r/monstress

I think it's a fascinating topic and something I enjoyed even more upon a second read. I don't think it's brought up very often outside the fandom how the comic stars a queer protagonist front and center. As you can probably tell from the first picture which they posted at the start of the month, Image Comics is no stranger to LGBTQ+ characters and creators, tbh I thought it would have been cool to see Maika in the mural since Monstress is currently one of their most acclaimed titles.

Now representation as a whole is huge in the series, you have a predominantly female cast and the depiction of a matriarchal society where women of color play a variety of roles including morally complex and very nuanced characters in positions of power but I like how Marjorie goes even further and takes advantage of the fantasy setting to depict queer characters and relationships that are accepted without any of the real life struggles you would expect, in fact same sex relationship are pretty much treated as the norm. I mean, sure we've grown familiar with settings like that in works such as Arcane or The Owl House, worlds where issues like racism and classism are still a thing yet there's virtually no homophobia, though it should be noted those 2 came out this decade while Monstress did it over ten years ago.

Onto the characters themselves, Maika and Tuya's relationship through all its ups and downs is a vital part of the story. Their connection is a romantic one, it's flawed, complex and it touches some delicate topics like abuse and manipulation, abandonment and trust issues, I know it can be fucked up to read but themes like that can be worth exploring in the world the comic presents. You also have characters like Sophia and Athena, or the Warlord (a personal favorite of mine lol) whose relationship with Tuya, abusive as it was, still shows a whole other side to their characters that can resonate with the audience.

In this chapter, Piyati calls Captain Elisandra the admiral’s “younger sister” and Areka her “nephew”, even though Captain Elisandra calls Areka her cousin in Chapter Twelve and Queen Alaya calls Elisandra her niece in Chapter Nine.

Otherwise, I’ve been loving this series so much already, though I feel like Gull was introduced late as the leader of the Inquisititrixes as before it seemed like Needle or the Mother Superior was in charge of them, and now this new leader comes out of nowhere. I feel like Needle could have just been revealed to be an Old God Host as well.

Also I don’t know how most people feel about Tuya, but since it was revealed that she was the baroness who was the one that tried to kill Maika, I really don’t like her.

And I really hope they don’t go down this pro-eugenics route with the bloodlines and all that, since I hate characters made special by their ancestry (though Moriko actively searching for a descendant of the shaman-empress is a great detail).

Edit: Also, is it Alaya or Alayna? I see both spellings.