Moonie & The Spider Queen!

I found this Nicola Cuti gem hidden away in a comics shop I get to infrequently. It's a place that I can count on to have all sorts of strange items, and the folks there didn't let me down.

I've wanted a copy of this since I caught sight of it on the internet. Moonie is the renamed "Moonchild" a character Nicola Cuti created way back in the 60's, a psycho blend of a childlike face with sex bomb characteristics. It's a staple of Manga and Anime today, but then still quite unsettling. Here's a link for more details.

Of all his creations, Cuti says that his mentor Wally Wood told him that Moonchild had potential. Moonchild has been changed into "Moonie" now, a somewhat more adult version of the character, more in the tradition of Little Annie Fanny and suchlike.

I talked on this blog about getting my first collection of Moonchild stories here.


Moonie and the Spider Queen adapts a three-issue limited series from MU from around 2004. The introduction suggests that the novel form has more pure sex in it, and my random sampling suggests this is likely true. The story is amply decorated with drawings from the comics series by Cuti with inks by the late Dave Simons.


I can't say the novel is especially erotic, but it is offbeat and the shifting from narrative points of view between Moonie and Perry, the two protagonists of the story gives is a wacky neo-Burroughsian feel.


It's a weird item, but I'm a sucker tor the work of Nicola Cuti. It's not always my cup of tea, but it's always an interesting brew.

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