Tag Archives: Moon Knight

09/27/2011 · 1:10 AM

The TW Review – Moon Knight #4 – And Marc Spector goes on a date …

So I’m an issue behind? Big deal. Real life caught up with me, and the internet hit the way side. Oh well. I’m back (at least for this post), and I want to communicate my thoughts and feelings on this issue of the Brian Bendis/Alex Maleev Moon Knight series.

Marc Spector goes on a date with Maya Lopez this issue. They experience the conventional first date awkwardness. Spector attempts to sound like smooth talking Philip Marlowe. There’s some real talk after the failed smooth talk. Spector and Lopez engage in post-date action (interpret action however you wish).

The end.

This issue read fairly fast. I’m not stating such to mark the comic with a negative criticism. I, in fact, sometimes enjoy Bendis’ quick, “decompressed” issues that so many people seem to criticize. Granted, those light issues are the only narrative installment for an entire month, but I can live with quick bursts every so often. Not every single issue needs the seemingly demanded 200 word balloons or heavy plot. Every instance of a narrative, if we are to understand narrative as a living, breathing organism, is not long and padded. At some point the story, like life, slows down and meanders without dialogue or revelations and just skips along, leaving moments how they are.

I’m probably depicting this comic as some sort of avant garde, subtle display when it’s not. Remember, it’s a Bendis Marvel Comic. It’s a good comic, but in no ways artistically dramatic.

I’m just romanticizing quick, light comic book issues because that’s what I do, and even though it’s light, Moon Knight #4 still pulls off an interesting, complete thought.

Reading this issue, I recall the DVD extras of the Daredevil film. I think back to watching the “Men Without Fear” documentary, you know, the one where every worthwhile Daredevil creator – minus Steve Gerber – is interviewed, and I remember how Frank Miller commented on super hero sex and his portrayal of such through Matt Murdock and Elektra.

Miller used the classic Daredevil love story to express costume intimacy via the comic book fights we are all accustomed to. Hell’s Kitchen stood in for DD and Elektra’s bed room, and kicks and bounds marked each and every sexual move. Miller put super hero sex on the page but disguised it in a way that was culturally acceptable (not like this shit that happened last week). This same idea leaks its way into Moon Knight #4 via the end of the issue. Alex Maleev takes the circumstance of the book, the main sequence being the date between Spector and Lopez, and turns a climactic fight sequence into a post-date hook up, playing off of the cliche super hero team-up. His display of the battle feels like an intimate moment between Maya and Marc. It’s the first team-up, and both characters are partners in this rage against evil.

This single fight feels like an extension of what is to come. Marc Spector and Maya Lopez. Two nobodies on the west coast, alone, facing a great threat to the Marvel U.

But the depiction of super hero relationships is  not as smooth and sexy as Miller’s because Bendis keeps in mind Marc Spector’s flaw of character – he’s not the real deal.

Like any classic Brian Michael Bendis comic book scene, Spector and Maya Lopez have a conversation. Around this conversation, Bendis deploys something you’d easily see in a high school set teen movie: gossip. Avengers and Marc Spector’s head-friendlies appear, and Bendis has them act as a social panel to characterize our love birds as nobodies. It’s the super hero version of a 90s teen movie where the cool kids discuss the awkward “romances” of the dorks. I love it.

Because Marc Spector is the dork of the super hero community. As I’ve discussed before, Spector plays hero; he’s not actually a hero. Bendis uses that flaw to bring the character down to a amusing level by making him the loser of the Marvel U, and he now has a nice “girlfriend” in tow.

Then there’s the scene itself.

Like any situation, you cannot entirely trust hearsay in order to judge a person. We may understand Maya and Marc as nobodies before the scene, but Bendis sort of brings us back to believing in these characters via the date. It’s a very humanizing scene that starts off awkward yet evolves to cute. Spector flirts with his lady friend in a style I find familiar, and then carries on into a simulated, smooth talking act as he tries to find answers to the case he’s working. Once the mystery man thing fails, Spector stops himself and the real characters come out.

