In 12AD, at an unidentified location with a henge; a bunch of druids summon forth the spirit of the moon to walk the earth and protect the shores of Albion. Skip forward a couple of millennia, and Moon is an agent for an as yet unknown law enforcement agency, solving violent crimes in London suburbs… Cool.
Moon is the brain child of writer Dan Thompson and artist Steve Penfold, and they go together like honey in tea (quite well). The writing has this whimsical charm to it that the art really helps to establish, with the stylised character models communicating everything about the characters before they deliver any dialogue. Moon as a character is especially well rendered as he doesn’t have a mouth for talking, but you can tell if he did, he’d say something incredibly profound… like silent Bob I suppose.
It should also be said that the colouring is absolutely lovely in this book, Ivanna Matilla has done an incredible job on colour. I especially like the ethereal glow around Moon’s head, the light gives him a lot of character, and that is an awesome concept.
The story is something that could develop in millions of directions, they might do the procedural cop drama thing in one issue, then have druids and spirits in another, then have one in space for good measure. It’s got an incredibly british sense of humour while being massively influenced by US TV, like if Blackadder had been made by HBO.
As a small press comic, it’s rare to have something that looks this good. In this day an age, there aren’t many reasons why you can’t think big, and it’s nice to remember that comics are only as restricted as the creators imagination… something you probably won’t need to worry about with Moon, because the sky is nowhere near the limit.
Anyway, I’d advise you to keep an eye on Moon, it’s awesome fun, and utterly worth the admission. They’re holding a launch party on the 26th March in London and you’ll receive a copy of Moon #1 on arrival! Tickets are £5 and I’m kicking myself because I’ll be in Jersey. Click HERE for more details from Beyond the Bunker.
Joe Innes.
