Two Moons #3

Two Moons #3

Image Comics 2021

Written by John Arcudi

Illustrated by Valerio Giangiordano

Coloured by Bill Crabtree

Lettered by Michael Heisler

"THE IRON NOOSE," Part Three

While Virgil is stuck riding with the band of bloodthirsty Confederate guerrillas that saved his life, Frances is faced with a deadly decision.

Wow each issue just doesn’t seem to slow down. I’m not complaining because the fact that this is full steam ahead is just what the doctor ordered. Even when its time for some slower character development time it still has this charged excitement to it that doesn’t slow things down it just keeps ramping it up and i’m not sure how John is able to accomplish this but I’ll be damned if he isn’t just killing it with the writing here. Virgil may be an Native American but being raised as he was means it’s only natural that he’s fighting for the Union. Though with his heritage being what it is that this should turn into an historical western horror thriller is the most amazing combination there is.

I absolutely love 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 exceptionally well. Nurse Frances is a great character and she really should know him a bit better after seeing him with the wounded and her initial impression of him. So to see her in the opening makes me happy regardless of where it goes from there. The character development is amazing and as we see how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter alongside the dialogue and character interaction is simply amazing. The pacing that we see here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story as well as the twists & turns along the way it’s just this crazy train of a ride.

I do very much like the way that this is being structured as it showcases how the layers within the story grow, change and strengthen in ways that really drive Virgil to the brink of madness and back. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is absolutely delightful to see.

I am in love with the interiors here. The linework is exceptionally exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level and quality in the attention to detail is phenomenal to see. The intensity of what we see and the faces and facial expressions plus the body language really help to further the characterisation beautifully. The creativity and imagination that we see especially in how we see the demons is stupendous stuff. The backgrounds we see throughout do wonders in how they enhance the moments as well as bring this stunning depth perception, 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 such a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is utterly brilliant! How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a masters eye for colour and how it can & should be utilised.

​

There is something about this that not only generates excitement but it’s engaging the reader as well in how we see Virgil going about trying to survive. This was a time when racism wasn’t a bad word and being different was cause enough to be killed for and yet here’s this man who is wanted by multiple factions and all he can do at this point is stay alive long enough to figure out what it all means. This intelligently written and brilliantly illustrated and will take you to new highs and lows in how the storytelling affects each and every reader individually.