Review by Karl Verhoven

Moonshine was the project that reunited Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso several years after completing their astounding 100 Bullets. It’s not apparent from the start that Moonshine is complete in 28 chapters, and indeed it may not have been intended as finite, but works spectacularly well. There are a few dips, most noticeably after the introductory chapters have set the scene, but once over those bumps it’s a racing steamroller to the finish.

In prohibition-era USA gangster Lou Pirlo is sent to rural Virginia to track down the makers of some quality hooch. Lou is one of those guys who always considers himself the smartest in the room, and a mouth that constantly causes trouble is the flip side of looks that have women swooning. Pirlo may be the smartest guy in the room, but when it comes to native cunning he’s out of his depth. The early chapters are extremely well created period crime, but Azzarello throws in a wild card that adds a hefty portion of predatory horror. It’s a well concealed shock and a complete wild card affecting the remainder of what happens, so we’ll keep it under wraps, but if you want to know start reading the reviews of the individual paperbacks starting with Vol. 1.

However, although cost may be an issue, there’s a considerable case to be made for this hardcover being the presentation of choice. Not only does it collect the entire story, but it’s over five hundred beautifully bound pages of art from one of the greats of his era. There’s nothing Risso doesn’t draw well, and there’s no artistic weakness. Known for his stark, shadowy illustrations, Risso also colours Moonshine very effectively, and offers a few pages of flashback in a very different style, yet he’s a master of that also. Atmosphere drips from every page.

Azzarello’s dialogue is masterfully constructed with rarely a word wasted, and full of wry observations Hollywood action film writers could construct a movie around. “Get right down to it, saints are just sinners who’re particularly adept at lying to god”, is one of Pirlo’s thoughts. Another is “Speaking from experience… A lot of experience… it ain’t easy to describe the feeling of waking up in the unknown”. There are dozens of similar pithy thoughts.

Because he’s smart and has some amusing patter, we’re guided to believe Pirlo’s somehow redeemable, but Azzarello delivers a cast where innocence is almost entirely absent among the primary players, and redemption isn’t on the agenda. Read the first three chapters, then place your bets on how many of the folk you’ve seen will survive.

A phenomenally good toxic stew bubbles and bubbles until eruption, then starts bubbling away again. No fan of noir crime or intelligent horror should bypass Moonshine.