Two Moons #1

Two Moons #1

Image Comics 2021

Written by John Arcudi

Illustrated by Valerio Giangiordano

Coloured by Dave Stewart

Lettered by Michael Heisler

This issue starts the long journey of a young Pawnee man named Virgil Morris—aka Two Moons—fighting for the Union during the Civil War. When he is suddenly confronted with his shamanic roots, he discovers horrors far worse than combat as the ghosts of his past reveal the monstrous evil around him!

I really enjoyed this a whole lot more than I was thinking I was going to from my first glimpse of it and boy howdy is this something special. The whole premise of this being set in the midst of the civil war is something more than simply clever it’s incredibly inspired. You can see the influence of what’s been happening in one character and part of me likes that and another part of me is a little disappointed because i’d rather that have been a surprise. Regardless what’s done is done and certainly didn’t or doesn’t diminish the enjoyment of the story in the slightest. The ending is something of a twist as well so that was a stellar part of how this whole thing unfolds.

I like the way that we see this being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. I like that the we are already in the midst of war and that Two Moons is there without explanation or backstory being hit upon at the moment. I’d rather we not revisit his past per se and just keep moving forward with bits and pieces talked about as needed. The moment with his grandfather is a perfect example of this and how I hope we continue to see his life unfold. The character development that we see is sensational. I like how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter as well as the dialogue between characters as it fleshes them out. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story we are treated to a really interesting and fascinating read.

I do like how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story are emerging so that we can see different avenues that could possibly develop. Then there’s the way that we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow which is beautifully done. I love how easy this reads as it allows us to follow along.

The interiors here are absolutely beautiful. The linework that we see is strong yet also soft and how the varying weights and techniques are being utilised to bring about this level and quality of detail work is stunning. The sheer creativity and imagination that we see and how the backgrounds are utilised into the composition within the panels shows so much talent and skill here. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a stupendous eye for storytelling. The colour work is absolutely gorgeous as well and how we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading shows some great understanding of how colour works. I am utterly and completely impressed with the level and quality of the work we see within these pages.

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This is an off the beaten path style horror story and I think that this kind of creativity in the storytelling, see writing, is exactly the kind of adrenaline we need infused in the genre. I love that this feels so incredibly original and unique that stands out from the crowd, head and shoulders above the rest really. I am excited to see what’s going to come next and this fuses that compelling drama of the era along with mythology of an indigenous people to introduce a new generation to the excitement of the past.