REVIEW: Blackmoon #1

Created, written, & illustrated by: James C. Hallett
Review: Will Dubbeld

The 1980s were a hotbed of small-press publishers making a grab for that four-color pie in the sky.  I'm not sure what their numbers were, dozens, hundreds, perhaps, but I do know they have always been a cheap purchase. Perhaps not necessarily on the newsstand, as indie books are often more expensive in order to recoup cost, but certainly in back-issue bins. Few were the issues that appreciated in value, leaving a glut of comics that dealers (presumably) had difficulty turning over.
For every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles there were several Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos.
You've never heard of Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos?
Look 'em up. It's a thing.
They were almost on par with Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils, but nowhere near as amazing as Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters.

Also both real comic books I may or may not own.

I do...      

As a fledgling collector these oft-forgotten indies were my bread and butter. For the price of one new comic off the rack, I could buy 2, 3, sometimes 4 of these dusty gems from the bargain bins.
Consequently, my collection has quite a few oddball books and I'll never pass up an opportunity to give someone's obscure creation a little love.  Last year's Kokomo Con yielded quite a few forgotten independent comics from yesteryear, a musty offering called Blackmoon amongst them.

The book has a good, if not entirely original or groundbreaking, premise: in the future an evil, power-mad president engages in a war we cannot win with the USSR and a nuclear holocaust ensues.
Bear in mind Blackmoon was published in 1985, when the Soviet Union was still America's bogeyman. This was the year Apollo Creed was slashed down by Ivan Drago, so tensions were understandably high.

In the rubble of America, a "scientist ex-espionage agent" named Frank Johnson invents a time-traveling device and pledges to go back in time to 1970 and assassinate the future president. Donning a costume looking like a cross between Johnny Alpha and Zen the Intergalactic Ninja, Frank takes the name Blackmoon and Time Tunnels off to kill the (future) president.

Blackmoon is a great example of the slightly roughshod, self-published books of the '80s indie boom. The black-and-white art is fairly rudimentary and reminded me of some earlier Underground Comix work, the writing hasn't got many layers, and Hallett could've used an editor, but I wouldn't change a bit of it.  It's endearing for all its foibles and seems clear the book is a labor of one mans love for funnybooks.

The now defunct company that published Blackmoon was called U S Comics and didn't have but three or four titles and as many issues per series. None of the books were hits, but any of them could very well have been the next TMNT sleeper hit.

Give these crusty old comics a shot, folks. They're almost always labors of amateur love, full of grammatical errors and dodgy art but absolutely worth a look. Additionally, any dealer worth his/her salt sells these books dirt cheap and you'll be able to pick these books up for under a buck.
Give 'em a home.