From Marvel to ‘Monstress,’ Lawrence alumna Liu finds her joy in comic books, graphic novels

Marjorie Liu ’00 calls it her “unexpected life.”

The Lawrence University alumna has crafted an impressive career as a best-selling author, writing comic book titles for Marvel, creating the popular Monstress series of graphic novels for Image Comics, and launching The Night Eaters horror series for Abrams Books. She has won five Eisner Awards (creative achievement in American comic books) and two Hugo Awards (literary award for best science fiction or fantasy works) along the way.

Unexpected, she said, because she was already into a promising career as a lawyer, having earned a law degree at the University of Wisconsin following her graduation from Lawrence.

“I’m the daughter of an immigrant—I thought I was going to be a lawyer, or something equally practical, because that’s how I was raised,” Liu said.

But shortly after graduating from law school, Liu began exploring interests that first stirred during her undergraduate days in Appleton. It was while at Lawrence—she majored in East Asian Languages and Culture and minored in biomedical ethics—that Liu found herself making weekly sojourns down College Avenue to her favorite shop, Power House Comics. She was feeding a growing passion—comic books. Back on campus, she was embracing English literature courses, being mentored by faculty who helped hone her writing skills.

“I thrived in Lawrence’s small classes, thrived under the mentorship of my professors, expanded my ideas of what life could look like and what mattered to me,” Liu said.

The creative juices nurtured in that liberal arts environment beckoned as she hit a crossroads following law school. Liu at first eyed writing as a side hustle. But not for long. In 2004, she wrote—and sold—a paranormal romance novel, Tiger Eye, which drew a favorable response and set her on a creative adventure. Her journey would soon include a relationship with Marvel, the publisher that dominates the comic book and movie industry. Her titles such as Dark Wolverine, X-23, and Black Widow: The Name of the Rose became top sellers.

Becoming part of the Marvel family was “sort of like winning the lottery,” Liu said.

The Marvel success would lead to her 2015 launch of the critically acclaimed Monstress series—a sprawling epic fantasy—and then The Night Eaters, both in partnership with illustrator and comic book artist Sana Takeda.

“Sana is my creative co-pilot, whose art is more or less my muse,” Liu said.

By 2018, Liu was in heady company. She became the first woman to win an Eisner Award in the Best Writer category for Monstress Vol. 2: The Blood. As an Asian-American—her father is Taiwanese—she said she also took pride in being the first woman of color to win the award. The novel also won an Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series, was named Best Graphic Novel in three other 2018 award competitions—British Fantasy Awards, Hugo Awards, and National Cartoonist Society Awards—and was named 2018 Book of the Year in the Harvey Awards.

In the past six years, she has won or been nominated for 14 of the industry’s major awards. She’s been featured in media outlets ranging from CNN to The Atlantic.

Entertainment Weekly included Liu’s Monstress in its “Best Comics of the Decade” list in 2019, writing: “The epic fantasy-horror saga from Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda has fused disparate influences—the animal spirits of Hayao Miyazaki films, the cosmic monsters of H.P. Lovecraft stories, the inventive technology of steampunk—into a moving story about mothers and daughters, war and peace, and how divisions can be bridged.”

“Everything has been a surprise,” Liu said of her success. “When I was at Lawrence, if you'd told me that this is where I'd end up—writing for a living; specifically, comic books—I would have had a very difficult time imagining that future. … None of this was planned, or part of ‘the dream,’ but one opportunity naturally led to another, and suddenly 20 years passed by and here I am.”

Liu has built a devoted following as her characters have developed and evolved. She points to moments such as Warbird becoming an artist at the end of Astonishing X-Men #58, or Zuli from the Wingbearer series never losing her sense of compassion despite challenges, or Maika in Monstress being damaged and rageful from surviving unspeakable atrocities but still being capable of healing.

“What these storylines and characters all have in common is that they're threaded through with my own deep belief that hope, courage, and friendship can transform lives,” Liu said.

While sharing similarities, comic books and graphic novels are different publishing formats. The graphic novel builds on the comic book—still blending storytelling with visual art but doing so in a longer, more complex setting. The medium has exploded in popularity over the past decade—in fiction and nonfiction and with young adult and adult audiences. Liu has been in the middle of it all. She said it was early in her career when she had that “aha” moment when she believed she could make a living as a writer. She was promoting her debut novel at the Romance Writers of America convention when readers started approaching her with enthusiasm for Tiger Eye.

“It was a lovely affirmation, but it also made me want to work even harder to become a better writer and artist,” Liu said. “I still feel like that—I’m constantly hungry to push and challenge myself to do more in my work, whether it’s experimenting with new mediums or genres.”

That desire to push boundaries, she said, also has its roots in her Lawrence education. She had been shy as a student, always fearing putting herself out there. But her professors at Lawrence—she singles out the late Peter Fritzell from the English faculty—encouraged her to go deeper, take chances.

“I learned that there are no half-measures when it comes to writing, no short-cuts, no way to escape yourself or the work,” Liu said. “And, that language is a gift that evolves with you, that deepens as you deepen. I never intended to make my living as a writer, but Professor Fritzell helped me develop the skills I needed for this career.”

Those lessons still resonate 24 years after she graduated.

“The thing is, being a writer, or an artist of any kind, is about one of the most difficult career choices a person could possibly make,” Liu said. “It's not glamorous or financially secure, no matter what anyone tells you or what you see on television, and it's a lot of hard work. But ultimately that's the case with most jobs, and what drives me is that love of telling stories—a love of words—a need to express myself that began when I was young but that shaped itself more formally at Lawrence.”

The coming months will be busy for Liu. Wingborn, the second offering in her middle-grade graphic novel series, is scheduled for release Oct. 1, Monstress Vol. 9 will hit shelves in November, and the third Night Eaters book—part of a horror trilogy—will be released in early 2025. Meanwhile, she and Takeda are working on the launch of a new series, with details yet to be announced.

“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to have the opportunity to tell stories, and an honor that anyone would take their valuable time to read them,” Liu said. “I am so very grateful for this unexpected life.”