“If men disappeared tomorrow, we’d still be having the abortion debate,” she reasoned.

Monstress is set in a matriarchal society, with each of the main characters being female, giving Liu a chance to explore feminist issues outside of the traditional gender-conflict context in entertainment. You would never have dreamed she went through hell.” But what’s striking to me are the photos from this time, especially the ones of my grandmother. It wasn’t just the war they discussed, but what came after: how they had to piece their lives back together. “For example, growing up with my Chinese grandparents who were always talking about WWII - how they survived, how they fought. Monstress was influenced by a number of people, ideas and experiences from Liu’s life, she explained. It required reaching out for trusted help - I talked a lot with my boyfriend, I brainstormed with Sana - until finally, after months, this story began coming together. Everything from the characters, to the world-building and the plot, I had to attack again and again, and keep restructuring and refining. “It’s like being in a candy store - my eyes were bigger than my stomach. “I told myself, ‘I got this, I know what it is, it’s going to be epic.’ But that was overconfidence,” she continued. The story touches on social and political issues as lead character Maika goes from slave to prisoner to … something altogether different. The result is a first issue that includes not only girls and giant monsters, but also world-building on a scale rare in mainstream comics. I wanted to tell a story about war, and surviving war - and I wanted to set it all in an alternate Asia.” “I wanted to write about girls and monsters, which has been a theme of mine from almost the start of my career - girls and giant monsters, and the supernatural. “I didn’t realize how massive it was until I started writing it, and realized I had totally underestimated both the size of the project, and my own ability to wrap my head around it,” Liu says of the series.

Monstress #1 by Marjorie M. Liu