I love the dialogue Bendis plants here.

Marc: ” Let’s just cut the sass down and have a real conversation.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice, if two people who do what we do had a real conversation?”

Only two word balloons but they sum up so much of Bendis’ Marvel career.

But it’s also just a nice scene for the simple fact that it gets right what a date between two people should be. One half act, or presentation to attract, another half heart-to-heart. Bendis boils down the halves of an entire date to two pages. Decompression what?

What I’m trying to say is … I love how this issue cures Marc Spector of his loneliness. Granted, dude’s fictional. I shouldn’t give a single shit whether he’s lonely or not. But there’s something nice about the way Bendis has paired the character with somebody on his level. Marlene, Spector’s previous leading lady, was fine and interesting in her own right, but Maya makes a lot of sense to me. She’s underdeveloped, similar to Moon Knight, and she’s typecast. People know her as the deaf Avenger. Same with Marc Spector. He’s “crazy Moon Knight.” The character’s been subject to his own identity flaw in recent years – both in fictional awareness and in online comics culture.

I like that Spector now has an equal, and the series’ cast has a new, solid, unexpected addition. Bendis and Maleev have crafted a solid issue here. It sells the thought that even the losers can find companionship.

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08/12/2011 · 2:30 AM

The TW Review – Marc Spector: producer, maniac, pimp

Yeah, let’s do this again.

For those who read the previous “TW Review” post, I teased of two reviews. Not happening. I had too much to say about the subject below, and honestly I can come back to the other book at another time. Carry on.

Moon Knight #3
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Artists: Alex Maleev, Matt Wilson, Cory Petit

Marc Spector wanders between many faces. That’s the character. He exemplifies the “super hero” who lacks the skill of decision making as well as the shell trying to morph its inner contents. Moon Knight gives home to any reader struggling with the concept of identity. Any poor sap unsure of what direction he or she wants to go in can relate to the Macabre Moon Knight, especially those less than satisfied with who they actually are.

Which, really, should strike a chord with us all.

Brian Michael Bendis snapped the reigns on the agent of jet and silver three months ago, taking over a character whose seen more than a fair share of failed creative attempts. Which has been a shame. Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz crafted some wonderful comics with this character, and ever since Marvel has only published sludge for Moon Knight to star in. I’d argue the presence of some favorable bits in Charlie Huston’s run 0f 2006, but really Marvel, and the numerous creators involved, have only degraded Moon Knight’s status from subject of prestigious work to pulp joke.

The Bendis/Maleev direction appears willing to return Moon Knight to some sort of pedestal. The new found title sits ready to reclaim the glory of last decade’s Daredevil run. A book concerned with drama, street level focus, and character study. The Bendis/Maleev comic seems ready to further develop Marc Spector rather than play him as a poor man’s Batman.

It’s odd that I am only now discussing or reviewing this book. Besides Greg Bergas, I’m probably the most vocal Moon Knight guy online. I’m unsure what that says about me, that you know, Moon Knight is my peak of vocality , but so be it. Months before the release of Bendis/Maleev Moon Knight you, doubtfully, couldn’t shut me up. The news came as a blitzkrieg. The potential of Marvel Comics shined bright and friendly once again. My old stacks of MK comics found new attention. Hell, I even made big plans for this blog in the department of content.

I was all over this book and ready to read. Then it came out.

So why the clam up? The first issue gave me nothing new. Every bit of plot and concept that Marvel PR tossed to the media made it into the first issue yet nothing else. I knew going in that Marc Spector now possessed three new identities, and this concept turned out to be the big “reveal” of the series premiere. The cliffhanger shot or the pace setting issue Bendis holds such a reputation for failed terribly in my eyes.

