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.

Book Review: Avengers: Endless Wartime by W. Ellis et al.

Avengers: Endless Wartime written by Warren Ellis, illustrated by Mike McKone, with color art by Jason Keith with Rain Beredo

The Avengers assemble to investigate new drone technology that is being used in a Middle East civil war. The tech has American insignia but is manufactured on the Norwegian island of Skrekklandet. Captain America remembers trying to take out a Nazi experimental (i.e. occult) weapons factory on that island. The factory exploded and sank into the ice. Turns out Thor happened to fight an Asgardian baddie there at the same time, causing the factory to sink and the evil to be buried. But not gone, as it turns out. And the new hybrid Nazi/Asgardian weapons aren't just in the Middle East. S.H.I.E.L.D. has some stored in New Jersey, probably as a fail-safe in case the Avengers go rogue. Thor, Cap, and the rest of the gang investigate and fight to end the threat at home and abroad. Mostly they just fight.

The story is interesting and leads to discussions on the nature of war and heroism. It's not too deep but is certainly more than enough to raise this above the level of a mindless action caper. The art isn't my favorite. The expressions on characters' faces don't always match their actions and words and in general it looks average.

Book Review: X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse Vol. 3 by S. Lobell et al.

X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse Volume 3 Omega written by Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Jeph Loeb, Warren Ellis, and others

See my review of Volume One here and Volume Two here.

Magneto's grand scheme to reverse history is coming to fruition. Nightcrawler brings the mutant Destiny to New York to confirm Bishop's claim that the alternate, proper history has Charles Xavier alive and Apocalypse no where in sight (so, a better world). Colossus has freed his sister from a horrible prison in the Rockies and brings her to help get Bishop back in time so he can prevent Charles's death. Gambit has gotten a piece of the M'kraan Crystal also needed to travel back in time and to other timelines. A lot of other plot lines are added to keep things exciting.

While the book does move quickly to an expected conclusion, the story still feels like it is padded with a lot of unnecessary subplots. Sure, they add color and let the reader see re-imagined X-Men and have some cool action sequences. But they could easily be dropped with hardly any consequences for the main story.

The art is a bit grungier than usual comic art and is interesting for a while but gets a little wearisome for me. About half of the X-Men have tattoos around their eyes or wild, unkempt hair, which is supposed to make them look edgier, but looks more like a fad from the 1990s (when the comics were written). I understand the choices narratively but don't find them enjoyable.

For a big epic sprawling story The Age of Apocalypse ultimately feels rather ho-hum. It lacks any great moments or character insights. The drama is as compelling as most "fix the time stream" stories, which I usually find not too compelling. All the big sacrifices people make in the alternate time seem less weighty when that time is basically erased by the end of the story.

Overall, this is an average series. There is a fourth volume with supplemental material and stories but I've already had too many extras, so I won't be reading number four.

Book Review: X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse Vol. 2 by S. Lobdell et al.

X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse Volume 2 Reign written by Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Jeph Loeb, Warren Ellis, and others

See my review of Volume One here.

The saga of a world without Charles Xavier continues. Magneto has taken his place as head of the X-Men and is leading a desperate fight against Apocalypse, a mutant who has taken over most of the Western hemisphere. Apocalypse is either recruiting or destroying all the mutants in the Americas. What regular humans are left he uses as slaves or as genetic fodder for creating more mutants. Or he just "culls" them. One mutant, Bishop, is from the normal timeline where Xavier didn't die and he is helping Magneto craft a plan to restore history. So some X-Men are seeking out a special telepath while Nightcrawler is headed to the hidden refuge Avalon (which is apparently the Antarctic Savage Land from the normal timeline). Jean Grey and Wolverine work with the European humans to make a plan to contain or defeat Apocalypse. The Europeans' solution is to nuke Manhattan (Apocalypse's headquarters). Jean wants to warn whoever's left, but can she get there in time? Can the humans' plan come off? These questions and what happened with the rest of the non-X-Men heroes are looked at in this issue. Age of Apocalypse runs for another two books, so nothing is resolved yet, but the plot is still intriguing enough to keep me reading.