Moonshine #1

Moonshine (Single Issues)

by Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso (Artist)

Set during Prohibition, and deep in the backwoods of Appalachia, MOONSHINE #1 tells the story of Lou Pirlo, a city-slick "torpedo" sent from New York City to negotiate a deal with the best moonshiner in West Virginia, one Hiram Holt. What Lou doesn't figure on is that Holt is just as cunning and ruthless as any NYC crime boss. Because not only will Holt do anything to protect his illicit booze operation, he'll stop at nothing to protect a much darker family secret...a bloody, supernatural secret that must never see the light of day... or better still, the light of the full moon. MOONSHINE #1 marks the first time AZZARELLO and RISSO have worked together for Image Comics and reunites the Eisner Award winning creative team that defined modern crime comics with 100 Bullets... and now puts a horror-twist on a classic gangster tale. Issue #1 features a variant cover by legendary comics creator, Frank Miller!

Genres: Comics, Crime, Comic Book, Horror, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2016

About the author

Brian Azzarello (born in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer. He came to prominence with 100 Bullets, published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. He and Argentine artist Eduardo Risso, with whom Azzarello first worked on Jonny Double, won the 2001 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story for 100 Bullets #15–18: "Hang Up on the Hang Low".

Azzarello has written for Batman ("Broken City", art by Risso; "Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire", art by Lee Bermejo, Tim Bradstreet, & Mick Gray) and Superman ("For Tomorrow", art by Jim Lee).

In 2005, Azzarello began a new creator-owned series, the western Loveless, with artist Marcelo Frusin.

As of 2007, Azzarello is married to fellow comic-book writer and illustrator Jill Thompson.

information taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Az...

Reviews

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooh, that was good... Set during Prohibition, Moonshine #1 is the nuanced, moody, stylish as hell first chapter of what is shaping up to be a crime drama with a voodoo and/or werewolf twist. 4.5 stars, I'd say--highly recommended to fans of noirish crime and horror comics, especially to anybody with a weak spot for 100 Bullets (also by Azzarello & Risso) or the genre mash-ups by Brubaker & Phillips!

[XenofoneX · Rating 2 out of 5]

The review and rating covers Moonshine #1, 2, & 3. Some SPOILERS.
(3.5 Stars)
Brian Azzarello & Eduardo Risso head deep into familiar thematic territory, taking Prohibition-era comics noir gangsterism into Appalachia for a blood-soaked battle between tommy-gun toting New York mafia goons and shotgun-wielding West Virginian hillbillies. This is one of the most reliably entertaining writer-artist teams in comics, especially when it comes to crime. If it's bad motherfuckers doing bad-ass shit, these are the names you want to see on the cover. Risso has a genius for menacing thugs... young killers, hat-brims low, casting their faces in shadow; wolf-eyes and canine teeth piercing the black, bad intentions rising off them like a steam (or maybe those are stink lines?). '100 Bullets' was unquestionably a high water mark for comic-book crime, a genre that was hard hit by the anti-comics propaganda and Comic Code Authority crackdown of the 1950's. When Wertham wrote 'Seduction of the Innocents', crime comics were his primary target, since E.C.'s 'New Trend' line hadn't yet unleashed the over-the-top horror titles that would make those crime comics seem tame. Horror comics would have a comeback in the 60's with Warren's magazine anthologies like 'Creepy' and 'Eerie', but American crime comics were more or less non-existent until the 90's...


Looking sharp: Eduardo Risso's art for 'Moonshine #1' is solid, even judged against the chiaroscuro perfection of his earlier US books...

...here the flat colors work fairly well:





Issue #1 was a smooth ride, for the most part. New York, 1929: Prohibition is ten years old, and organized crime has emerged from the unprecedented black market boom of bootlegging. The most powerful and ruthless of the Italian, Irish and Jewish gangs do battle in the streets, and murderous thugs become millionaires. Using money and violence, they buy the police and then the politicians, corruption spreading from Tammany Hall to Albany. In 'Moonshine', bootlegger Joe 'The Boss' Masseria sends mafia soldier and main protagonist Lou Pirlo to broker a deal. Masseria has gotten a taste of the top shelf moonshine coming from a hillbilly still in Spine Ridge, West Virginia, and assigns Lou with the task of tracking down this backwoods booze savant by the name of Hiram Holt, and making certain his moonshine ends up on a northbound truck. When he finally makes his one-sided Appalachian appointment, things go predictably awry. It wouldn't be much of a story if they didn't. After a fairly promising and amiable start, Pirlo follows Holt to one of his stills, to investigate some kind of problem. As it turns out, the problem is a few dead Federal agents, torn to bloody scraps in the midst of trying to put axes to his woodshed operation. Holt's friendly demeanor takes a hard left, and he sends Lou off with a 'fuck you' to share with 'The Boss'. Also: a werewolf. That's probably important. No one writes in a werewolf for local color and forgets about it... even if they should.

