Two Moons, Vol. 1: The Iron Noose

Two Moons #v1

by John Arcudi, Valerio Giangiordano (Artist)

RUMBLE and BPRD writer JOHN ARCUDI is back at Image with rising star VALERIO GIANGIORDANO for an all-new horror series set in the midst of the Civil War.

In the middle of the horrors of the American Civil War, young soldier Virgil Morris discovers that he can't leave his Pawnee origins behind him. Visited by ghosts and visions, he learns that the war is not the worst evil he and his new friend, nurse Frances Shaw, face. Together - and apart - Frances and Virgil combat madness and hell itself.

Collects TWO MOONS #1-5

Genres: Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Supernatural, Westerns, Graphic Novels Comics

120 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 2021

About the author

John Arcudi has made a name for himself by scripting comics that manage to combine long-running subplots with impeccable characterization and action sequences, making for some of the most exciting and consistently good comics out today.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take Mike Mignola's Lord Baltimore series and move it to the Civil War while replacing the vampires with demons and you have Two Moons. The story is about a Pawnee who was raised by a white family. He's a private in the Union Army when he starts seeing some of the soldiers on both sides as monsters or evil spirits. These first 5 issues don't do enough to setup the premise of the series. It's little more than Virgil (or Two Moons) sees monsters and kills them.

The artwork and dark colors worked well for the most part. However, the coloring often made it hard to tell the Union and Confederate soldiers apart as there wasn't enough contrast. The monsters looked menacing and scary. Everything else about the art was very solid.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. This is set during the American Civil War. Our main character, Virgil Morris, is Pawnee. However, his parents died when he was young and he was raised by a white family and now fights on the side of the Union army. With hints and spiritual visits from his ancestors, he learns of something mystical and evil that feeds on hatred and anger. What a better time to feed than during a war. Now it’s up to him to get people to believe him and fight back. At first, I was struggling with this as the writer was using slang and speech from the 1800s making it sometimes hard to follow. But as I progressed further, I got used to it and started getting sucked into the story. The Book had a raw art style that I thought fit the time period of this story. I’d definitely read more of this.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not easy to write war series without making them look like propaganda. But here in the Civil War, there's plenty of talk between who's in the right and who's not. Our titular character looks like he's hallucinating demons, which given how some of the soldiers on either side act that's understandable. Of course there then comes the theme of being obscured from heritage. As a Pawnee, he ends up having to deal with an evil feeding off the war. So when he fully embraces his name as Two Moons, there's some catharsis but also a bit of fear from people seeing it. Like after being held back, the savage people think he is comes out. Man, there were times when I felt like a tragedy was going to befall him for racial reasons.

The artwork always kept the uneasy mood and suspense. The dark colors really fit well into war stories. The way some angles arrange filled me with dread in some cases.

[Trike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid horror story set in the Civil War about a young Pawnee man who was raised by a white couple after his family died of smallpox. He’s disconnected from his Pawnee ancestors until he starts seeing visions of demons, then the ghost of his grandfather comes to offer him vague warnings and direction. Trouble is, no one else can see the demons possessing the men, setting up a classic “no one believes the hero” horror story. A well done version of that.

The art is terrific, telling the story clearly, with lots of gruesome demons, exciting action, and interesting layouts.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for westerns and I have an eager interest in Civil War era storytelling in comics. Two Moons exceeded my expectations! Please read my full review over @ Diamond Bookshelf (link forthcoming).

[Daniel Kovacs Rezsuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Civil War-era western and psychedelic horror mashed together, what's not to like? The last two chapters/issues become a bit flat compared to the gorgeous beginning especially regarding the artwork, which by the end was obvious tracings of customized 3D models. As a standalone I would have rated the volume lower, but since it's more of a setup for an ongoing or another miniseries, and an excellent one at that, I gave it a four-star (great) rating.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5

Total review score: 2.8

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going through a cowboy kick after I rewatched Bone Tomahawk (classic although not for the faint of heart or anyone eating dinner). This is a great pastiche of Wild West archetypes and demons/folkloric monsters.

