Strangeways: Murder Moon - Softcover

Matt Maxwell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0979695708 ISBN 13: 9780979695704

Publisher: Highway 62 Press, 2008

Synopsis

1868. Ex-Army officer Seth Collins is trying to forget the horrors of the Civil War when he finds himself faced with another kind of horror altogether. Something, not someone, is hunting the people of Silver Branch, including Collins estranged sister. A strange and seemingly unkillable wolf prowls the wilderness, killing not simply for pleasure, but to utterly destroy Silver Branch. But this is a town with its own secrets, ones that it won t give up willingly. Collins shortly finds himself trapped between the obligations of family and friendship. These duties lead him straight into darkness, where he has to find a way to defeat a creature that is neither man nor beast, all the while threatened by the the very town he s trying to save. Gorgeously illustrated in stark black and white, Murder Moon is a trip to a dark West that never was. In the wilderness of the Strangeways, black hats and badmen are the least of your worries. Here, there s fates worse than death and you just might find that your trusty revolver isn t enough to get you out of trouble. Murder Moon features artwork by Steve Lieber (Civil War: Frontline and Whiteout), Guy Davis (Sandman Mystery Theatre and B.P.R.D.), Fábio Moon (Smoke and Guns) and Gabriel Bá (Casanova). Murder Moon is illustrated by newcomer Luis Guaragña and includes the short story Lone illustrated by Gervasio and Jok. Chapter one of Strangeways: Murder Moon is available for reading online at highway-62.com

About this title

About the Author

Strangeways: Murder Moon is the comics debut of Matt Maxwell (Highway 62). He is a reformed animator and full-time father living in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas with his wife and two children. And no wolves in sight. So far.

Review

From the back cover: Murder Moon is a thoughtful, intelligent story of brooding werewolves and tough-as-nails cowboys that never lets up the pace; full of action, pathos, and downright fun. -- David Wellington, author of Monster Planet and 13 Bullets Is Maxwell bringing back the Western AND Suspense-Horror at the same time? Then I m on board, riding shotgun. Strangeways, here I come! -- Jeff Parker, writer of X-Men: First Class and The Interman --Back cover copy.

...Thankfully, he didn't let me down, with a story that manages to combine werewolves (blergh) and a western (blergh x 2 unless it's the two woods: East or Dead) into compelling, character-driven suspense that works very well. I've a minor bugaboo with the lead character uncovering the beast's true identity, and that payoff feeling slightly muted, but that may just be me looking for something to pick on with my obsessive dot-connecting; I'll easily concede that the story is about one man's journey into a world much bigger and stranger than what he has known, so the identity of the werewolf is a second-or-third-tiered concern at best. Luis Guaragña's art is appropriately moody, if inconsistent, with the best efforts featuring him paring down the linework, such as the chiaroscuro style used during the cabin fight scene. These weaknesses in the main story's art are pointed out by Gervasio and Jok's minimal-yet-lush work in the backup origin story "Lone". This is a solid, entertaining debut that will (hopefully) get Maxwell and his artistic collaborators some well-deserved positive attention. --BeaucoupKevin.com - 3/2008

...Thankfully, he didn't let me down, with a story that manages to combine werewolves (blergh) and a western (blergh x 2 unless it's the two woods: East or Dead) into compelling, character-driven suspense that works very well. I've a minor bugaboo with the lead character uncovering the beast's true identity, and that payoff feeling slightly muted, but that may just be me looking for something to pick on with my obsessive dot-connecting; I'll easily concede that the story is about one man's journey into a world much bigger and stranger than what he has known, so the identity of the werewolf is a second-or-third-tiered concern at best. Luis Guaragña's art is appropriately moody, if inconsistent, with the best efforts featuring him paring down the linework, such as the chiaroscuro style used during the cabin fight scene. These weaknesses in the main story's art are pointed out by Gervasio and Jok's minimal-yet-lush work in the backup origin story "Lone". This is a solid, entertaining debut that will (hopefully) get Maxwell and his artistic collaborators some well-deserved positive attention. --BeaucoupKevin.com - 3/2008

About this edition

• Publisher: Highway 62 Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0979695708
• ISBN 13: 9780979695704
• Binding: Perfect Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144
• Editor: Matt Maxwell
• Illustrator: Luis Guaragna, Gervasio And Jok, Steve Lieber, Guy Davis, Fabio Moon, Gabriel Ba