Moonchild Comics!

I've been aware of Moonchild, The late Nicola Cuti's peculiarly nubile creation for many years, running across the character in The History of Underground Comics. I've never read any full-blown story until I got this collection. I ordered up Walt Wentz's collection of Moonchild stories. He's collected the Moonchild stories from the early fanzines and underground comics and put them together in a slim but intriguing magazine-sized B&W comics package. At eight bucks counting shipping this curiosity is worth the price of admission. 

If you're a Nick Cuti fan like me, it falls into the must-have category. You see a very young Cuti at work here, with much of the work raw and at times amateurish. But there's an undercurrent which makes it hang together some way. Moonchild is a Starbaby, a space-based fairy, and like Little Annie Fanny or Barbarella is naive and innocent while possessed of a healthy female body. There is actually little sexual content here, but there is lots of suggestion and nudity. Mostly this is light-hearted and weird cartooning. There are also some Pussywillow strips, a more purely underground version of Moonchild. This collection ain't for everyone. I'm not sure I get it all, but it's a very good look at a solid comics talent's early formative work. And Nick's a heck of a nice guy to boot.

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. 

NOTE: This is a Dojo Revised Classic Post. 

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