Moonshine, Vol. 5: The Well

Moonshine

by Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso (Artist)

Torpedo-turned-werewolf Lou Pirlo finally returns to NYC, and he's come at just about the worst possible time. With Prohibition on its last legs, happy days are here no longer for those in the rum-running business. As an all-out war brews between Joe the Boss and the Holts of Appalachia - AND his lost love Delia returns - Lou's life is about to get a whole lot messier...or is it bloodier?

Writer BRIAN AZZARELLO and artist EDUARDO RISSO--the Eisner Award-winning creative team behind the crime classic, 100 Bullets--bring this brutal series to a sobering conclusion.

Collects MOONSHINE #23-28

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Crime, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Thriller

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 28, 2021

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

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good series

[Jennifer Juffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series had a solid start. To many readers it probably had a solid ending, too.
The culmination of this story leads to a certain irrevocable type of ending one would expect but would prefer not to happen. (At least, I would prefer a happier ending.).
There are no fairytale endings even in the worlds of mafia bosses, bootleggers, dames singing in blind pigs hoping to make the BIG TIME, and werewolves in search of a more meaningful and impactful life during the Prohibition years.
A solid series.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A review for the series as a whole:

This book had some high points but was mostly just okay. I do like the art, but the story became a bit stale, especially in the middle. It felt a bit like a good movie that was still a half hour too long.

Honestly, the werewolf stuff is the least compelling part of the tale. Quite frankly, it felt like a crutch in order to use the old "man is the TRUE animal" trope. And boy, does it hammer that narrative home.

There are some cool investigations of regret and carrying that emotional baggage with us indefinitely. The main characters are pretty well fleshed out and I love the visuals.

There is definitely some fluff here, and the throughline message is not original. I just think a heavier lean into the supernatural would have benefitted what is an above average gangster tale.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ending was predictable enough and it doesn’t really bother me. The confused way it gets there does.
I thought for a time that Azzarello had thrown away his irritating mannerism. This final volume sadly proves me wrong.

[OmniBen · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 3.75/5
It seems as though I look upon the culmination to this story a little kinder than most, which is a pleasant change for Mr. Cynical here. Though the ending kind of took me by surprise, given that I read this in the deluxe edition, and was expected a further two issues, given that the trades had, up until recently, collected six issues. That said, it definitely didn't need two more issues to wrap it up. Abrupt ending not withstanding, I thought it perfectly adequate. The series may have never found its footing the way it could have. I keep going back in time to the point where it kinda went a little off the rails, and I'm not sure it was ever 100% on the tracks to begin with. But Risso art and A competent if unspectacular southern noir from Azzarello is always gonna tickle my pickle. 3.75/5


OmniBen.

[Imogene · Rating 3 out of 5]

After five volumes, and a lot of blood and backstabbing, it was….okay.

More nudity then there really needed to be, and an ending that I kinda hoped that they wouldn’t settle for.

[cloverina · Rating 2 out of 5]

(This review is for the whole series)

1.5

Ugh.

I want so badly to like this one, but I really don't.

First, the good: Risso, the biggest pull of the series. As much as Risso is perfect for 100 Bullets, he REALLY shines here. It's just the perfect mix of all different kinds of shady and shadow for Risso to be doing. He's great at drawing the creatures, too (although I'm not so fond of the decision to give the female werewolf prominent boobs). The only other good part of this series is the concept, and other than that? It's a huge nope from me.

Azzarello just has such a hard time presenting his ideas. For one I hate his dialogue, because everybody talks in snarky pun and noir metaphor. For two, I get so confused. I doubt it's just me, too, because it's a recurring issue with his stuff that it starts out making sense other than a little mystery and continues to be confusing and non-direct the whole time. I don't want to be spoon-fed, but I want SOMETHING. It's just nonsense otherwise. Who is the man with the yellow eyes???

Also, the characters aren't memorable enough at all. I remember Tempest, Hiram, Joe the Boss, Lou, Lou's ghosts, and... Yeah, that's it. It makes things extra confusing when there's 4 different opposing sides with confusing plans and motives.

It was interesting for two volumes, but after I realized it was only going downhill, I kind of checked out.

It's a stinker, skip it.

[Lucas Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the events on the last volume, Pirlo will try to do good for Hiram, Tempest and bring the hammer down on Joe, in the last days of the Prohibition.

