Writer Steve Niles (30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre) and artist Nat Jones (28 Days Later: The Aftermath, Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer) continue their dark and gritty post-apocalyptic monster saga with the two latest issues of Broken Moon from American Gothic Press and Famous Monsters of Filmland. While the story elements themselves may, at first glance, seem derivative and overdone (werewolves vs. vampires), Niles and Jones use their considerable talents to bring this dark and exciting “monster mash” to life with new concepts and an unexpected freshness!
MINOR SPOILERS BELOW
The second and third issues of Broken Moon continue the tale of humanity’s hopeless struggle to survive in a world where mankind has irreparably damaged the natural state of the Earth and the creatures of the night have seized control with a tyrannical grip. When a group of humans flee from the nightmarish cities of the vampires into the dense woodlands, they soon encounter a pack of lycans who have given up killing humans in a last-ditch attempt to battle the dark efforts of the vampire nation. Focused on permanently crushing the human race under their heel, the vampires are experimenting with human farming techniques while enacting efforts to pollute the world beyond the potential for human survival. In their efforts to find more allies in their fight against the blood-sucking horde, the mish-mash band of werewolves and humans travel to the Canadian city of Frankenstein, hoping to sway an army of the formerly dead to their cause.
Niles continues to tap into an awesome blend of genres (I believe I previously mentioned Terminator, Underworld, and X-Men: Age of Apocalypse as a possible recipe, and I still stand by that assessment.) and never hesitates to deliver exactly what his readers crave (whether it be vamps vs. werewolves, werewolves vs. Frankenstein’s monsters, or everyone vs. everyone). He also manages to layer his story with deeper themes that will resonate with those not merely sated by buckets of blood and fresh decapitations.
Jones continues to be the perfect partner for Niles and Broken Moon. Jones’ gloomy, foreboding style and emotive coloring immediately envelops the reader in the ashy and wretched world Niles has built. Issues two and three also really give Jones’ penchant for the horror genre a real chance to shine, providing plenty of terrifying creatures and monster-on-monster violence for vivid depiction by the skilled artist.
FINAL VERDICT: Broken Moon should be an easy sale for anyone who is a Niles and/or Jones fan, anyone who is familiar with American Gothic Press’ high-quality monster comics, or anyone who thinks that werewolves, vampires, and an army of Frankenstein monsters duking it out in a post-apocalyptic future sounds too @#$%ing awesome to pass up. (Do we have everyone covered?) I may be repeating myself, but I can’t help it; if you’re a horror or sci-fi fan or dig the werewolf or vampire genres, I implore you to give Broken Moon a shot. This one’s a winner.
Be sure and check out my review of Issue #1:
‘Broken Moon #1:’ Advance Comic Book Review (This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things)
You can find out more about Broken Moon by visiting the official American Gothic Press website.
That’s all for now, comic book sniffers!
‘Till the end of the world,
-Bryant the Comic Book Slayer
@ComicBookSlayer
