Not only did Spacebooger review HARBOR MOON, but the book was the prize for their weekly 'Friday Night Fights'. The winner was Brian Snell - so a congrats to him and I hope you enjoy the book!
"Many times stories like this involve towns hiding the deeds of one evil person to protect the whole community, but not Harbor Moon. The town itself was built upon the secret in which it hides and everyone who lives there is involved in protecting it and each other."
"...the way in which the story is written and paced makes it easy to sell that the town is/was very successful at keeping the secret hidden for such a long time. While the story could easily be that of one featured on FOX’s Fringe, I feel that it would worked well as an ongoing series. Ryan Colucci and Dikran Ornekian write each character and the town itself, with such care and detail that some of the events in the end seemed rushed. I could easily see the story of Harbor Moon stretching out over 12 or more issues allowing the writer to expand on his strengths."
"...the coloring, depiction of action, and the beautifully rendered werewolves were all quite impressive."
"Harbor Moon is a book that is meant to be read slowly to fully comprehend the story and appreciate the detail both the writers and artist put into their tale. As a reviewer of mostly superhero comics, this wasn’t a book I would have picked up on my own, but the story and writing held my interest until the end."
"If you are a superhero only comic book fan that can open you mind to a different style or a fan of the horror genre, I recommend checking out Harbor Moon."
Publisher's Weekly put out an almost amazing review for the book. They seemed to really like it...
"The protagonist of this graphic novel, Timothy Vance, does a great job of shaming all of us who complain about family reunions. After receiving a mysterious phone call from his absentee father, Tim shuffles off to the sleepy town of Harbor Moon, Maine, in search of the father he never knew. What he discovers is more disturbing than what one typically experiences when forced to spend some time with relatives. The story that ensues mixes noir with survival horror to good effect, thanks in large part to Sambor's compelling artwork, although he excels more at illustration then storytelling, which is often jumbled. Basically a pretty straightforward smalltown mystery with a monstrous twist in the second act, it's unmemorable but entertaining while it lasts."
Pretty great huh? I could do without the word 'unmemorable' though...
That is their words, not ours. HomeWorld has posted their positive review of Harbor Moon.
"We here at the HomeWorld were lucky enough to receive an advance copy of Arcana Studio’s Harbor Moon, so thanks to the fine folks over there, we’re proud to present you our thoughts on the book before it hits stores."
"When I initially began reading Harbor Moon, I was honestly unsure what to expect. From the title alone, I assumed the creatures within to be associated with the moon. I also assumed that this book would take the “easy” cash-in by going in a Twilight/True Blood-esque direction with the material. What I soon discovered after delving deeper into the story is that Harbor Moon was in a league of its own. The book did an amazing job of presenting a fresh presentation of creatures that have been used time and time again. In a way, it was almost like I was reading a grindhouse film, if that makes any sense. The whole book kept a constant gritty tone that managed to keep me hooked in from beginning to end. In addition to this, the writers did a terrific job of keeping guesses flying around as to what the ultimate outcome and situation would be."
"...I must commend the design of the creatures in the book. I thought they were outstanding and definitely looked different to those we’ve seen throughout the years."
"...Harbor Moon is an engaging and riveting trip into madness that will have you second guessing all the way until the end."
Fancy yourself a writer or journalist?
Then you should enter the Harbor Moon Art Print Contest.
We’re putting together extra content for the digital edition of the book (we’ve got some cool stuff cooking)… and one of the things I wanted to do is have an article from a local paper (it plays a role in the book).
If you haven’t read the book yet, what I would do is send you the headline, the details of the story and you would write a newspaper article which would appear in our extra content. It is actually better if you don’t fully know what you’re writing, as the article would only see things on the surface – but the readers of Harbor Moon would know the real reason for things.
If your article is chosen for our extra features, you will receive an 11” X 17” art print from the book (signed by myself – if you want). You will also receive credit for your work.
Email me at ryan@harbor-moon.com and get involved!
Scott Shoyer at Anything Horror says that he has not posted any reviews of horror books for a while because of their low quality - and I'm proud to say that Harbor Moon has made him change his ways. "Luckily I recently hit upon... a graphic novel that was fun and which has inspired me to wanna read more books." That's what we do here in the sleepy town of Harbor Moon - provide inspiration.
