Review of "Moonshine #1," by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso

 Review of

Moonshine #1, by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso

Five out of five stars

Excellent setting of the context

 The timeframe is America during Prohibition with several forces at play. There is the expert creator of moonshine in very rural West Virginia and the big city gangster that samples the product and wants a lot more. He sends his reluctant agent. a man name Lou Pirlo, down to West Virginia in order to convince the maker, a man named Hiram Holt, to sell all his production to the gangster.

 The story opens with agents of the FBI in the process of raiding one of Hiram’s stills, only to encounter violent and deadly opposition. It is strongly hinted that the opposition is in the form of a powerful wild animal.

 Lou goes to West Virginia and after encountering many scenes based on cliches regarding the rural folk, Lou manages to come face-to-face with Hiram. Hiram proves to be a very hard sell, while he values money, there are other factors that he will weigh. When Hiram is informed about the mess made of the FBI agents at his still, he takes Lou along in order to show him what he and his boss is facing.

 When he is leaving, Lou has a flat tire and when he is walking to seek assistance he comes across a wild dance gathering in a clearing around a raging bonfire. All of the people there appear to be black. There is the hint of some form of voodoo in action and the story ends there.

 With at least three forces in conflict, Hiram’s, the gangsters and the federal agents, there is sure to be more violence. Neither of the three appears to have any willingness to back off from their position, more federal agents will appear when the first group goes missing, the gangster will not take anything other than an enthusiastic yes for an answer and Hiram seems capable of defending himself against the forces of the other two.

 Prohibition was a wild time in the United States, the incredible profits to be made led to the rise of powerful criminal forces as well as a strong federal response in federal law enforcement. From this first round, it is clear that this is going to be a great story, there is a powerful trio of opposing forces with little incentive to back down.