Risso being Risso: more pages from Moonshine #1:





(1.5 Stars/1.5 Stars)

Things get more complicated with issues #2 & 3. Hiram's loyal to the Holt clan, but the clan's not so loyal to Hiram. His backstabbing brood meet secretly with Pirlo, trying to make a deal with New York behind Hiram's back. For no good narrative reason, the protagonist gets a fortuitous flat tire that gives him a chance to hang out with the local black community, even though the mafia have never been known as an open-minded and racially inclusive bunch... especially with the voluntary tribal segregation of the 1920's underworld. Naturally, there's an old man playing guitar and a sultry siren dancing around a campfire, doing what black characters always do in stories like this, singing and dancing, being cagey and secretive and cliched. Oh, right. There's still a werewolf. It does what werewolves do, getting all ornery and unpleasant and leaving a trail of half-eaten meals. But something far more unpleasant than a disemboweled corpse writhing with maggots happens in Moonshine #2, and it continues to be unpleasant through the end of Moonshine #3. The story is standard Azzarrello, with his knack for tough-guy slang, bizarre innuendo and double entendres that no one has ever used in actual conversation... it goes downhill in #2 & 3 with the stupid fucking werewolf storyline, but unbelievably, the biggest problem is Eduardo Risso.

Risso-as-Ozymandias: "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!... because they suck." Did he do this issue left-handed? Ed? What happened, Ed?! Pay close attention to the exquisite shittiness of the second image. And the third. And the fourth. It's so bad, it's unintentionally comical. Notice the wonderful examples of 'fuck it, good enough' texturing. WTF?!





It's fucking crazy, no? I didn't think Risso was capable of creating bad art to win a million-dollar bet, but he took a dive on Moonshine. I was only a couple pages into issue 2 before it hit me that the art was just... wrong. Everything was going to shit: the line-work, the colors, even the fucking sound effect lettering. This is one of the greatest artists in comics; the guy who did 100 monthly issues of 100 Bullets without a break, every page a work of technical and artistic brilliance, and here he's turned in the work of a low-level hack. WHAT THE FUCK?! I can only guess that handling the pencils, inks, colors and covers was too much for him... or that this is the result or going completely digital, because this is NOT what Risso's art looks like on paper. The colors started off fine, using simple flats that work well with his style, before 'painted' textures turn up that look rushed, garish and amateurish. I can only conclude that he broke his fucking art-hand, and decided to bravely push forward. It's fugly, man, I'm telling you.

More of Risso giving it the full 24%:





I'm still a fan of Risso's work, but I'll be doing my best to erase this Abysmal Moonshine from my not-so-Spotless Mind.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s 1929 and Prohibition is in full force as Lou Pirlo, a Noo Yawk gangster, is sent by his boss to strike a deal with Hiram Holt, a West Virginian distiller who lives in the woods and brews the finest hooch in the land. And then one night some of Hoover’s G-Men, out to bust up Holt’s operation, are savagely killed and Lou realises he’s caught in the middle of something even more dangerous than he thought – will he manage to get through it with his life?

Read the full review over at Need to Consume here!

[Jeannette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.

More wolves, and more hillbillies. In fact (and this is not a spoiler because it hasn’t happened), I can see this book turning into werewolf hillbillies vs. Italian mobsters.

I am very much over mafia books/movies. This glorification of one of the filthiest layers of scum in society is extremely unnecessary and it makes it seem like these people are “cool”, which they aren’t, “classy”, which they aren’t, and “worthy of attention”, which they could be only if they are securely locked up in a prison to fight among themselves and rid humanity of their lowly presence.

Thanks, bye.

[Nicolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comic about gangsters, moonshiners, and the Prohibition; it's almost like a match made in crime comics heaven, with the Hellblazer team attached to it. The first issue is pretty good, and it invites you to discover each and every mystery it teases in between the covers.

[SpookyxSpice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the black and white variant cover.
I’m intrigued so far, mobsters, hillbillies and werewolves? Count me in. The art is gory and great.
Keen to read on.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The timeframe is America during Prohibition with several forces at play. There is the expert creator of moonshine in very rural West Virginia and the big city gangster that samples the product and wants a lot more. He sends his reluctant agent. a man name Lou Pirlo, down to West Virginia in order to convince the maker, a man named Hiram Holt, to sell all his production to the gangster.
The story opens with agents of the FBI in the process of raiding one of Hiram’s stills, only to encounter violent and deadly opposition. It is strongly hinted that the opposition is in the form of a powerful wild animal.
Lou goes to West Virginia and after encountering many scenes based on cliches regarding the rural folk, Lou manages to come face-to-face with Hiram. Hiram proves to be a very hard sell, while he values money, there are other factors that he will weigh. When Hiram is informed about the mess made of the FBI agents at his still, he takes Lou along in order to show him what he and his boss is facing.
When he is leaving, Lou has a flat tire and when he is walking to seek assistance he comes across a wild dance gathering in a clearing around a raging bonfire. All of the people there appear to be black. There is the hint of some form of voodoo in action and the story ends there.
With at least three forces in conflict, Hiram’s, the gangsters and the federal agents, there is sure to be more violence. Neither of the three appears to have any willingness to back off from their position, more federal agents will appear when the first group goes missing, the gangster will not take anything other than an enthusiastic yes for an answer and Hiram seems capable of defending himself against the forces of the other two.
Prohibition was a wild time in the United States, the incredible profits to be made led to the rise of powerful criminal forces as well as a strong federal response in federal law enforcement. From this first round, it is clear that this is going to be a great story, there is a powerful trio of opposing forces with little incentive to back down.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had some interesting moments, and man do I want more werewolf content this time of year . There's something about Brian Azzarello's writing that I don't really connect with. Like why are things moving so chaotic and fast, when I would think if we are doing a horror thing, then it should be slow and suspenseful. I do really like the concepts of prohibition and monsters, but I don't think this is the story for me.

