HOWEVER: Be WARNED! The ending of the first story, Moonshadow's jouney to awakening, has been vandalized with a rewrite. The last pages have been stained with changed dialog and excessive narration that dilute the meaning and convert a thoughtful exploration of the transendant into a parade of cliche's. I recommend this book for the additional Moonshadow tale but, to get the full value from this wonderful tale one needs to seek out the original volumes with the original text and meaning.


Compleat Indeed!   August 9, 2000
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

My first experience with Moonshadow was some years ago, when a comic-adhesive friend of mine (to say he collected them would be an understatement - he seemed rather to magnetically draw them to his person) found the solitary first issue of Moonshadow in a bulk buy of his. We were both instantly fascinated with the caprice of the Gi'Doses, the wild characterization, and the whimsical tone. At the time (long before graphic novels of any kind were commonplace in our experience), we languished that this, like so many other series we had encountered piecemeal, would probably never be assembled into a single storyfor our enjoyment, and we would never learn what became of the story. Imagine my joy when, only recently, I stumbled upon the Compleat Moonshadow in a local bookstore. Gritting my teeth, I shelled out the dough, drove home, and read the entire story in one sitting. Bleary-eyed, I sent a message to my friend (the one above), informing him of the excellence of the series. A few notes of actual detail: the art is spectacular, a watercolor spread consistent in its ability to create forms carrying significant meaning even when 'abstract.' The narrative, as silly as it is serious, presents the reader with names and places so wacky they allow a childhood sentimentality, even while covering such mature topics as sexual innocence, the horror of war, and the evils of greed. Finally, the writing is, shall we say, large but no overwritten. It may tax the vocabulary of some readers on occasion (something I like, but know is not everyone's favorite), but it expresses complex ideas with as few words as possible (indeed - few words are rarely enough to cover such themes!) Overall, a touching and heartfelt story that ranks very high on my experience of comics, graphic novels, and other pictoral mediums.


A work of art   February 24, 2000
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

I am reading the reviews people wrote for this book, and I am seeing some one star reviews, and I am wondering, "What are these people thinking?" So I am here to tell you that THIS COMIC IS AMAZING! It is the best comic ever made - better than Watchmen, The Dark Knight, Cages, Sandman, Maus, Love and Rockets, etc, etc. Moonshadow surpasses them all! It is so good that it easily qualifies as a "real book" and should be required reading on College campuses across the country. I have read Moonshadow over and over during the past ten years or so, and I always enjoy it. The reviewer before me complained about the changed ending, and yes, the previous ending was better. But all we are talking about is two pages! And anyway, Moonshadow is about life and the paths we take - the ending isn't important; just how we get there. And believe me, the adventures Moonshadow, Ira, etc take before they reach their conclusion are fantastic...this is work filled with the beauty of life, and everyone alive should read this book. It is a work of art that has had a profound effect upon me, as well as many others. Find out for yourself and be amazed


Startling work, a unique masterpiece.   January 15, 2004
 6 out of 12 found this review helpful

I'd finally tracked this down, as I'd lost out on collecting the entire series when it first appeared in 1985 (for some reason I never bought them... my loss). I wasn't ready for the storyline. It didn't resonate in the sixteen year-old that was me then, but there was something about the watercolors by Muth that did.

After art school, I found myself abandoning oils and turning to watercolors. I could work quickly and didn't require as much ventilation, but watercolors are infintely harder to master than oils. I still hadn't returned to "Moonshadow". My awakening was still yet to come.

Years pass and now I hardly ever paint, or write. I did something in goache recently for my Wife, and something clicked in my head, tiny but definitively. Ping! I found the "Compleat Moonshadow" for sale here, and bought it.

After two days of reading (fighting a chest cold), and respectfully closing the book at its end, I can be thankful I'd found the book, and know now my own awakening had begun. Thank you, Mr. DeMatteis and Mr. Muth, for making this book. It means more to me than anyone but you could ever know...

Fred


Better reading   June 21, 2001
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

A very good read, especially for people who like a lot of Vertigo works (especially Neil Gaiman works). It's kind of a mixture between a Science Fiction story and a Fairy Tale for adults which takes you to many different roads and shows you the intergalactic journey of a boy who has had no contact with the outside world ever and is suddenly put out in the real world, with his only knowledge being the stories he read in his books of Orwell, Tolkien and Shakespeare. With great painted art by John J Muth (Sandman) and written by J.M. DeMatteis (Spiderman: The Child Within