A very good ending, with an all out war, between Hiram, Joe and the werewolfs. I believe that, the addition of these creatures in the story, even being described just as a "curse" was really nice. Obvioulsy, this is not the best work of this duo, but it was a great serie.

[Octavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravilloso tomo final. Noir a saco.

[Tjibbe Wubbels · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK ending to an OK series.

With the first issue I still had to get my head around the sillyness of it all. I already enjoyed the second issue a bit more, but was still struggling with the werewolves. From issue 3 onwards, I managed to embrace this silly idea and just rode it out and enjoyed it along the way. This last issue concluded all storylines quite neatly.

There were some great parts, there were some mediocre parts and there were some outright silly parts. All-in-all a solid 3 stars.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

***Review is for the all five volumes of the series to date

The horror never really blends with the crime, appearing hear and there as afterthoughts to and distractions from the main tale. Combine that with an unnecessary and odd tangent into voodoo that was wholly unnecessary and you have an ultimately disappointing run.

[Yoshiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

PopKulturowy Kociołek:

Finał historii jest dokładnie taki jak cała opowieść, czyli świetny. Niczego innego nie można jednak było oczekiwać od Briana Azzarello. Zresztą sam scenariusz był od początku bardzo dobrze prowadzony i naprawdę potrzeba byłoby wiele złej woli, aby go w finale zepsuć. Zakończenie fabuły nie jest jednak łatwe i przyjemne (przynajmniej dla bohaterów). Zarówno na nich, jak i czytelnika czeka tu bowiem spora dawka krwawych treści, które niejednokrotnie przyspieszają tętno i nie zawsze będą na pierwszy rzut oka nazbyt oczywiste.

Twórca realizuje jednak pokładane w nim nadzieje i w przemyślanej formie prowadzi on wszystkie istotne wątki do ostatecznego finału. Bawi się on przy tym treścią, kreśląc historię w taki sposób, że następujące po sobie sceny nie zawsze są łatwe do przewidzenia. Dzięki temu czytelnik z wielką ciekawością odwraca strony, aby szybko dowiedzieć się co będzie dalej. Towarzyszą temu naprawdę różnorodne emocje, które są na tyle silnie zaakcentowane, że potrafią się one udzielać odbiorcy komiksu. Coś dla siebie znajdą tu fani dramatu, thrillera, romansu, horroru. Rozstrzał tematyki wydaje się być bardzo szeroki, ale podane jest to w naprawdę łatwej i przystępnej mocno skondensowanej formie.

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/recen...

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Los hombres son unas bestias en la gran ciudad. Pero Lou y Tempest conocen en sus propias carnes lo que significa de verdad ser una bestia. Y el desenlace de MOONSHINE deriva en la esperable guerra campal entra las inquinas mafiosas y la venganza "redneck" de ese nutrido clan familiar de destileros montañeses que transmiten esa maldición licántropa que tanto ha salvado el argumento noir clasicón de Azzarello en todos estos números que quizás han desaprovechado (o directamente despachado) bastantes ideas (la parte del contexto voodoo o la del asesino en serie del anterior volumen) en favor a seguir la pista de la difusa correría de Lou tratando de salir del paso entre su alcoholismo desmedido, infinidad de traumas, enfermedad licántropa y continuos males de amores. Un anti héroe de esta narrativa confeccionado totalmente en el arquetipo al gusto de los autores que queda en entredicho con lo poderosos que son los personajes femeninos y lo que las relegan a estar solícitas a los continuos desnudos y tramas de fondo.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first volume of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso's horror crime fiction comic set in prohibition era US back in 2018, but then did not get around to the subsequent volumes until last year, when I devoured Misery Train , Rue Le Jour and The Angel's Share in fairly quick succession, leaving me wanting more.

And now I have finally had the chance to read the fifth and final volume, where Azzarello and Risso bring the narrative strands of gangster-turned-werewolf Lou Pirlo and Appalachian femme fatale (and also werewolf) Tempest together and wrap up their series.

I do not want to say too much about the contents of this final instalment, but truly recommend the series as a whole.

[Matthew McElroy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was going so well and the ending was so underwhelming. Each book is kind of its own little act, within the larger play of Moonshine. But nothing ever truly ties together except three or four characters and a poorly developed feud between hackneyed clichés.
Tempest is the blond bombshell who can't stand the country and hopes to make it big in the city. Delia is the mystical Black woman who offers a path to salvation. Lou is a classic "Jack" character- the bumbling fool from folk tales, who always makes good.

