The Moon Maid: The Three Keys is a comic written by Mike Wolfer with art by Miriana Puglia and colors by Periya Pillai and Beezzz Studio. Dire circumstances lead to two opposing groups coming together. This is a science fiction comic starring a small, close-knit cast of characters that are just trying to survive. There are two leading ladies here with the first one being Loh-ee-nah, an U-ga woman who lives on her own and is very studious and resourceful. The second woman is Voh-nay, a Va-ga woman who is both tenacious and honorable. With them are other Va-gas, all men, with Ta-va-ru acting as a sort of leader with extra aggression. The story begins with some narration before jumping to what seems to be daily life for Loh-ee-nah. This escapade is where she will meet her future companions. This story takes place on a world inside the moon called Va-nah. There are themes of redemption, revenge, and hope in this story. The action here is bloody with some gory moments both in and out of combat. The pacing is slow and steady with more than a few wordy pages that are spread out across this graphic novel. The tone goes from adventurous to serious at a moment’s notice. The intensity here fluctuates but is high more often than not. The dialogue is a more proper English with a few words Va-ga words thrown in so you’ll have to pay attention. Verbal combat is frequent. This is a comic that shows us a whole new world with a cast of strong characters who have their own lives to lead but are constantly affected by their past. There are also two bonus stories after this larger one, one is about Loh-ee-nah dealing with the aftermath of the main comic and the other is basically a comic strip.
The art here is reminiscent of what you’d see in sci-fi and fantasy comics from the past but this is sharper, has better shading and features a wide range of colors. The scenery changes from a jungle with trees and plants that almost look like what we have on earth to rocky cliffs. The main location is the city of Groethe which is much different than it used to be. The backgrounds usually have parts of the scene in them which is great for a conversation-heavy story. They tend to be filled with action lines during combat scenes. The expression level here is above-average which is needed for a comic like this. Though Loh-ee-nah is more stoic than the others she does manage to show different emotions; the overall range here isn’t the widest as anger and distrust are the main feelings. The faces have strong features and wrinkles so the looks come across clearly. The Va-ga are humanoid except they have legs like horses. The violence here is primarily stabby with some hand-to-hand combat. The action scenes range from short to long and are bloody with some gory aftermath. Neither the U-ga’s nor the Va-ga’s wear much in the way of clothing.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes.
“Would I like this?”
If you like science-fiction stories starring women and two groups with animosity and a common goal with intense pasts taking place in a unique world than this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
R. Blood, gore, death.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“…Never have I eaten the flesh of your kind.”
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/erburroughs/the-moon-maidtm-the-three-keys-graphic-novel/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
*
*
*
*
*
Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 75
Violent Pages: 26, for 35% of the comic
Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic
**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**
Violence Level – 4
“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”
“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”
“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”
“This was a tournament arc.”
“All my life I had to fight.”
Gore Level – 5
“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”
“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”
“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”
“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”
“This is a slaughterhouse.”
Death Level – 4
“And everybody lived happily ever after.”
“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”
“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”
“Yeah this was a tragedy.”
“Think Gettysburg.”
Porn Level – 1
“Everybody kept their clothes on.”
“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”
“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”
“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”
“Oh. This is porn.”
