Monstress, Volume 4: The Chosen by Marjorie Liu, illustrated by Sana Takeda

Image Comics, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1534313361

Available: Paperback, Kindle, comiXology

Maika Halfwolf and Corvin D’Oro of the Dusk Court travel in search of the young Arcanic Kippa, who was kidnapped at the end of the third volume. Meanwhile, a forced marriage between the Dawn and Dusk Courts is being conducted, with Maika’s childhood friend Tuya marrying  Moriko Halfwolf’s ruthless twin sister and Maika’s aunt.

During their search, Maika and Corvin are abducted by Yvette Lo Lim and a mysterious man bearing the same eye symbol on his chest as Maika’s,  claiming to be her father. They are members of the newly formed Blood Court, a group led by Maika’s father, who is also known as the Lord Doctor. Maika wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings, with a prosthetic arm the Lord Doctor attached to Maika without Maika’s consent. He and the rest of the Blood Court try to convince Maika to join their cause. The Lord Doctor offers to tell her more about her childhood, as well as about Zinn, the Monstrum sharing Maika’s body, and his experience as Zinn’s former host. However, after learning of his terrible experimentations and the cannibal murders he committed that earned him the nickname “The Ghoul Killer”, she isn’t sure that she wants the answers she has been searching for after all.

Meanwhile, Kippa escapes her captors and discovers some of her own past. Her own Arcanic abilities are emerging. When she jumps into a pit running away from the abductors who are taking her to the Lord Doctor, she comes face to face with creatures that emerge from the shadows. Before they can attack her, a Dracul that resembles a giant three-eyed dragon stops them, recognizing her abilities and has conversation with Kippa about loss, slavery, and of the nature of the Monstrum.

Volume 4 collects issues 19 through 24.

Monstress is one of the few comics where I collect individual issues, and one where I find something new when I have gone back to revisit the series. The story is deep and intriguing, and it is easy to miss something in the first reading. Liu is a great storyteller, and this is one of the most intricate plots in a comic series I have ever read. Takeda’s intricate artwork is gorgeous, with character designs and creatures that are both beautiful and terrifying. There are plenty of reasons why Monstress won multiple Eisner Awards and nominated for this year’s Stoker Award Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel category.

Contains: forced marriage, sexual content

Highly recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker