Review: Wet Moon, by Ross Campbell

[sharplittleteeth]

Wet Moon by Ross Campbell

Traditionally, comics are released in monthly issues of 20 to 24 pages. If the monthly issues sell well enough, the publisher will then collect them into a trade-paperback sized graphic novel.

The problem is that monthly issues are a pain to store, a pain to read, and will never be stocked by libraries or mainstream bookstores. Many collectors now skip the monthlies and wait for the "trade".

Oni Press have realised this, and started releasing some comics straight to trade. I approve of this approach. I especially approve because two of these releases have been by Ross Campbell. He drew the art for Spooked, and has now both written and drawn Wet Moon.

Wet Moon is the story of Cleo, a cute pudgy little baby-goth, starting college in the swampy town of Wet Moon. She moves into her dorm. She chats and bickers with her goth girlfriends. She frets about starting college. She worries when someone writes insulting graffiti about her. She feels sick.

Campbell's gift is that he makes this self-involved baby goth adorable, rather than irritating. She's like a scared little kitten. You just want to give her a hug.

And Campbell's artwork is beautiful. Go look at his website. Every character is unique, and alive. Each panel is beautifully composed, balancing space with fine detail.

Plus, the goth chicks are hot.

Campbell obviously has a fetish for lip rings and pudgy girl-bellies. Which is far more interesting than the Playboy-bunnies-in-spandex that dominate the mainstream superhero comics. I just think it's funny. I mean, Los Bros Hernandez of Love and Rockets won praise for their realistic portrayals of women, but it's blatantly obvious that even they, like the superhero hacks, were just drawing hot chiquitas. Some guys just have better taste, is all.

So: beautiful artwork, cute chicks, goths. All sounds pretty good. And it is, except...

Well, except this is the first thing Campbell has written. And while he has all the intimate details and characterizations down perfectly, what he lacks is a plot. Wet Moon meanders and drifts, and then just suddenly stops with a "To Be Continued..."

It's a shame. You read a book, you expect a narrative arc. It's made even worse when you know that Campbell is working on a different book, so it will be a couple of years before we actually get any plot for Cleo and her friends.

So, in summary: Beautiful artwork. Cute goth girls. No plot.

Comments

[horngirl.livejournal.com]

So, in summary: Beautiful artwork. Cute goth girls. No plot.

So, a bit like life, really?
;-)

[damien-wise.livejournal.com]

Hey, wasn't this an online comic a couple of years ago? ISTR reading the first chapter...
As you said, very pretty/atmospheric. Lovely style. It's paced as "a day in the life of," not an action book. ;)

[sharplittlteeth.livejournal.com]

Campbell has been posting preview pages to his Deviant Art account (http://mooncalfe.deviantart.com). That may be where you saw them.

[ex-delve955.livejournal.com]

My god! he likes to draw the cute goth girls. Some comics have done very well with slow, slow plots, though. As long as there is hope of plot, or good characterisation, it can carry. I'll defend Strangers in Paradise to the death, but it took a while for anything to happen, and when it did, you wanted it to go back sometimes.

I msy go look at Spooked, though, if I can find it.

[sharplittlteeth.livejournal.com]

Maybe I've just read too much Robert McKee. But I figure, if you're writing a book, you would try to tell a complete story in that book. Wet Moon starts about a dozen plot threads rolling, and then just suddenly stops.

Campbell's art and characterisation are kick-arse. But the sudden cut-off means you finish the book with a frustrated "huh?" rather than a delighted "yeah!".

I like Strangers in Paradise. My biggest problem was that I could never tell which order the trade paperback collections were meant to be read in. And when they re-collected them, I wasn't sure which ones I had already read.

[paracelsus.livejournal.com]

You might enjoy Chi Chian if you aren't already familiar with it. In some ways a bit obvious, but in others, pretty cool. And the animation is lovely.

[sharplittlteeth.livejournal.com]

I read an issue of Chi Chian, and was underwhelmed. His style did seem better suited to animation, based on the photos I saw. But I've yet to see any of his actual animations.

[jan-event.livejournal.com]

And he's got this one picture, right, and it's... holy shit, it's like this girl, no listen, and she's topless... come on, just listen... she's topless and she's got all these piercings, yeah, and tattoos and it's so freaking hot, oh dude, those protrusions from the top of her head, it's so... oh, didn't I mention that? Yeah, totally, it's a topless, pierced and tattooed Sith Twi'lek

[sharplittlteeth.livejournal.com]

"I love this. The only thing I dont love is how you tend to draw breasts, If my parents saw they would think im looking at some twisted porno. i don't mind really, but I would mind if my parents saw so i cant look at it for long."

http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/r/o/rocambe/kundrav.jpg.html

[andricongirl.livejournal.com]

i heart the ross.. yes the plots going to taike a long time sadly :\