Monstress #18
Writer: Marjorie M. Liu
Artist: Sana Takeda
Publisher: Image Comics
What You Need to Know:
The last issue, Maika, and Zinn failed to produce the much-needed fix to the broken Pontus Shield and the Thyrian forces began to attack. Renn, under orders from his mysterious masters, was told to abduct Kippa, the young fox Arcanic child he had begun to care for. Then, as if that was not bad enough, Inquisitrix Gull was able to get ahold of two pieces of the mask and created a crack in the dimensional barrier that separates the Monstrums and their prison from the world at large.
Now, they are stuck with an even bigger problem than Pontus falling – what happens if that Monstrum escapes?
What You’ll Find Out:
The good news: The Thyrian forces have left.
The bad news: The shield has failed and a Monstrum is bearing down on Pontus from the rift in the sky.
The ugly news: No one is sure if they can stop the Monstrum from escaping it’s prison, which would mean that a god of unstoppable power is unleashed on the world at large – a world that still has a fractured people that would not be able to come together in time to even stand a chance to stop it.
The unexpected news: Unlike the last issue, when we thought Inquisitrix Gull was dead, she is, in fact, alive, able to give some advice. We also get a small glimpse of the legendary Shaman-Empress, or did we? Was that a vision Maika had or just a hallucination? I guess we will have to wait and see.
What Just Happened?
Maika is unable to get the shield fully functional on her own. Zinn, recognizing what is at stake if his brother-sister escapes, offers to join her in operating the shield technology while putting on the two halves of the mask to give the shields enough power to function as a cannon — in an attempt to both close the rift and kill the Monstrum trying to merge through at the same time.
By sheer luck, they succeed and they’re both heralded as heroes. Just as things are finally returning to order, Lord Vulco from the Court of Dusk, who was in charge of keeping an eye on Kippa, returns with bad news – Ren’s employers, who left the cat wounded and on death’s door, have taken the young fox Arcanic. We still do not know why.
Rating: 10/10
Final Thought: I normally don’t use a 10/10 rating, but this issue stole the show. It is also the last issue while this comic is on hiatus, returning in the winter, due to the artist’s schedule. Amazing action, beautiful art, and one painful but pleasurable cliffhanger that has me dying for more.
Worthy Note: Monstress Issues 13-18 will be available in trade-back September 5th.
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