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Graphic Novel Review: Moonshine Volume 1 by Brian Azzarello, art by Eduardo Risso

Moonshine Volume 1 by Brian Azzarello, art by Eduardo Risso

Image Comics, 2017

ISBN: 9781534300644

Available: Paperback, Kindle and comiXology editions

 

Editor’s note: This volume contains racist language, which is especially jarring coming from a child character.

 

Moonshine Volume 1 is set in Appalachia during Prohibition. Lou Pirlo, a gangster from New York City, is sent to negotiate a deal with the best moonshine hustler in the region, Hiram Holt. The boss back in the big city, Joe Masseira, wants to increase supply and sales of alcohol, and needs Lou to seal the deal. Lou thinks it will be an easy in-and-out trip, believing he has more brains than the backwoods hicks he will be dealing with. Unfortunately for Lou, he underestimates the iron-fisted Holt and his family, as well as the family secret. However, Holt also underestimates most of his sons, who want to double-cross him. Then, there’s Holt’s daughter, Tempest, who has her blue eyes set on Lou, which Lou tries to keep from the overbearing father. A black man ends up dead, Lou has Joe breathing down his neck, other gangsters show up to help their “friend” out, and more people end up drunk, imprisoned, or dead.

Azzarello and Risso created 100 Bullets, a noir crime comic series that was very well executed. I was hoping for more of that with Moonshine. The first volume is a bad guys versus bad guys shoot ’em up story…werewolves. In fact, the werewolf storyline could have been left out altogether. Oh, and Lou is haunted by the ghost of his dead sister. The characters are relatively dull and I didn’t care about what happened to any of them,  with the exception of Delia, a black woman who takes care of Lou after he ends up almost drowning when his car runs off the road. She would be a great character to follow. As far as the rest, flawed characters can be done well, and I know Azzarello can deliver on that better than he did here. I did like Risso’s art throughout, and his color palette lent the proper tone to what was going on in each scene. Moonshine Volume 1 may have an audience, but it just doesn’t do it for me. Recommended with reservations.

Contains: blood, gore, nudity, racism

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on May 4, 2019 by , Reply

Short Fiction Review: “Mutter” by Jess Landry

“Mutter” by Jess Landry (in Fantastic Tales of Terror: History’s Dark Secrets edited by Eugene Johnson)

Crystal Lake Publishing, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1644679685

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

“Mutter” is the hands-down favorite of most reviewers in this star-filled anthology. They are dead on with this opinion, as the story is written with a fine style that draws attention to it from the first paragraph. In this Crystal Lake collection, authors retold major events in history, usually with a supernatural element, or at least a strong sense of horror. Many evoke the best of The Twilight Zone series, with takes on societal and historical notions that should be dealt with, yet are often swept under the rug. Landry does something special with her pair of characters, who board the Hindenburg, and ultimately have a role in how the zeppelin crashes on that fateful day. The characters make the horrific gears go, and her execution here is perfect. Hopefully, readers will be seeing a lot more of Landry’s work in the near future.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

 

Editor’s note: “Mutter” is a nominee on the final ballot of the 2018 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in Short Fiction. Typically Monster Librarian does not review anything shorter than novella-length, but we are making an exception for the Stoker Awards.

 

Posted on May 4, 2019 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Bone Parish Volume 1 by Cullen Bunn, art by Jonas Scharf

Bone Parish Volume 1 by Cullen Bunn, art by Jonas Scharf

BOOM! Studios, 2018

ISBN: 9781684153541

Available: Paperback

Bone Parish is, frankly, one of the better Stoker-nominated books I read for Monster Librarian. As a new fan of the Harrow County series, I like Bunn’s writing style. While this is a departure from the backwoods of that Southern Gothic dark fairy tale, it is a welcome change.

The Winters family, a New Orleans crime family, has concocted and is trafficking a new designer hallucinogenic drug made from the ashes of the dead, simply called “ash”, and it is becoming extremely popular. Those who ingest the ashes experiece memories from the life of the individual who previously inhabited the physical body. Other crime families are noticing the success of the Winters and want to buy them out (or take them out), to obtain control over the creation and flow of the lucrative drug trade. Grace Winters (with deceased husband Andre at her side, thanks to his ashes), is not willing to give up the family business, and this means war. Son Brae is vying to take over, while daughter Brigitte, the only family member living who knows how to make the drug, secludes herself in her morgue workshop, working constantly to keep up with demand. The two younger brothers, Wade and Leon, act as the enforcers of the family, ensuring money and distribution go smoothly, but they begin to question the family business. A confrontation eventually leaves the brothers in a deadly situation. Luckily for one of them, Mother Winters made sure to provide them with the ashes of a former soldier to help them just in case, but is it enough?

Between Bunn’s compelling story and Scharf’s artwork, it’s no wonder that Bone Parish Volume 1 has been nominated for a 2018 Stoker Award. I’m going to be adding this to my personal collection as well as recommending it for my library to purchase. I definitely recommend Bone Parish to anyone who likes a good crime story merged into their horror. Highly recommended.

Contains: blood, gore

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Editor’s note: Bone Parish Volume 1 is a nominee on the final ballot for the 2018 Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel.

Posted on May 3, 2019 by , Reply
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