To be fair, Bendis provided warning in the book’s prior months of marketing. I forget the exact quote, but he spoke out saying most comics give their all in the first issue, and after that they sort of trail off and no one ever talks about them again. A point which stands as totally correct. This era of comics revolves around first issue buzz. No one shows concern for issue #7 or discusses series on issue-to-issue protocol. A mission to bring back to style the issue-to-issue narrative felt like a bold one – another reason why I was so stoked for this new comic.

Still, a certain vibe was attained with the actual reading. Seeing the not-so-new, new first issue in print quelled my excitement. I understood the writer’s need not to blow the load out of the gate, but I would have liked some sort of tease or battle cry rather than a lame “yeah, you know.” It’s always nice to stand up and clap when you’re the audience, but instead Moon Knight #1 conveyed a feeling of “well, I guess we have to get this into the actual comic so it matters, huh?”.

I enjoyed #1 fair enough, but it never made me shout with glee. In my storm of reading though, I’ve caught up on the new Bendis/Maleev project. I now emote glee.

So, yeah, that’s all context for the next two paragraphs or so of review. Oh well. Issue #3!

Bendis showcases how well he can write the character in this issue. Like most Bendis comics, the plot doesn’t stretch far but that’s OK. Instead, Bendis uses extended moments to document Spector’s interactions while also setting up a supporting cast. This comic is a good example of the term we know as “decompression.” Not that it’s really decompressed, necessarily. Plot movement falls short, but the comic never wastes any time – which seems to be the main idea of “decompression.” No, instead Bendis uses decompressed story telling the way Ellis and Hitch intended it. Extended moments shine light on intimate details and highlight character ticks we will want to know. The comic gives us a close look at the newly reformed Marc Spector a.k.a. Moon Knight.

Wolverine, Spider-man, and Captain America certainly work within Spector’s newly forged system of multiple personalities, but remember, Spector’s working the west coast and strutting his stuff as a TV producer. The man has a day job, and Bendis uses the day job as a backdrop to further explore Spector’s psyche.  Issue #3 opens with a scene cast straight from Tarantino’s True Romance with Spector whizzing his way up the Californian coastline in a convertible.  On the way, Maleev makes point to detail the character’s wardrobe, and Bendis creates a scene of flirtation between Spector and one Maya Lopez (whom Spector spent the night with). The comic rolls along until Spector arrives on the set of his big, new television show. Words are shared with his assistant, and we are even privy in Spector’s work day as he actually shows concern for producing a well-crafted production. Then things turn dark. Bendis writes a flashback to show Spector’s hiring of an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Purpose? Sidekick or partner of some kind. To fully trust a partner though, Spector pushes this agent through an unnatural test. Spector tortures the man while dressed as the less than kind Bullseye. Why? To see if this potential partner spills any beans on his possible employer. The scene ends, and the ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. speaks, “man, how crazy are you?”.

The issue revolves completely around the concept of identity, or more specifically the different kinds of roles we play in our everyday lives. While that is familiarly a Brubaker theme, Bendis knows how to make it his own with his portrayal of character. Spector works as a Hollywood hotshot, but that includes many things. In this case, television producer equals working man, pimp (as in ladies man not the traditional definition), and maniac. Spector becomes Bendis’s filter for Hollywood stereotype. He represents the ideas of corporate art we all dream of. The rock star playboy comes out with Maya. The power hungry, coked-up suit plays when the lights are turned down. In the middle, a working man presents passion for his project.

Boom, boom, and boom. The issue rolls out each identity, each person, very well by way of smooth pacing. Each segment just flows right into the next.

It’s a solid way to keep to the character’s core while also providing some sense of relevancy to our world. In the day and age of super hero movies, it makes a lot of sense for a super hero to comment on Hollywood. There’s also that matter of Bendis currently developing his own television series. I’d like to think Spector’s time as a TV producer provides some sort of personal expression of Bendis’s new found experiences.  Art reflecting life seems appropriate in this situation, especially if Bendis currently suffers his own identity crisis. I’m afraid only he knows that.

