Comic Book Review: The Legend of Joe Moon
Review by Jeffery J. Timbrell
After the success of Ben Templesmith, Steven Niles (30 Days of Night) and Mike Mignola (Hellboy), along with the recent rise in adult fiction from Junji Ito (Uzumaki), Mochizuki Minetaro (Dragonhead), Warren Ellis (Scars, Black Gas), and an upcoming title from Alan Moore (Watchmen), it’s safe to say that Horror is making a come back in comic books. And it’s making a come back in a big way.
Writer Gonzalo Ventura along with artists Leonardo Silva and Manuel Silva are looking to join in on the fun with this new book from the independent Pit Bros. Productions: The Legend of Joe Moon.
The Legend of Joe Moon is a horror/western comic that owes as much to Sergio Leone (The Good, the Bad, The Ugly) and Garth Ennis (Preacher) as it does to classic universal monster movies. The Legend of Joe Moon is a refreshingly simple concept with great art and enough offensive nastiness to make Dr. Fredric Wertham himself do a back-flip in his grave.
The story deals with Joe Moon, a bounty-hunter in the Old West, cut from the same cloth as the classic “Man with no Name,” only Joe’s got a mean streak in him that’s a mile wide and as ugly as swamp rat. Joe’s hunting down a couple of no-good, killing, thieving and raping curs called the Harrison Brothers. The Harrison Brothers fancy themselves to be real predators, but Moon’s about to show them just how far down they are on the old food chain, and the Harrison boys are about to find out exactly what kind of man hunts the hunters.
Comic books are for the most part, a serial medium and the whole point is to keep people coming back for more, the next month (or week in some cases). The Legend of Joe Moon works on this level for two very good reasons. The set up is a decent story with plenty of room to grow and lots of possibilities and secrets to explore, and the artwork is really damn good. When Leonardo and Manuel are working on mood and atmosphere they got a nice slick feel that comes from plenty of experience. These guys really know their stuff, and when Joe Moon goes into action in the finale, Manuel and Leonardo pick up the momentum and deliver one of the best werewolves in comic book history.
The Legend of Joe Moon works because it follows that classic K.I.S.S method. Keep it Simple Stupid. They set up the encounter, introduce the bad guys, introduce the good guy and let nature take its course. They use exactly the right amount of space and time they need and that’s it. They don’t try to muddy the waters with too much exhibition or try to explain too many of the mysteries and get ahead of themselves. It has really nice pacing and works perfectly as an opening to a comic book series. It’s exactly what it needs to be and that’s not as easy it looks.
I’ve seen lots of people working in comics who have a lot of trouble finding that perfect balance where everything fits. Comic books are a very difficult and underrated medium, where one wrong panel, or too many lines of dialogue, can make all the difference in the world. In a novel or movie you have hundreds of pages and loads of time to make-up for lazy writing, or a bad line or other kinds of screw ups, but in comics there’s very little room for error. It’s short, it’s blunt and you gotta bring your best, all the time, or everyone’s gonna leave focusing on your worst. It’s a harsh and very difficult art-form that often doesn’t get the respect it deserves, and the rewards sometimes don’t outweigh the hard work these guys put it into every page.
So my hat’s off to everybody involved in this one. They got a great rhythm to their artwork, the story moves at a great pace, everything flows just right and they know exactly where to begin and exactly how to end. That takes considerable skill.
Bottom-line: The Legend of Joe Moon is a slick, violent and fun teaser that showcases some great new talents and promises much more to come. Check it out.
Pit Bros. Productions – Myspace
Pit Bros. Productions – Official Site
Popularity: 3% [?]
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