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High Moon

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High Moon
Matthew Macgregor in the cover to High Moon, art by Steve Ellis.
Publication information
PublisherZuda imprint of DC Comics; Super Genius imprint of Papercutz
FormatOngoing webcomic series
Publication date2007–2010; 2017
Main character(s)Matthew Macgregor
Creative team
Created byDavid Gallaher
Steve Ellis
Written byDavid Gallaher
Artist(s)Steve Ellis

High Moon is a horror Western webcomic series featuring werewolves. It was developed in 2004 with a debut in 2007 as a part of Zuda, DC Comics' webcomic imprint. The first season concluded on July 8, 2008. Season two ran from August 16 to November 25, 2008. Season three began its run on February 9, 2009. Season four began its run on October 3, 2009. Serialization ended when Zuda Comics shut down in 2010.[1] Papercutz re-released High Moon in a new collection in 2017, consisting of three volumes for their Super Genius imprint.[2]

Publication history

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Created by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis, High Moon was part of Zuda's initial launch in October 2007. Month later, High Moon[3] was awarded a contract with DC Comics, where the strip was serialized on Zuda.com. Scott O. Brown was the production artist and letterer.

Synopsis

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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 werewolves. 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 and the supernatural.

The second series finds werewolf-hunter Macgregor in Ragged Rock, Oklahoma, 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

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  • Matthew Macgregor: A descendant of Scottish outlaw Robert "Rob Roy" Macgregor, the protagonist is a stubborn and grumbly retired Pinkerton.[4] 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, Abe Lincoln, Allan Pinkerton, and Marie Laveau.
  • Eddie Conroy: 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.[5]
  • Tristan Macgregor: 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

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  • 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

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Bayou and High Moon were the first two Zuda titles to be published as graphic novels, in June and October 2009, respectively by DC Comics.[6]

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

Awards

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  • High Moon was nominated for two 2009 Harvey Awards, for Best New Series and Best Online Work, winning the latter award.[7]
  • High Moon was nominated for a 2010 Harvey Award for Best Online Work.[8]

Notes

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  1. ^ "DC Comics Shuts Down the Zuda Web Comics Site".
  2. ^ "Werewolf Western 'High Moon' Returns With All-New Material (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  3. ^ David Gallaher's High Moon Wins Zuda Archived December 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Gallaher, David (November 1, 2007). "The High Moon Rises: Original Character Notes for High Moon". High-moon.blogspot.com. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  5. ^ "High Moon on Zuda Comics". Zudacomics.com. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  6. ^ Thill, Scott. "Zuda Comics' Bayou Makes Jump from Web to Print", Wired "Underwire" (column) November 17, 2008
  7. ^ "The Harvey Awards". The Harvey Awards. Archived from the original on August 18, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  8. ^ "The Harvey Awards". The Harvey Awards. Archived from the original on August 18, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2011.

References

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