Review by Karl Verhoven
Victor Santos begins Moon Eaters with a horrific scene of what seems to be a child dragged off to be eaten by a beast. We then cut to Tommy Blackfoot being released from prison, collecting a stored car and driving to a meeting with an attractive young woman in a motel. Tommy, though, has people trailing him.
The doubt about whether it’s a child over the opening pages stems from Santos drawing stylised people in varying proportions, an example being June’s over-sized head when we first see her in the motel room. The stark black and white pages owe a considerable stylistic debt to Frank Miller, and it’s if Santos decided if Miller’s not going to produce any more Sin City, then he’ll take on the job. The same noir sensibilities are present here, although Santos lacks Miller’s naturalism with dialogue, which can be clumsy. “June, I think this is the biggest burger I’ve had in my life”, notes Tommy sitting naked on the floor, “although I’m sure this isn’t the kind of date you imagined when we first talked”.
It makes for a frustrating experience, because Santos is a good artist who creates an atmosphere, but when he makes mistakes they’re obvious. Likewise, the plot set up works over the first half, but frequently grinds to a halt when the dialogue hits the buffers.
We learn Tommy grew up among a feral form of family, but would prefer life outside their brutal confines, as would anyone with their head screwed on, but they’re not the types to let anyone go. Readers are going to suspect the appearance of one character is a little too convenient, and those suspicions are confirmed. There are some bonkers moments as assorted types converge on the remote hotel in a grindcore celebration in the form of page after page of largely wordless graphic violence occupying the second half of Moon Eaters. The repetition indicates Santos not having any original idea of where to head once everyone’s gathered in the same place.
Individual pages are stunning, but Santos on form is wasted drawing this uninspired homage.