Two moons is a Pawnee soldier (parents died when he was a child adopted by local white schoolteacher) fighting for the union until one day he has a spiritual awakening and can see these evil creatures that have surrounded the town and the war (on both sides). He takes some shrooms and gets even more answers- been there brother.

Really fun comic that, like Bone Tomahawk, doesn’t idealize the Wild West but sure makes it seem like a wild time. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes cowboys or even a Hellboy/ Constantine fan because this comic was a ton of fun to read.

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in the individual monthly issues, and I have to admit that it was the artwork that kept me going. I'm glad I stuck around because the story really picks up at the mid-point and becomes much more interesting.
The depictions of civil war settlements, encampments, and battles is both authentic and realistic. The description style of artist Valerio Giangiordano and use of shading enhances the story so well. The color work by Dave Stewart and Bill Crabtree compliment the lush illustrations perfectly.
John Arcudi's story blends civil war realism with horror, starting out slowly and building the suspense and terror issue by issue. At first, it seems that perhaps main character Virgil Moore/Two Moons, a native American raised by foster parents and enlisted in the Union Army, may be going slightly mad from the hazards/trauma of war. He views his comrades and sees monsters underneath the uniform. Perhaps the visions are enhanced by the persuasive influence of his grandfather, who appears to him as a ghostly counselor. Or, maybe it was the magic mushroom that he was encouraged to locate and eat.
Readers don't get any clarity until the middle of the first story arc, by this point everyone is aware of the threat. Arcudi uses the brutality and cruelty of the American Civil War as a perfect foil for his story of hidden monsters arising from the souls of soldiers on both sides of the battle.
Two Moons learns the reality of the situation from a fellow soldier he revealed as a monster: "In this time, the spirit world is strong. The Nahurac are near - - but the Sehsekachan, the evil ones, the angry ones, cannot be controlled . . . .
War brings them to life, into this world. The evil will always be strongest then. . . But this war of the white men goes on for years. Thousands die, brothers kill brothers and the dying souls, fat with the venom of hatred, feed the greedy Sehsekachan. . . . Sucking pain and resentment from those damned spirits, growing stronger."
There's a resolution of sorts in the final chapter of the first story arc, setting the stage for further engagement to come. I'm going to be following this one.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic art and an interesting story. Really needs a follow-up, so I do hope there is a vol. 2 in the works.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent enough, but it maybe goes a little faster than could be hoped. Also, surely the spirit vision/quest Native American plot is beneath Arcudi et al?

[Clark Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the artwork. Didn't know it was a horror series when I started reading, not really a genre I read, but enjoyed it nonetheless. I hope future issues develop more of his native american heritage.

[Yağız “Yaz” Erkan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked Two Moons. The blend of horror and civil war worked very well for me. I couldn't put it down once I started to read it.

I also quite liked the illustration style and quality. It matches well the spirit of the story.

[47Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm unsure how to feel about this story. It's one of those horror stories with little purpose other than to entertain fans of the genre. It sadly doesn't take advantage of the American Civil War setting or the divided nation, instead focusing on the monsters. It does feature human emotions like bravery, camaraderie, attraction, fear, wrath. The artwork is a bit too focused on heavy details, but otherwise relatively well done. Some readers might get a kick out the main character's Pawnee heritage, though this too receives little focus. Or maybe I just don't see its relevance to the evil spirits.

Virgil Morris is a Native American private in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After a rebel attack, he has visions of his sergeant being a monster. Virgil has a hard time figuring out what is real any more. He panicks and shoots the sergeant dead, which marks him a traitor.

Men from Themshaw's irregular company save Virgil from a court martial and a hanging. He joins Themsham's group. His visions reveal that he has gained the ability to see evil gods named the Sehsekachan who possess humans and feed on their hatred. Virgil's other savior Hayes is possessed as well. Virgil attacks him and soon fights the whole group. The fight is ended when Union soldiers capture Virgil again.

