Moonshine, Vol. 2: Misery Train

Moonshine

by Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso (Artist)

"Torpedo" Lou Pirlo thought his troubles might be over when he and his new girl, Delia, hopped a boxcar headed to New Orleans--as far and fast as they could get away from the hillbillies in Appalachia and the mafia killers in New York City. But trouble has a habit of sticking to Lou, and trouble ain't all that's stuck to Lou. See, Lou got bit by a werewolf, and now the most deadly monster hunter on Earth will stop at nothing to put this dog down.

The hit horror/crime series that Nerdist called "damn near perfect" is back from the creative team behind the seminal crime drama 100 Bullets! Also reprinting variant covers from Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, Rafael Albuquerque, Grampa and Jorge Zaffino!

Collects MOONSHINE #7-12

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Crime, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Fantasy

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2018

About the author

Brian Azzarello (born in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer. He came to prominence with 100 Bullets, published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. He and Argentine artist Eduardo Risso, with whom Azzarello first worked on Jonny Double, won the 2001 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story for 100 Bullets #15–18: "Hang Up on the Hang Low".

Azzarello has written for Batman ("Broken City", art by Risso; "Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire", art by Lee Bermejo, Tim Bradstreet, & Mick Gray) and Superman ("For Tomorrow", art by Jim Lee).

In 2005, Azzarello began a new creator-owned series, the western Loveless, with artist Marcelo Frusin.

As of 2007, Azzarello is married to fellow comic-book writer and illustrator Jill Thompson.

information taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Az...

Reviews

[Sud666 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2nd volume wasn't as good as the first. The story of Lou develops as he comes to understand that he is cursed. His adventures take him through a penal institution and run ins with the NYC mob which is determined to crush Holt and sends in a contract killer.

The conflict between the mob and these were-moonshiners is interesting, but there is much left unsaid. The story is complicated, but some more insight into the werewolf clan would help. Some hints are dropped but never fleshed out. Lou has become rather an annoying character. The basics of this story are still excellent, but the execution is lacking.

Good but not great.

[Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

More blood, gore and gunshots in Azzarello’s noir, southern gothic, supernatural horror mashup. Werewolves, mobsters and hillbillies—what’s not to love?

[OmniBen · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 4.25/5
I'm not sure why I was so down on this series a couple of years ago when I read the first trade. Perhaps I had just finished 100 Bullets and nothing was going to live up to that fuckin banger of a series. Either way, I was sorely mistaken. But I am to make amends.
Eduardo Risso is one of my all time greats. Him drawing a down and down southern noir is essentially mana from heaven. Again, I'm not sure what kind of downer I was on before, but his art, his use of shadow, his gorgeous colours. The man stands and delivers every single time, end of.
Azarello does some of his best recent work here. The less said about the shit show that was Faithless the better. He goes for that grizzled 100 Bullets esque down and dirty dialogue, and succeeds for the most part. Occasionally the southern drawl and dialect can get a bit much. But for the most part, its on point and suits Risso's artwork to a T. Can't wait to read more, which I think I will go and do right now. 4.25/5


OmniBen.

[Dávid Novotný · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second volume is more straight forward. The cards are dealt and now we can watch how they will be played. Still slightly different from what I expected, but it's going in an interesting direction and has great potential. We will see...

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just feel like something's missing from this series. I love the setting, 1920s Applachia with the moonshiners and gangsters around, but the whole werewolf subplot seems forced. This probably would have been better as a straight crime story without the supernatural elements. The art is well done, and it's not like the story is horrible but it just hasn't really hooked me yet. Looks like this may be the end of the series?

[Nena Gluchacki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started to finally pick up towards the end, but still wasn't as good as Volume 1. Still interested in the series so hopefully the next one will be better.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Addictive page turner. I really enjoyed Azzarello and Russo's run on 100 bullets back in the day and this series is no different. Makes me want to go watch some Boardwalk Empires while I'm at it :)

[Hugo Tellez · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Considero un poco mejor el primero, nuevos personajes como el cazador están chidos. Los ataques del hombre lobo fueron muy buenos.

