Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, Volume 1 by Hope Nicholson

Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, Volume 1 Reviews

• 
  Rod Brown

  An admirable mission to bring indigenous voices to comic books has mixed and uneven results in this graphic anthology. About half of the creators of the short stories presented are identified as First Nations/Native American, and a few long-time comics professionals are thrown in, like George Freeman of Captain Canuck fame, Lovern Kindzierski, and David Mack, whose Daredevil story introducing the origin of Echo (Maya Lopez) is excerpted here.
  
  The stories tend toward superhero, fantasy, horror, and science fiction spins on indigenous folklore and culture, with a few more traditional adaptations sprinkled in. The quality of the art is pretty high, but the writing delivers quite a few clunkers with stories that are barely vignettes, hard to follow, clumsily told, or just not satisfying.
  
  My library has the next two volumes, and I will definitely be checking them out to see how this project develops.
• 
  Dusty

  Moonshot, a compilation of comics by and about members of indigenous communities in the United States and Canada, draws its name from a Buffy Sainte-Marie song about dying and becoming a star. It is an appropriate name not only because the collected stories pay respect to the creators' forebears, but also because many of them feature characters traveling between earth and space. In one, several animals throw pebbles into the forest sky, constructing the constellations and bringing light to the dark night. In another, an old woman returns to the abandoned planet of her birth (Earth) to console a grandson who has transformed into an enormous snake and is trapped there.
  
  Like any anthology, this one includes a few selections that seem, to me, to stand above the rest in beauty and poignancy. "Ue-Pucase: Water Master," the story about the old woman and the grandson who changes into a snake, turns a Muscogee Creek tradition into science fiction and is certainly memorable. "Copper Heart," which depicts a boy setting out to find the home of legendary creatures that may be able to cure his sister's ailment, is eerily drawn and tugs on the heartstrings. As the examples I have shared probably make clear, this is a book unlike any I have ever read.
  
  As a reader unfamiliar with the authors, artists, and storytelling traditions represented here, I was disappointed to see so many of the stories ending so quickly after they began, leaving me just a taste of the larger narratives and cultures from which they are borrowed. Anyway, whether or not you love every story collected here, you will have to agree that the book is lovingly curated and deliciously illustrated. I look forward to checking out some of these writers' full-length works and reading Moonshot, Volume 2, which is apparently headed our way in 2017.
• 
  Meepelous

  While it is always true that there will be some stories in any short story collection that you appreciate more then others, the sheer level of professionalism that went into this anthology rendered each story interesting in its own way. A lot of effort from many different people went into this book and it really shows.
  
  It was very interesting to be reading Michael A Sheyahshe's Native Americans In Comic Books at the same time. The one being an amazing example of what the other is pointing towards. Not only representing native people through characters and plot, but creating stories spawned out of their own cultural experience. This is a prime example of why we need more diversity in creators. Well intentioned people can only go so far - we need to let minorities tell stories about themselves in the way they want to tell them.
  
  The results are simply amazing. We get everything from traditional stories to a snippet from The Daredevil Vision Quest Series. My favorite were probably the science fiction stories, although I appreciated their own unique twist on steam punk. I suspect there is something in here for just about anyone. In a time when everything feels like a reboot, I can only hope their success on kickstarter leads to more things like this being made.
• 
  Effie (she-her)

  Γνωρίζοντας ότι οι γηγενείς της Αμερικής είναι πολύ προστατευτικοί με τις ιστορίες τους και σπάνια τις χρησιμοποιούν ως μέσο διασκέδασης, ήθελα πάρα πολύ να διαβάσω αυτό το graphic novel. Πολλοί λευκοί έχουν προσπαθήσει να πουν τις ιστορίες των γηγενών της Αμερικής και οι περισσότεροι τους βλέπουμε μέσα από το δικό μας, λευκό πρίσμα. Αυτό το graphic novel μας επιτρέπει να τους δούμε καθαρά και να μάθουμε τις ιστορίες τους μέσα από τους ίδιους.
  
