Pick of the Week
What did the
iFanboy
community think?
Pulls
Art by Alex Maleev
Colors by Matthew Wilson
Letters by Cory Petit
Cover by Alex Maleev, Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, Paul Mounts, Humberto Ramos, Edgar Delgado & Mark Texiera
Size: pages
Price: 3.99
It’s been almost two years since the last time we had a new Moon Knight book, and that issue, Vengeance of The Moon Knight #1, was my Pick of the Week. So what the hell, let’s make it two for two.
This was a bizarre week in comics. I can’t remember a week this strange in a long time. Why was it bizarre? Well, I only had 7 books, and I’m pretty sure that DC decided to celebrate spring finally arriving in New York City by not publishing anything this week.
*Rimshot*
Weird, wild stuff, kids.
Anyway. Where was I? Oh, right — Moon Knight #1.
Here’s the thing: while I only had 7 books to read this week, they all had some kind of merit. They all had something I could point to as good or enjoyable or even interesting. But, and I’m being honest with you here because I feel like we’re friends and friends should always be honest with each other, nothing I read this week blew my doors off. Maybe it’s because I just saw Thor and it was fantastic and really so much better than anything I actually read this week. That’s certainly possible. And in the old Wild West days here at iFanboy I probably would have made Thor my Pick of the Week. But, alas, now we have standards, and ethics, and staff meetings.
This place used to be about the music.
Anyway. Where was I, again? Oh, right — Moon Knight #1.
So while nothing that I read really blew my doors off, how did I end up with Moon Knight #1 as the Pick of the Week? Simple, really. Of all the books I read this week, it was the one that made me most want to know what was going to happen next. And that, as we like to say around here, is the sign of a good comic book. In single issue format, comic books are serialized storytelling: they tell their tales in short chapters released at regular intervals. In order to do their job they have to get you to come back for that next chapter. And if they’re doing their job really well they don’t just entice you to come back because of inertia or because the story has become part of your routine, they get you to want to come back.
It’s pretty simple, really: Moon Knight #1 got me excited for Moon Knight #2 because of crazy Marc Spector.
As I said the last time I made a Moon Knight book the Pick of the Week, I have a strange affinity for the character and I always seem to find myself giving his new books a try. I don’t know why. Noted smart guy Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over (like buying each new Moon Knight book) and expecting different results (like having the book not become drop-worthy soon after it starts). So maybe Marc Spector isn’t the only crazy one here.
Anyway. What was I talking about, again? Oh, right — Moon Knight #1.
As the story opens, we learned that Moon Knight AKA Marc Spector is now living in Los Angeles, CA and he has turned television producer. He has turned his life into a syndicated action adventure show called Legend of the Khonshu and it is apparently a big success. But it’s not all just-off-the-bus wannabe starlets and waist deep piles of cocaine for Marc Spector, no, The Avengers are in town to spoil his TV producer fun. Which Avengers? Captain America, Spider-Man, and Wolverine to be precise. They tell Moon Knight that the criminals of the Marvel Universe have finally started to wise-up and realizing that just about every major super hero lives in the New York City area, they’re all pulling Don Drapers and heading out to the coast to set up shop in a town with a much lower per capita rate of do-gooders in tights. The Avengers would like Moon Knight, since he is also an Avenger, to take care of this problem and drive the criminal element back to where it belongs: New York City.
(Most of The Avengers have sweet rent-controlled apartments that they don’t want to give up.)
So that’s what Moon Knight sets out to do, and in this issue he starts out by busting up Mr. Hyde’s illegal dealings down on the docks. These illegal dealings involve selling an old, deactivated Ultron body (boy, those are starting to show up all over the place, aren’t they?) to some mysterious, unknown, super-powered bad guy. The deal broken up, The Avengers all gather around to congratulate Moon Knight on a job well done.
**SPOILER ALERT**
Only, there are no Avengers. No Captain America. No Spider-Man. No Wolverine. It’s all in Moon Knight’s head.
Now, I know that some people probably predicted this twist, but as I’ve pretty much stayed away form all advance information on this book I was totally bamboozled by the last page reveal. And that made me want to read more.
The creative team of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alex Maleev are certainly no strangers to each other. They are responsible for the most acclaimed run on Daredevil in recent memory and are also currently working together on the creator owned series, Scarlet. Bendis is in fine Bendis form here, and you get pretty much what you expect from him. He knows Hollywood really well so all of the industry talk in the beginning of the issue rang true. Alex Maleev is a trickier subject. When he worked on Daredevil he was easily one of my favorite artists. His current work on Scarlet is very photo and (seemingly) Photoshop heavy and it is so counter to my tastes that I had to drop the book. The same thing happened on Bendis and Maleev’s last super hero collaboration: Spider-Woman. With Moon Knight, Maleev seems to have returned to a style of art more similar to what he used for Daredevil. Sure, it appears that there is still photo work going on, but there is also a whole lot of drawing here too. Yes, there are a few panels here and there that are a bit wonky (most notably with Captain America) but, considering how I felt about the art in Scarlet and Spider-Woman, overall I was pretty happy with the look of Moon Knight #1.
I don’t think that I’ve lasted more than three issues into each of the last two Moon Knight series. If anyone can get me to hang around a bit longer with crazy Marc Spector, it’s probably Bendis and Maleev.
Conor Kilpatrick
Hopefully THIS series will deal with the dry cleaning bills.
conor@ifanboy.com
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I’m willing to try this in trade, like any Bendis book now. Good review though Conor. (Although I gotta admit I saw the twist coming just on the preview alone)
Now I just have the harsh wait of FCBD to get my stack..
