New York Comic-Con 2026 – Friday

09 Oct 2026 3 Comments

by Clare in Books, Comics, Cons Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Friday saw me again traveling into New York City for my second day of Comic-Con this year. It was noticeably busier today even as people queued to wait for the doors to open. Once inside, I went directly to the Penguin Random House table to pick up a ticket for the book giveaways and signings I wanted. I made it there in plenty of time and received tickets for two of the books that looked the most interesting to me. Then I scanned a QR code at Simon & Schuster to enter their drawing.

Promotional banner for 'The Apothecary Diaries' featuring a character with blue eyes and long hair, set against a colorful background with flames, displayed at an event.
There is a lot of anime here. This is the show my husband is currently watching.

From there I went to wait in line for my first panel – cozy fantasy!

Let’s Get Cozy Panel

This panel focused on cozy fantasy and the first question asked of the panelists was on how they defined this subgenre and what it meant to them. They all mentioned similar themes: hope and joy, what it means to be happy, healing from past trauma, and finding your people and community. They want to be able to go to sleep without being stressed out about tension from reading a book.

Panel of six female authors at a Comic Con event, seated behind a table with books displayed, discussing literature.
Left to right: Sarah Beth Durst, Autumn K. England, Rachel Griffin, Morgan Elizabeth, Meg Cabot, and Jess Lee (moderator).

Each author was asked to reflect on some books they have read that were cozy fantasy before this was thought of as a genre. They mentioned The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip (my review is here), and Anne McCaffrey’s Harper Hall trilogy (paid links). Sarah Beth Durst stated that her idea of cozy fantasy is when you start with The Lord of the Rings but don’t leave the Shire and just have second breakfast.

The authors were then asked about how they create their worlds. Autumn stated that they are a strict outliner and plan a lot overall… except for the worldbuilding. They make that part up as they write and then smooth it out in rewrites. Rachel starts by thinking about her main character and how she relates to the world around her. The two more contemporary authors (Morgan and Meg) joked that they didn’t want to do worldbuilding and they just threw magic into our world. Morgan tends to set her stories in New Jersey and loves things that are relatable for people.

In contrast to these authors, Sarah Beth Durst wanted to be a fantasy author for her whole life and plunges deeply into her worlds. She loves the process of worldbuilding and has a rule of awesome in which she keeps adding awesome things to her worlds.

A group of six women posing together in front of a New York Comic Con backdrop, smiling and wearing badges.
After the panel

I wished they had had a deeper discussion of how to create conflict and tension within a story when you’re writing cozy fantasy, but what I did take away was to intersperse tense scenes with more cozy ones.

I took a break for lunch after this and visited the food trucks outside. Then I made a random circuit through the show floor once more before moving on to another panel.

Three books displayed on a dark surface: 'Silvercloak' by L. A. Steven, 'The Magic We Made' by Meg Cabot, and 'Meet Cute Magic' by Morgan Elizabeth, all featuring signed editions.
Silvercloak was from a giveaway/signing, and the other two books were by authors in the cozy fantasy panel.

Terry Brooks In Conversation

This next panel was focused on Terry Brooks, the author best known for the Shannara series. Several other authors accompanied him in this panel and it turns out they were all writers who grew up reading and were mentored by Brooks.

As an aside, I’ve apparently been pronouncing Shannara wrong for decades. Sha-naaar-a is how it has always been in my head. But the author himself pronounces it with the accent on the first syllable and then the rest of the word is said pretty fast. During the panel they surveyed the room to find out that my version was prevalent, and Terry Brooks has resigned himself to how the majority of the fans pronounce it.

A panel discussion at a comic convention featuring five speakers seated at a table in front of a branded backdrop.
Left to right: Katherine Arden, Sarah Beth Durst, Delilah S. Dawson, Terry Brooks, and Peter V. Brett.

Each author related stories of how Terry Brooks influenced their own journey into writing fantasy. Peter Brett read The Wishsong of Shannara in his parents’ attempt to have him enjoy something beyond comic books. When he sold his first book he was able to choose between a few publishers and chose Del Rey because that was who published Terry Brooks.

