Farewell, Moonshadow

by J.M. DeMatteis, Jon J. Muth (Illustrator)

Book by J. M. DeMatteis

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Science Fiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Also Credited As:
DeMatteis, John Marc
Ellis, Michael
Lombego, Wally

Bio:
J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician/singer and rock music journalist before entering comics in the late 70's.

Credits include Spider-Man, Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Justice League, Abadazad, Hero Squared, the Life and Times of Savior 28.

Created I, Vampire , Creature Commandos, Moonshadow, Hero Squared (co-creator), Abadazad, Stardust Kid, Savior 28 and more.

Reviews

[Alavi Meem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faith in humanity: RESTORED.
STRENGTHENED.
UPGRADED.
I have been robbed of coherency. GIVE THE POWER OF ARTICULATE SPEECH BACK TO ME, J.M. DeMatteis. Reading Moonshadow is like putting your heart through a food processor. My heart has been reduced to a gooey, pulpy lump now. I've just shoved my semi-liquid heart back into it's chambers and am trying to defibrillate some rhythm back into it.
No luck yet.

[ნინო ქერდიყოშვილი · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The moon smiled back at him:
sometimes gentle,sometimes mocking,
sometimes playful,sometimes cruel;
Moonshadow knew it held his answers,
but,what,he wondered, were the questions?"

-
'sometimes I love u so deeply,that I don't know where I end and you begin.'

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember when the original Moonshadow series came out, how amazing it was, and how hard it was to wait for the next issue to show up.

This one-shot is superficially very different; it mostly consists of Jon J Muth watercolors, and J.M. DeMatteis text on facing pages. It’s written as a third-person telling (albeit, potentially with the narrator and the main character being the same person) far removed from the close-to-the-action first-person telling of the original Moonshadow. But the kinds of things that happen in his life, while more drawn out, have the same touching and fearful anarchy.

It will probably help to have read the original before reading this; some of the characters hearken back to a special time in Moonshadow’s life in the original series.

It is definitely a fine capstone to the mysteries of Moonshadow’s life, and without losing all of the mystery explains, somewhat, who Moonshadow is.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, how do I categorize Farewell, Moonshadow? I guess officially it's a comic book or graphic novel, but that's not quite right. It has written text that's not dialogue. In fact, it has very little dialogue. Therefore, calling it a comic book or graphic novel would be incorrect, but at the same time, that is the closest thing to what Farewell, Moonshadow is. I guess in that regard it's like Johnathan Livingston Seagull. Oddly enough that's not their only similarities. They're both about a man who's a bit of loner and neither protagonist fears death. In fact, they both except it when their time comes. Granted, the two books have very different themes.

John Livingston Seagull's about seeing beyond the demands of society and breaking away from a sheep mentally (or should I seagull mentally) and maybe a bit on the Buddhist afterlife (with their being multiple levels of heaven, and each seagull being able to the next one once they've accomplished everything they need to know in the current). Farewell, Moonshadow is more about PTSD, depression, survivor's guilt, suicide, and letting go. Very different themes. However, I think if you like one, you would like the other.

I guess this is more of an alternative recommendation then a review, but it's post, I can make it an alternative recommendation it I want to.

[Jason Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little graphic novel (novelette?) is an epilogue to the much larger Moonshadow, and concerns our hero's return to the town where he grew up. Romance is in the air, but things do not go swimmingly. It has the same lofty and lyrical feel, close to fable, as its predecessor, and the same beautiful and expressive artwork.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the original series it spawned, this is more of an afterword, where and older Moonshadow comes back to visit his friend Bettina, who was only a child when they first met. A romance blossoms, and he must face aspects of his past. As usual, Muth's gorgeous watercolor art, which often references classic paintings and films, makes this worth a read.

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an epilogue to a brilliant short comic-book series. It left me very sad, and happy at the same time. It made me look back at my own life and at the things I'm going through right now, and prompted me to ask myself again the question of who I am. It shook me and made me cry and smile. Any book that puts you through all that -even a tiny one like this one- is truly a good book.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet and maudlin sequel and farewell to the whimsical Moonshadow series. DeMatteis portrays the depths of despair that afflict Moonshadow convincingly but fails to make his mystical redemption seem equally credible.