"HARBOR MOON was really enjoyable and although you’ll figure out the secret the town is hiding pretty quick it doesn’t take away from any of the fun or suspense. The way the story ends Colucci is definitely intending to make a series out of this, and I hope he does. I really like what he does with the character of Timothy Vance... even if another one isn’t written you’ll still feel satisfied with this one’s conclusion."
"I also really enjoyed the art work in HARBOR MOON, done by Pawel Sambor. We get a lot of dark browns and earth-like tones that are accented by the occasional bursts of bright red and yellow. The contrast is pretty damn striking and the darker tones really help to establish the mood and atmosphere of the story. It actually took me quite a bit more time getting through HARBOR MOON because I kept stopping and going back to look at the art work. Great job."
"This is most definitely a labor of love for Colucci and I think he does a great job. Just like I’m always urging you to go out and support indie horror filmmakers, go out and support indie writers and indie presses … I haven’t steered you wrong yet, have I!!"
Colleen Wanglund has posted her review of Harbor Moon at Horror Fiction Review. You have to scroll down a bit to find Harbor Moon. She liked the book and it seems like her biggest beef is that she wanted more - more info on the Brotherhood and on the town. Two things we purposely held off on... Here are some excerpts:
"The story is a good one even though it lacks background and it’s written rather well. The artwork is beautiful and dark however there were some spots where it was a little too vague... I think fans of the werewolf sub-genre will enjoy it."
Omnicomics, 'a spiffy spot for the comic lot', has posted their review of Harbor Moon. And they are fans of the book.
"...this novel packs in the action and blood with the artwork really bringing it to life but it doesn't over the top... It's also nice to see a story with a different take on werewolves; it was a good one and I hope they flesh out this series even more... The book was an enjoyable read and the story was a compelling one with artwork conveying the dark nature of it beautifully."
With any luck - and the interest of you, our fans, there will be a lot more flesh added to this carcass...
No, seriously - they said that.
Sly Comics has posted their review of the book... and it is another positive endorsement for the book.
"...the artwork is what really takes this book to the next level and makes it a good pick up. When it comes down to it this is a book I would pick up in my local comic book shop and hope you guys will give it a chance as well."
It's good to know that even if you don't read comics, you can still like Harbor Moon! That's the consensus at 69 Flavors of Paranoia.
"I can't give you a comic-fan's perspective on whether Harbor Moon's writer/producer/editor Ryan Colucci is the next Stan Lee or Frank Miller, but I can tell you I had a pretty damned good time reading it."
"...writers Colucci and Dikran Ornekian keep it from feeling tired or hackneyed with good energy and a largely cohesive flow, with some decent twists and turns compelling readers to the end."
"Overall, the artwork is impressive, stylistic and well done, and the color scheme works well to set the mood. There's plenty of action, shapeshifting and bloodletting mayhem throughout, so gorehounds should feel quite satisfied as they choke down all the blood. And the werewolves look pretty freakin' cool!"
"With an eye-catching cover, and assembled seamlessly by Canada's prestigious Arcana Studio, Harbor Moon should find its way onto many fanboys' shelves. It's not a bad place for a nube to cut their teeth, either..."
Everyone knows that encyclopedias are a thing of the past, and the best resource for anyone looking for information on just about anything out there is wikipedia.
Check out Harbor Moon's Wikipedia Page.
Pardon the lame title... I'm a writer, but don't specialize in the short news bursts...
The good folks at Werewolf-News have posted their positive review of Harbor Moon, and were just in time for Halloween. If you think we're getting a complete pass because its a werewolf book and they are a werewolf site, think again. They know their sh*t and don't pull any punches when critiquing the book.
"When some new and interesting werewolf item arrives on my desk I normally handle it the way a raccoon approaches a closed bin: there are things inside I want, delicious, intriguing things, and the outside is merely an impediment to the sating of my hunger. This book, though, wouldn’t let itself be torn open. I simply had to hold it, enjoying its satisfying matte cover stock, its oversized dimensions and the vivid red splatter on the front."