While in prison, more possessed men show up, forcing Virgil to act. His long-time friend Levin and the other Union soldiers finally believe his claims when a man killed by Virgil turns into a monster. Many more of his kind surround the town. Virgil advises the defenders to use the monters's weakness to iron to combat them. Virgil is freed and throws himself among them, letting loose the wrath within. The only one left is Hayes. He gets hanged with an iron wire, revealing his true nature to the whole town.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

So there's a young soldier in the American Civil War who was born a Pawnee Native American, but brought up by parents of European blood. When the spirits start leaving him cryptic clues, and when he shoots an absolute monster in the back of the head, he begins to learn the truth about the place and the war, and his powers against the evils therein. For a lot of the soldiers are actually demonic, half-zombie, half-Cthulhu nasties pretending to be human, and once he triggers full realisation he can go and slice them all up – if he makes sure his own side don't get to kill him first... This is quite a good read, and I'm not sure if my rating it in less-than exuberant manner is down to my not finding such Civil War dramas interesting at all, or not. Either way, it's not too bad – the story is a tidily self-contained arc, the design is fine, with the majority of action scenes being done really well. It does follow the standard genre trope where a character is awakened to their destiny, duffs up some baddies, the end, though. I think with a touch more clarity initially as to which side was which and where all allegiances lie, I might have stretched to four stars here, for it's a perfectly competent entertainment. As it is, three and a half stars will have to remain the top encouragement I can give to those with an interest in checking it out. Nobody is at all dissuaded from doing so.

[Bexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange retelling of the Civil War. An orphan Pawnee Two Moons, or Virgil Morris as he was renamed, is fighting for for the Union and just trying to survive the absolute slaughter that was the Civil War. Visiting the nearby town for supplies he see his grandfather, who speaks to him about recognizing the signs. Once he is back at camp Two Moons/Virgil begins to notice certain members of his troop are acting strange, and then they begin to morph into monsters/demons but only he can see them.

I really didn't get where the monsters/demons come from, or why they were so focused on Two Moons, unless it was because he was the only one that could see them. It was a very fast paced novel with some unique characters, I don't know enough about time period to know if the actual historical parts are accurate, or if it was just a time period were you could blow a lot of people up in gruesome ways. I'm not sure if there will be more of this, but also, I will probably not be reading more of the series.

[Alex Sarll]

Pawnee child Two Moons lost his family to smallpox; raised by a white schoolmaster, he's now Union soldier Virgil Morris. But his heritage doesn't want to let him go so easily, and now he's getting messages from the dead, visions of spirits and monsters which soon put him in terrible danger. Arcudi is an underrated writer; on the art side, Giangiordano and Crabtree give good irruption of horror, though their more everyday scenes, while perfectly serviceable, don't have the same distinctiveness. But for the most part I felt frustrated by this comic, which set up a question that interested me – what was it like to be a Native American soldier in America's Civil War? – and then mostly ignored it in favour of a story about an assimilated character getting dragged back into the myth-world of his people, and demons in human form feeding on the horror of war, all of which I feel like I've seen plenty of times before.

(Edelweiss ARC)

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good series about a Pawnee soldier in the Union army who suddenly starts seeing..."creatures" amongst the men on both sides. Virgil Morris was raised by a white family, but he's actually "Two Moons," and appears to have some medicine man blood. During the dying days of the Civil War, on the Kansas-Missouri border, demonic creatures start to appear amongst the soldiers (why? that's not really ever clearly explained, especially when a huge number of them lay siege to a small town jail one night). Virgil kills one, who was apparently a Union soldier moments before, and is jailed, waiting on a court martial, when he's freed by raiders from the Confederate side, one of whom also appears to be a demon. Is Virgil seeing things or can he trust his senses? Good artwork throughout this, though it is easy to mix up the two sides--the grey and blue uniforms could be better articulated. I'd be interested in reading more about this character and it looks like there's a second volume.