Sarah Beth Durst met Brooks at a poorly attended book signing and was able to spend 45 minutes quizzing him on how to write fantasy. Katherine Arden picked up Brooks’ novelization of The Phantom Menace without knowing anything about Star Wars, prompting her father (a huge fan of Terry Brooks) to show her all of his other books.

An elderly man smiling while sitting at a table with a microphone, during an event at New York Comic Con.
Terry Brooks

When asked how he came up with the world of Shannara, Brooks’ initial response was to deadpan, “I don’t know.” He then elaborated on how his entire family read a lot, but a stint in debate club drew him into becoming a lawyer, professionally. He didn’t enjoy this practice and started to write fantasy on the side. After an initial acceptance at Del Rey and multiple rewrites, The Sword of Shannara was a best-seller. His editor, Lester Del Rey, wouldn’t let him quit his legal practice until he had two more books on the best-seller list, so he kept writing.

His early writing was heavily inspired by Tolkien, but as he worked on later books, he created more unique aspects to his world that strengthened his books. Brooks shared that one of the greatest criticisms he received about The Sword of Shannara was that it contained few women. He took this to heart and worked to ensure women featured equally as central characters.

Finally, Terry Brooks’ final advice during the panel was to read a lot – both in the genre and outside of it – for anyone who wants to be a writer. He also stressed how important it was to support new writers (as evidenced by those on the panel). He always tried to engage younger writers by asking about their books, then later reading them and letting them know that he enjoyed them, even providing blurbs for their first books.

Last Few Acquisitions

The afternoon was open for me to wander and peoplewatch. This cosplay of Monoco (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) was amazing! I saw a ton of other great individuals and groups, but couldn’t get photos of most of them. I wandered for a while and had a passionfruit boba tea. Then I shopped a little more before finally sitting down to rest and type up some of this post.

A person in elaborate costume resembling a mystical creature, featuring a furry cape, a dark face with intricate designs, holding a bell and a staff, standing on a convention floor.
This Monoco cosplay from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was soooo good!

I went back to the show floor one more time to pick up a second book from a giveaway/signing. Somehow I ended up with four more books instead of one, but these things happen.

A stack of five books with visible titles and authors, arranged from top to bottom: 'Conform' by Ariel Sullivan, 'A Date with Death' by Kelly Creagh, 'Perilous Enchantment' by Sarah Clegg, 'The Sun and the Starmaker' by Rachel Griffin, and 'Beneath' by Ariel Sullivan.
Yes, there are five books. I forgot to put The Sun and the Starmaker in the earlier photo.
A close-up of a hand displaying two rings: one with a crescent moon and star design, embellished with blue stones, and another featuring small, clear diamond-like stones in a zigzag pattern.
A close-up of a gold chain necklace featuring a pendulum-shaped pendant with a dark gemstone, accented by two small purple stones at the base.
A few licensed items based on the books of Sarah J. Maas.

TORN and LotR Fan Club Party

After the events of the day, I went to a party and raffle sponsored by TheOneRing.net and the Lord of the Rings Fan Club. This was held at a nearby bar and had plenty of room for the group. I met a couple of other fans, bought raffle tickets, and examined the neat items in my gift bag.

I didn’t win anything in the raffle, but it was entertaining. I might have stayed to socialize longer but I was so tired that I needed to head home.

Various collectible items including 'The Lord of the Rings: The King's Gambit' Witch-King figure, an enamel pin, a Khazad-Dum National Park patch, and 'The Witcher: Wild Hunt' School of the Wolf keychain.
A man in a grotesque mask and a blue t-shirt holding a trophy stands beside a woman with long, wavy hair in a dark outfit and a cape, both posing for a photo at a costume event.
Some items from the gift bag. And awards acceptance required wearing the Lurtz mask. Sexy Gandalf was also involved.

After two long days I was exhausted so I’m almost glad I’m not going back for Saturday or Sunday. I’ll have to look forward to next year instead!

Were you at Comic-Con this year? Have you been in the past? Let me know in the comments.