[Alex Sarll]

You might not think ‘current Image books which put a classic horror monster in a backwoods setting, and use for their title a pun someone should really have spotted sooner’ would be a competitive field, but here we are, and this is a definite second to the vampire series Redneck. Azzarello and Risso are very good at what they do, but what they do is fairly one-note, a scuffed-up world of mean men and dangerous dames, and turns out adding werewolves to the mix doesn’t make all that much difference.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

***Review is for the all five volumes of the series to date

The horror never really blends with the crime, appearing hear and there as afterthoughts to and distractions from the main tale. Combine that with an unnecessary and odd tangent into voodoo that was wholly unnecessary and you have an ultimately disappointing run.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun volume but a little confusing at times. It is best when focusing on Lou and what is happening to him. The mobster stuff is actually my least favorite stuff right now. I also really enjoy the little segments that have a little flair in the art style. Fun stuff. Nothing amazing but a good time.

[cloverina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now THIS is what I wanted from this series. It really picks up.

[Nuno Ferreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este segundo volume de Moonshine foi a leitura que escolhi para a minha noite de Halloween e não podia ter sido mais proveitosa. Comboio do Tormento vem confirmar as minhas expectativas para com esta banda-desenhada de gangsters e lobisomens, que mostra uma perspetiva social bem interessante sobre os anos 1920, em que vigorou a Lei Seca nos Estados Unidos da América. Comboio do Tormento parece fechar um arco de história, mas são muitas as perguntas que ainda me germinam na mente sobre estas personagens.

As personagens são apetecíveis e os diálogos muito bons. Azzarello oferece-nos momentos de verdadeiro terror físico, mas também psicológico. A indefinição dos comportamentos dos protagonistas é outra das mais-valias deste álbum, que me deixou sempre sem saber o que esperar de um ou de outro. Os momentos de tensão são vários, com mortes surpreendentes e uma imprevisibilidade constante.

Continuamos a seguir os passos do nosso gangster Lou Pirlo, ou Torpedo. Pirlo e Delia conseguem escapar num comboio de carga para o Sul, para longe da máfia nova iorquina e dos hillbillies das Montanhas Apalache, mas o protagonista está longe de conseguir encontrar a paz desejada e os amargos de boca sucedem-se uns após outros. Nova Orleães revela-se um pesadelo, em vez do escape ambicionado.

Neste segundo volume de Moonshine, vemos Torpedo a ser perseguido por caçadores de monstros, uma vez que ele foi mordido por um lobisomem, testemunhamos os dilemas de Tempest, que usa e abusa da sedução para preservar a família, caímos na dúvida sobre a morte e a vida de Enos e do pai deles, Hiram Holt e, sobretudo, de quantos deles são lobisomens.

Este segundo volume de Mooshine alia um argumento sólido a um traço particular e delicioso. As cores são incríveis, as sequências são boas e os planos bem organizados. Para quem não sabe o que ler em banda-desenhada, sugiro esta BD visualmente chamativa que, através de uma história de lobisomens, fala-nos da crueldade das ações no tempo da Lei Seca, de gangsters e do que estão eles dispostos a fazer para defender as suas pretensões.

É uma saga de terror e lobisomens passada na América profunda dos anos 20, uma série violenta, mas que a maior parte da sua violência está nos subentendidos e na cabeça do leitor, sendo ao mesmo tempo inteligente, complexa e fácil de degustar. Este volume inclui arte de capas alternativas de nomes famosos (alguns dos quais me são bem queridos!) como Gabriel Bá, Fábio Moon, Rafael Albuquerque, Grampa e Paul Pope. Não percas mais tempo.

https://noticiasdezallar.wordpress.com

[Bill Coffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite its intriguing premise (werewolves complicate a Prohibition-era moonshining racket) and powerhouse creatives (Azzarello and Risso), Moonshine never really lives up to its potential. Risso's artwork is amazing as usual, but Azzarello's script is unfocused and meandering, filled with characters that never really develop or make us care much about their outcomes. Each volume in the series so far (up to Vol. 4) feels neither self-contained enough to work well on its own, nor do they sufficiently advance the meta-plot. One imagines this series might not have much of a plan to it. What a shame, too.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lou Pirlo is a runaway mobster who fled a gang war between his urban, Italian mafia and a group of Appalachian moonshiners, and he's got a bigger problem: he was bitten by a werewolf and every so often turns into a monster that just runs around killing people.

