The Best Modern Fantasy Comic Is Officially Headed to TV (And the Show Has a One Piece Connection)

Comics make for great television series. Series like Invincible and The Boys are two great examples of that, with the Prime Video series taking fan-favorite, expansive stories and giving them a whole new audience on the small screen, thrilling viewers in the process. Now, another comic book is set to get the television treatment from Amazon and it just so happens to be one of the best fantasy comics ever written, brought to life by Netflix’s former One Piece showrunner.

According to Variety, an adult animated series adaptation Image Comics’ long-running, award-winning fantasy series Monstress is in development at Amazon MGM Studios from the co-creator and showrunner of Netflix’s One Piece, Steven Maeda. Maeda is set to write and executive produce the series along with Tiffany Greshler. Maeda and Greshler will also serve as co-showrunners. Per the official description, “Set in an Asian-inspired fantasy world, Monstress tells the story of a young woman with a literal monster living inside of her. On a quest to understand her past and avenge her mother’s murder, she’s joined by a colorful ensemble including a talking cat and a hybrid fox/human girl as they’re thrown in the middle of a war between human and otherworldly forces. When the world turns us into monsters, Monstress asks how can we overcome our monstrosities?”

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Monstress Is the Perfect Fantasy Comic for an Adult Animated Adaptation

Written by Marjorie Liu with art by Sana Takeda, Monstress is pretty much a perfect comic book to get an adult animated adaptation. Currently on issue #60, monstress is a truly epic fantasy tale. The world building alone is so expansive and grand that it feels like it was built for the screen. The story also features rich, complex characters and intense conflict that, in many ways, pits its protagonist Maika Halfwolf, against multiple worlds. It’s also not just a straight fantasy story, either as there are significant elements of cosmic horror throughout the series, something that makes sense as Maika shares a psychic link with an immensely powerful eldritch monster.

While many fans have hoped that Monstress would get a film adaptation at some point, Amazon opting for a television series makes the most sense for the story. One of the great things about the long-running comic is that it is told in very specific, carefully constructed arcs. It’s a format that lends itself very well to a season-based, episodic adaptation format, especially considering how detailed the Monstress story actually is.

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