So you know how sequels often don’t live up to their start books? Yeah, not that.
Oh, sorry, I have to keep writing? Fiiiine.
What I was really worried about is whether this would feel like filler plot. A necessary bit of leg work to scrabble after what came first and set up what was coming after, as so many second volumes/books are. I mean, especially in trilogies, but everywhere. And this doesn’t fall into that. In some ways, I even think the plotting might be better than Volume 1. Which is… unexpected.
Obviously, the art remains beautiful. Obviously the characters remain wonderful, and unexpectedly well-developed for the page space they get. Obviously there are still LOADS OF CATS. So it’s not a shock it’s still great. But the way the plot develops and builds in this one is really what pushes it ahead. Yes, it’s clearly doing some preparatory legwork and creating questions it needs to answer later. But it doesn’t feel like filler, because it answers some questions too, especially some of the personal ones. It feels like it’s just a lot of the good work of the first volume continuing apace, rather than a rush to fill in the gaps.
What I particularly love is the continued character development of the lead, Maika Halfwolf. Like all the best characters, she’s really quite complicated, and it’s hard to say she’s in any way… good. But at the same time… you can’t help but want to follow her. I won’t even say “like” because I don’t think I do like her (the liking is obviously saved for Kippa, who is a good person and is utterly likeable). I just… am somewhat attached. I’m curious – because so far they’ve been very very good at setting up fascinating riddles about who people are and what’s going on, and I hope they resolve them well – but that’s not just it. I suppose it’s also that her complete lack of charm and willingness to please is in some way charming, and one cannot help but be compelled by such a massively badass female lead.
That’s the other thing. I said it about Volume 1, but it bears saying again – SO MANY WOMEN. This is a world so peopled with such a variety of women that it’s just… glorious. It doesn’t need to work hard to make that couple of women they’ve written in carry the weight of “good female character”-hood, because hey, there’s five more over there. And that’s how you do it right. That’s how you portray the complexity of “female character” – by admitting that there’s all these options and doing them. It’s one of the things I really liked about Red Seas Under Red Skies, too – it’s a world richly peopled by women, so you can have women who are overtly and traditionally feminine, women who are not, women who are sometimes both, women who are physically strong or emotionally or all the other possible combinations. And it’s not until you get that that you realise quite how insufficient having one or two female characters – real ones – in a book is. Because however good they are, they can never match up to the sheer relief of that variety.
If I have a book with one proper female character in it… I’m going to feel obliged either to a) like her or b) critique her extensively because the author has got “female character” wrong or bad in some way. And if b)… well, there goes that book in my estimation. And that’s a lot of weight to put on? Even if a), I’m not going to like every female character because I don’t like… all people. And it’s not until that obligation is lifted* that you realise how freeing it is to have choice. To go “I don’t like the protagonist but oh my god her best friend is amazing”. To go “the queen is shady as all heck, but that knight? What a badass she is!”.
And Monstress does that. Because it would be very very possible to dislike Maika a lot – she’s not nice at all – but in doing so… you don’t cut yourself off from female characters to enjoy. And that’s… really important, emotionally – to be able to connect to the work on that level.
There are, of course, plenty of other good things I can say about Monstress; there’s a reason Volume 1 won the Hugo, after all. But I don’t think anything else quite eclipses that sense of joy, for me. Because yes, it’s a very very good comic. It’s brilliantly plotted, beautifully drawn, and the whole atmosphere and colour-scheme are clever and clearly well considered. But it’s that feeling of a world actually people by people, not just men, but women too, that really elevates it a step above for me. And it’s what’s going to keep me coming back and buying more.
… and I just checked. The next one doesn’t come out until AUGUST. I may have just made a plaintive honking noise at the flatmates in my distress over this.
*Please don’t quibble me about this being an “obligation”. I know no one’s forcing me. Don’t care.
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