[Damian Herde · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many good aspects to this story. The protagonist is likeable and good to follow, and the art isn’t bad at all.
Maybe the topic resonates stronger with Americans? I’m not as invested in their civil war as they are, or western stories. But, for a civil war story, I wondered where the issue of slavery was being hidden, given that was the point. And the pure acceptance of the First Nations protagonist by both warring teams without the racism he would have been dealing with also was jarring. Like both of those huge issues were being sidestepped in order to make the story more palatable as a simple supernatural action story. Which, in the end, is all it is. It’s the concept of, ‘in war there are monsters on both sides’, being done in a literal sense.

[A1Cvenom · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5 stars) I gave this one a try due to the artwork alone. I figured a Native American/western/civil war horror could be really good or really terrible.

I was half expecting a bunch of preachy modern messaging to be mixed in but nope. It was a good old fashion fun story with plenty of violence and great art.

I also liked how there were demons on both sides of the battlefield and they didn’t try to simply shit on only the southern soldiers. They instead showed the brutality inflicted by and on both sides of the war.

After these first five issues came to a very satisfying conclusion, I will probably pick up volume 2 someday.

Recommended for any old school comic fan.

[Paul Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good supernatural comic series set during the American Civil War.

Only 4 stars because I am not a great fan of horror comics. However this series, dealing with Virgil, a soldier fighting for the Union, as he discovers more about his Pawnee roots and takes on monsters benefiting from the war. It’s got some interesting characters and the story moves long at a good pace. The artwork is well-produced and detailed. An enjoyable series, well worth a look. I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Arcudi tells an interesting horror tale set in the days of the Civil War. We meet Virgil Morris who's fighting for the North but is definitely seeing things. Deadly things. He's being haunted by some of his Pawnee roots, or is he? The book is gritty and violent like a good horror series should be. We don't get a ton of character development but I liked the plot a lot. The book could head in a lot of different directions and that's enjoyable. The art by Valerio Giangiordano was outstanding. His monsters were terrifying. Overall, a really solid book in a very tough genre.

[Johan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weird story. A native American who was adopted as a child fights in the civil war on the side of the North. He sees one of his fellow soldiers turn into a monster and kills him. Was he hallucinating or was it real? Apparently it was for real, but only he can see them at first, because you know ... as a native American he has access to spirit world or something like that. I didn't enjoy the story and I didn't like the artwork. It is not that the people and the surroundings are that badly drawn, but the monsters are ridculous.

[Greg Trosclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful horror story set post Civil War in the west. Story follows former soldier Virgil Morris who is part Indian. He is followed by monsters from his Indian tribes lore. John Arcudi writes a great story. It was as good a horror tale that I have read in quite awhile. I loved Valerio Giangiordano's art work it was really quite lovely amidst the horror.

[Mik Cope · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty brutal stuff: demons loose in the man-made hell of the American Civil War and the story of how the titular character is caught up in it all, a pawn of powers beyond his understanding. The artwork was suitably graphic and bloody, the story somewhat lacking in nuance, but entertaining enough.

[Haley Kilgour · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I thought the monsters aspect was cool. As was the historical aspect.

But I just didn’t really care for the plot. I couldn’t really see an overarching goal and it just felt like things bumbled along.

[Jason Paré · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une BD d'horreur qui se passe pendant la guerre de Sécession et où le personnage principal est autochtone. Quoi demander plus? Au départ, je n'étais pas certain de la proposition, ne sachant pas trop où elle allait me mener, mais finalement, j'aime bien! Bien hâte de lire le deuxième volume !

[Robert Hudder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A war horror hybrid. I'm not quite sure what to say about this. I enjoyed the story but it feels a little derivative. Maybe I have read too many of those old WWII horror comics. Regardless, I can see that this could develop into a really decent series.

[Jonathan Crabb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well drawn civil war / vampires & undead mashup. The native american protagonist plays a big role. The action and characters are drawn in a realistic, ripped superhero aesthetic which is good. I will read more of this.

[Cail Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arcudi + Civil War + First Nations protagonist + killer demons. Giangiordano killed the artwork! Looking forward to the series picking up again next month.