Two Moons vol. 1: The Iron Noose

The last series John Arcudi wrote at Image was “Rumble.”  It was a story about a monster-fighting barbarian whose soul was imprisoned and then thrust into a scarecrow body to continue the fight against them in the present day.  The series ran for 32 issues over two series, and I was honestly surprised it came back after that first one as the series was more well-liked than best-selling.  I was one of those people who liked it too, and I’ve been a fan of Arcudi since his work on the “Aliens” franchise and especially “B.P.R.D.” over at Dark Horse.  So when word came out that the writer was teaming up with Italian artist Valerio Giangiordano for another uncommercial-sounding series, I knew I had to check it out.

“Two Moons” is the Pawnee name of Virgil Morris.  Born a Native American, he was raised by a white family and is currently fighting on the side of the Union in the Civil War.  The thing is that his roots are turning out to be a hard thing to shake.  That’s because the war between the North and the South has attracted the attention of an unwelcome third party:  Demons.  The bloodshed has called beasts who thrive on it into this world and Virgil is the only one who can see and stop them.

The idea of supernatural creatures joining the chaos of a war gives this series a surface-level similarity to “Baltimore.”  “Two Moons” is a much different beast as this first volume finds Virgil at the mercy of his new destiny, and most of the story in “The Iron Noose” involves him trying to figure out what this new path is going to demand of him.  This is in addition to navigating both sides of the war as his first demonic encounter goes about as badly as you’d expect.

Playing to expectations like that is the biggest weakness of this first volume.  After that first encounter, it’s not hard to see where Virgil’s path will take him as mystic visions and misunderstandings due to his ability to see the demons figure greatly into the narrative.  There are some surprising displays of competence on the Union soldiers’ part ahead of the final conflict, but the story distinguishes itself mainly by being the only Civil War-era monster-fighting comic on the stands right now.

That’s not a bad thing and it’s not the only thing the series has going for it.  Arcudi also makes Virgil into a sympathetic protagonist as it’s easy to understand the awfulness of the situation that he currently finds himself in.  That being said, he doesn’t let it drag him down as he’s got a cleverness that allows him to make the best of just about any situation.  More interesting than that is the savagery he displays at the end of the volume.  Without giving too much away, it appears that the main dramatic thrust of this series is if Virgil will be able to keep fighting these monsters without becoming one himself.

All of this looks quite good under the pencil of Giangiordano.  I had not heard of the artist before reading this volume, but he makes a good impression here.  There’s an impressive level of detail to his work which helps add believability to the setting and the story flows well via his layouts.  Giangiordano is also great with the supernatural elements of the story as his monster design is memorably creepy.  The story’s violent climax and the sketchbook at the end of the volume show that Virgil will be up against some real nightmare fuel as the series goes on.

Really, Giangiordano’s style would’ve been right at home in the Mignolaverse, and on that note I’ve got no problem recommending this series to fans of Arcudi’s work on “B.P.R.D.”  The great art, memorable setting and protagonist combine to give this series its own unique style.  My only hope is that the story itself will take more interesting turns as it goes on.  That’s because “Two Moons” is only the good kind of different right now instead of being the great kind.