Moonshadow is a 1985-1987limited series written and created byJ. M. DeMatteis and illustrated byJon J. Muth andKent Williams as well asGeorge Pratt. It was later released as atrade paperback entitledThe Compleat Moonshadow. The comic was inspired by theCat Stevens song "Moonshadow".^[1] It takes the form of a coming-of-age story with elements of satire.

Moonshadow
Cover art for the first issue ofMoonshadow, March 1985.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Publication date	1985-1987
No. of issues	Thirteen
Creative team
Written by	J. M. DeMatteis
Artist(s)	Jon J. Muth Kent Williams George Pratt

The story takes the form of an eclectic and quirkyfairy tale withsatirical elements and dealing withphilosophical concerns. It is told via theframing device of Moonshadow, now 120, looking back on his earlier life. The action concerns the events leading up to the "awakening" of Moonshadow, the child of ahippy mother and an enigmatic alien father. The alien, who resembles a glowing orb of light bearing a stylized human face, abducted Moonshadow's mother from Earth in 1968 along with her black pet cat, Frodo. When the idealistic and naive Moonshadow is orphaned at approximately age 15, he becomes friends with a venal and opportunistic furryhumanoid named Ira. Moonshadow and Ira and Frodo the cat set out to find a life for themselves in the stars.

Moonshadow loses his innocence, but eventually makes peace with the world and reconciles himself to the actions of his seemingly capricious alien father.

The general concept ofMoonshadow dates back to roughly a decade before the series's publication, and was reworked byJ. M. DeMatteis numerous times over the years. For example, in the original concept for the series, the protagonist had superpowers.^[2] Another early concept for the series, then under the titleStardust, was submitted toMarvel Comics editor-in-chiefJim Shooter around the turn of the decade.^[2]

Encouraged by the publication of experimental series such asCamelot 3000 and theEpic Comics lineup,^[2] in 1983 DeMatteis again pursued publication forMoonshadow. While talking with his friendKaren Berger, he mentioned his idea for the series, and an enthusiastic Berger offered to haveDC Comics publish it.^[2] Having already been considering going over to DC, DeMatteis was initially inclined to accept, but when he discussed the upcoming expiration of his contract with Marvel, Shooter offered to publish bothMoonshadow and theGreenberg the Vampire graphic novel, another DeMatteis pet project that he had previously rejected. DeMatteis recalled:

Jim said, "Okay. You've been here long enough. You've paid your dues. You deserve to get a chance to do some things that you want to do". And I respect him for letting me do it. I wasn't one of Marvel's top-selling writers. Jim could easily have said: "Fine. Go do it for DC".^[2]

Moonshadow was originally a twelve-issuemaxi-series published byMarvel Comics under itsEpic imprint from 1985 to 1987. It was the first American comic book whose art was done entirely by painting.^{[citation needed]} The series was subsequently reprinted as a single volume in1989. Also in 1989, a limited edition hardcover was also released by Graphitti Designs. Only 1200 copies of this edition were published, each individually numbered and signed by DeMatteis and Muth.

From1994 to 1995,DC Comics published the individual issues as one of the first limited series of itsVertigo imprint, followed in 1997 byFarewell, Moonshadow, a one-issue sequel set years later, which acts as a coda to the series.The Compleat Moonshadow reprinted all of this material in 1998 with some textual revisions.

In2019,Dark Horse Comics reprintedThe Compleat Moonshadow in a single hardcover volume, with a new introduction by DeMatteis, behind-the-scenes material, and all the covers of the Epic and Vertigo series. In2025, Dark Horse reprintedMoonshadow: The Definitive Edition—Expanded, with a new painted cover and afterword by Muth, a new essay by DeMatteis, and an expanded bonus section featuring script pages and sketches.