I don’t think Josh is holding anymore.
-J.
I didn’t find this issue very good at all. The art was pretty bad in spots, not only just ugly looking, but not matching the dialogue very well. And the story, while fine, does not intrigue me enough to continue with the series. Too bad, I was really pumped for this.
Good. I’m glad to hear it.
OOOOOHHHHH! I get it now.
If this issue is as interesting as Conor’s review I’ll go back and pick it up.
Really excited to see this as POTW, cant wait to get my issue later today!
i love a good Carson reference
That is weird wild stuff
YOU ARE CORRECT SIR!
POTW already? It’s not even 4 PM Central time. Light week?
I knew this was going to be the pick!
well i’m looking forward to this now moreso than before. Glad to hear that its worth a purchase…
After reading this issue it made me think to myself “I could care less about what happens next.” This was my first Moon Night book and my last.
I’ll wait for the Trade. Truth be told though I shouldn’t judge because I’ve never been much of a Moon Knight kinda guy. Good review Conor.
I actually enjoyed Charlie Huston’s run on Moon Knight from a few years ago, and I thought VoMK got off to a pretty good start (though I dropped pretty quickly after Scarecrow showed up). I have to admit, I did not see the “twist” coming at the end, and I thought it was pretty well done. I’m on for a few to see how this goes.
I’m a pretty big Moon Knight fan, and usually buy his seemingly endless string of titles. What is this, the 6th monthly book? (There was Moon Knight, then Fist of Khonsu: Moon KNight, then Marc Specter: Moon Knight, then Moon Knight, then Vengeance of Moon Knight, now yet another Moon Knight. Plus there were a few mini series in between the third and fourth monthlies……) I have read 4 of those 5 series, didn’t pick up the last one, but I will definitely get this one. Love the character, the creative team is great, sounds like a winner to me.
Was it just me or did this not seem like Maleev’s best work? Something about it just bothered me, and I really couldn’t place it until about halfway through the book. I think the biggest reason was that the pages in Moon Knight were white, and (I think) pretty much all of his Daredevil work was on black. Did anyone else get that “this just isn’t quite right” vibe from it? Or am I as crazy as Moon Knight?
My first shop guy’s brother (aka the nice owner who was never there) got me into the (at first) Finch drawn series. The 3rd and 6th issues made me fall in love with the character and while I’m worried the twist is going to push out Spector’s other persona’s I am willing to see where it goes. I liked Vengeance’s first issue but budget won out on that choice.
Great pick! I was a big fan of Huston’s run on the book, but not so much of Vengeance of the Moon Knight. I’ve always been a Moon Knight guy, and was excited when I heard that Bendis was taking a stab at the book.
Great week all around; the rocket raccoon back up in Annihilators was also especially awesome. Rocket, and Groot need a n ongoing!
@kennyg nah, i read the review and i don’t think there was anything about a light week
Correct me if im wrong, but there’s precedence at iFanboy for making a movie the pick of the week right? you guys used to do all sorts of crazy stuff back before the podcast. Weren’t all the Civil War tie ins once jointly POW?
Also did any get the vibe that this Moon Knight series is like a Marvel U response to Cowboy Ninja Viking?
@mikegraham6 nah, i read the review and i don’t think there was anything about making a movie pick of the week
Is it possible that the way Maleev drew Wolverine and Cap (which I agree got increasingly wonky the more panels they were in) was a clue that they were figments of Marc’s imagination and victims of his spotty memory? Or am I giving everyone involved too much credit?
@conor prove me right, please.
i liked this issue. Set up what could be an interesting story and i definitely want to find out more. I also appreciated Maleev’s art going for more of a sketchy style and leaving all the photos and photoshop filters at home. The last page reveal was great.
My only gripe is that in this one issue (and i know its early) but i didn’t get a sense at all that this took place in Los Angeles. The settings and backdrops could have been anywhere. If not for a sliver of a the Hollywood sign, there would have been no indication, even the skyline was generic and incorrect. Like the other Marvel books you get a feeling for NYC and i hope they do something like that in this book, especially since they make such a big deal about the location. I’d LOVE to see Moon Knight on the gritty streets of Hollywood, LBC or South Central.
@mikegraham6 The link to the Batman Begins pick is in the post. And yes, Ron did pick “Civil War Tie-Ins” as his POTW during that time. I think edward is just being fresh.
@PaulMontgomery Damn you, Paul Montgomery.
@stuclach @paulmontgomery thanks
I thought the issue was pretty mediocre. I’m a little ashamed of myself in saying Deadpool annual may have been the most entertaining book this week.
I was pretty gled for the twist at the end of the book, becasue the “continuity error” with Cap made sense. At one point I found myself thinking if Bendis wasn’t up to date with his own continuity.
@Jimski yeah i agree, also explains why wolvie is taller than usual.
@BizDaddy Well Mr. Hyde is in this book and in Thunderbolts he is in the Raft, but in Fear Itself the raft gets cut in half so I don’t think they really give a care about contemporaneous continuity.
I missed the twist on first read. I’m so dumb.
the twist made me giddy, definitely gonna stick with this book for the forseeable future!
I also ended up making this my pick for much the same reasons.
I picked this up after seeing it was POTW and I really enjoyed it, I’m looking forward to the next issue. It’s always nice to find something new and unexpected that is so fun to read, so cheers!
Just finished the first issue. It’s a really strong first issue. I love to see Maleev getting more back to drawing than Photoshopping because his real art is pretty rad. I’m not sure if the wonky Wolvie, Spidey, and Cap are purposeful or him getting used to drawing those heroes free hand again. With a guy of his caliber, I’m going to lean toward purposeful.