An epic fantasy set in an alternate asia, monstress is populated by vengeful witches, ancient deities, magical creatures, and the arcanics a powerful halfhuman, halfancient beast whose very existence has provoked a war with the human race. She talks about her inspirations and origins in creating the steampunk fantasy world of monstress and working with artist sana takeda x23. The awardwinning comic monstress is one epic fantasy. Monstress is a book that shows the freedom of creatorowned comics, as liu discusses in this blog post. In the first part of this exclusive, wideranging interview, marjorie and i discuss the origins of the book. Marjorie liu becomes the first woman to win the top. Written by marjorie liu and illustrated by sana takeda for image comics, monstress is a sprawling epic fantasy that drops readers into the middle of a magicfilled alternate history. She was at new york comiccon promoting next months release of her first creatorowned comic for image monstress.
Sep 06, 2017 when marjorie liu first announced monstress at image expo in january and a few of the images you had provided were put up on the screen, there was an audible gasp that ran through the audience. Liu, whos also known for her work on astonishing xmen and her. An interview with monstress author marjorie liu the atlantic. Monstress, volume 2 by marjorie liu and sana takeda. For this series being lius first independant title, it feels that she is. For fans of the book from the start, it was incredibly rewarding to see this story get its due. Marjorie liu on the road to making monstress the comic book writer discusses working for marvel, the loneliness of novelwriting, and why her epicfantasy series is. Her comic book work includes x23, black widow, dark wolverine, and astonishing xmen, for which she was nominated for a glaad media award for outstanding media. Dark wolverine, liu is known outside of the comics world as a writer of novels.
Marjorie liu and sana takeda are creators you should be paying attention to. Its dark fantasy meets mythology against the backdrop of an alternate matriarchal 1900s asia with different types. Former astounding xmen writer marjorie liu has announced today her new image comic coming out this summer, monstress a tale of. Monstress is an epic fantasy comics series written by marjorie liu and drawn by sana takeda, published since 2015 by the american publisher image comics. Overall a very cool series written by marjorie liu with art by sana takeda, these two ladies who are killing it. Inside the fantasy comic about race, feminism and the monster within. Ive heard of marjorie liu but have not read anything by her. Monstress, written by marjorie liu and illustrated by sana takeda, is about women of. Marjorie liu tells cbr about marvels han solo comic book and the legendary intergalactic race that forces han to choose between scoundrel and hero.
Marjorie liu made a major buzz at comiccon international. I had a chance to interview marjorie about monstress. Book one, by marjorie liu and sana takeda marjorie liu and sana takedas epic, gorgeous tale of a young woman with a monster inside her has won countless awards and been. On november 4th, image launched a new comic series called monstress by marjorie liu and sana takeda. Sana takeda is an artist and has done work for marvel too. Over the past ten years, comics have gone through a bit of a renaissance.
For the second half of our interview, i ask her about her previous career as a lawyer, how she. This year, liu shared the award with batman scribe tom king in an ultrarare tie. Marjorie liu right, and sana takeda in conversation about monstress at nycc 2019 kippa, the beloved foxhuman side character in the criticallyacclaimed fantasy comic monstress, was never supposed to live. A smart comic writer knows when to play to the strengths of the artist. She is acclaimed for her horror fantasy comic monstress which is an international favorite and of great critical acclaim. When i wasnt manning the epic proportions booth, i was able to sneak away and meet with writer marjorie liu. An interview with monstress author marjorie liu the. New york times bestselling and awardwinning writer marjorie liu is best known for her fiction and comic books. If you had told me back in 2003 that i would be a novelist, a comic book writer, and a teacher at mit, a lecturer, i wouldve said youre crazy. Not only for the title character a teenager who literally has a monster living inside. Her comic book work includes x23, black widow, dark wolverine, and astonishing xmen, for which she was nominated for. Sep 14, 2017 marjorie liu on the road to making monstress the comic book writer discusses working for marvel, the loneliness of novelwriting, and why her epicfantasy series is mostly populated by women and. At san diego comiccon last month, i interviewed cocreators marjorie liu and sana takeda, and throughout our discussion, each kept turning the conversation around to give the other credit for whats on the page. Set in early1900s asia, the summerlaunching series follows a young girl named mika who has forged a psychic bond with one of the powerful monsters that freely roam the earth.