And then, headed South to find a cure, he ends up on a chain gang.

Werewolves and Prohibition...that may be all you really need to know about this series.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gangster Lou escapes the Appalachia debacle from Book 1, but not without a werewolf bite. He hops a New Orleans bound train only to end up in prison after attacking railroad police. I really like this noir/horror graphic novel and am looking forward to more adventures of Lou Pirlo. Very highly recommended.

[Zack! Empire · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing second volume. We get introduced to some new characters and the story moves along at a nice pace. I really don't know where this story might be heading! Definitely getting the next volume.
This writer/artist team has done quite a bit of work together and this series is making me want to check it out in a hurry!

[Yoshiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Większa część pierwszego tomu została poświęcona na odpowiednie zarysowanie historii i przedstawienie roli nowojorskiego gangstera Lou Pirlo w całej fabule. Podrzędny mafioso wypełniający wszystkie polecenia swojego szefa był jednak na tyle inteligentny, że szybko zdał sobie sprawę w jakie „bagno” wdepnął. Końcówka albumu była widowiskowa, ale również dość enigmatyczna w wielu kwestiach.

Odpowiedzi na niektóre nurtujące czytelnika pytania dopiero przynosi Księżycówka #2. Tytuł jednocześnie jeszcze bardziej przyspiesza, rozpoczynając ostrą fabularną jazdę bez trzymanki (dosłownie i przenośni). Na kolejnych stronach pojawią się wściekli wieśniacy z odludnych terenów Appalachów, żądna zemsty kobieta, która jest gotowa na wszystko, nieustępliwi zabójcy nowojorskiej mafii do tego likantropia i powiązania z voodoo. Azzarello obok widowiskowości pozwala sobie tutaj równocześnie na mocniejsze uwypuklenie horrorowych aspektów opowieści. Dużo częściej pojawiają się sceny grozy, w których krew leje się strumieniami. Ponadto dużo mniejszą uwagę poświęca on Lou. Spycha go w mrok, nadal jednak pozwalając mu pełnić istotną rolę w całej historii i budując wokół niego niektóre kolejne ciekawe wątki. Scenariusz być może nie staje się jakoś nadmiernie „głęboki”, raczej uderzając w proste schematy, ale na pewno zapewnia on gigantyczną dawkę ekscytującej rozrywki, która potrafi być równie oszałamiająca, jak wysoko procentowy alkohol.

Gwałtowna horrorowo-gangsterska fabuła nie mogłaby w pełni zabłysnąć, gdyby nie towarzyszące jej świetne rysunki Risso. Artysta kolejny raz pokazuje swój kunszt, łącząc mroczną klimatyczność z artystycznym zacięciem. Jest on również mistrzem w tworzeniu postaci, które epatują najróżniejszymi emocjami (nawet jeśli ich projekty są pozornie dość proste). Na słowa pochwały zasługuje również jego „głębia” rysunków i dbałość o to, aby plansze nie były nadmiernie przeładowane.

https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/recen...

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first volume of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso's horror crime fiction comic set in prohibition era US back in 2018 and it left me eager to read the next instalment of New York gangster Lou Pirlo's story after his unfortunate adventures in Appalachia. But for various reasons, I have not had a chance getting around to until now.

I am, however, very happy that I picked up the title again. This second volume sees Lou dealing with the fact that he was bitten by a werewolf and is now cursed, on the run from Appalachia with a little help from Delia. However, Lou gets caught at the train yard and is incarcerated.

Meanwhile, the narrative interlaces with the continued events in Appalachia surrounding the Holt family's still and the New York gangsters, with a focus on Tempest Holt and to some extent also her brother Enos (i.e. the two werewolves adopted into the Holt family).

This dual narrative works very well for me and moves the story forward nicely on different tracks.

All in all, I think that Risso's visual storytelling works perfectly for this series and pairs well with Azzarello's writing. As I have noted elsewhere, they are a perfect match for crime stories, and the mixture of crime and horror here resonates very well with me.

