Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Greg Smallwood
Colourist: Jordie Bellaire
Editor: Jake Thomas
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $3.99

 

Moon Knight #1 is an enigma wrapped in a straitjacket. Marc Spector/Moon Knight finds himself in an insane asylum, terrorized by two orderlies. “They probably have enough drugs in you to put a horse in a coma,” says fellow inmate Bertrand Crawley.

If that wasn’t bad enough in Moon Knight #1 Marc keeps getting cryptic messages from Moon god Khonshu, who tells him he is about to be reborn and that without his true Moon Knight face he can’t see reality. Dr. Emmet has a different reality to offer: that Marc has been an orphan at the asylum since age 12 and that Moon Knight is his fantasy illusion.

Although the conceit of protagonists struggling to determine reality is an old trope, in Moon Knight #1 it’s handled thoughtfully and challenges not only Marc but the reader as well.

Moon Knight has a history of being drawn by stylistic fine artists, and Greg Smallwood is a welcome addition, incorporating some of the best use of white space seen in some time. Jordie Bellaire’s coloring expertly differentiates between realities, and even in dark area chooses attractive shades.

Long-time Moon Knight readers expect funky, off-the-wall stories and Moon Knight #1 should satisfy. And Moon Knight #1 is accomplished in a way  allowing new readers access to the character.

Future issues of Moon Knight #1 will hopefully continue to take the reader somewhere new.

 

Reviewer: Joe Lovece
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker