High Moon, First Zuda Contest Winner, Returns in Print

High Moon: Bullet Holes and Bite Marks

Zuda Comics is probably not remembered much these days, since it started a decade ago. It was DC Comics’ attempt at doing webcomics, launched in October 2007 and shut down in July 2010. It ran on a contest basis, where each month, a group of submissions was voted on and the winner would get paid for creating more content.

The first contest winner was a horror western called High Moon by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis. It featured cowboys, bounty hunters, and werewolves, and it was the second Zuda title put out in print. That was in 2009, the same year it won a Harvey Award for Best Online Comics Work.

In another example of why it’s a great idea to maintain ownership of your work, now comes word that the title is coming back to print. Papercutz’s Super Genius imprint (which is aimed at older readers than their primary kid focus, with such titles as WWE Superstars) will be releasing “the definitive edition” of High Moon in three volumes beginning in October.

High Moon: Bullet Holes and Bite Marks

The first, titled Bullet Holes and Bite Marks, will feature remastered art and also be available as a hardcover. Volume 2, due in May 2018, will similarly be remastered, while Volume 3 will have new material. All three will have new covers by series artist Steve Ellis.

The Super Genius editions will be larger than the previous Zuda Comics print edition and will present the landscape formatted series in a removable slipcase that allows it to be racked vertically, maximizing its visibility

In other words, shelves need standard-shaped books, which means those sell better, but because the Zuda series were designed for screens, those layouts are horizontal. Putting a really nice wrapper on the book will let retailers handle it more easily, and thus customers are more likely to find it. Here’s the series description:

In High Moon, former Pinkerton agent and current bounty hunter Matthew Macgregor investigates a series of strange happenings in a small Texas town. Drought has brought famine and hardship to Blest. The summer heat pushes the temperature to unbearable heights during the day. The nights are even worse — for the streets are haunted by strange, unnatural creatures. And even as Macgregor works to uncover the truth about the creatures, he struggles to keep his own supernatural nature a secret.

Papercutz also publishes The Only Living Boy by the same creative team. This is not their first rescue; Super Genius also has republished several former Tekno Comix titles, including Neil Gaiman’s Mr. Hero and Neil Gaiman’s Lady Justice.

Update: High Moon: Bullet Holes and Bite Marks is now available to preorder through your local comic shop with Diamond code AUG17 1902 (1903 for the hardcover). It’s due out October 18.



One comment

  • David Oakes

    Good for them!

    And your longevity is also showing, with articles on both the 2007 win and the 2010 shut-down showing up in “Related Posts”. So good for you, too!

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