[Matthew McElroy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely better than the first book. I saw someone describe this as crime noir. That person is mostly correct, with a heavy dose of the supernatural. It makes the ridiculous stereotyping a little bit easier to swallow.
Lou Pirlo, the protagonist, is now working on a chain gang. The mobsters and the hillbillies are at odds trying to figure out how to avenge each other's losses. The Moonshine storyline has been largely dropped, and this is mostly about revenge and pride. The country folk are outnumbered and outgunned, with the exception of the werewolves on their side.
That shouldn't be a spoiler, there's a werewolf on the cover, and the first book introduces at least three. I'm engaged, and looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moonshine finds its footing a bit in this second volume. Instead of being a confusing mess of prohibition, gangsters, hillbillies, werewolves, and racism, Azzarello narrows the focus to just werewolves and gangsters. Handsome Lou, stuck in a work camp, realizes his werewolf potential, while gangster L'Ago duels wits with Tempest and her clan. The tightened plot results in some pacing issues, so it's a bit of a trade-off: Moonshine volume two makes more sense than volume one, but it's far less electric. That said, Risso's art continues to be the main draw here, with vivid coloring and intense emotions.

[Kyle Berk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moonshine volume 2 is a good continuation of the first volume. It’s got everything I liked about the story. Gangster politics with a dash of southern gothic tones, and werewolves.

I love werewolves. In representing the inner voice I double love werewolves.

It’s well drawn and the plot keeps moving on.

I’m interested enough to pick up the third volume because I want to see how these gangsters destroy each other.

I’d recommend if you like gothic comics, noir storytelling, and a nice helping of violence.

3 stars.

[Jose Vidal · Rating 3 out of 5]

El segundo tomo de esta colección de gangsters y hombres lobo llega a las estanterías españolas, continuando en el punto donde nos dejó el anterior. La familia Holt continúa enfrascada en un violento enfrentamiento contra la mafia de Nueva York, en torno a la distribución de alcohol ilegal, producido en un remoto escenario rural mientras el, supuesto, protagonista, se pierde en un desafortunado viaje en tren hacia el sur.

http://aventurasextraordinarias.blogs...

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although Misery Train does involve a train, it's just transportation to move Lou into new situations as he and a female companion flee the hills and head south to New Orleans. As typical, Lou's problems are still with him. This volume also keeps the reader up to date on what's happening in the hills. Like the first volume, the action is crazy good. Scenes still jump wildly but I'm getting the hang of it. My rating is 4 stars for once more this is a wild ride. Like life, the path has a lot of twists and turns with missing pieces to be puzzled over.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Azzarello and Risso continue their horror/noir book about moonshine runners, werewolves, family, love, and loss. Lou finds himself in another terrible predicament and it doesn't go well. The Holt family drama is still the heart of the book and its showcased here. Its hard to imagine what you'd do in these crazy circumstances but Azzarello makes it real enough to question. The artwork by Risso is perfect here and his use of shadows is masterful. Overall, another very good take on a genre that's been to death but is extremely fresh.

[Paul Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prohibition era comic series moves on. Confusing at times but well made

At first, it’s a bit hard working out what’s going on, especially if you don’t remember Volume 1. Werewolves and 1930s gangsters mix together in this tale of betrayal, murder and a body count.
It’s quite bloody and full of unsavoury characters, none of which seem to have redeeming features. The artwork is reasonably clear and colourful. The whole thing works quite well.

[Eli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to get into this book but I just couldn’t. It is not the first time I have quit and Azzarello book. He is a good writer but not always my vibe. The first volume kept me engaged and I really wanted to like this series. Prohibition era gangsters and Werewolves what’s not to like?! Maybe I’ll try again later. That worked for me with 100 bullets.

[Alistair · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* but it was a "close-run-thing.
Very reminiscent of Dead Beats a 1920's gangster, jazz, and Zombies story that was better.
So the 3* came with some doubts, but I am known for my generous and kindly nature? :)

[RND · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story picks up more, though Lou is separated from the rest. But Risso's art continues to improve and become more confident, assured. His washes for the flashbacks are so nice; I wish he'd do a whole book in that style.

[Michael Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume of Moonshine is chock full of the sex, violence, intrigue, and crazy characters we've come to expect from Azzarello and Risso (one of my favorite creative teams in comics). My only complaint is that these books do not come out more often.