“Monstress” Series Explores Powerful Themes

There are wonderful stories out there in the world of comic books today that can have readers talking for years because of certain qualities it had such as its themes. “Monstress” is one of those stories.

Set in a world divided by war and segregation, “Monstress” follows the journey of a teenage girl who must traverse through a world that both despises her and wants her dead in order to uncover a mystery. The story is full of powerful themes that make reading the series all the more worthwhile.
Written by Marjorie Liu with art by Sana Takeda, “Monstress” is an Image Comics series that takes place in a fantastical world that has been sharply divided by war. The story follows Maika Halfwolf, an Arcanic, which is a human-looking species with magical abilities, who must enter the land of the Cumea, sorceresses who must consume Arcanics as fuel for their power, in search of answers regarding her mysterious abilities and the death of her mother.
The starting issue of the series is extra long in order to help readers get a better idea about the plot and the tone of the series. While the beginning is good at best, the story gets better with each progressing issue.
The story is very powerful in terms of the themes that are represented throughout Halfwolf’s journey. One of those themes is the powerful bond of friendship.
Throughout her journey to find answers, Halfwolf is struggling to keep her powers in check and relies on her friends to help make it through the hardship she alone must endure. She also remembers her friendship with her Arcanic best friend Tuya as motivation to keep pushing forward no matter the obstacle.
Other themes are perseverance in the face of discrimination and one’s own dehumanization in the eyes of others. Halfwolf and her companions are forced to be brave while facing threats and discrimination from those who would do her and her people harm.
As readers continue to follow the story, they will be provided with flashbacks into Halfwolf’s backstory and understand more about her character and the hardships she faced before the story’s beginning. These moments help the reader to better understand Halfwolf as a character and what her motivations are.
“Monstress” is a comic book series that will resonate with readers because it utilizes its fictional setting to convey very powerful themes that are reminiscent of today’s world. The series uses those themes to help create a compelling, heartbreaking story as a result. This makes the series a must read for those who want to read a wonderful tale with very human themes at its core.
“Monstress” is a wonderful comic book series because its story contains themes that make it relatable to today’s world.