Monstress: Talk-Stories #2 is the second and last of this mini series.
Once again bridging the gap between the fifth and sixth arc (which resumes January 2021), Part Two of MONSTRESS: TALK-STORIES follows Maika as she opens up to Kippa and recounts an important day from her childhood in Thyria. -from the Image Comics website
I said before, when I read the first of this duology, that I had no prior knowledge of this world. I’d never heard of the comics before the first Monstress: Talk-Stories landed in my inbox, but having rad these two, I want to know more. I want to immerse myself in this world of monsters and politics, of Tiger pirate captains and sirens.
The first thing you notice in this issue, and it’s predecessor, is the art. Sana Takeda has brought her A game here. It’s luxurious in it’s softness. The creatures are both beautiful and brutal. You will ache for the little fox cub and her damaged friend. You’ll be amused by a fierce tiger and her shark friend. It pulls you in, the art does. And luckily, the story Marjorie Liu has written matches well. It doesn’t leave you only to look at the art, the story pulls you in too.
I’m not a huge fan of political stories (there is enough of that in the real world) but this one hooks you. These two issues don’t give you the full background of what is going on, but it gives you enough to know that war is there, and it is hard for the creatures, big and small. And you might notice, that it is hard to talk about this issue and not bring up the first one. They are seamless, the tow of them. War and lonely children and heartache. It is more than enough for these two issues to make you want more. Luckily, there is a lot more and then more still to come.
I am very much looking forward to diving deeper into this world.