  Θεωρώ ότι είναι σημαντικό να είμαστε ανοιχτοί στον τρόπο που θα διαβάσουμε αυτό το graphic novel γιατί αν και σε αρκετά πράγματα μοιάζει με τα δυτικού τύπου comics και τα graphic novels που έχουμε συνηθίσει να διαβάσουμε, υπάρχουν και αρκετά σημεία στα οποία διαφέρει. Πρέπει να θυμόμαστε ότι οι ιστορίες των γηγενών της Αμερικής είναι μέρος της παράδοσής τους και έχουν περάσει προφορικά από γενιά σε γενιά. Γι'αυτό και ο τρόπος αφήγησής τους μπορεί να διαφέρει από αυτόν που έχουμε συνηθίσει. Κάποιες από τις 13 ιστορίες που θα διαβάσετε στο Moonshot vol 1 δεν έχουν τη συνηθισμένη αφήγηση με αρχή, μέση και τέλος. Είναι περισσότερο σαν μια ματιά σε κάποιο γεγονός. Επιπλέον, διαθέτει μια ιστορία που φέρνει περισσότερο σε εικονογραφημένο διήγημα. Όλες τους πάντως έχουν κάτι να μας διδάξουν.
  
  Όσον αφορά την εικονογράφηση, είναι θαυμάσια από την πρώτη μέχρι την τελευταία σ��λίδα. Περιέχει αρκετά διαφορετικά στυλ τα οποία έχουν προσαρμοστεί στην κάθε ιστορία δίνοντας ένα υπέροχο αποτέλεσμα. Προσωπικό αγαπημένο είναι το Vision quest: Echo όπου κάθε σελίδα είναι και ένα ξεχωριστό οπτικό ταξίδι. Η Echo, μια γηγενής - λατίνα υπερηρωίδα, είναι κωφή και μαθαίνει να μιλάει μέσω των οπτικών μέσων. Ο χαρακτήρας αυτός έχει δημιουργηθεί από τον David Mach και είναι κομμάτι του Marvel Universe.
  
  Επιπλέον, μου άρεσε πολύ το γεγονός ότι κάποιες από τις παραδοσιακές ιστορίες των γηγενών της Αμερικής έχουν τοποθετηθεί σε ένα φουτουριστικό πλαίσιο αποδεικνύοντας ότι πρόκειται για ιστορίες με διαχρονική αξία.
  
  Έχουν εκδοθεί δύο ακόμα τόμοι της σειράς Moonshot, και θα είναι σίγουρα μέσα στις επόμενες αγορές μου. Θεωρώ ότι είναι μια συλλογή που θα έπρεπε να υπάρχει σε κάθε βιβλιοθήκη και που αξίζει να διαβαστεί πολλές φορές.
• 
  Rick

  This was a really well done anthology. While some of the stories are little more than vignettes, many are powerful and all are certainly heartfelt offerings. There's a wide range of topics and themes included, just as there are a wide range of peoples and cultures being represented. I particularly liked the story of how Coyote "helped" put the stars in the sky. I've heard a different versions many years ago, which is possibly my favorite story of Coyote; this one is quite different, but has some tonal similarities nonetheless, basically variations on a theme. There's also gorgeous artwork through out, representing a wide variety of tales and style. A truly amazing collaborative achievement.
• 
  Nella ☾ of Bookland

  Beautiful artwork depicting stories from various genres such as indigenous futurism and steampunk. (My favorite story was "The Qallupiluk: Forgiven")
• 
  CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian

  I didn't absolutely love every story but this is a really high quality anthology, with beautiful, thoughtful choices of stories and artwork, some of which were breath taking. Favourite stories were: "Vision Quest Echo" (about a deaf Cherokee girl), "Ochek" (Cree story explaining where a constellation comes from), "Coyote and the Pebbles" (Caddo story about where the stars come from), "The Qallupiluk: Forgiven" (about a scary Inuit mythical creature from the sea), "Copper Heart" (historical tale of 2 siblings set in Anishinaabeg territory). Highly recommended for teens and adults!
• 
  Emmkay