Of course, the separation of roles works just as well for the fictional character as it does the real world. Oddly enough, the three roles presented in this issue match up with Spector’s original trio of masks. The pimp, the playboy totally belongs to Spector’s Steven Grant persona – the millionaire, Bruce Wayne-type who wore the hot blonde on his arm. The working man goes to taxi driver Jake Lockley, and the maniac is right up the alley of Marc Spector the loose cannon mercenary.

What Bendis has done is taken Spector’s original three personae and multiplied it by two. There are three heroes, and there are three Marc Spectors. Just like us who work within one name yet act like different people within different situations, Spector now experiences the same. While he may appear slightly more stable, Spector is in all honesty more fucked up than ever. Doubt me? The dude holds 6 personalities to his name.

And this is the guy with the head of Ultron, working the case of the West Coast Kingpin. Bendis has me by the nuts.

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03/14/2011 · 3:51 AM

Countdown to Dark: Moon Knight in Hulk Magazine

The year was 1975, and Moon Knight’s future was not very clear. Created as a villain for the comic book series Werewolf by Night, Doug Moench and Don Perlin designed the character to simply supply conflict for an issue or two. Nothing more, nothing less. His stint on the printed page after that was relatively short, appearing in only a couple of other projects, most notably Marvel Spotlight numbers twenty-eight (28) and twenty-nine (29) where he battled the very conventional Conquer Lord. The character for the most part did not have a big game plan, and Moon Knight was simply expected to just fade away as a long-forgotten blip in the Marvel Publishing Pattern. Ralph Macchio saw something though.

At the time, 1978, Macchio was an assistant editor to Special Projects Editor Rick Marschall. The team was working on the forth coming HULK! magazine, and Macchio was put to task finding a back-up feature to go alongside the publication’s main showcase. Ideas of Namor the Sub-Mariner and Shanna the She-Devil mulled over in Macchio’s head until he came to the conclusion of Doug Moench’s second-tier man of mystery Moon Knight.

The rest is history as they say because HULK! led to 1980s ongoing Moon Knight series, which led to some excellent comics work from both Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz, which then led to future Moon Knight stories and the character’s existence in this very day.

Cover of MoonKnight: Countdown to Dark Collection

But the HULK! issues had to happen first. Without them, Moon Knight is still the throw-away villain with limited purpose and future. Those HULK! issues were Doug Moench’s chance to really tell the character’s story, and reading those comics with that thought in mind provides you with a solid understanding that this could have possibly been the last Moon Knight story. The character was then and still partially is a risky endeavor to pursue as his existence does not match that of Batman or Superman. No one (except for me) is clamoring for Moon Knight comics; it would be easy for the character to get lost in the shuffle due to his lack of popularity. The character is a C-lister, and Ralph Macchio wanted him to be the second-stringer in the back of HULK!. For all Doug Moench knew though, Moon Knight could have been at the front of the magazine, staring as the main feature because reading those stories certainly shows quality rather than a feeling of something mashed together to fill page space.

The stories carry a quality of literature in how they subtly suggest while presenting a plot that is actually pretty simple. If you look at an author like Hemingway, he writes short stories in a style where not a whole lot happens. The majority of the writing and purpose of the story is the setting or internal conflict or ambiguous lines of dialogue.  Now, while I am not completely comparing Doug Moench to Ernest Hemingway, because I do not necessarily feel comfortable doing that, I do see a few similarities between these Moon Knight stories and say Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories when it comes to showing little while alluding to more.

Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River,” which is the conclusion to his Nick Adams saga, basically provides an account of Nick hiking through some grasslands and ascending up a hill where he then camps and eventually finds a river and goes fishing. That is the plot, and it is not a whole lot, almost bare minimum in the events department. Moench does this in his own way, a way that is certainly only fit for comics. Stories like “The Big Blackmail” and “Countdown to Dark” do have eventful plots, but when these plots are held in a context of comic book plots they are not really that outgoing. The plot for both of these stories, as they are connected, is Moon Knight stopping a terrorist plot and then having a final battle with a big, bad villain. That is pretty standard for super-hero comics, and these comics, on the surface, read like they are just going through the motions of bronze age practice.

