Two Moons, Vol. 2: Ghost War

Two Moons #v2

by John Arcudi, Valerio Giangiordano (Artist)

Decades after the Civil War the Pawnee Nation has been almost totally confined to a reservation in Oklahoma, but Shaman Two Moons once again in Kansas, seeking the help of Irish immigrant Frances Shaw. The ghosts of the Indigenous men and women killed in the “Indian Wars” will not rest, and the conflict is far from over!

Collects TWO MOONS #6-10

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Westerns, Native Americans, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2022

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

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars. This was good.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

Individual issue reviews: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10

Total review score: 2.2

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. So Little Knife, a Cheyenne medicine man, wants to fight back against the white man who came and took their land. He has manipulated young Tamas to help him as he needs his spiritual energy to complete his task. This task? Resurrect the dead spirits, or ghosts, to kill off the white man in the area. However, Two Moons, a Pawnee, knows that bringing those dead spirits back is the worst thing to do. He teams up with the Buffalo Soldiers, the Captain’s wife and a fellow Pawnee, Icaas, to stop them. Pretty decent story. Valerio’s gritty art brought you right to the Wild West in the 1800s.

[47Time · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plight of the Native Americans receives some focus here. After stealing their lands, the white man keeps the natives of all tribes on a tight leash. The Blacks have it better, though they are limited in their options. The Black soldiers don't expect to be promoted past a certain rank, no matter their bravery and skill.

The progression of the story is difficult to follow. The artwork is still well done, but all that magic mumbo-jumbo never managed to be engaging for me.

Many years after the events in the first volume, we see Virgil return to calling himself by his Pawnee name, Two Moons. He is a peaceful man, but knows how to protect himself against threats. He feels the greater threat comes not from the living, but from the restless dead who have lost their lives before their time.

[Sara Vogt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I desperately want to give this a higher rating however I feel that the plot is rushed and there was room for SO MUCH more character development, etc but the opportunity wasn't taken. Also, it was very disjointed in parts and I had a hard time keeping up with the characters.

With that being said, if more of these come out, I will pick them up!

[Scott E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Drastic reduction in quality compared to the first volume. Too much of a gap between the events of the first and this one with not enough effort put into ensuring the reader gives a toss about characters or events

[Davide Saladino · Rating 2 out of 5]

Molto buono il primo volume. Senza senso e confusionario il secondo.
I disegni di Giangiordano sempre al top.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt a little less centered than the first trade but still an enjoyable read. Some great panels, I loved the shooting stars crashing into the earth and raising the dead- such a cool visual.

I could see Two Moons coming back to continue riding about the west and the plains dealing with all sorts of mystical creatures (Irish folklore could be a cool addition). I really enjoy the writing in this series as it is ambiguous and feels real- even the bits that are more difficult to stomach.

If you like mysticism and cowboys check it out!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great follow-up to the first volume. It's 20 years later, and everyone's had a chance to do some growing up. Frances is married to Two Moon's friend, Levon Hatlo, and they have two daughters. Two Moons has a son, Tamas, and ward, Icaas. It's the end days of the wars between the Indians and white men and a rogue medicine man, Little Knife, is readying a "ghost war," that will bring back all the dead natives in a final war. Can Two Moons stop him? Excellent artwork and the story isn't bad, either. I'd read more of this is it was offered...

[RalleyRagnarok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welp, wouldn't you know I grabbed Vol 2 first on accident. Despite my mistake I caught on to the story fairly quickly. It is a bit like, Dances With Wolves meets, Supernatural, meets Longmire, meets Gun Smoke meets, American History class. The art is great and Western in flavor. The native stories are brutally factual and pull no punches. I am going to track down Vol 1 and read it before I move forward.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huge letdown after the first volume. John Arcudi loses the plot somewhere here and every character seemed like a cardboard cutout. Valerio Giangiordano produced some really good work in volume one and some of that is here but there were also some really static shots. Overall, poor plot and not enough from the art side to offset the poor writing.

[Trike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good overall but a bit slow in places. I liked the reveal of how Two Moons got his name. Terrific art.

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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.

[jedioffsidetrap · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as fun as I thought when I saw it was about zombie-ghost-Indians rising against the living. Rich art & nice bit with buffalo soldiers but this is vol 2 of something & I don’t have any investment in the characters.

[Jonathan Crabb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Art was sloppier and the story was much more muddled. The writers should have built on the strength of the first volume and continued that story rather than moving onto ghosts and different times (~10 years later).

[Aquila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great deal different from Volume 1. I enjoyed the ghost war and pretty much everything else fell flat for me.

[Harold Pridemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Western horror. Not as good as vol.1 but the art is fantastic.

[Riccardo Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Followed on well from Book 1. Jumps a few years ahead. Cool story. Hope there are more.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ooof.

[Jason Paré · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un peu moins réussi que le précédent volume. On se retrouve 20 ans plus tard et les personnages principaux ont maintenant des enfants, ce qui leur causera des soucis, évidemment.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Volume 1 but Volume 2 trailed off. Still enjoyed the art, though.