[Jillian · Rating 1 out of 5]

God, I wanted to like Moonshine so much. I want to find a comic book series set in the 1920s, but I am not at all interested in the story being told here. The art is pretty good, but I am not compelled by Lou Pirlo as a character. It's a very old-school crime series if you are into that sort of thing. I am not, and so I will not continue on with Moonshine.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very meaty intro to a series with a lot of potential.

The dialogue/dialect(s) can take some getting used to but once you do, they only enhance the flavor of this Appalachian horror tale.

A rad genre mash-up that is certainly unlike anything I've read before!

In time, I can see myself reading the entire series.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely intriguing for a first issue. But not something that I'll be continuing. Mainly because it was pretty slow and didn't seem to pick up speed until the last page or so. But then again, maybe I'll glance at issue 2 and it will pique my interest once more.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a big fan of 100 Bullets... but that seems so long ago. Azzarello's word play grinds my gears - it seems labored, like Raymond Chandler with puns... not terrible but I'll pass on this.

[Audra Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not very impressed with this comic. Maybe if I'd kept reading...? The premise sounds interesting, but it didn't grab my attention.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hillbilly occult wars.

Good color artwork. It's prohibition and strange war is about to start in the backwoods of Virginia. were wolves , mobsters.and others. A. Multi sided battle.

[Pedro Mendes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super nice first issue, has a very similar style to "Peaky Blinders" with the exception that this on happens in America. Can't wait to read the first TP

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good noir. The narration and dialogue is perf, though I didn't give full stars for the parts I lost the flow because I had to figure out the scene changes, or the characters talking, or lost the focus for a moment. Azzarello still turns a phrase beautifully, and there were also just as many times I stopped to go "damn, yeah" at the way something was said.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super good. I like it more than some of his other recent stuff.

[Rachael Conrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a drop-dead gorgeous comic to read, then let me point you towards the first chapter of Moonshine. Set during the height of Prohibition in the lawless backwoods of Appalachia, Moonshine is a stylish, moody, supernatural caper. Lou Pirlo (essentially a slimy, tragically handsome, Clark Kent-lookalike in a fedora) is a city slicker - gangster - sent from New York to negotiate with one of the best moonshiners in Virginia. What Lou doesn't take into account is that Hiram Holt is as ruthless as his Big City boss. That... and the supernatural hi-jinx that are clearly afoot. Holt and his children are harboring a secret that Lou gets just a glimpse of when Enos Holt stumbles out of the woods naked and covered in blood, which is never a good thing. Tempest Holt whisks Enos away before Lou sees too much, but it becomes very clear that something isn't right when several mutilated bodies are discovered moments later in Holt's distillery. Azzarello and Risso make a formidable team (Eisner winning, to be exact (100 Bullets)) and Moonshine is nothing to scoff at. It's a fantasy/horror-twist on a gangster tale that would leave Gatsby himself shaking in his fictional boots.

[Chris Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty cool, surprising start to a series. A mix of supernatural horror and historical fiction and, well, moonshine. There's gangsters and southern rednecks and plenty of suspicion to be cast. Main character, Lou, is cocky, good-looking, an alcoholic, and a womanizer, though in this opening issue it's unclear how successful he is with the latter. He's a lackey, essentially, for a big time gangster named Joe, who makes his fortune selling booze in the prohibition era. Joe tastes Hiram Holt's stuff, which is so good that he needs to sell it. So Lou heads down to West Virginia.

The artwork may not be out of this world, but it does the job. Eduardo Risso keeps to a realistic style, but allows single colors to dominate, dull oranges and light blues. Brian Azzarello writes some good dialogue and seems to have an ear for the southern dialect - at least it reads like the way people might speak at that time and place. This is not a quick read. There's not a lot of action, but there are lots of big personalities, as well as a few mysteries, and that's what keeps this intriguing. I'm hooked.

[Comics Alternative · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://comicsalternative.com/episode-...

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bootleggers out to make a deal with some backwoods hillbillies on purchasing some hooch .However Hiram Holt the proprietor of said moonshine is not interested and as these gangsters find out not everything about Hiram and his people are public knowledge.As a matter of fact they harbor a very dark secret.One so dark they may have to kill you just to keep it secret.