Monstress, Issue #4 is almost too beautiful to be a monthly comic. I've lived in Japan; I've lived in Turkey. The architecture and art is reminiscent of both, but let's get on to the story. Maika Halfwolf is an Arcanic, one of the hybrid humans that hold a magic substance called lilium. In a previous issue, she went on a rampage in Zamora, a Cumaea stronghold, killing many and freeing several Arcanics that were going to be harvested for their lilium by the Cumaea. She is on the run now with her two constant companions, the Arcanics Kippa and Master Ren. Kippa is a fox-girl, and Master Ren is a talking cat with two tails.
In this issue, we get to see an Arcanic palace and the Monstrum within Maika. The Monstrum is the ultimate weapon, but it feeds on souls, and not just human souls. Maika can control the Monstrum for now, keeping it from eating Kippa. The Monstrum appeared after Maika touched the fragment of the mask an issue or two ago. What we don't learn in this issue is how the Dusk Court of the Arcanics is going to react to Maika. Are they friends or foes? So far, just about every human in this world has been out to get Maika, but the Arcanics aren't all peppermint and cumin. What kind of metaphor is that? Peppermint and cumin? Bleah. Those would go terrible together.
Monstress is what I look for in comics. Everything about it is simply amazing. I could gush over the artwork, the coloring, the lettering (Rus Wooton is one of my favorites), but the way they casually have matriarchal societies on both sides of the fence is something we need to see more of in comics. I love strong women in both real life and in fiction. I know many of my readers might hate Hilary Clinton, but she's the type of empowered woman that this world needs. I don't agree with all of her policies, and I'll probably vote for Jill Stein again, but both of them are great.
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