Monstress Book One

“World-building on a scale rare in mainstream comics.” — The Hollywood Reporter Collecting the first 18 issues of the New York Times bestselling series, this massive edition features a striking new cover, as well as special extras, including never-before-seen sketches, script pages, and more for over 500 pages of award-winning content. The richly imagined world of MONSTRESS is an alternate matriarchal 1900s Asia, with an art deco-infused steampunk aesthetic that‘s brimming with arcane dangers. Within it, a teenage girl struggles to overcome the trauma of war, a task that‘s made all the more difficult by her mysterious psychic link to an eldritch monster of tremendous power—a connection that will transform them both, and place them in the crosshairs of both human and otherworldly powers. Creator/writer Marjorie Liu (who made history as the first woman to win an Eisner Award for Best Writer) and creator/artist Sana Takeda present a deluxe, oversized hardcover edition of their beloved breakout comic in MONSTRESS BOOK ONE. Select praise for Monstress: "Liu‘s accomplishment is impressive. She‘s created characters who feel larger than life, but whose motivations and values are almost always obscure.” —NPR “If you want big, beautiful, terrifying, violent magic, Monstress is your next favorite comic.” —Cosmopolitan “…as ambitious as George R.R. Martin or J.R.R. Tolkien…” —The Los Angeles Review of Books "Takeda’s visuals recall realistic, gritty manga such as Lone Wolf and Cub, with magic and monsters to rival those of Hayao Miyazaki’s films.” —Publishers Weekly "Intricate and detailed, with a definite manga influence, Takeda‘s artwork creates a lush and dangerous world for Liu‘s equally dangerous characters. The work is infused with feminist themes; almost all of the characters are strong—and deadly—women.” —School Library Journal “Filled to the brim with awesome.” —Kirkus Reviews "Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda take eastern and western comics storytelling traditions and styles, and create something wholly their own and remarkable: a beautifully told story of magic and fear, inhumanity and exploitation, of what it means to be human and the monsters we all carry inside us. Also, some of the best cats in comics. A delight." —Neil Gaiman “World-building on a scale rare in mainstream comics.” —The Hollywood Reporter "Feels like a battle cry." —Vox.com