As we know, the initial launch of Zuda Comics by DC, their online web-comic competition, was met with a bit of hesitation from fans, but ultimately proved to be a complete success. Resulting in hits like Bayou, Night Owls, I Rule the Night, and most obviously, High Moon, Zuda has become a launching ground for upcoming creators. And now, with the release of the first volume of High Moon in softcover format, Zuda has made the move from digital to print, which is sort of the opposite of what the other publishers are pushing towards right now.

Before I get into the actual comic, I'd like to say a few words about why Zuda, and DC's decision to publish these series in a physical book, is as much advancing the industry as it is keeping with tradition, and thus proving DC's overall commitment to making quality product, rather than simply making money. It's advancement because though these comics are being published in print to be readily available at bookstores, the same comics continue to be available for free online at zudacomics.com, giving the reader the option to choose - and for reasons we'll get into - with very little reward in the way of bonus content. In much the same respect, publishing these stories in print is as much keeping with tradition, because as easily accessible as the Internet has become for upstart creators to share their work, no artist can resist the urge to hold a physical copy of their creation in their hands, and have the smell of the paper waft into their noses.

In any case, one of the first winners of the Zuda competition was High Moon, from writer David Gallaher and artist Steve Eller: an interesting, if not totally original, mash-up of Serigo Leone western, horror, and classic Hollywood western elements that are strung together with memorable characters and visceral art design. The tale shifts main characters a few times, but it begins with a Man with No Name-type called only Macgregor, who has wandered into a tiny Texas town hunting a fugitive, but may have stumbled into more than he bargained for. It's a relatively simple setup that becomes more complicated as we're introduced to werewolves, crazy-demon-bat-things, and a variety of other occult atrocities. Most of Gallaher's script is light on dialog and heavy on action, but the dialog that is present counts. Much respect for not shying away from traditional storytelling "rules": namely the safety and well-being of specific characters and the traditional story beats.

Ellis' rendering of Gallaher's imaginative narrative was the highlight of the book for me, as his designs for the characters - specifically, the monsters - are bizarre and relatively unique. His monster designs remind me of something that a ten year old might doodle on the back of his school notebook while bored in class, at least as far as the character design goes. Quality wise, Ellis' figures have an obviously much more developed style that is accented by his astute use of a variety of vivid colors. One thing about his color usage that I found particularly interesting is his tendency to create whole pages out of one shade of color. For example, if the primary background color is a bright sunshine yellow, then he'll often find a way to color the rest of the panels in shades, which ultimately generates a very wide-open, desert effect, adding greatly to the tone and setting of the story.