Moonshine vol. 2

Apparently Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso decided not to take a mulligan with this series and returned for a second volume.  I wasn’t really inclined to give it a shot after how the first volume turned out, but this one was on sale for 50% off so I figured I’d give it a shot.  It begins with mobster turned runaway werewolf Lou Pirilo on a train which attracts some police attention at a stop. After getting into a fight with one of the officers, Pirilo winds up on a chain gang doing hard labor under the savage southern sun.  Meanwhile, Pirilo’s boss is still trying to get his hands on the Appalachian hooch manufactured by the lycanthropic Holt family. He’s sent the old but crafty Senor Lago and devoutly Catholic hitman Cacciatore to try and seal the deal this time. Can the slickness of these cityfolk overcome the Holt’s hillbilly brutality?  Absolutely, because they’ve got God on their side.

Two volumes in and I still find it hard to care about most of the characters or the overall direction of the series.  Yet vol. 2 still winds up being a surprisingly readable experience nonetheless. That’s because even if Azzarello and Risso aren’t able to make the core story involving, they’re still able to create an engaging set of surface conflicts.  Seeing Lago match wits with the remaining members of the Holt family is fun, and Pirilo’s antics with the chain gang turn out to be surprisingly engaging before the full moon rolls around. Do I feel like “Moonshine” has anything more to offer than seeing how the conflicts on the narrative’s surface play out?  Not at this point, but I liked them enough to the point that I’ll probably give vol. 3 a shot whenever it comes around.