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Even if this wasn’t an incredible piece of storytelling, the art alone in this graphic novel would have put it at the top of my list. Takeda’s steampunk art deco graphics are mind-meltingly beautiful and amazing. But Liu’s story of a girl in an alternate 1900s matriarchal Asia is worthy of such beauty. Maika is fighting the forces of darkness and evil (holy cats, such EVIL � this book definitely earns its ‘M� rating) while also struggling with an actual monster inside her, whose agenda she hasn’t quite figured out. It’s bananapants. This is like Saga meets Buffy meets The Girl with All the Gifts meets the aesthetics of 1980s sci-fi movies like Solar Babies and Time Bandits, and then they all have a key party at Pinhead from Hellraiser’s place. More like this, please.

� Liberty Hardy


from The Best Books We Read In July 2016: