Monstress vol. 7: Devourer

The last time we saw Maika Halfwolf, she was even more screwed than usual! Poisoned by her lover, Tuya, who is finally making good on her directive to deliver Maika and Zinn to the Dusk Court. This is all so that the Ancients living there can extract the power that Zinn commands without having to deal with the pesky human mind that governs his current residence. While this sounds bad, it allows Maika to have some alone time with the mind of her constant companion as he shares some memories of his own that threaten to greatly expand the scope of the series. As well as one that threatens to break the girl’s own mind. The good news is that Maika still has allies on the outside who aren’t convinced that the Dusk Court is doing the right thing here. Chief among them is Kippa, who is determined to do whatever she can to save her friend.

Wait. Maika’s fate rests in the hands of Kippa now? I take back what I said earlier. Now Maika really is more screwed than ever before! GIVE UP FELLOW “MONSTRESS” FANS, THE SERIES IS HEADED FOR ITS WORST ENDING! “THE NIGHT EATERS” IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD NOW!!!

Hyperbole aside, the biggest issue I have with “Devourer” is that it’s not as self-contained as every previous volume in this series. While each volume of “Monstress” is part of a larger whole, there’s always been a sense of closure to be had at the end of each one in that the story felt like it reached a proper stopping point. We don’t get that here, but it does end on what is probably the most upbeat note possible for the story at its current point, which is definitely something.

As for everything before the ending, it’s still every bit as good as you’d expect from “Monstress.” Every chapter is packed full of surprising and disturbing details regarding the plot or the characters, challenging what you were ready to believe about specific characters. Tuya in particular here as it shouldn’t surprise anyone that creators Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda were going to give us some reason to believe the girl wasn’t some kind of tragic figure here fighting against her destiny. It works too, standing out against the many already memorable subplots and characters fighting for attention here. If nothing else, I’m probably more eager to see what happens in the next volume than I was in the previous one as the way forward is less clear now.