To read the noc interview with marjorie liu, go to. Anyone who is interested in ancient dead gods, magic, talking beasts, crazy ass cults and good old ripping off your enemies limbs so you can devour them, you should probably pick this up. The first issue of her newest comic monstress at image with artist sana takeda and letterer rus wooton hits stands november 4th, 2015 with a whopping 70 pages of content. I had a chance to interview jeff lemire at san diego comic con. Liu was awarded the best writer for her epic fantasy comic series monstress. Aug 18, 2015 astonishing xmen and black widow writer marjorie liu returns to comics with artist sana takeda x23 for an allnew ongoing series. Monstress follows the adventures of maika halfwolf a young woman with a powerful darkness within her. She is the cocreator of the eisnernominated series monstress published by image comics. Marjorie liu creates a dark and dangerous world full of mystery and mysticism that in lesser hands would fall apart but here stands tall. The medium has matured and blossomed from the early days of superheroes and spandex. Oct 26, 2015 marjorie liu is an attorney, writer of prose and comics, and lives in boston, ma where she lectures at mit. Monstress is the first issue in a comic book series about magic, slavery, revenge, and the darkness within. Marjorie liu becomes the first woman to win the top writing.
Takedas artwork was unique before, and now that shes working on monstress. Jun 06, 2019 we got the inside scoop on marjorie s methods, inspiration, and the most important piece of info for anyone looking to write comic books. Aug 10, 2018 marjorie liu made a major buzz at comiccon international. Hitfix talked with writer marjorie liu about creating monstress, diversity issues in the comics industry, why it was essential to have the comic drawn by a woman, the tokyo museum that. As an asianamerican woman just getting started in writing comics, you are a huge inspiration to me. With the amazing story telling of marjorie liu mixed with the beautiful fluid art of sana takeda, monstress is an amazing book. Marjorie liu is an attorney and new york times bestselling author of over nineteen novels. In the first panel of marjorie lius recently released comic, monstress, maika, the heroine of the series, faces the reader in a fullpage portrait, her expression somewhere between a scowl and a dare.
Even though you as a japanese are not speaking english and she as an american isnt speaking japanese, the result of your work was at least brilliant. She makes her longawaited return to comics with image comics monstress, reuniting her with x23 artist sana takeda. This was the year of monstress, with marjorie liu and sana takedas expansive creatorowned fantasy hitting big at the eisners and presumably finding a much larger audience. Mtv news spoke with marjorie liu about her new book, monstress, and how the landscape of diversity in comics is changing. Play in new window marjorie liu talks to rachel davis about her identity, the xmen, and monstress at nycc 2017. In the quiet early hours of saturday in new york comiccons press lounge, marjorie liu and i chatted about her new image title monstress with artist sana takeda, systemic racism, the expectations places on creators of color, and the intergenerational trauma of war. I am, by no means an expert in comic books and am rather new to the game, so.
Marjorie liu and sana takeda discuss their monstress. Monstress issue 1 is available today, and we spoke with writer marjorie liu about the series and her thoughts on diversity in comics. When marjorie liu first announced monstress at image expo in january and a few of the images you had provided were put up on the screen, there. Youve worked already together with marjorie liu at marvels x23. Marjorie liu talks the xmen, identity, and monstress at. To celebrate its release, we chatted with the author about the comic, its creation and more. Comic book writer marjorie liu on how rejection shaped her writing author marjorie liu writes adult fantasy novels that explore alienation and identity. Nov 04, 2015 monstress issue 1 is available today, and we spoke with writer marjorie liu about the series and her thoughts on diversity in comics. Liu is already well known as a new york times bestselling novelist, and from her work on marvel titles such as wolverine, x23, dark wolverine, and astonishing xmen. Anas adventures in reading comics continue with a spotlight on monstress vol 1 and moon girl and devil dinosaur vol 1 with gorgeous artwork by sana takeda and a gripping storyline from marjorie liu, monstress vol.
Set in a matriarchal fantasysteampunk world inspired by early 20th century asia, the comic follows the adventure. Liu, recently gave an interview on her upcoming comic book, monstress. Following the announcement of her upcoming series with sana takeda, writer marjorie liu joined a press conference at 2015s image expo to share more about her upcoming supernatural adventure, monstress. Now i will admit that i had never read any of marjorie lius comic books before, even though most of them were highly praised. Her comic book work includes x23, black widow, dark wolverine, and astonishing x. We got the inside scoop on marjories methods, inspiration, and the most important piece of info for anyone looking to write comic books. Her comic book work includes x23, black widow, dark wolverine, and astonishing xmen, for which she was nominated for a glaad media award for outstanding media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Her paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels include most notable the hunter kiss and tiger eye series.