So, both of these plots are almost boring and certainly could appear as repetitive to selected audiences, but what is important is what is being said underneath as the authors provide subtle indication for larger themes. “Big Two-Hearted River,” even though a fishing story, goes a bit bigger as Hemingway describes the environment of the river, the way the fish live in it, how Nick reacts to it, and how the swamp appears dark and placid further along the way. These small indications are the clues to the theme and invite the reader to think, but they are not necessarily placed in the forefront of the text as instead they are briefly mentioned. The Moon Knight stories pull the same trick. At one instance Moon Knight is at battle with Lupinar, The Wolf, carrying on in true comic book style, yet suddenly the fight stops leaving Moon Knight in a moment of looking at what had just occurred, muttering the words, “I see. But I don’t want to.” This happening takes place over three panels, pretty brief, but the nature of how that moment stops you has an affect, bringing about feelings of what is really going on with this character. The moment though is completely surrounded by the traditional plot.

This design for a story packs such an impact I feel because it creates this feeling that the comic almost knows more than you do. The comic presents itself one way, but really underneath the dressing there is a whole other side to it. There is also this really cool aesthetic value to that idea. I like looking at these stories as pulp adventures because of how romantic and dated they can feel. And not dated in a bad way, saying that the comic does not work today, but more in terms of it feeling from a certain era. The swashbuckling and pattern they spotlight are so very bronze age, but underneath it all are themes and ideas that could work in almost anytime. The ideas of not knowing who you are and wanting yourself to be a certain way are timeless as they are very true to the human experience.

Page of “Night Born Ten Years Gone” by Bill Sienkiewicz

And that is the Moon Knight character. He is a costumed adventurer in some classical sense, but beautifully does Doug Moench show that the super-hero can face conflict from the inside and that these characters as concepts can really say much about us. He provides Moon Knight with the three identities of Jake Lockley, Steven Grant, and Marc Spector and pits them against each other to show the inability to choose an idea of a life.  Marc Spector, assuming that is the real, base identity of the character, makes choices as to what role he is playing at different moments. Is he Lockley or Grant? That is up to Spector, or is it? The identities seems to almost dictate themselves as each role has its own abilities, and according to what needs done Spector has to assume the specific roles. It is like he does not even have the choice because for the character the job of Moon Knight needs done, and the job of Moon Knight needs done because the character is driven toward a sense of wanting better for himself.

Take a look at the character’s origin: a former mercenary hired by a committee of men to make a hit on a werewolf (man). The character was a villain, and Marc Spector knows this about himself. That is why he becomes Moon Knight; Moon Knight is Spector’s opportunity to be something better and not just a soldier working for pay. Being Moon Knight brings about a sense of mission and higher calling. He is still a soldier, but he is a soldier concerned about ideals rather than self. Except Marc Spector does not always go away. “Night Born Ten Years Gone” is a great example of this as Marc’s brother, Randall, basically goes on a killing spree because of the wrong done to him by Marc Spector. This is the past catching up with the character, and it is a past of violence and wrong that he cannot escape. Marc Spector, and the old life he used to live, is a part of him – it IS him – and it only brings problems as Randall’s free-for-all leads to the stabbing of Marlene, Moon Knight/Steven Grant’s lady.

Really that is only one of example of many to suggest Marc Spector’s restlessness with himself. Look back to “Countdown to Dark” once more as Moon Knight defeats Lupinar, The Wolf by killing him. Lupinar does aid in this as he does throw himself upon the sword, but the act of that occurrence even being written suggests the troubled past Spector cannot escape. The blood spill and reaction by Moon Knight, “I see. But I don’t want to,” says to me that the character knows who he is at heart, the mercenary, but he does not want to be that. Even the way “Night Born Ten Years Gone” ends continues this trend as Moon Knight cannot save his brother Randall who ends up impaled by a tree. The true, classic super-hero would have saved the villain, allowing him to be punished accordingly, but Moon Knight does not save Randall. He lets him die. It is sort of this weird takeaway for the character. He tries to be the good, blue-blooded American hero, and for the most part does an alright job, but at the very end of these missions his hopes of saving the day are ripped away from him as the blood is spilled and he is reminded of his questionable past.

