Review by Ian Keogh
To address the obvious question first, Wet Moon is titled after the small college town remaining the focus of events throughout. It’s a progression in a number of ways, most obviously for Cleo, the most prominent character within an ensemble cast, but also for creator Sophie Campbell who learns so much about telling a story during the course of what became fourteen years work. What begins as strong on personality, but with a lack of pacing grows into a captivating drama well ahead of its time in dealing with gender fluidity from the start, and featuring a group of people to cherish. This is the first of probably three Omnibus editions collecting the entire seven volume saga into even bulkier books, combining what was previously published as Feeble Wandering and Unseen Feet.
We first meet Cleo about to start college, showing longstanding friends her new dorm, after which we take a tour around other people whose paths will be followed over those seven volumes. While there’s some faltering over the early stages, conversations sparkle from the start, and form a solid basis onto which events are hung. Cleo has the insecurities of most teenagers coming to terms with who they are, and Campbell explores these alongside cleverly contrived little mysteries.
Cleo is further fleshed out via diary entries written by Jessica Calderwood, but she’s just one of many consistently well rounded people. Trilby is seen on the sample art, and there’s Audrey, Mara, Myrtle and Natalie, each eventually loveable, but capable of poor behaviour, both to each other and in general, and they’re far removed from the idealised folk presented in even more enlightened graphic novels.
Campbell has resisted the temptation of revisiting to make changes, which is very wise as the progression of the art can be seen to reflect Cleo’s flourishing. However, it also means that what Wet Moon would become isn’t entirely present here as Campbell learns storytelling techniques and is particularly afflicted by a very slow pace. It’s not universal, but sequences can sprawl, when the experienced Campbell knew how to compress what’s necessary into far fewer pages. Stick with it as the practice is making perfect by the end here, and it really shows in the next Omnibus.
Anyone who loved Heartstopper in their teens and is now a little older ought to find Wet Moon a natural progression. It’s compelling drama that easily overcomes the few anomalous moments concerning Campbell in the introduction.