OCTOBER - - 31 Days Of Horror: TWO MOONS

EDITOR'S NOTE: What better month to read and review horror comics than October? I'm going to do my best to post a new review here each day during this Halloween month. 

TWO MOONS, VOLUME 1: THE IRON NOOSE by John Arcudi writer and Valerio Giangiordano artist. (Image Comics, August 2021) Trade paperback, 120 pages. ISBN # 1534319115 / 9781534319110  Collects Two Moons #1-5.

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

RUMBLE and BPRD writer JOHN ARCUDI is back at Image with rising star VALERIO GIANGIORDANO for an all-new horror series set in the midst of the Civil War.

In the middle of the horrors of the American Civil War, young soldier Virgil Morris discovers that he can't leave his Pawnee origins behind him. Visited by ghosts and visions, he learns that the war is not the worst evil he and his new friend, nurse Frances Shaw, face. Together - and apart - Frances and Virgil combat madness and hell itself.

My Four-Star review on the Goodreads website . . . . . 

     I read this in the individual monthly issues, and I have to admit that it was the artwork that kept me going. I'm glad I stuck around because the story really picks up at the mid-point and becomes much more interesting. 

The depictions of civil war settlements, encampments, and battles is both authentic and realistic. The description style of artist Valerio Giangiordano and use of shading enhances the story so well. The color work by Dave Stewart and Bill Crabtree compliment the lush illustrations perfectly.

 

John Arcudi's story blends civil war realism with horror, starting out slowly and building the suspense and terror issue by issue. At first, it seems that perhaps main character Virgil Morris/Two Moons, a native American raised by foster parents and enlisted in the Union Army, may be going slightly mad from the hazards/trauma of war. He views his comrades and sees monsters underneath the uniform. Perhaps the visions are enhanced by the persuasive influence of his grandfather, who appears to him as a ghostly counselor. Or, maybe it was the magic mushroom that he was encouraged to locate and eat. 

     Readers don't get any clarity until the middle of the first story arc. By this point, everyone is aware of the threat. Arcudi uses the brutality and cruelty of the American Civil War as a perfect foil for his story of hidden monsters arising from the souls of soldiers on both sides of the battle.

     Two Moons learns the reality of the situation from a fellow soldier he revealed as a monster: "In this time, the spirit world is strong. The Nahurac are near - - but the Sehsekachan, the evil ones, the angry ones, cannot be controlled . . . .

War brings them to life, into this world. The evil will always be strongest then. . . But this war of the white men goes on for years. Thousands die, brothers kill brothers and the dying souls, fat with the venom of hatred, feed the greedy Sehsekachan. . . . Sucking pain and resentment from those damned spirits, growing stronger."

     There's a resolution of sorts in the final chapter of the first story arc, setting the stage for further engagement to come. I'm going to be following this one.