Moonstar #4: Sometimes Less is More

Let’s pull the Band-Aid off now: Not much happens in Issue #4 of Moonstar. This is very much a character-driven issue with a plot on the side. No major developments occur in the story until the final page, which is just a cliffhanger for Issue #5. However, that is a welcome development for this series, which hasn’t spent a great deal of time with Dani herself.  Ashley Allen intentionally slows down the plot to allow these characters to breathe, which allows the reader to develop a greater attachment to them. The opening few pages add some additional context to Dani’s character and her relationship with her parents; the final few pages further develop her relationship with Kian. The slow-burn nature of this comic allows for Dani and Kian to talk about how they feel and what they want. Allen explores these characters’ emotions in greater depth than before and offers a greater understanding of why they act how they act.

The art by Edoardo Audino continues to be the standout of this series. The previous few issues had panels that felt like afterthoughts while other panels were masterpieces: that inconsistency is absent here. Audino’s linework feels very intentional in each panel, as if every detail is worth paying attention to. In particular, Audino draws Dani as this highly expressive character; her thoughts are conveyed through her body language and her facial movements. Kian is the antithesis of this: he very rarely has any distinct facial expressions. That artistic contrast between the two characters helps visually convey their dynamic. Another strength of Audino’s artstyle is how off-putting it can be. During the middle chunk of this issue, there’s a portion that is supposed to be creepy. Part of that uncanniness lands simply due to how well Audino draws the creatures that attack Dani and Kian. Audino demonstrates a tonal range in the artwork: from tender and intimate to genuinely unsettling. This is the clearest sign of an artist who has found their footing with these characters and this story. 

Kyron is just not a compelling villain. He’s incredibly generic in his motivation and plans: another havoc-wreaking villain is par for the course at Marvel. A good villain needs to have a compelling motivation, a deep connection to the protagonist, or a distinctive quality worth remembering: Kyron doesn’t have any of these. He feels like a villain of the week: a one-off villain that any superhero could face. For Moonstar’s first solo outing, readers would expect an antagonist that would either have a connection to Dani’s history or reveal something new about her character, but Kyron doesn’t do any of that. Kyron is just the villain that Dani Moonstar happens to find herself in conflict with.