Wet Moon 20th Anniversary Omnibus Collection Vol. 1

Wet Moon #1-2

by Sophie Campbell

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Sophie Campbell’s landmark series Wet Moon, the first of three softcover omnibus volumes collects the stories Feeble Wanderings and Unseen Feet, now in a larger trim size with newly illustrated covers and a never-before-seen introduction from Campbell herself.

An unusually usual day-to-day story in the Deep South, set in the Gothic, swampy southern town of Wet Moon, a place fraught with lousy love lives, teen angst, and shadowy rednecks. As Cleo Lovedrop heads off for college at the local art school, she's haunted by her melancholic past. Elsewhere, Trilby deals with unsettled emotional and sexual issues, and keeping her secret habits hidden from everyone. And Audrey comes to the realization that, despite all her efforts, she always causes her friends distress, while Fern, a peculiar girl who lives in an isolated mansion in the bayou, begins to notice Cleo and her friends. Goths, friendship, romance, sex, betrayal, gossip, cats, murder, guilt, a squirrel monkey, and all the terrible and wonderful things people do to each other can be found in the pages of Wet Moon.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

384 pages, Paperback

Published November 26, 2024

About the author

One of the most exciting and talented creators working in comics today, Sophie Campbell has made her mark on IDW books such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Jem and the Holograms.

A graduate of the Savannah College of Art & Design, Campbell began her career writing and drawing independent comics primarily focused on the lives of young women from all walks of life, including Wet Moon, Shadoweyes, and the Abandoned. She further proved her versatility as an artist when she began drawing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for IDW, where her kinetic action sequences and distinctive character art were a hit with fans and critics alike.

Campbell was brought on as the first artist on the IDW continuing series Jem and the Holograms, where she was responsible for the modern redesign of the characters and establishing the unique look of the comic. Her work on Jem with writer Kelly Thompson was so well received that the two were profiled by the New Yorker in 2015.

Campbell continues to work on several projects for IDW, as well as her own creator-owned independent comics.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wet Moon is definitely targeted to a younger demographic than anything I fit into, and its intertwined tales of (mostly female) Goth heartache and late-teen angst can get quickly repetitive.

On the other hand, Sophie Campbell is a talented graphic artist, and her ability communicate emotion via subtly rendered facial expressions is truly impressive. Although her backgrounds are mostly minimal, she occasionally interjects establishing panels of the small southern town from which the book gets its name, and these are highly effective at creating the atmosphere of a swamp-infested landscape: even as I read, I could feel the omnipresent heat and humidity.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so random, but I enjoyed it. It’s so nostalgic of my teenage years. Anyone who was a teenager in the early 2000s will feel the nostalgia deeply when you read this book. Especially if you were into the emo / scene / goth thing back then. I liked this book for the nostalgia and at the end I found myself wanting to know what happens next. Even though it’s just a simple slice of life story, the ending makes me want to know what happens in the next volume.

[Isaiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got an ARC, but I DNFed this one.

I liked the art, but I just wasn't invested in the story. I can see why people would like this one. I am glad that it is getting an anniversary edition.

[Bexx · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for the earc for review.


I liked the gothic edgy style of the characters styles in this.

I felt bad for Cleo a lot the way her friendships were with her close friends reminded me of the ones I had in late elementary and in junior high.

There are trigger warnings of: slurs, scars, and self harm scars. There is queer and disabled rep which I liked to see.

The next vol 2, for the 20th anniversary omnibus edition comes out in May 2025. I am very interested in reading it.

[Dan P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a trip to revisit this 20 years later! I've been a big fan of Sophie Campbell over the last two decades, since these early days of Feeble Wanderings. Wet Moon shares a lot of DNA with contemporary comic Blue Monday, which I recently read for the first time. They're both 2000's slice of life comics that are somewhat aimless exercises in teenage angst. But since this is the one I read in high school I can't help but love it a lot more. Plus the art is much, much better

[Hal · Rating 2 out of 5]

arc copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. all thoughts and opinions are my own

I didn't love this graphic novel, the colour palette and the art style weren't my style and I had a hard time reading some of the text with the tiny font. I also didn't vibe with the overall story and found myself getting characters and their stories confused at points which lessened my enjoyment as well.

If you like realistic depictions of people in their twenties and the college life, you might be into this one! I appreciated the queer rep too.

2/5✨

[visceralreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Oni Press and NetGalley for the ARC! My opinion is my own.

There's a lot to unpack in this one. I'm not really sure what the plot actually was about as the drama between Cleo (the MC) and her friends felt so closed, like you have to be them to understand the drama you know what I mean? That being said, the story bored me but I think I got the gist of it at around 75% of the book, when things are starting to pick up. I personally loved the art, there's a very gothic and 90s japanese manga feel to it. I like the font selection for the dialogues, it kind of reminds me of the koRn font; although the handwriting font for Cleo's diary was really hard to read and I found myself skimming those parts. However there was a very distinct same face syndrome between the characters so it was hard to tell them apart sometimes (I didnt even realise all Cleo's friends changed their hairstyles until towards the end of the book!)