  Beautiful collection of 13 short indigenous comics, a genre that really provides an opportunity to showcase the indigenous storytelling tradition. It feels and looks stunning. Because they're so brief, the individual contributions act essentially as tasters, and some were more to my taste than others. Neat to be exposed to what is clearly a vibrant scene, with which I wasn't previously familiar (eg indigenous steampunk is a thing!).
• 
  K.A. Wiggins

  Fascinating collection of ownvoices graphic storytelling, largely speculative. Of the first three volumes, this one is probably the best for younger (middle school aged?) readers.
• 
  psionicsorceress

  3.5/5
• 
  Naomi

  Wonderful collection in every way -- the print and visual storytelling is deep, sometimes challenging and sometimes delightful, making for a strong collection representing some indigenous/FirstNations/Native storytellers.
• 
  Julianne (Leafling Learns・Outlandish Lit)

  When I first heard about this project, I was both very excited and kind of nervous. I had never before read short fiction in comic form. I didn't really have any idea that it was possible to tell an entire story within ten pages of panels. But this collection showed me how much can be pulled off. And it taught me an amazing wealth of things about the indigenous cultures of North America.
  
  The stories range from visiting the origins of folklore, to seeing these stories' modern impact, to brilliantly imagined futuristic sci-fi stories blended with folklore. It continued to surprise me throughout, and the artwork is absolutely stunning. Between every few stories there's a 1-2 page spread featuring an unrelated work of art that often took my breath away.
  
  Obviously it's hard to judge an anthology of stories written by different people. There are some that really stood out, and there were some that were just ok. A number could've used more pages to really develop. There were probably more anthropomorfic animal characters than I normally would've liked to read about, but that's sort of to be expected if some of the stories explore tales related to local wildlife. And there's one story that I just didn't understand at all. All of that being said, the good stories and the incredible artwork were both fascinating enough to make up for them.
  
  A few of my favorites:
  
  Vision Quest: Echo - In a beautiful collage of a limited number of images, a young deaf girl explains the importance of storytelling to her family and culture. She learns how storytelling is possible through images. I probably cried the first time I read this one.
  
  The Qallupiluk: Forgiven - This one isn't technically a comic. It's a short story with an accompanying illustration every other page. It is SO CREEPY. The Qallupiluk is a creature from Inuit legend that comes from the deep Arctic ocean. It's kind of shapeless, with spines and fins, that can morph into other forms. In this story a young Inuit girl makes the mistake of approaching the creature in the water.
  
  Ue-Pucase: Water Master - A futuristic story about two space travelers visiting another planet, this is based on Muscogee Creek story"The Young Man Who Turned Into a Snake." I loved the blend of space travel, modern dialogue, and what turns out to be startlingly real folklore.
  
  Ayanisach - This one may be my very favorite, but it's hard to decide. An old woman teaches her grandson how to tell the story of their people. It starts with what sounds like folklore, then reaches into modern day and explains how an apocalypse of sorts went down. Extraterrestrials were involved and their people had to fight back. The protagonist goes on to tell the story to his young friends in the city, because the retelling of stories is what will teach others in the future.
  
  There's been a long, long history of Indigenous peoples having their culture appropriated in mainstream media. Especially when it comes to comics, indigenous characters are often turned flat and one-dimensional; caricatures that are either foolish or barbaric. Their stories/traditions are blown out of proportion to comic levels and/or completely misunderstood. There is rarely any amount of respect involved when appropriating these stories and ideas. With this collection of comics, indigenous peoples are taking space that they deserve to create and tell their own stories. And they are damn good.
  
  Full review:
  Outlandish Lit
  
• 
  Adri

  4.5 Stars
  
  This is a truly incredible collection of comics and stories. I really appreciate the variety of pieces in this anthology. There are takes on traditional superhero comics, creation myths, stories about the making of the world (and the unmaking of the world), stories told only in images, comics told only in words, poetry, and pieces that echo traditional storytelling methods. This collection succeeds in showing that no two Native experiences are the same, no two ideologies are the same, no two nations are the same, and most importantly that Indigenous futurism occupies an incredible space. As the afterward says, Indigenous storytelling is about the past, the now, and the ahead and how all of these things feed into each other. This collection made me feel that and appreciate that. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to discover awesome Indigenous writers and artists.
• 
  Jarrah

  Awesome collection of comics and art by Indigenous creators and accompanied by introductions that help further illuminate their meanings. Readers are treated to sci-fi retellings of traditional legends, "Indigenous steampunk" art, and creative explorations of concepts like animism.
  
