Teresa is plagued by dreams. But are they more than that? Could they be something… divine? Your Major Spoilers review of Luna #1 from BOOM! Studios awaits!
LUNA #1
Writer: Maria Llovet
Artist: Maria Llovet
Colorist: Maria Llovet
Letterer: Maria Llovet
Editor: Sierra Hahn
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 3, 2021
Previously in Luna: When Teresa fatefully crosses paths with the Family of the Sun, she believes them to be exactly what anyone else in the late ’60s would expect – a hippie cult whose leader claims to have met the divine. But secret blood rituals, powerful drugs, and sex runneth amok will bring Teresa face-to-face with the truth about the Family, herself, and the dark secret behind her dreams.
THE FAMILY OF THE SUN
It was the end of the ’60s, or so the story tells us, and Teresa is barely conscious in the desert. When she awakens, she is in the strange compound of The Family of the Sun, a group of hippies and/or cultists led by a charismatic young man named Lux. He introduces her around, and she gets the tour from a young woman named Donna, who shows her a (literally) impossible forested area around a cave, the center of the Family’s home. There’s a dreaminess to the story that comes through to her, in the form of a hallucination of a monstrous godlike being in the heart of a storm, ending when she awakens. Lux himself comes to her that night, offering to make her happy if only she would stay with them, dosing her with… something, before drinking her blood and making love to her…
…during which she realizes that something is looking through her eyes.
BEAUTIFUL AND COMPLEX
Good lord… This comic, you guys. From the very beginning, the dream imagery is strong, as Teresa closes her eyes and sees gorgeous, fully painted mandalas of the universe. Once she awakens, it continues, with the moments in the strange oasis taking on a timeless aspect, as well as some important yonic imagery. By the time she starts actually tripping, I am completely in love with Llovett’s work. It’s always hard to talk about the division of art and story in comics (and often leads reviewers to have to assume who did what, as if “script” and “layouts” are hard-edged and never cross over), but this issue is especially difficult. The narrative is art and the art is narrative and there’s no way to disentangle them. Frankly, it makes for a wonderful reading experience, especially if just go along for the ride and accept what you’re seeing. I’m not entirely sure that any of this is actually happening to Teresa, and I honestly don’t care, I just want more of this book.
BOTTOM LINE: WOW
Luna #1 represents a remarkable talent working on a very personal, very poignant, very sexual and not entirely representational story that took my breath away multiple times with the beauty of its art and the hallucinatory goodness of the story, earning a dead-solid 5 out of 5 stars overall. Here’s the thing: You should buy this comic, you should read this comic, and you can thank me later.
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LUNA #1
A truly beautiful, engaging, thoughtful first issue.
Did I mention beautiful? Because it's incredibly pretty in every panel of every page.
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Writing10
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Art10
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Coloring10
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.