felt stable in the world. Even so, by the end of this volume, I was confused and a bit annoyed. I haven't read many graphic novels or comics, but with the ones I have read, I run into this same issue: The authors seem to be holding something back so they have something for the next issue. But with telling a story, everything you want to say should be in the words you're writing NOW. I almost feel like it's a grab for money, to string the reader along. Can anyone recommend a comic that doesn't do this? With that said, I did enjoy MONSTRESS, VOL. 1 because the world did seem so vast, even if it was a bit confusing and muddled. I want to know more. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. The art was really beautiful. I particularly like darkness and horror and violence with my fantasy, so this fit me. Sometimes the gore seemed over the top, but I think the authors wanted to express how desolate this world is. I can't wait to find out more of the mythology within this story.
I can definitely acknowledge that this is well-done but it's not really my cup of tea. If you like more dark high-fantasy-type stories, check it out, esp if you're looking for more badass lady characters.
Oh I did like the talking cats a lot though, like, obv.
Merged review:
I can definitely acknowledge that this is well-done but it's not really my cup of tea. If you like more dark high-fantasy-type stories, check it out, esp if you're looking for more badass lady characters.
Oh I did like the talking cats a lot though, like, obv.