Monstress #4 is an issue that is both revelatory and quick paced. It delivers in continuing the overall story surrounding Maika, and her personal goal and the mystery inside her. Sana Takeda delivers both in the gory and horrifying aspects, as well as the cute and fun (short lived) moments. I have said it since the first issue and will continue to do so, there's no reason as to why Monstress shouldn't be on your pull box already. Read Full Review

If you've been taken captive and are in awe of the story so far, I highly recommendgrabbing #4 when you can. For anyone interested in the story, just like I was prior to this review, pick it up and become immersed. Read Full Review

In short, I love this book: the detailed and gorgeous world that Takeda is clearly having a ball drawing each month, the strong and frightening females who all seem to be harboring bloody pasts that no one seems to want to talk about, and the monster, of course. That many-eyed monster who has taken up residence in Maika and won't be letting go anytime soon. Then again, with enemies like the Cumaean, and the newest character introducedon the last page of this issue (Who is the Dusk Court? What is a Night Cutter? So cool!), I bet Maika and her monster will be thick as thieves before long. As a reader, I wouldn't have it any other way. Read Full Review

Monstress is a fantastic realization of world building in comics while also telling the story of the characters themselves. It's blending the two in the right way without favoring one over the other in an unbalanced way. They complement and build each other and that ends up creating something that's complex (but not complicated) where you have to work at it just a bit to really engage with it. This is not a casual read but something you sit down to absorb and realize that you will be revisiting past installments regularly to find new context and connections and become even more engaged with it. Liu and Takeda are master weavers with this work right out of the gate and I'm fearful of how it'll be with a couple of years of issues under their belt as it builds into the endgame. Fantastic stuff worth being here from the start for. Read Full Review

Both visually and story-wise, Monstress continues to be one of Images most unique publications. The next two issues will be released monthly, after the short break between Monstress #3 and #4. Read Full Review

Reading on further reveals just a tad bit more of the mysterious backstory of the…thing that lives within Maikaand a better idea of the vast hunger it has. It's one of the more terrifying entities in this comic book and whenever it attaches to her, things get out of hand fast. And usually it's a mess. At times she's reduced to just being dragged along as it hungers and annihilates. Read Full Review

With the art as beautiful as ever, and the story continuing to unfold in exciting new ways, this remains one of the best new series around. Read Full Review

Monstress #4 is, by far, my favorite issue of this series so far. Admittedly it still feels a bit like Marjorie Liu is struggling between a desire to tell us everything and keep everything a closely guarded secret, but the balance is much stronger this month and the choice to split the politics and inner struggle into two separate sequences works wonders. Sana Takeda hasn't missed a beat yet and it seems like she's not going to any time soon. Though the ingredients still don't fully combine, this is an indisputably artful comic on every level and a hint towards the great things this book may have in store. Read Full Review

Liu and Takeda are still building a sprawling fantasy epic, but their approach in "Monstress" #4 has already hit a great balance between the personal and the political. Maika's struggle with the Monstrum is both visceral and moral; she is battling for control of both her body and her soul. Artfully, the disagreement between the Queen of Wolves and Alia is also one of both sovereignty and principles. The war between the Cumaea, the Federation and the Arcanic Lands are linked to Maika's quest by themes of identity, trust and compromise, deceit and revenge. Read Full Review

Again, Takeda is truly doing some great work in this issue. We get an amazing dream sequence at the start of the second act of the book that is has some great panel and line work. Takeda's design of the monster hiding in Maika really is terrifying and threatening. You feel for Maika each time her body betrays her and lets the monster out. Read Full Review

How anyone can give this book less then a 10/10 baffles me!

I love this book. I love the story, I love the art. It is just fantastic. It is the kind of book that makes me rethink my hesitant stance against fantasy comics, because if they were all like this, then that is all I would read. It is a weird, graphic and strange story that really feels like it’s some sort of chapter based anime story mixed with some epic level Lord of the Rings stuff, but told through a unique perspective, and given a whole lot of blood and magic.
I think that the detail in this art is where I just fall head over heels for this book- it is so nuanced. Nothing feels blank or sparse or unfinished. I love the depth and detail, and the commitment by these creators to craft the best possible product is absolutely evident here. I think that Maika’s growing (pun intended) relationship with the “thing” that is inside her, awakened by that fragment of ancient evil mask she found is something that I cannot WAIT to be explored further. Plus the reveal of the character at the end makes me SO EXCITED for the next issue already.
This is not a fun book, in the traditional sense, and it is CERTAINLY not for kids- but it is a really great and unique read, and totally worth jumping on-board for. So if you are hesitant, or unsure, go check it out!
more

The dialog at the beginning is a bit difficult to follow, but it is important to the backstory of the Monstress world. The pages where Maika is struggling with this demon thing are the best. I think this little fox girl desperately needs to get away from Maika, yet there are just too many other dangerous things out there.