Two Moons #2

Two Moons #2

Image Comics 2021

Written by John Arcudi

Illustrated by Valerio Giangiordano

Coloured by Bill Crabtree

Lettered by Michael Heisler

"THE IRON NOOSE," Part Two

Facing a court-martial and execution at the hands of the Union Army, Virgil must depend on the enemy to save his life.

John isn’t wasting any time getting into the heart of the story here as he is placing Virgil firmly on the path to opening up his mind to what his people have believed for generations. I like it too because after his parents died of small pox he was raised by the white man. This of course caused him to lose the ways of his people so he is getting a crash course and boy is it crashing him hard. Okay so here I am talking like this and its only the second issue but I am so completely and thoroughly engaged in the book and Virgil’s story that I am trying to flesh out the backstory for myself so that what I am seeing here makes more sense. John has gone above and beyond what I would have expected and his talent and skill that is on display here is astronomical.

I am a huge fan of the way that this is 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 beautifully. I don’t know what John’s background is but the research we see here is phenomenal. The character development that we see through all the traditional methods and infused with some unexpected ones really make us feel for the characters. How we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter really says a lot about who they are. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing all the twists & turns along the way and introducing us to new characters we are able to really get swept up in what we are seeing.

I really like the way that this is being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge and others grow and evolve. How we see Virgil meet and make a new friend raises a whole new slew of questions but I welcome those as it also finds its way into engaging the mind. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow is fantastic.

The interiors here are mind numbingly brilliant. The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this kind of detail work is beyond gorgeous. The emotions, feelings and such that w get from the faces, facial expressions and body language really do wonders in fleshing out their personalities even more. That we see backgrounds the way that we do and how they work within the composition within the panels not only enhance the moments but also provide us with depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling.

The colour work is divine. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading highlights and shadow work is exceptional. The Trickster is a stand out moment and it shows an eye for colour and how to utilise it so effectively to bring fear and grace, horror and beauty all at the same time.

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So many new angles are introduced in this issue and some feel more important than others which of course raises my own interest and intrigue factors. I wanna know if what I think is correct or not and regardless I want to see it play out before my eyes. This is the downside of a monthly book, I have to wait a month before the next issue comes out and I wanna read it now because this is just that damn good.