New York Comic-Con 2026 – Thursday

09 Oct 2026 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Comics, Cons Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday brought me into New York City for the first day of Comic-Con. I love Thursday at the con because it is the day with the fewest crowds and still has enought good content to be worthwhile.

Arrival and Priorities

I feel like either I arrived at the Javits Center earlier this year, or there were fewer people in attendance because I was closer to the front of the crowd than usual.

The opening queue on Thursday.

I thought that going to the show floor first would be a good idea, but it was actually quite crowded with the rush of people who wanted to get to specific booths for giveaways and demos. I had already researched the book giveaways, and the publishers have mostly changed their systems so that there is no need to wait in line ahead of time to get into the signings and giveaways you want. I scanned a QR code and put my email address in a form and made a note of whether I was interested in any specific signings otherwise. I missed the tickets for the T.J. Klune signing which is one I would have liked. Oh well!

Then I walked down to the family area to sign up for adult Jedi training. That was easy, with no line, and I bought some raffle tickets to support Make-A-Wish Foundation. I was happy that they let adults sign up for this sort of thing and not just the kids.

The gaming area was across the hall and I wandered in there to find that Dungeons and Dragons games were being held every 2 hours. I signed up for one at 7 p.m. The rest of the gaming area was rather deserted this early in the morning, although the Warhammer Experience was completely booked all weekend. They said that I could see if anyone failed to show up, so we’ll see if I feel like doing that at all.

I took advantage of the plentiful seating to have a pre-lunch snack and then wandered Artist’s Alley before a panel at 12:15 p.m.

Astarion / Baldur’s Gate 3 Panel with T. Kingfisher and Neil Newbon

I was excited to get into the panel for the new book by T. Kingfisher that is a prequel / backstory for the Baldur’s Gate 3 character, Astarion. In attendance were Kingfisher and Neil Newbon, the voice actor who gave life to Astarion in the game and was also brought on to narrate the audiobook.

The moderator had prepared questions (of course), and I’ll put the most interesting parts of the panelists’ answers below. One of the first things that they discussed was how the book came about and how they became involved in the project. Kingfisher was approached to write the book and took some time brainstorming the plot with the publisher and the Wizards of the Coast reps. She had to follow several ground rules and spent time digging into obscure D&D lore.

For Newbon, he wasn’t aware of the book until a few months ago. This was his first audiobook he has performed, but was the obvious choice for the narrator.

T. Kingfisher (left), Neil Newbon (right)

Kingfisher had to approach the character of Astarion differently than the one from the game. As a prequel set roughly 50 years prior to the events of the game, Astarion is not the same person that we meet there. She had to work to make Astarion less nice than she was naturally inclined to do, and she had to write his part as a more melodramatic character than her typical work.

Neal spent some time explaining his use of accents for the audiobook and how he was mentored by the great Roy Dotrice. He chose a more neutral accent for narration and then others for the secondary characters. He doesn’t choose favorites with his characters, but did say that Astarion meant a lot to him.                                 

Kingfisher talked about how she builds characters. She doesn’t write out character sheets but often first hears the characters in their dialogue. Her favorite character to write for this book was Rooftop Henry.

As anyone who has played the game knows, Astarion has suffered trauma before we meet him in-game. Kingfisher was not allowed to write a happy ending for the book because she had to make it work with how he starts the game. She did discover a lot of deep lore in regard to vampires and the undead in her research.

There was more, but I don’t think I can do justice to the banter and humor in the panel. I was entertained and time ran out before I knew it. I waited in line for the T. Kingfisher signing and then moved on to explore the show floor.

Wandering the Floor for Books

I browsed the tables at the main publishers that were in attendance, chatted with a friend, and then headed to pick up a giveaway that I had won.

By the end of the day I picked up only three books. Two were free ARCs and one was a book that has been highly recommended and was nominated for a Hugo for Best Novel.

The two ARC giveaways look like they are both variations on the romantasy genre. I’ll  have to squeeze them into by reading plans somehow.