  Moonshot goes a long way to addressing the problematic depictions of Indigenous people in comics history. Looking forward to future volumes.
• 
  Elizabeth

  Moonshot first caught my attention with its beautiful cover, and kept my attention with its concept, that of highlighting indigenous voices to tell stories from unique and underrepresented backgrounds. It absolutely lived up to both it's cover and concept.
  
  The comic book industry has often failed to do enough to serve stories from POC authors and characters. This book acknowledges that oversight, and strives to do something about it. Taking stories by and about North American natives, it presents narratives of past, present, and future. The stories are all completely unique to native culture, and the art highlights the stories to their fullest extent.
  
  The opening story, Vision Quest: Echo, makes use of Indian Sign Language, which I was not actually aware existed (although I absolutely should have been). It was so refreshing to start off with a story of a girl who was both deaf and native. My favourite artworks were Vision Quest: Echo, Ochek, Coyote and the Pebbles, Tlicho Naowo, and Copper Heart. My favourite stories were from Vision Quest: Echo, Ochek, Coyote and the Pebbles, Ue-Pucase: Water Master. That said, there wasn't a bad story or piece of art in the bunch.
  
  I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys comics, or to anyone who is looking to read more stories of indigenous origin. Although I borrowed this book from the library, I hope to purchase my own copy when I can afford to, intend to read/purchase volume two of this collection, and filled out the "request a purchase" form for the local library to get a copy of volume two as well.
• 
  Fraser Simons

  Fantastic concept that is a bit of a weird experience reading via the backer PDF files. They’re not exported correctly; some are clearly higher resolution than others. I imagine the newer digital release on comiXology would have fixed that but the files I’ve had for years now, finally getting around to them, are like this.
  
  The collection itself does what it sets out to do. It’s highly eclectic and doesn’t have a western centric lens, and the stories, overall, probably about 3/4 of them I quite liked. Similar to short story collections, there’s some great ones and some that I didn’t get out of and didn’t like the visual style of, either. But I have all 3 collections, so I’m hoping it gets more refined as we go, and that the export is better. I’m reading it via a PDF reader and made sure to specify sizing it as it’s supposed to be and via single pages at a time, so it’s disheartening that the compilation isn’t unified in terms of dpi and ratio.
• 
  Anne-Marie

  A phenomenal anthology of mixed media Indigenous comics spanning many genres, including science fiction, steampunk, historical fiction, etc.
  
  The art is absolutely stunning and I loved the variety of colour palettes, characters, tones, atmospheres, and stories presented within. I learned a lot and had fun reading this collection.
  
  Each comic is introduced by a short paragraph situating the story. The stories, despite being re-interpreted or presented in new/different genres, build on traditional stories and creation myths from a specific North American Indigenous culture of the Indigenous contributor(s) (including Caddo, Anishinaabe, Inuit, Métis, among others). Note that the collection is a collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers/artists - there's a biography of each contributor at the back of the book for those interested.
  
  I'm looking forward to Volumes 2 and 3!
• 
  Gina

  Great collection. Many of the inclusions are short, only giving you a tantalizing glimpse, but that accomplishes the goal.
  
  My main recommendation is to pace yourself, taking on one story at a time and then doing something else while you digest it. There are so many different approaches and styles and themes.
  
  There is some really gorgeous artwork, but I want to call special attention to David Mack's work as we are introduced to Maya Lopez and her hearing impairment. There are childlike drawings, sketches, text, ASL hands, hands showing a sign language used by natives from different tribes and other symbols, changes in color and perspective and format of shapes -- all working together in a compelling way to introduce you to this character and how her adjustments to her hearing loss have created her powers. When I first read about Echo I thought she could be an interesting counterpart to Daredevil, and I admire Mack's innovations in her story the way I appreciated Paolo Rivera's work on his Daredevil run.
  