It is this idea of not being able to escape from who you are, no matter how much you desire to be someone else. That to me is Moon Knight. The villain who wants to be the hero. I think there is certainly an element of a man who does not know what he wants, but the ultimate point of Moon Knight is facing the truth of who you are.

A very Marvel idea, if I may say.

Doug Moench lays this all out in six back-up stories, and he completely defines his character, taking him from two-dimensional villain to 3D bag of internal struggle. Moon Knight was no longer a throwaway.

Cover of HULK! Magazine #13

And how about Bill Sienkiewicz? I, with my ability as a writer, do not even have the vocabulary of words to express how I actually feel about his work here. For one, it is early Sienkiewicz where he is clearly channeling Neal Adams. I think anyone can say that; it is not hard. I can add though that I feel this stage of Sienkiewicz is actually perfect for these stories because they fit that idea of the traditional look and feel. Ok, maybe Neal Adams is not so traditional of a comic book artist. His work was a game changer, and it certainly carries its own identity. When compared to the Sienkiewicz we now know and love though, Adams is certainly more traditional. I just like how the styling of the artwork goes along with the styling of Moench’s writing: traditional yet subtly more. Because of HULK! magazine’s printing privileges, as it was in “SUPER COLOR” which was proudly stated on the covers, the artwork carries with it a bit more depth and life. The work has shadows, and as simple as that may sound, it adds a lot. It may look traditional at first, but the shadows bring out a bit more. They bring out the questions and the grayness – a point certainly mirrored by Marc Spector’s own character.

Moon Knight was not guaranteed a long running shot. The character was designed as a throwaway, not necessary destined to have his whole story told. But the chance was offered, and Doug Moench seized the moment and gave his character purpose. Looking on it now, The HULK! stories had to be right otherwise who knows where the character may have ended up?  Who knows if Moench and Sienkiewicz would have gotten together? Who knows if anyone would care about this character?

Luckily, The HULK! stories are well-crafted. Some of my favorite comics, to be honest.

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02/12/2011 · 2:44 AM

It’s a Good Time

Moon Knight art from Alex Maleev

Yes it is. As someone who holds a strong appreciation for the Moon Knight character, right now is a great time to be a comic book reader. For quite a while his presence was either lacking or not high quality, but it seems like that is all about to change. Marvel is pushing, putting forth their best efforts to put the man of jet and silver in the forefront.

I could not be anymore excited.

I never really hold that much affinity for certain comic book characters. I tend to not read books specifically to just see what characters are up to that particular month. To me, super-hero characters tend to act more as bodies for concepts, and it is the creative talent behind the character that which matters. The character is fictional (obviously), but what a writer or artist can say with a character is not. Super-heroes, especially the casts of the Marvel and DC Universes, work as great, modern day myths, providing fine creative folk opportunity to explore themes not so fantastic on the surface. The capes and cowls provide a dress and harness life’s large ideas and bring them down in a form fit to work in a story. That is usually the way I look at super-heroes. They are characters, but more importantly devices, and writers that understand that tend to produce if not great, then at least interesting comic books.

