by Brian LeTendre
Every once in a while a comic comes along that has the ability to bring new readers to the medium. Moth City is one of those comics, but not only do I think it will appeal to non-comic readers, I think it will finally make believers out of the anti-digital, "Give me print or give me death" crowd as well. Tim Gibson's wonderfully dark tale of power, and the lengths that people will go to get or keep it, is a fascinating read. And the way Gibson uses the digital medium to present his story is almost as impressive as the story itself.
Moth City takes place in 1930 on an island off the coast of China, where an American oil tycoon (Governor McCaw) has created an arms manufacturing program to assist the Chinese Nationalist government in their fight against communists. As McCaw gets ready to deliver a devastating weapon to the Chinese, a murder occurs that kicks off a chain of events that threatens not only McCaw's control of the island, but his tenuous relationship with the Chinese as well.
Gibson deftly mixes a noir murder mystery with elements of horror, and the story is perfectly paced. This is where the digital medium shines, as Gibson is able to present panels and dialogue in a way that constantly keeps readers on their toes. His artwork perfectly captures not only the tone of the story, but the feel of that time period as well.
Maybe the most amazing thing about Moth City is that you can read the story so far in its entirety for absolutely nothing. You can go to www.mothcity.com and catch up on all three seasons of the comic so far. You can also read it over at Thrillbent.com, or you can buy collected issues of Moth City over on ComiXology (where the first issue is free, but newer ones are $1.99). You have absolutely no excuse for not checking this series out, and I can all but guarantee you will love it. Like Y the Last Man or The Walking Dead, I think this is a great comic to recommend to those who aren't traditional comic readers as well.
Tomorrow (February 5th), Gibson will be releasing a stand-alone story featuring Governor McCaw of Moth City, called The Reservoir. You can find out more about that on Gibson's blog here, and you can check out the cover below.
Every once in a while a comic comes along that has the ability to bring new readers to the medium. Moth City is one of those comics, but not only do I think it will appeal to non-comic readers, I think it will finally make believers out of the anti-digital, "Give me print or give me death" crowd as well. Tim Gibson's wonderfully dark tale of power, and the lengths that people will go to get or keep it, is a fascinating read. And the way Gibson uses the digital medium to present his story is almost as impressive as the story itself.
Moth City takes place in 1930 on an island off the coast of China, where an American oil tycoon (Governor McCaw) has created an arms manufacturing program to assist the Chinese Nationalist government in their fight against communists. As McCaw gets ready to deliver a devastating weapon to the Chinese, a murder occurs that kicks off a chain of events that threatens not only McCaw's control of the island, but his tenuous relationship with the Chinese as well.
Gibson deftly mixes a noir murder mystery with elements of horror, and the story is perfectly paced. This is where the digital medium shines, as Gibson is able to present panels and dialogue in a way that constantly keeps readers on their toes. His artwork perfectly captures not only the tone of the story, but the feel of that time period as well.
Maybe the most amazing thing about Moth City is that you can read the story so far in its entirety for absolutely nothing. You can go to www.mothcity.com and catch up on all three seasons of the comic so far. You can also read it over at Thrillbent.com, or you can buy collected issues of Moth City over on ComiXology (where the first issue is free, but newer ones are $1.99). You have absolutely no excuse for not checking this series out, and I can all but guarantee you will love it. Like Y the Last Man or The Walking Dead, I think this is a great comic to recommend to those who aren't traditional comic readers as well.
Tomorrow (February 5th), Gibson will be releasing a stand-alone story featuring Governor McCaw of Moth City, called The Reservoir. You can find out more about that on Gibson's blog here, and you can check out the cover below.
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