  There is a lot of beautiful artwork, a lot of interesting stories, and a lot of room for future thought.
  
  This is a really good contribution to Indigenous literature and to comics.
• 
  Matt

  I really enjoyed this first volume! I found some of these stories to be exceptionally beautiful! I look forward to reading Volume 2!
• 
  Magdelanye

  Lush illustrations accompany the stories in this book of graphic short stories.
  All were of interest, a couple were really amazing,hence 5 stars
  
  
• 
  Anthony Chan

  this collection was incredible! such solid storytelling and i can't freakin wait to dive into volume 2!!!! 'Ochek' and 'Coyote and the Pebbles' were my favorite!
• 
  Natalie S

  I liked the concept of bringing indigenous graphic novel works together. Art wise it works and is well done. However, the stories are sometimes vague and hard to follow.
• 
  Liam Strong

  send an "h" in the comments to howl for the poor coyote who be howlin at the Great Mystery every night
• 
  Rebecca

  Highly recommended!
• 
  Helen Pugsley

  Pretty sure I read this and forgot to review.
  This was an anthology, so there were stories I LOVED and stories I felt meh about. Thus, four stars. It's worth reading tho!
• 
  The Library Ladies

  (originally reviewed at
  thelibraryladies.com)
  
  I had another impulsive moment at work recently, where I went to our New Books Wall and took a look at what there was to offer. Since these books don’t go to the usual request list, sometimes you can get really lucky and find something that’s in demand or brand new. I was immediately taken in by the gorgeous cover on a new graphic novel collection. I mean, DAMN, look at the cover for “Moonshot (Vol.1)”! Is it not staggering and beautiful!? I gave it some time on the wall, because I had a big stack at home and wanted to give the patrons a chance to snatch it up. But after waiting awhile I just had to have it. And I am so glad that I was entranced by the cover, because “Moonshot” as a whole was an entrancing collection!
  
  The first thing to know about “Moonshot” is that it is a collection of one shot stories that are written by people from Indigenous Nations across North America, as are the artists. The second thing to know is that it is a collection filled with stunning variety because of all of these differing perspectives. I wasn’t sure of what to expect from this collection, but whatever my expectations may have been they were blown out of the water by what I found. While there are a number of stories in this book, a few of them really stood out to me, so I will focus my attention on them. That isn’t to say that the others aren’t as good, however. These are the ones that left the biggest impression because of story or artwork.
  
  “The Qallupiluk: Forgiven” by Sean and Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, and menton3 (Ill.).
  
  This story is from the Arctic regions, and concerns themes of death and forgiveness. This was also the one story in the collection that had minimal artwork, as it was mostly text with a few large pieces that stood out for the most important parts of the story. I liked a couple of things about this story. The first was that it was creepy as all get out, as the Qallupiluk is a creature that hides beneath the ice and takes unsuspecting victims under the water and kill them. This story is about a Qallupiluk that takes on the form of one of it’s victims in hopes of stealing away a child, until a dog calls it out. I liked the personal journey that the Qallupiluk took, as odd as that sounds, and has to confront the concept of forgiveness. The art, as I said, was scattered, but the images that were there were absolutely breathtaking and visceral. As someone who loves creepy imagery, this one was a true treat.
  
  “Siku” by Tony Romito, and Jeremy D. Mohler (Ill.)
  
  Another story from the Arctic region, and another one that involves malevolent forces and scary imagery. This one is about a hunter who witnesses a conflict between two otherworldly beings, one of which is a demon. Boy do I love the demon stories. This book definitely was more set up like a comic, with panels, bubbles, the works. It felt like an old school horror comic, and like something that I would pick up at the comic book shop when looking for something twisted. And the end, WAHH, so unsettling. The art didn’t stand out as much in this one, but that didn’t matter because the story really kept me interested. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t go into much detail, but it kind of cut to the quick in that it definitely touched on one of my bigger freak out factors in horror.
  
  “Coyote and the Pebbles” by Dayton Edmonds, and Micah Farritor (Ill.)
  
