Moonshine – 2016-2021 (Image Comics) – Crime, Horror, Thriller
Author: Brian Azzarello
Art: Eduardo Risso
Series Contents: Moonshine #1-28
From the streets of New York to the backwoods of Appalachia, bullets fly and monsters howl at the night sky in Moonshine from the veteran pair of Azzarello/Risso. The story pits gangsters against hillbillies while blending in some frightening and realistic supernatural elements, with all sorts of unexpected twists and thrills. Stellar writing and immaculate art bring this story to life.
Story:
Clocking in at 28 issues for the full story, Moonshine keeps its story humming at a fast pace. Set during the prohibition years, the backdrop of gangsters and rum runners sets up the story of Handsome Lou Pirlo, a haunted past city hoodlum who is sent by his boss down south to make a deal with southern booze producer Hiram Holt.
What begins as possible double-crosses and crime family drama immediately takes a turn for even darker paths, as blood, guts and furry beasts enter the scene. As creatures howl at the moon and make mincemeat of anyone caught in their wake, Lou’s world is turned upside down yet again. Just what is really going on in the deep dark woods?
While Lou has conversations with his long-dead younger sister, he also pounds furious amounts of moonshine. Will that block out the reality of the fact that the Holt family secret may have infected him too? As the days pass, the tale continues to build into a dark tale of greed, lust, power and hunger. Find out how Lou’s world of tommy guns vs werewolves collides and take a nip of the Moonshine.
While the story is mainly an entertaining crime weave, however doubles as an interesting delve into many human traits and psyches also, especially with the struggles over guilt and alcohol abuse. There is plenty of blood and guts and action, and the pages whip by allowing for and easy and exciting read. It is well paced, and the reader can’t help but feel a bit uneasy about where things are almost undoubtedly headed.
While the genre-blending may not be perfect at all times, it works pretty well throughout the tale and provides moments of horror, humor, compassion, understanding, grief, and rage. Azzarello proves to be a great writer time and time again, with this fun and scary tale being one to check out.
Art:
There is just so much that could be said about Eduardo Risso’s art. It always blows me away just how much drama, movement and action he can capture in every single panel on every single page, even sometimes just using minimal detail and light. Moonshine uses similar art and coloring to many of Risso’s prior projects, including “100 Bullets” which he also did with Azzarello as writer (and also should be read).
The dramatic dark/black backgrounds and shading used further brings out the tone of the series, complimenting the gritty crime drama to perfection. While supernatural elements are mixed in, they look as natural as they feel in the writing, running congruent to the reality of the guns, thugs and booze.
This author/artist pair works so well together, and overall I love Risso’s art every time I run across it.
Reasons to Read:
Quick, fun, exciting, dark, monstrous, Moonshine offers a bit of something for almost everyone. It is an adult tale with some bloody moments, but plenty of fun also. For those looking for a short series that won’t take years to get through or wait for, this is a good one to grab and knock out. Moonshine will likely become a movie or mini-series at some point.
Similar Titles:
Bitter Root; Killadelphia; American Vampire; Severed; The Wake; 100 Bullets; Something is Killing the Children; Gideon Falls; Kill or be Killed