The ending you get just leaves you feeling... well wanting more isn't correct, because what you got was never that great. But if you knew this was going to be a 30 issue run, you could have done more to storyboard this.

[Paul Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good horror comic series - werewolves and gangsters in the Prohibition era.

This volume continues this tale of gangsters during the Prohibition era but with the added element of werewolves. There's a lot of plot development, some interesting fleshed-out characters as well as bloodshed between gangs. It's nicely written with reasonably clear illustrations. It's just as good as you'd expect from Azzarello and Risso. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Dávid Novotný · Rating 3 out of 5]

So no surprise at the end. We get closure on story somehow, but I still don't know what was the point and what author was trying to tell. It is a mix of the gangster story from prohibition era, fight with inner demons and maybe even love story... But It was missing some strong main line that would carry everything.

As I mentioned before, whole series had it's ups and downs. Strange motivations of characters, need to read between the panels, or pages even, but nice art and work with light and shadow.

Maybe I will give it a reread some day, but it was nothing exceptional...

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Azzarello and Risso finish off their noir horror book, Moonshine with a completely satisfying ending. The book was a fitting end to a very good series. Eduardo Risso's art breathes life into the book as his characters all stand out. I love the emotions he's able to convey. The story brings an interesting twist to the werewolf genre and it really works. I really enjoyed this book and series. Overall, a very good ending which many writers struggle with.

[Nuno Ferreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

E que final para este Moonshine, hein? Bebida de Guerra é o quinto e último volume da série gráfica de Azzarello e Risso que nos traz lobisomens em plena Lei Seca, numa trama que alia a aura dos lendários gangsters americanos ao sobrenatural norte-americano. Ainda estava a ler a BD e já sentia saudades de Pirlo, Tempest, Delia, e de todas as personagens incríveis desta série. Talvez a melhor BD que já li este ano até ao momento.

https://noticiasdezallar.wordpress.com

[Oli Turner]

An extremely bloody conclusion to this series from brian azzarello and eduardo risso. 1929 gangsters vs hillbilly moonshine makers featuring werewolves . Such inventive work from risso with tremendous style and use of colours/lighting. The writing is so lyrical it almost benefits from being read aloud

[Trike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn this is good. Right up there with 100 Bullets: The Deluxe Edition Book I.

——

Goodreads password SNAFU locked me out from April to October, so I’m just adding all the books at once. Read dates aren’t accurate.

[RedDagger · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the various faults the series has with telling a story, it's able to wrap up fairly well. It's got the scale, it's got the drama, what it's missing is the last drop of satisfaction. I mean, "all the werewolves are dead at the end" is the stock ending for anything containing werewolves, so it's disappointing whenever it occurs.

[Alex Sarll]

Prohibition is ending, and so is the series. I've left long enough between volumes that I've lost track of the factions in play, but I don't mind too much when the attraction is the sinful glamour with which Risso draws gangsters, G-men and dames, the ferocity of his werewolves and the queasiness of the witchcraft.

[M.i. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always felt like the moonshine books have a lot of promise but never truly reach it.

The werewolf aspect never evolving to a point where I had much of an understanding of who these characters are and how they came to have their curse or gift, depending on how you view it.

Still, this was paced well and the climax led up to a satisfying conclusion.

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never imagined I would enjoy this story so much, but I did.

The end of a story we love it's always a moment of great anticipation .

I've seen many great stories being almost ruined in the very last chapter.

Fortunately, this is not the case.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, werewolves during Prohibition from the creators of 100 Bullets should be my thing. And, for the most part, it was. But this last volume felt a little rushed, and what maybe should have been explored a bit more was, well, not.

[Elmo Shell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felt like a rush to the finish. I know in an interview he gave he said the sales weren’t there and it being published by Image, he probably at to wrap up the story. With that said I still enjoyed my time with it.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent conclusion to a series that started off pretty good and dragged in the middle. If this series would have been one volume shorter it probably would have been better. I enjoyed the art throughout the entire series.

[Robert Hudder · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is at an end and the the end is satisfying. I just wish as much care as was put into this last arc was placed in the whole series.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous to look at, but they didn't stick the landing.