These are the books I acquired on Day 1:

  • Soul Sworn by Kate Dylan (ARC)
  • The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
  • Merciful Carnage by Sara Hashem (ARC)

On to Become a Jedi

It was then time to head over for my session of Jedi training. This was an intro to the style of stage combat the the Saber Guild does and was a small class of eight people.

We were paired up and did some drills to explore the attacks and parries. It was fun and I had a good partner and I feel like we could have done some more advanced moves. However time went by and I had to move on.

More Wandering and Shopping

I had more free time before the D&D game so I wandered back to the show floor and did some shopping.

I picked up a pair of Eye of Sauron earrings, a cat necklace and earrings from a Japanese artist that I like, and this cute little plant. Not shown are the elf ears that I plan to wear on Friday.

Dungeons and Dragons to End the Day

It was already a long day, but I wrapped it up with a short game of Dungeons & Dragons as my last event at Comic-Con for the day.

The DM definitely rushed some parts of the adventure to get us through it, but it was fun and all the players were creative.

We defeated the bandits and their mage then vanquished the shadow monster in the basement.

By that point it was 9 p.m. and time to head home. I’ll be back for Friday!

Graphic Novel Review – The Boys Vol. 1

28 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Comics, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I didn’t read very many graphic novels in 2024, but I did finish reading The Boys Volume 1 Omnibus by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson (artist), Peter Snejbjerg (artist), Rodney Ramos (inker), Tony Avina (colorist), Greg Thompson (letterer), and Simon Bowland (letterer). I have been a fan of the television series on Amazon Prime, so I thought I’d see how the original source material compared to that (paid links).

I read the graphic novel edition.

Here is the blurb:

In a world where costumed heroes soar through the sky and masked vigilantes prowl the night, someone’s got to make sure the “supes” don’t get out of line. And someone will! Billy Butcher, Wee Hughie, Mother’s Milk, The Frenchman, and The Female are The A CIA-backed team of very dangerous people, each one dedicated to the struggle against the most dangerous force on Earth – superpowers!

Some superheroes have to be watched. Some have to be controlled. And some of them – sometimes – need to be taken out of the picture. That’s when you call in The Boys! After the opening story arc introducing Hughie to the team (issues 1-6), Dark avenger Tek-Knight and his ex-partner Swingwing are in trouble (issues 7-14). Big trouble. One has lost control of his terrifyingly overactive sex-drive, and the other might just be a murderer. It’s up to Hughie and Butcher to work out which is which, in Get Some.

Then, in Glorious Five-Year Plan, The Boys travel to Russia – where their corporate opponents are working with the mob, in a super-conspiracy that threatens to spiral lethally out of control. Good thing our heroes have Love Sausage on their side.

Of course, the show has made changes, but at the heart of it, The Boys source material contains the same over-the-top, irreverent, and profane story that I expected. This first volume starts off with the introduction of Hughie, much like the show. However, there is significantly less focus on The Seven in this opening volume than I would have expected. Yes – it does feature Starlight’s introduction to The Seven, and it’s even more horrific than in the show, but little else involving that most elite supe team happens in this book.

If you’ve watched the show, you’ll be familiar with how The Boys infiltrate Tek Knight’s twisted not-quite-Bat-Cave, as well as their trip to Russia with the help of Little Nina. In the original story told in this graphic novel, these events happen earlier and for different reasons, but you can see how these versions inspired what happened later in the show.

I’m not sure that I need to read more issues of this series since this first volume satisfied my curiosity. The show definitely becomes more political and I didn’t see much of that in this first graphic novel, although that may be because it was published in 2006.

Have you read any of The Boys? Should I keep going with this series? Let me know in the comments.

Find more of my reviews here.

Graphic Novel Review – Demon in the Wood

12 Jan 2023 2 Comments

by Clare in Books, Comics Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I received Demon in the Wood for Christmas and decided it would be a nice short read before I jumped into the next Wheel of Time book. This story is set in Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse that is the setting for her Shadow and Bone series that I reviewed here: (book 1, book 2, book 3). The graphic novel is illustrated by Dani Pendergast.

