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Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Book Review: Moon Knight Vol. 1 by W. Ellis et al.

Moon Knight Volume 1: From the Dead written by Warren Ellis and art by Declan Shalvey

Marc Spector was a mercenary who died in Egypt under a statue of the god Khonshu. He came back to life (presumably through the god's influence) and became a vigilante taking the name Moon Knight and an appearance based on the god. Since he's a Marvel character, he was active in New York City. Then he went crazy (is he Spector or is he Khonshu?) and disappeared. This book is about his reappearance in New York. He shows up in all-white garb (a suit with a cloak and a bag-like mask over his head), driving around in a self-driving white limo or flying on a large drone. He investigates very bizarre cases, using his high-tech gadgets and his ancient Egyptian gear to fight crime. This book covers several mysteries he solves.

Except for Moon Knight's presence, the six stories in this book are basically unrelated. He investigates a Tell-Tale Heart mystery and rescues a kidnapped girl a la The Raid. The style is very visual and creative, which I liked. But his character has very little character. The first story explains how he doesn't really have a version of multiple personality disorder, but his problem is that Khonshu has four aspects: Pathfinder, Embracer, Defender, and Watcher of Overnight Travelers. The way Spector behaves, he watches over people who travel at night and he defends them, but those aren't presented as separate identities. The two other aspects don't figure into these stories, so this whole part of his character is left out (or maybe they will show up in subsequent volumes?). Other than the look and theming, he is a generic loner-hero. I had a hard time engaging with him as a character.

Not recommended--I read this hoping to get some grounding going into the television series...I think this was no help at all.

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