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Review: Moon Knight #1

By | May 6th, 2011
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Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by Alex Maleev

The wait is over! Moon Knight is here…like you ‘ ve never seen him before! And we mean NEVER! The Eisner award-winning team of Bendis and Maleev tear into the mythos of Moon Knight with the same verve and derring-do they brought to Daredevil. A MARVELOUS reinterpretation of one of the most enigmatic characters in Marvel history starts right here!

How many comics does Bryan Michael Bendis write nowadays? I’m sure he can do another, don’t you think? And how about that Alex Maleev? Yeah, I know he’s currently illustrating Scarlet (also written by Bendis), but he can swing another book… can’t he? Bendis and Maleev are one of my favorite writer/artist teams, and while I was excited to see their take on Moon Knight, I was also a tad worried whether the two creators had too much on their plate. Were my suspicions confirmed by the first issue, or was I pleasantly surprise? Follow the cut and see.

I’ll start off by saying that I’m not the most devoted Moon Knight fan. I find the character interesting, and I’ve read a few comics featuring him, but that’s about it. A lot of people were showing reservations about where Bendis appeared to be taking the character (despite, you know, just having solicits and a few preview pages), and I understand that. Here’s the problem, though: as devoted as Moon Knight’s fanbase may be, he has never been one of the most popular Marvel characters. It isn’t enough to have big name creators attached to Marc Spector’s new book, these creators also need to take the book in a different direction in order to bring in new readers. Obviously, it’s preferred if this can be done while respecting the character’s previous characterization, but if I have to choose between good and accessible to new readers – even if it doesn’t pay proper attention to the character’s lengthy history – or good but steeped in heavy continuity, I will always choose the former (this is, of course, assuming that the Moon Knight fanbase is right in their assumptions that Bendis’s one issue proves that he isn’t going to be paying attention to the character’s continuity, which… well, we’ll see).

So… right, the issue itself. Writing-wise, this was a great first issue. So long as you have a basic knowledge about the Marvel universe, you should have no problem picking this up and jumping in (see above). I’m very pleases that Bendis is addressing one of the Marvel Universe’s biggest problems: the silly United States of New York mentality. I know the West Coast Avengers used to be a bigger presence, and the X-Men had their stint in San Francisco, but it still seems like anything that matters in the Marvel Universe happens in New York. Not only does Bendis recognize this and move Moon Knight to L.A. for variety, he also ties it into the story in an interesting manner. The premise of a West Coast Kingpin is really exciting, and I’m very interested in seeing how Ultron ties into this whole, otherwise street-level mess (I mean mess in an endearing way, of course). And how about that cliffhanger ending? I suppose that’s what most Moon Knight fans are concerned about, but me? I’m excited.

But let’s not forget about the other half of this great team: superstar artist Alex Maleev. While discussing this issue, editor-in-chief Matt and I agreed that while we love Scarlet, it’s great to see Maleev on an action-heavy book. He draws an awesome Moon Knight, and really fits the tone that the character evokes. Even if he wasn’t working with long-time collaborator Bendis, Maleev would fit this book like a glove. His splash pages are especially beautiful, particularly the double spread where we first see Marc as Moon Knight. Still, what separates a comics artist from any other artist is how they handle sequential panels, and Maleev is able to keep a great sense of movement going through every panel, even those panels that Bendis loves to write where people are just standing around and talking.

There’s a reason why Bendis and Maleev’s Daredevil run was so critically acclaimed, and this first issue already seems to be exhibiting those same qualities. If you were a dunce and didn’t add Scarlet to your pull, but sure to pick up this issue and give the team’s latest contribution a try. Unless you’re a Moon Knight fan who feels wronged, you’ll love it.

Total: 8.4 – Buy it!


Walt Richardson

Walt is a former editor for Multiversity Comics and current podcaster/ne'er-do-well. Follow him on Twitter @goodbyetoashoe... if you dare!

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