Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Moon Knight #1
Marvel Comics
Ellis, Shalvey & Bellaire
Moon Knight is a character I've never had much interest in and I probably couldn't provide more than the basics if someone asked: he wears white and he's insane. This comic book immediately shatters any other notion I might have had about this character, including that he's a C-lister. This book opens with an introduction to the character by some other person talking on the phone about Moon Knight returning to New York. With that, the book is under way, defining the new version of the character, putting him in a situation and then explaining the new status quo. This is a very good template of how to launch a title of a character that needed a little revitalization. Excellent book.
The narration by the phone conversation helps to establish the basics of the character that probably a lot of people already know that are familiar with the character. However, this helps to get the new reader up to speed and it helps to throw the reader off the trail later on.
The next scene helps to establish the supporting cast for Moon Knight. Moon Knight gives a little detective support on a slasher case. The reader gets to see how the mind of an insane person works as he unwinds the evidence and comes to conclusions that don't make sense or couldn't possibly be true. Without hesitation, Moon Knight acts on the information he finds and confronts the killer.
Moon Knight then closes out the book in a flashback that helps to re-direct the origin of the character slightly. The explanation fits perfectly with how he's acted throughout the book but it also doesn't wipe away any of the existing continuity. Plus, the twist opens up a bunch of possibilities down the road.
The artwork has a bit of a John Romita quality to it. The difference here is that the coloring really punctuates the white that Moon Knight wears and it's fantastic visually. The book has some grizzly scenes and the brilliant red really makes the artwork pop off the page and compared against the white makes for a very expressive scene. The artwork really presents a fantastic looking book.
Moon Knight is not a comic book to pass up. The character gets defined in this issue, but a twist is added to his existence at the very end. Within the book we get a little bit of the day to day life in terms of what the super-hero does and whom he interacts with. The book has a small amount of action but some gory scenes are involved. Overall, you shouldn't miss this issue and I suspect this is going to be a hit series on the level of Hawkeye. This is a great start.
4.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