Haven’t read any of the Grishaverse yet? Looks like you can pick up the first 5 chapters of Shadow and Bone for free on Kindle here.

Paid links help to support this blog.

Here is the blurb:

Before he led Ravka’s Second Army, before he created the Fold, and long before he became the Darkling, he was just a lonely boy burdened by an extraordinary power.

Eryk and his mother, Lena, have spent their lives on the run. But they will never find a safe haven. They are not only Grisha—they are the deadliest and rarest of their kind. Feared by those who wish to destroy them and hunted by those who would exploit their gifts, they must hide their true abilities wherever they go. But sometimes deadly secrets have a way of revealing themselves…

This is a prequel and origin story for the Darkling – the antagonist in the Shadow and Bone series – so I don’t think it would be a good place for someone new to this world to jump in. The grisha (magic-users) feature in this tale and very little explanation of their powers are given.

Going by the name of Eryk during this story, we find him traveling with his mother as they arrive at a grisha village. Their unique power and its secrets has forced them into a nomadic existence which has never allowed Eryk to have more than brief friendships. He tries to fit in with the other grisha teenagers while a village of non-grisha exists nearby.

I didn’t expect the turn that this tale took, and it showed how harsh the life of the grisha must be. Eryk garners sympathy, but I was also able to loosely see how the trauma he went through in this story led to later events in his life.

The art throughout this graphic novel created a beautiful depiction of Leigh Bardugo’s world. I liked how there was relatively more artwork than words, and the illustrations clearly displayed the story.

My only negative comment about this book was that it was too short, really no more than a short story. I would have liked to see what happened after the events in this book. While I can see how this affected the Darkling to some extent, surely there’s more that happened to lead him down his isolated path.

Are you a fan of the Grishaverse? Which book is your favorite? Did you watch the television adaptation? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

Books to Read in 2023

04 Jan 2023 3 Comments

by Clare in Books, Comics Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I like to start my reading year by updating my Goodreads lists with all the books I want to read for the year ahead. Usually this means taking the list from the previous year and pushing it over into the next one since I never get everything read that I had wanted to.

This is how I started my plan for 2023, but there were just too many books! I solved this problem by creating lists for 2024 and 2025, and then rolling some books onto those. For the rest of my 2023 choices, I am continuing a past theme of trying to finish some series. Of course, I tend to start a lot of new series, so this keeps the list continuously growing.

In the end, here is a graphic of all the books I’m hoping to read in 2023:

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Looking at overall numbers, last year I read 39 books from my Goodreads goal of 89. That was 44% of my goal. For this year, I’m not backing down! I set my goal for 100 books for 2023. My current 2023 list stands at around 90, so I can even add a few more.

To break that goal down, I’ll need to read 8.3 books per month, or roughly 2 per week to meet that goal. I’ve already picked out the first month of books I’m planning to read and these are my January choices:

I’m already a third of the way in to The Lady of the Lake, the final book in The Witcher series, and I’ve been listening to these as audiobooks. I also have Season of Storms queued up next for audio – this is a prequel in The Witcher universe.

I’d like to read more graphic novels this year, so I’ve put Demon in the Wood on here as a stand alone from Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse, and then the next volume of The Sandman (vol. 2) since I just finished volume 1. Noor is for a book club discussion in about 2.5 weeks so I started to read that yesterday. I need to get back to my read-through of The Wheel of Time, so I stuck the next book (#4 – The Shadow Rising) on here for January.

For the rest of these, I’ve been staring at Stephen King’s recent release – Fairy tale – since I picked it up at NY Comic-Con a few months ago. It is a longer book, but likely a fast read. Since I also just finished a re-read of The Silmarillion last year, I’d like to continue working my way through the less well-known Tolkien stories, so Unfinished Tales is up next.

The last one on here (Never Say You Can’t Survive) is a series of essays by Charlie Jane Anders about how to write when the world is seemingly falling apart. I grabbed a copy at an earlier NY Comic-Con (2021?). I started this book yesterday and I think it may provide a helpful perspective to get my fiction writing back on track for 2023.

