Monstress Vol 9: The Possessed by Marjorie M Liu & Sana Takeda

Would I read this comic if it weren’t for the fact that it’s nominated for a Hugo almost every year? Absolutely not. Tho apparently it was not nominated last year (I’ve heard that Vol 8 was Not Great) and I skipped the Hugos the year before, so missed reading the last two books. Not that it mattered much, since this collection starts with Maika, Ren and Kippa waking from a year-long coma and readers getting the closest thing to a recap I’ve encountered in this series so far.

Anyway, Maika’s dad now has Zinn implanted in him after removing the monster from her body. Unsurprisingly, it’s not going well for him. The removal seemed to have killed Maika, but her body was taken away and she was subsequently resuscitated. Now that she’s awake and (mostly) healed again, she’s ready to make political allies and figure out a way to get Zinn back so that, together, they can save the world.

At least, I think that’s what it’s about.

I’m ngl, this is one of those comic books where I just grab the safety rail and try to enjoy the ride. As is customary in my review of each volume, I have to say that I don’t necessarily understand a lot of what’s going on, just because there’s So Much Happening to So Many People with So Little Explanation. At least this book was coherent in and of itself, not something I could say about several of the earlier books in the series. The time jump is thus very useful for giving readers a fairly fresh slate to work with. Even if you missed the last two books, like I did, it doesn’t super matter, as the underlying plot elements are still pretty much the same: Maika’s on her world-saving quest while grappling with her relationship with Zinn and her family and lovers; Kippa is the moral heart of the story, and Ren is adorable and mysterious and badass (so, a typical cat, lol.) If you enjoy these elements in your horror-fantasy then you will most likely enjoy this book, too.

Sana Takeda’s art is consistently outstanding. I wonder if the art in this book felt less horrifying to me because I’ve grown inured to her monsters or because there were more adorable felines or perhaps both! I am very partial to the depiction of the hardass cats in this book in particular. Ren in the temple was worth the price of admission alone.

That said, this was not my favorite of this year’s Hugo Graphic Novel slate, tho I felt that it was an above average installment of the series. Great for established fans, and might make fans of some readers new to the title. I just think that you have to be a certain kind of spec fic reader — and one that I am not — to truly enjoy it.

Monstress Vol 9: The Possessed by Marjorie M Liu & Sana Takeda was published November 26 2024 by Image Comics and is available from all good booksellers, including