Moonshine is published by Image Comics. It is written by Brian Azzarello with art by Eduardo Risso.

Alright, for those of you who haven't read issue #1, Moonshine is set during the prohibition era and follows a city-slick named Lou Pirlo. He is from New York, but was sent by his (mafia) boss to negotiate a deal with the best moonshiner in West Virginia (because we know our alcohol). When Lou gets there, it's pretty run of the mill, not too bright, mountain folk. Or so he is lead to believe. Until he meet's Hiram, the moonshiner who lives in a rundown house with his grown-up children. He may seem uneducated and easy to fool, but there's more to him, more to the secrets in these hills other than how to make moonshine. Something supernatural is lurking and Lou is headed straight into it. All we know is this: there are werewolves in these hills, and they will kill anyone to protect their secret.

In issue #1, we get a little bit of werewolf insinuation and a tiny glimpse. In issue #2, we get a full blown look at these beasts, and I was very impressed.

WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ISSUE 1, THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

At the beginning of issue #1, we saw someone get killed. At the beginning of issue #2, his body is discovered by 3 African American children who were playing in a swamp. Needless to say, the mauled, dead body sufficiently freaks them out. Cut to Lou, who is passed out in his car, only to be woken up by two white children who live in the town. The last thing he recalls is the scene from the end of issue #1, where he stumbled upon a camp of African Americans who were drinking and dancing and seeming to be having a good time. Well, until Lou came along, they didn't look to pleased. Remember, this is during the 1920s, so racism is still very prevalent. Plus, Lou comes from the city, so he already thinks people from this rural area are beneath him and just walks around acting like he owns the place everywhere he goes. I get the feeling you're not supposed to be a big fan of our main character in this story. He's not the most likable guy. I mean, you don't hate him, but you don't like him either.

Anyway, so Hiram Holt rejected Lou's offer from his boss, Joe, to start a business agreement together. “No”, isn't exactly an answer that mob bosses accept. Lou is given “a couple days” to get Hiram to agree, otherwise Joe will “send someone to help”, classic boss maneuver, everyone knows sending in help means a lot more than actually just sending in help. There's a good chance you'll lose your position and/or die at the end. That's what usually happens in the movies and such at least.

Which brings us up to the main focus of this issue: betrayal. Lou falls in to some luck through Hiram's children, who aren't as loyal to him as he is to them. Great! Lou wins, the kids win, everyone but Hiram should win in this scenario, right? But that wouldn't be a good story, would it? Plus, things generally don't go well when the subordinates try to overthrow the alpha

Pros:We finally get a full body werewolf! Yay! If you didn't read my review of issue #1, then you don't understand how much I love werewolves and how intently I have been awaiting this moment. Oh, it's a brutal scene too. Masterfully executed (Ha, it's a pun. You'll see). There's some symbolism going on with the animal skulls I think, I don't know what it is yet, but I can just tell they're important every time I see one. The art has that old-timey feel, everything is....dusty...in a way. It's colorful but its not overly vibrant, it feels more like you're reading an older comic. Lou is a solid character. Like I said before, I don't like him, but I don't quite hate him either. It's a complicated feeling, He's a dick, but he's not like...a BAD guy. I mean, he didn't just start shooting when Hiram said no, and when the kids woke him up from his drunken slumber and he was super hungover, he wasn't mean to them or anything. But at the same time, he's clearly sexist and racist. Which was common for the time and I think that's supposed to add to the whole “dickhead” persona he's been given. He's a business man, a 1920s “business” man.

Cons: Ok, so while I love most of the artwork and the colors, there were some images in this comic that were...controversial. I understand that the author and artist are trying to convey that 1920s feel, but there are certain things that stuck out to me as going a bit too far and I think it could be taken in a very wrong way.

The representation of African Americans in this issue was done very poorly. There is a distinct difference between the way African American males are portrayed in comparison to white characters.

There's this one African American woman we keep seeing and she, I feel, looks amazing. But it's just her so far.

OVERALL SCORE: 7/10

I really wanted to give this issue a better score because honestly, I loved the first issue so much. I loved the way the werewolf was done (a.k.a. Not shitty Twlight style, but more like Underworld badass human-wolf-hybrid-monster style), and I thought the writing was great. But I really couldn't get over the portrayal of the African American characters. I hope to see improvement in this area in issue #3, because I do feel like there is an amazing story here, and I want to see it live up to its potential.