She teaches comic book writing at mit, and she leads a class on popular fiction at the voices of our nation vona workshop. Recently, the mary sue contributor ashley barry got a chance to speak with monstress writer and allaround badass marjorie liu. She is currently working on monstress at image comics. Liu is a novelist but has also written comics for marvel. Marjorie liu on writing comics, the eisners, and monstress. As stated, i am always open to differing points of view.
Monstress, a new comic book series from image comics which launches this week, is all about hidden depths. A discussion of monstress by marjorie liu the rbooks book. Yesterday, we published the first part of my sprawling interview with fantasy novelist and comic book writer marjorie liu. Creatorwriter marjorie liu who made history as the first woman to win an eisner award for best writer and creatorartist sana takeda present a deluxe, oversized hardcover edition of their beloved breakout comic in monstress book one. Aug 10, 2016 at san diego comiccon last month, i interviewed cocreators marjorie liu and sana takeda, and throughout our discussion, each kept turning the conversation around to give the other credit for whats on the page. Writer marjorie liu on her beautiful, horrifying comic. So, when i heard that marjorie liu was creating a new comic book series called monstress and i had heard a lot of good things about this series, i just had to check this series out. Comic book writer marjorie liu on how rejection shaped her. Jul 22, 2016 comic book writer marjorie liu on how rejection shaped her writing author marjorie liu writes adult fantasy novels that explore alienation and identity. A chat with marjorie liu on monstress the book smugglers. Astonishing xmen and black widow writer marjorie liu returns to comics with artist sana takeda x23 for an allnew ongoing series. Theyll be debuting a new creator owned series with image comics called monstress. Steampunk meets kaiju in this original fantasy epic for mature readers, as young maika risks everything to control her psychic link with a monster of tremendous. Steampunk meets kaiju in this original fantasy epic for mature readers, as young maika risks everything to control her psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, placing her in the center of a devastating war between human and otherworldly forces.
There is not a quote more apt to describe monstress, the awardwinning comic written by marjorie liu and illustrated by sana takeda, than this one. Kind of a standard question but do you have any advice for anyone looking to get into the comic industry. Id be interested to hear peoples thoughts on the subtext of inner demons in the theme of the series, and how theyre both strengths and weaknesses simultaneously. Marjorie liu readies dark fantastic adventure monstress. Tolkien for its high fantasy concepts and heavy worldbuilding. Liu realized immediately that she wanted to work with takeda again. Marvel and dc have a long way to go towards real diversity, says monstress writer marjorie liu marjorie liu reveals why her comic is full of women, witches and monsters, and what the. Marjorie liu right, and sana takeda in conversation about monstress at nycc 2019 kippa, the beloved foxhuman side character in the criticallyacclaimed fantasy comic monstress, was never supposed to live writer marjorie liu originally planned kippa as a oneoff character, expecting her to make an appearance in the first issue and then likely disappear forever.
Liu born 1979 is an american new york times bestselling author and comic book writer. Marjorie liu is a novelist and comic writer best known for her works at marvel comics including nyx, x23, and astonishing xmen. Having only just started reading comics in the last year, im more familiar with her work as a novelist particularly the hunter kiss series featuring bad ass maxine whos covered in. Monstress liu takeda create a beautiful world and a.
Most of the heavy lifting is being done by the art, not that thats a knock on marjorie liu. Monstress is liu facing these issues mostly headon. Awakening is a collection of the first 6 issues of monstress, a comic book by writer marjorie liu and artist sana takeda. For your convenience, you can also listen to the audio for this interview on itunes. Theres a shackle and chain around her neck, a whip threatening in the distance, and what is either a tattoo or a brand between her breasts. San diego by becoming the first woman to nab the comic book industrys top prize for writers. A look back at ladiescon 2018, featuring advice for aspiring creators from marjorie liu, ming doyle and erica henderson. Marjorie liu talks the xmen, identity, and monstress at nycc. Nov 04, 2015 astonishing xmen and black widow writer marjorie liu returns to comics with artist sana takeda x23 for an allnew ongoing series. Thats on purpose, novelist and comic book writer marjorie liu saysbut theres no inuniverse reason for it, like a plague that only affects men or a matriarchy that favors women.
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