  I’ve grown up hearing many iterations of the Coyote myth, as Coyote is a very prominent character in many Indigenous narratives and mythologies. This one sounded familiar, but Edwards really made it his own. I’ve always liked Coyote, be he a troublemaker or sympathetic, and in this story I really liked how he was portrayed as somewhere in the middle (but being me, I still felt for him). It concerns the nocturnal animals of the world hoping to see more at night when the sun is down, and thinking that they should draw portraits of themselves to light the way. And Coyote thinks that he is the best artist of them all. This story is a straight up ‘how this came to be’ myth, but I really liked it. This was also my favorite art style in the collection, with animals shifting between animal form and human form, but even in human form still evoking their animal identity. Farritor has a real skill for pulling animal characteristics from his drawings, be they animals or not. This story was lovely and melancholy, and I really, really enjoyed it.
  
  “Moonshot (Vol.1)” is a collection that was so fun, and breathtaking in a lot of ways, and I seriously cannot wait for Volume 2 to come out (YES, there is going to be a Volume 2, isn’t that great?!). I think that it’s also a very important work, especially since Indigenous representation is one of the lowest in Children’s and YA Literature. I cannot recommend this book enough to comics enthusiasts, and I think that everyone should consider picking it up. If the cover alone doesn’t get you, the stories inside certainly will.
• 
  Josée

  Moonshot contains different tales that cover quite a few genres. Interspersed between the stories, is one novella accompanied by images, a poem, some stand-alone artwork, and descriptions of each story beforehand.
  
  As a whole I enjoyed it, and I found none of the extras took away from the stories. But, like any anthology there were some stories I loved, and others that I didn't. Usually the ones I didn't like, I felt like the story was too short... they felt rushed as if there was exposition missing, or no real depth. Luckily, reading their descriptions helped make things more interesting, but I wish I hadn't needed to rely on that. I would, however, recommend this collection solely based on the first 4-5 of them, and the diversity of offerings. I'd honestly give 5 stars to The Qallupiluk: Forgiven and Coyote and the Pebbles, and 4 stars to Vision Quest: Echo, and Siku.
  
  Overall, take the time to read it through for the art. The illustrations were what drew me in and kept me reading. There's a range of talents, so there is definitely something out there to enjoy, so please do.
• 
  Malcolm

  This impressive collection of work by Indigenous writers and illustrators raises the profile of a wide array of work, some engaging traditional stories in ‘Indigenous’ settings, some elaborating on those stories and motifs in settings more akin to science fiction formats, some reflecting on contemporary Indigenous experience. A recurring motif is the necessity to know your history, even if that is not necessarily the recognisable ‘history’ developed during Modernity, but the interwoven pasts, presents and futures of other-than-linear worlds. Amid this there is sly commentary on colonialism, there is reiteration of the importance of prohibitions, there is the blurring of lines between human and other-than-human animal worlds.
  
  The standout piece for me is the opening story, David Mack’s beautiful ‘Vision Quest: Echo’, where a recurring character in his work, Maya Lopez, who is deaf, has a rich and complex mode of drawing, and whose stories can be understood in multiple and many layered ways. Although it is a story in which not much happens, except Echo tells us about herself, the many-voiced speaking, the detailed imagery, and the richness of what she does tell us makes it a story to (re)visit. This sets the terms of rich collection of tales that accentuate the power and importance of story-telling.
  
  Well-presented and gorgeously designed on high quality paper, I really like this and am delighted that I bought the second volume while I was at it….
• 
  Maggie Gordon

  Moonshot is a collection of speculative comics about Indigenous people, mostly by Indigenous people. As with all collections, there are some fantastic pieces and some weaker pieces; however, two things stand out to me the most. The first is the use of speculative fiction and Indigenous themes. It's wonderful to see stories of Indigenous people in the future since they are so often wrongfully thought of as peoples stuck in the past. Secondly, the art in this volume is gorgeous. There are some truly talented Indigenous artists out there, and this is a book you should want just for how pretty it is. Glad I supported the Kickstarter for this and excited for volume 2!