‼️ Heavy trigger warnings for this book though, as there are lots of slurs and ableist stuff thrown around as a joke. (Although there's queer and disabled rep in this book, which is pretty neat since this comic's been written 20 years ago if I'm not mistaken. ) And also SH scars are shown on page lots of times so I guess I should also put that as a trigger warning to be sure.

Despite everything, I'm quite intrigued about this strange and freaky town, and I want to see what happens next after that wild cliffhanger!

[Chad Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this from NetGalley in exchange for a review....

I cannot pretend that I have not been a fan of Wet Moon for many, many years. Sophie Campbell's series is something I have greatly enjoyed for a long while now, and I am glad to see it recollected.

The story meanders, as soapish stories do, and introduces many residents of Wet Moon. The focus is on their personal interactions and involvements. Over time this will build into more of a story, but this first volume introduces you to the characters and the setting.

Wet Moon is a cool snapshot of the aughts. The characters and their interactions are rooted in that time period. As we get further away, this will seem more like a snapshot of a particular moment. That's one of the things I really enjoy about Wet Moon.

Another thing I love is the art. Sophie Campbell is one of my favorite comic book artists, and it is great watching her work evolve.

[☽｡⋆ Shells (jlreads_) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pretty intimidated while reading this at first because of the artwork that really depicted a rather edgy, dark, and gloomy mood throughout the story. Probably to emphasise the intensity of the topics here covered here.

The story covered sensitive topics such as body-positive, identity, slurs, drugs, queerness, depression and self-harm, as well as bullying in Cleo's part. It was quite highlighted so many times. However, it feels like there's no route to going to the positive things.

The story also depicted friendship here and not really on the positive light if I'm being honest. It's quite a little bit toxic, in my opinion, or is it just me.

I also wish the fonts or the dialogues are clearer for a smooth reading because this one is really my main problem while reading this.

I'd definitely check onto the next volume of this edition. I'm pretty interested in the story and how it goes after the end.

Thank you, Oni Press, for the e-arc opportunity. 4⭐️

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will be totally honest, I struggled hard to finish this graphic novel. I found myself so incredibly bored throughout the entire story. I don't know what it was, but nothing in this story held my attention. The interpersonal drama felt so cliche, and just dumb at points. The art style is sort of good, but there was a lot of same-face syndrome, so I kept getting a few characters confused. There are also minor characters you only see for a few pages, so I'm confused as to why they are in the volume at all. Also, the font that was used for the handwriting look of the diary pages is god awful. I struggled so hard to read it, that I ended up skipping anything with that font. This story just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Joansie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophie Campbell’s Wet Moon is a captivating slice-of-life story that centers on a group of college students navigating their first year. While it promises a body-positive narrative, I found the execution somewhat lacking; characters often engage in negative body talk without a clear, positive resolution. Perhaps I missed deeper themes?

The character-driven storytelling shines through, offering rich LGBT visibility and relatable struggles. Despite its flaws, the engaging narrative and compelling characters have definitely piqued my interest for Volume 2. Overall, it’s a read worth passing along to the right audience!

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, Oni Press, for the ARC.

This is the story of Cleo and her friends. More of a day to day experience and conversations between them, the story has a great sense of telling what the main character is going through most days regarding their self and past experiences.

I feel the collection is good. However, the art style will not be for everyone. Some triggering elements are there when it comes to body image, crime and nud*ty.

Will definitely be a great read for gothic style of art lovers.

[Kaitlyn (ktxx22) Walker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNFd this book around the halfway point. I can see if you were a reader on the ground when this originally came out it would feel very nostalgic for a specific time and place but as a new reader, and even one who would’ve been the right age demographic for this series when it came out I was NOT a fan of this at all. I found myself skimming and skipping and was not invested at all in the characters or their story. Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc.

[Nora Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this. I love it’s all over the place structure and its sprawling character full world. It paints such a vivid picture of being in college and only having to worry about stupid bullshit that feels way more important than it is. Above anything it just feels so real, it captures the exact way that living makes me feel.

[Jared Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

not on cbr

[Sarah O'Riordan | travelseatsreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wet Moon is a sharp slice-of-life graphic novel which follows Cleo Lovedrop as she heads off to college on a tumultuous journey of self discovery. As she finds herself immersed in college life, surrounded by quite a quirky group of friends she realises that life is rarely always sunshine and rainbows.

The illustrations in this graphic novel are absolutely perfect, the edgy monotone sketches with contrasting colours really help convey the antics and dramatics of quite an unusual group of friends and they really saved the book from being a DNF for me.

I wanted to love this one and did at the start but by the end I began to find it all a little bit one tone, and it honestly began to feel every day of its 20 year age. While the book does look at topics such as sexuality, body image, self harm and mental health, the approach did feel quite stilted and dated.

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