Ellis and Shalvey attempt to infect your nightmares with images of Moon Knight vs. the mushroom kingdom in the latest issue of their already classic run with the character.
Written by Warren Ellis
Illustrated by Declan Shalvey• Moon Knight goes somewhere even more messed up than his own mind.
• Something is happening to the subjects of a sleep experiment that’s driving them all insane.
• Go with Moon Knight to the Mushroom graveyard planet for the most troubling and disturbing issue yet!
A mushroom is a versatile thing. Like Moon Knight himself, the mushroom has many “personalities.” It can be a strong, earthy element in a delicious dish. If prepared the right way, it can even be the main course in place of something more traditional. Mushrooms can also be the key catalyst to a psychedelic trip – a trip that would produce interesting results were one to read the content of “Moon Knight” #4 during.
But mushrooms can be a sinister thing, too. They can take the form of fungal infection and show up in places where they’re unwanted. Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey play with this idea over the course of issue #4, to an absolutely chilling effect.
While Marc Spector is no doubt a man with a tendency to go unhinged, Ellis has written him with a supreme confidence. Maybe it’s just the world around him that’s crazy? No. No, he’s definitely the crazy one. But his willingness to absorb himself in his madness somehow allows him to observe and confront the world around him more coherently. In some ways, Marc Spector is the heroic avatar of the Morrisonian hyper-sanity; what couldn’t possibly make sense to anyone else is perfectly clear to Moon Knight. Just stand back and let him do his thing.
What’s been so special about Ellis’ approach to the character lies in a few key factors – all of which show up over the course of issue #4. First of all, the visual and conceptual embracing of mythology and iconography has lent an air of mystery to a character that is, quite literally, solving mysteries himself this time around. Shalvey’s ability to draw upon totems that relate to Moon Knight’s Khonshu origins makes the character seem gloriously stranger. Secondly, Ellis and Shalvey have smoothed Spector up a bit. Somehow he seems to be the most composed and collected one in the room, even as he’s launching himself headlong into horrors unknown. He’s not the loose cannon or lost soul that Bendis portrayed him as (though that was a run I quite liked, as well, if you’ll indulge me in a personal recommendation). He’s straight and to-the-point, believing in every bit of the life he’s immersed himself in.
Finally, and possibly most instrumentally in making “Moon Knight” (2014) feels so special, is Ellis’ and Shalvey’s willingness to tell one-off stories and trust that the audience doesn’t need their hand held through introductions and conclusions. Spector investigates a sleep-study operation run by a doctor in connection to the death of one of his colleagues. This takes Spector to the “Mushroom graveyard planet” promised in the solicitation – though perhaps not in the way you’d expect. Ellis’ script spins a story from beginning to end, but that doesn’t mean everything is tied up. The most immediate gratification of Ellis’ methods are that you will be shaken up, and that has proven to be the key to this must-read “Moon Knight” series.
Shalvey more than holds up his end of the donkey on “Moon Knight.” Thanks to his concerted effort to be stylish at every turn, “Moon Knight” impresses with aesthetics that not only exude flare, but inform our perception of the characters and events. In his white suit and full head mask pulled tightly to his jaw, Moon Knight quite literally appears as a specter wherever he goes. Previous incarnations fashioned Moon Knight as a Batman-esque utility-equipped crime fighter, where Shalvey’s Moon Knight is a finely-dressed spirit detective. What does a “specter” need to dress so well for? Shalvey’s “Moon Knight” is the epitome of professionalism, and this design-work adds to his mystique.
But while this has all been true of each issue thus far, not enough can be said about the mental dexterity that Shalvey shows in issue #4, rendering mind-bending ‘shroom visuals and crafting an issue as surreal as anything Marvel Comics has ever published. For a few pages, it was as though Marc Spector was visiting an offshoot world of Brandon Graham’s take on the “Prophet” property. Jordie Bellaire’s psychedelic ’60s palette increasingly bleeds into the edges of each page as Spector gets in over his head to solve the case. In a series where Bellaire’s perfectly selected color choices have remained haunting and muted in service to the mood, the addition of sun-burnt oranges and fuchsia is eye-popping.
Continued belowBecause of Spector’s mental instability, Shalvey’s choices play with the readers’ expectations. Are these events real? What is external and what is internal? In a universe where super-powered humans and mutants take on gods and mad scientists, Shalvey’s uninhibited experimentation still can have the reader questioning what they believe about the fiction. It’s unsettling in all the right ways, especially once the reality hits and it’s as shocking and horrifying as you might imagine.
There’s no doubt that “Moon Knight” by Ellis, Shalvey, Bellaire and Eliopoulos was extremely special right out of the gates. Issue #4 is a real statement-making installment, though. By now we know exactly what the mission statement of this run of “Moon Knight” is, and it’s fearless. It’s a shame that the Ellis/Shalvey run is only destined to run for a 6 short issues, but any of these issues can be picked up on their own and blow you away. If you haven’t been following along to this point, make “Moon Knight” #4 your starting point. There’s nothing else at Marvel Comics like it – and never has been.
Final Verdict: 9.7 – Buy