Moon Knight kind of breaks that mold for me though. While he is very much the shell for a set of ideas, I do read the character for the character’s sake. His character is one I will gladly check in on, and I have read many bad Moon Knight comics just because he was featured in them. I mean, I’m not total “fanboy” about the character, complaining if the costume doesn’t match or if Khonshu pops up or not, but I do buy his various series or appearances like a “fanboy.” When I consider why, I think it all just goes back to when I first found Moon Knight. As a reader, I was living in a world where Spider-man and the Fantastic Four were the “be all, end all.”  These characters, these concepts so “super-heroy” with their spandex suits, powers, catch phrases and wild cast of villains. My reading of only these types of comics was a version of a sheltered, conservative lifestyle. I knew nothing else, and comic books only held that specific visual idea of Spider-man and the FF. Then came a specific issue of Ultimate Spider-man, seventy-nine (79), and gracing the final page in full splash art glory was a character not steeped in the bright blue and red hues of costume attire. Instead, he carried shadows, and his first act before my eyes was his defeat of Spider-man. When I think back to that moment, it was actually pretty meta. One character knocking out the other for my attention. It was sort of a shift in my comic book world view. Moon Knight showed up and opened the door, and ever since I have always found him a character that strikes my interest. For me, he carries this vibe of mystery and and this persona of cool. It is hard to ignore, especially when his actual visual look is considered.

I have carried this enjoyment since then, checking in on all incarnations of the character. For a while, it was simply for the “he’s my favorite” motivation, but in the last year I have really begun to appreciate the character on a whole new level. Moon Knight, all the way back to his origin, is the character so trying to do good. Marc Spector is the man with the questionable instincts and history, but he so wants to be a hero, to be something beyond human. He can never quite achieve that though, and at times the character must face what he truly is inside. I look at that, and I see such a universal concept. We are all Marc Spector. Everyone wants to be someone they are not, forgetting all of their personal faults and leaving behind the earthy shackles of humanity. His character, in such a Marvel way, represents that, and I feel like so many overlook it, labeling Moon Knight simply as “Marvel’s Batman” or a character only suitable for crime stories. Yes, he does work great on a crime story level, but Moon Knight is also much more and his concept can work in many settings. It just takes a skilled writer.

Moon Knight and Cast by Bill Sienkiewicz

Now comes Brian Michael Bendis: a writer who has produced many enjoyable comics, and oddly enough introduced me to Moon Knight. Marvel’s A-game is coming to my favorite character, and from the interviews I have read Bendis’ take looks to really work. I cannot say for certain because the book is months away, but the sole concept of Moon Knight playing “The Avengers” and creating new personas to act as Wolverine or Spider-man is so true to the character. Yes, at the surface it does feel like a very fresh take, but when you look at it it hits the core. Moon Knight is still playing hero and being someone else. Bendis’ “pitch”, his take alone sells to me that the man understands the character. Plus, he looks to also add to the character, putting him in a new setting and taking a step further. How could I ask for more? Oh yeah, Alex Maleev is drawing it. I know Maleev says he does not want to do Sienkiewicz’s Moon Knight, but I cannot help but look at his art so far and see a homage to Bill. An homage that also still feels very Maleev. That is fucking awesome.

I have appreciated the character since 2006, and since 2006 I have been scoffed at for feeling any appreciation. The original stuff usually gets cred, but anything new usually sees flack. Most of it deserves so (except for Charlie Huston’s first arc, “The Bottom”), but I still grow tired of the internet putting Moon Knight down. He is not “Marvel’s Batman.” Honestly, he is one of the most interesting Marvel characters, up there with Daredevil in my opinion. Now is a chance for people to really see that. Marvel is putting two A-listers on this character, and they are putting forth effort to market and create real excitement. I don’t know if this will happen again in such a way with Moon Knight. At least not for a long while. I am sure plenty will still complain about this book and see Moon Knight as nothing significant, but I honestly don’t give a fuck. This, in an odd sense, is a dream come true comic book for me, and I am going to enjoy every last second of it. For ever how many issues are published, I will be talking about this book, even if in some shocking way it sucks (I really doubt it though). I will also live in the build up to the series by re-reading all the old stuff, soaking up all the glory and interesting failure that is Moon Knight. I’m sure further writing will take place up this very blog.

I am a Moon Knight FAN, and I am damn proud. May 2011, I await you.

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