''High Moon'' is a horror Western

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

series featuring

werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...

. It was developed in 2004 with a debut in 2007 as a part of Zuda Comics,

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

imprint. The first season concluded on July 8, 2008. Season two ran from August 16 to November 25, 2008. Season three and four began its run in February and October 2009, respectively. Serialization ended when Zuda Comics shut down in 2010. Papercutz re-released ''High Moon'' in a new collection in 2017, consisting of three volumes for their Super Genius imprint.

Publication history

Created by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis, ''High Moon'' was part of Zuda's initial launch in October 2007. Month later, ''High Moon'' was awarded a contract with

, where the strip was serialized on Zuda.com. Scott O. Brown was the production artist and letterer.

Synopsis

In the first series, a bounty hunter, Matthew Macgregor, investigates a series of strange happenings in the Texas town of Blest, where drought has brought famine and hardship to most of the town and surrounding ranches. Additionally, the nights are haunted by

. While Macgregor, a former Pinkerton detective, seeks to uncover the town's secrets, he tries desperately to keep secret his own past steeped in

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

and the supernatural. The second series finds werewolf-hunter Macgregor in Ragged Rock,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, investigating a series of murders following a bizarre train robbery, and finds himself caught in a vendetta and confronting a technological monstrosity. In series three, Macgregor helps a young woman and finds himself amid two warring factions in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Characters

* Matthew Macgregor: A descendant of Scottish outlaw Robert "Rob Roy" Macgregor, the protagonist is a stubborn and grumbly retired Pinkerton. He first appears on page 3 of Season 1. As of page 17, he demonstrates a degree of ritual psychometry. He carries a pair of pistols with the words Gáe Bolga carved into the handles. As seen on page 30 of the strip, his bullets of choice are Blaine bullets. Mac's history shows a past with James Bowie,

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, Allan Pinkerton, and Marie Laveau. * Eddie Conroy is an African-American outlaw afflicted with lycanthropy. After MacGregor is killed, Conroy assumes his identity. He is seen on page 5 in werewolf form, and again on page 6 in human form. * Tristan Macgregor is a member of the Macgregor family, an esoteric subset of the Pinkertons and brother of Matthew. He has a mechanical arm, conceals his face with goggles, and uses steampunk weapons invented by Nikola Tesla. * Red: Conroy's loyal wolfdog.

Supporting characters

* Tara Bradley: Daughter of legendary lawman Sheriff Patrick Bradley, Tara is a beautiful redhead who since moving to Blest has been working for the Sheriff's office. She first appears on page 2. * Deputy Jeb Garret: He first appears on page 2. He enjoys reading dime novels. * Gabriel Hunter: The founder of Blest and father of the little girl who goes missing on page 1 of the story arc, he first appears on page 2. * Margaret Hunter: Goes missing in page 1 of the opening prologue. * Mavis Hunter: Seen on page 7, and recounts his story in a flashback on page 10. * Sheriff Patrick Bradley: Mentioned on page 2, he does not appear in the prologue. * Doc McNear: Appears on page 11, where he aids Mavis Hunter with her hysteria, and later is confronted by Conroy. * Were-Bats: Strange, multi-eyed, multi-armed bat-like creatures, spawned from the Jim Bowie caves. * Miss Molly: Appears on page 33, she is the owner of the Crabapple dance hall. * Deirdre: Wife of Tristan. * Young Raven: A Red Indian mystic who becomes Conroy's lover, she is the granddaughter of Raven the Trickster, a legendary Native American character. * Dr. Bell: An English detective based on Sherlock Holmes, he is revealed to be the alter ego of the vicious serial killer Mr. Hyde. * Others include Ester, August, and Frederick Kittel, Vivian, and Egregore.

Print

''Bayou'' and ''High Moon'' were the first two Zuda titles to be published as graphic novels, in June and October 2009, respectively by

. In October 2017, Papercutz published new trade editions of the series.

Awards

* ''High Moon'' was nominated for two 2009 Harvey Awards, for Best New Series and Best Online Work, winning the latter award. * ''High Moon'' was nominated for a 2010 Harvey Award for Best Online Work.

Notes

References

Zudacomics.com: ''High Moon''

High Moon Production Blog

External links

Comixology.com New York Comic Con podcast
* D'Orazio, Valerie
"Occasional Interviews: Zuda Artist Steve Ellis on ''High Moon''"
OccasionalSuperheroine.com, October 31, 2007

YourMomsBasement.com, October 30, 2007 * Kean, Benjamin Ong Pang
"The Opening Team: Talking to the First Wave of Zuda Creators"
Newsarama, November 1, 2007
DavidGallaher.com

(Steve Ellis official site) {{DC Western Characters 2007 webcomic debuts 2010 webcomic endings 2000s webcomics American webcomics Werewolf comics Horror Westerns Horror webcomics Webcomics in print Western (genre) webcomics Zuda Comics titles Works about bounty hunters Comics set in Texas Comics set in Oklahoma South Dakota in fiction Cultural depictions of James Bowie Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln Cultural depictions of Allan Pinkerton Cultural depictions of Nikola Tesla Works based on Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Comics based on works by Robert Louis Stevenson