"Writers Ryan Colucci and Dikran Ornekian tell a story that’s comfortably familiar rather than derivative, and so self-contained and well-paced that it reads like a tightened-up film adaptation of a longer, less focused work... This dream-like atmosphere is expertly balanced by the dialog’s bright jabs of lucidity – there are longish sections of exposition that never get tiresome or tedious, and multi-page passages where a single sentence is successfully employed to keep the narrative thread intact. Characters that seem flat when they’re introduced become fully-realized and carefully, confidently articulated. In the hands of lesser writers this material could have been predictable, or worse, boring, but Colucci and Ornekian keep the reader on their toes until the end."
"The drawing style changes every few pages, cycling through hard-edged lines with stark shadows, softer and richer lines with gradated shadows, and even a few pages where the lines are merely implied through contrast. If Harbor Moon was a black and white publication, these issues would be problematic, but Harbor Moon is in full colour, and the colouring work might be the best I’ve ever seen in a graphic novel.
Every page feels like it should be wet with something: water, sweat, blood, animal saliva, clinging mist. The dreamlike quality of the story is enhanced tenfold by super-saturated washes, texture overlays both diaphanous and grimy, pools of the deepest, subtlest blacks and gradients whose boundaries seem to shift as the eye moves across the page. There are panels and even entire pages where the hard black inks are traded for what looks like coloured pencil or conté, and when combined with the vivid colours, the results are simply gorgeous. And when the werewolves appear (they’re scarce at first but by the end there’s no shortage), the inconsistency disappears entirely: the lines are as confident, savage and graceful as the the creatures they render; the colour as graphic and brutal as the violence it depicts. It’s almost as though the scenes involving werewolves are reality, and everything else is a feverish hallucination.
Harbor Moon seems like a depiction of someone’s dream– a dream constantly on the brink of becoming a nightmare. There are a lot of factors at play, and not all of them are strictly under control– the originality of the story doesn’t make itself clear right away, and the artwork, though beautifully coloured, suffers from bouts of schizophrenia. In the end, though, I believe these imperfections add character, rather than detracting from the whole. There’s a lot to like here; the writing is sharp, and when the visuals work, they work beautifully. Harbor Moon is a good graphic novel, and when its creators exercise their confidence, it’s great."
According to the Comic Blog Elite rankings, Ekko's Berkeley Place Blog is the top-ranked site - by over a thousand individual hits a day. So it is with great honor I am reporting that they have nothing but awesome things to say about the book and give it a resounding endorsement!
"Now, it might sound strange to call a comic book that features monsters “beautiful” but Pawel Sambor‘s shadowy panels are at the same time colorful and too dark–murky and bright. It reminds me quite a bit of Bill Templesmith, or Bill Sienkiewicz’s work on Elektra. And yes, that is high praise. This work is worth buying on the art alone."
"...this is Ryan Colucci’s first foray into comic books. Based on Harbor Moon, I’m more than willing to give him the opportunity to grow."
"The panel layouts are often interesting and unconventional, and because this is a true graphic novel (and not a compilation of single issues), we are treated to ample splash pages and spreads, and we get a story that is willing to breathe and take the time it needs to develop."
Thanks for taking the time to read and review Ekko, you have no idea how much we appreciate it.
Ryan Stearns over at The Signal-Watch has posted his review of the book, and he's a huge fan. Some snippets:
"The style has definite, vague echoes of McKean, or late-80's Sienkiewicz and John J. Muth, or even Sam Keith's more expressionistic work in The Maxx, without ever feeling particularly derivative."
"There's definitely a sense of the cinematic to the writing, and I can't exactly put my finger on whether its dialog or a very filmic pacing to the events that made me think 'movie', but its not distracting. Instead, the flow of the story does seem to work in a sort of slow-boil mystery as circumstances reveal themselves and the facts of what's happening in the strange, small town of Harbor Moon, Maine reveal themselves."
"I was impressed with the ability of the writers to create different paces and tone within the story, really bringing the reader in to Tim's perspective and the seeming chaos which erupts, then pulling back in the investigative and character building moments (with the artists following suit)."
"There's no question that very little else that appears on the shelf has a look as potent as what the team here has assembled. While the visuals are a huge draw, the story and characters are well defined and interesting enough that its a great new entry for the horror and mystery genres in comics, and the kind of storytelling that comics can do remarkably well when a team like the creative team here puts their minds and backs to it."