Forging further ahead from January, I’m excited to get back to the Dune series, NK Jemisin’s The World We Make, the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal, and the second two books in the Scholomance by Naomi Novik.

Lastly, I just received my first backer reward from Brandon Sanderson’s secret projects where he confessed to writing a ridiculous number of extra books during his pandemic confinement. The first one is Tress of the Emerald Sea and seems to have an interesting premise.

What are your reading plans for 2023? Have you read any of the books on my list? Let me know in the comments (above).

Graphic Novel Review – Fence Volume 1

30 Jan 2021 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Comics, Fencing, Reviews, Swords Tags: , , , , , , , ,

When I looked back at my books from 2020, I realized that I didn’t read ANY graphic novels. So I’m trying to catch up on some that I had really wanted to get to. Also – they’re always quick reads. So of course when I saw this series about fencing, I had to pick up the first collection (paid links support this blog).

Fence is a series of graphic novels by C.S. Pacat (writer), Johanna the Mad (illustrator), Joana LaFuente (colorist), and Jim Campbell (letterer). Here is the blurb:

Nicholas, the illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion, is a scrappy fencing wunderkind, and dreams of getting the chance and the training to actually compete. After getting accepted to the prodigious Kings Row private school, Nicholas is thrust into a cut-throat world, and finds himself facing not only his golden-boy half-brother, but the unbeatable, mysterious Seiji Katayama…

Through clashes, rivalries, and romance between teammates, Nicholas and the boys of Kings Row will discover there’s much more to fencing than just foils and lunges. From acclaimed writer C.S. Pacat (The Captive Prince) and fan-favorite artist Johanna the Mad.

I read this very quickly and I found myself wishing that I had the next volume! The story follows Nicholas, a persistent underdog fencer, as he tries to make the varsity team at a boarding school. If he fails, he won’t be able to keep the scholarship that lets him stay there. Who doesn’t want to cheer for the underdog?

Even through the fencing in this story focuses on epee, there are a couple of references about how sabre is the better weapon. And it is clear that the author is familiar with the fencing world.

In this early volume, I was a little confused to see the author’s approach to gender, but it seems like the fencing world in this story is genderless or maybe gender-equitable. The events aren’t split by men/women, and neither is the team at the school. One character who is pictured in a skirt and with more feminine features is referred to with male pronouns, and some characters are definitely queer and/or have same-sex relationships. Once I realized this was the approach being taken, it was fine and I had no further trouble following who was who.

I definitely enjoyed this book and already ordered the next two volumes because I need to find out who wins the tournament! Have you read Fence? Let me know in the comments.

Read more of my book reviews here.

Comic Review – Hedra

08 Aug 2020 1 Comment

by Clare in Books, Comics, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

I picked up Hedra by Jesse Lonergan on a whim because it was short, featured a female astronaut, and I liked the minimalist style of the cover. I’ve been exceedingly busy at work since COVID started, so I haven’t had as much time to read and write as I would like, but I’m going to try to get back to posting some short reviews here again.

Hedra is a purely picture story with no words at all. Despite that, it does an amazingly effective job in telling the story of an astronaut who leaves earth in the aftermath of a nuclear war. What she finds as she travels through space is engaging and unexpected.

I really liked the way the artwork was laid out as well, with every page taking on different variations in the grid seen on the cover. I read this on my phone Kindle App, so I was able to zoom in to see some of the smaller pictures better. I was left a little puzzled by the ending, but overall I enjoyed this book and I would “read” any follow-up to this tale.

Read more of my reviews here.

Graphic Novel Review – Monstress Vol. 3 (Haven)

02 May 2019 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Comics, Reviews Tags: , , , , , ,

I’ve been gradually working my way through Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda and while I’m enjoying this series, the third volume was not my favorite. You can find my reviews of Volume 1 here, and Volume 2 here.

Monstress Volume 3 (Haven) follows our anti-hero protagonist, Maika, as she begins to come to terms with her demon and their shared powers. The plot resumes in the city of Pontus where a magical shield protects the inhabitants from outside dangers.


However, the Pontus shield is inoperable and Maika is enlisted to help repair it. At the same time, her companions explore the city. The fox-child Kippa discovers other fox refugees, and while she searches for her family Master Ren meets with his nekomancer bosses who have their own ideas about what he needs to do.

Pontus is attacked while Maika struggles to help protect the city. She delves further into her past and her heritage and I think she has grown more accepting of the demon inside of her.

Brief episodes of back story are interspersed with the main plot, as well as glimpses of conversations and events in other lands with side characters. It all became rather confusing, especially when taken together with trying to follow all the lore of the Elder Gods.

The spectacular artwork continued to draw me into this world, despite the muddled plot. I’m particularly enthralled by the variety of creatures.

While I intend to keep reading this series, this volume was not my favorite, mainly because I found the details hard to follow. Perhaps other readers would enjoy the mystery of it, but I like more concrete information.

Read more of my reviews here.

Graphic Novel Review – Monstress Vol. 2 (The Blood)

24 Feb 2019 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Comics, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

Monstress Vol. 2 (The Blood) is a graphic novel written by Marjorie Liu, with art by Sana Takeda. I had read the first volume in November and my review of it can be found here. While I enjoyed the first book, this second one was even better.

Maika Halfwolf is possessed by a monster that may be a demon or a god, but is haunted by her mother’s past and pursued by familiar and unknown enemies. In this second volume, she arrives at the city of Thyria and looks for passage to the Isle of Bones, where she hopes to find answers about her mother.

Master Ren, a talking, two-tailed cat necromancer (or nekomancer), and Kippa, a fox-girl continue to risk their lives at her side, and Maika finds other friends amongst the pirates of Thyria, many of whom knew her mother.

This book is just as dark in its subject matter in some parts as the first one. Maika’s demon must feed, but she has learned to retain some control over the details. The world in Monstress is harsh and many of its inhabitants have long lives and old rivalries.

I enjoyed this book better than the first because I already knew the characters. It also felt more linear in its structure, with a more direct style of story-telling and fewer leaps to different locales and times. When the plot does show past events, these scenes felt more natural in this second volume.

The artwork in this book continues to be gorgeous. The sea and its inhabitants are brought to life with the same aesthetic as the earlier gothic structures. Simple conventions such as changing the background in text bubbles make it easy to follow a particular non-human conversation.

The next volume of Monstress is sitting in my to-be-read pile and I’ll be reading and reviewing the third book soon.

Find more of my book reviews here.

Graphic Novel Review – Monstress Volume 1 (Awakening)

09 Nov 2018 2 Comments

by Clare in Comics, Reviews Tags: , , ,

I picked this graphic novel up at New York Comic-Con last year (2017) and only got around to reading it now. Fortunately, I was able to get the second volume at this year’s event, because this was a beautiful, albeit dark and violent, book. Monstress Volume 1 – Awakening is written by Marjorie Liu with artwork by Sana Takeda.

Monstress 1

I was first interested in this graphic novel because I loved the artwork. The mixture of Egyptian and steampunk themes on the cover and opening pages was enough to draw me in. When the book added demons, cats, and a dark and compelling protagonist, I was hooked.

Monstress tells the story of Maika Halfwolf and initially switches between glimpses of her past and her current scheme to infiltrate the stronghold of the human witches who are experimenting upon the Arcanics (her people). Maika doesn’t remember much of her past, having mysteriously survived the catacysmic end of a great battle between humans and the Arcanics.

As the plot unfolds, I was immediately sympathetic toward Maika because of her mistreatment at the hands of the humans, and the nature of their cruel experiments. When Maika discovers herself to be inhabited by a demon, she gets a pass for what she is forced to do to survive because she is not wholly in control of her actions. She both uses the demon against her enemies, and fights against it, in her journey to find revenge against the humans and relearn her past.

There are definitely some dark moments in this story, ranging from the murder of children to questions about cannibalism. However, cats feature prominently and bring some levity to the rest of the book.

While Monstress definitely isn’t for everyone, I enjoyed it and will be reading Volume 2 in the next few months.


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