Quarter Bin 103 "Moon Knight"

Moon Knight #4, 7-10, 13-17 (Marvel)
from August 2014-September 2015

So, inspired by Jeff Lemire's recently concluded Moon Knight, and remembering I'd once read the last issue of Brian Michael Bendis's run, too, and last year so other back issues (I could check to see how much I may have duplicated my reading, but...nah), I decided to have a look at some older stuff, from the likes of Warren Ellis (I figured if anyone was comparable to Lemire it'd be him), Brian Wood (I have a spotty history with him), and Cullen Bunn (not the biggest fan).

And Greg Smallwood, by the way.  He illustrates the Wood issues.  It's clear he hadn't yet developed the intricacy of what he'd later bring to Lemire's run, but it's still fun having that continuity.

Of course none of them were ever going to do exactly what Lemire later did.  That would kind of diminish Lemire's work, I think.  But there's stuff here and there. I mean, it's the same character, who long ago developed a reputation for multiple personas. 

Ellis has Declan Shalvey on art.  Shalvey has kind of become a big deal recently.  Bunn doesn't have anyone with name value doing his run, and he has the least distinguished storytelling, the stuff you'd expect from someone who has a far more generalized concept of the character, who recognizes the trappings but can't quite exploit them. 

It was interesting, reading more Moon Knight.  That's about all I can say about these issues, seeing where the character came from immediately before Lemire.

Moon Knight #14 (Marvel)

The final issue of Jeff Lemire's Moon Knight sort of follows its own logic.  I struggled a little to find resolution with it, but here it is:

Lemire originally set out to explore Marc Spector's state of mind.  He started the series with Spector in an asylum, once and for all questioning his sanity.  Subsequent issues explored Spector's various identities, while distancing him from Khonshu, the Egyptian moon god who made him a superhero. 

(In a lot of ways, Moon Knight is more a DC kind of character than he ever was Marvel.)

But then Lemire decided, if there was to be any kind of resolution, Khonshu had to come back.  The issue details Spector's decision that he doesn't have to confront Khonshu at all.  All he has to do is quit giving Khonshu so much power over him.  If this were any other writer, Khonshu could just as easily say, "It ain't that easy."  He'd exert his control over Moon Knight all over again, the way he did in the first arc.

But the thing is, Lemire's Spector is defined by the relationship between his separate identities, how this is something he's had since he was a kid, and has gradually found some use for, especially as a superhero, where compartmentalizing comes in handy.  He never had to deny himself, but rather finally become comfortable. 

And so he's able to take Khonshu's power over him away.  It really is that easy.  Does that solve all of Spector's problems?  Well, no.  But at least he no longer has a moon god usurping his sense of control, even if he isn't always in control. 

Greg Smallwood's art, as it has been throughout the series, is sensational.  It used to be, I loved the covers first and foremost.  I mean, it's kind of a Saga thing.  But the interior art has become more impactful, I think. 

One of my all-time favorite creative runs.

Moon Knight #1, 2, 3 (Marvel)

Moon Knight is one of those odd Marvel characters that has been looking to define his niche for years.  When Deadpool showed up and stole the spotlight from a lot of what had made Moon Knight stand out, Marvel started looking elsewhere.  There have been a lot of recent attempts to find it.

Well, look no further.  I've been a fan of Jeff Lemire for a while now, so it's no surprise that he's the one who figured it out.  The gimmick about Moon Knight is that he's probably insane.  Lemire takes that pretty seriously.

In these opening issues, Lemire has the hero, in his most basic guise, Marc Spector, locked in an asylum, because his Moon Knight adventures are one massive delusion.  The Egyptian god Khonshu, however, suggests to him that madness may not be a handicap, but an asset, because it leaves Marc in the unique position of interceding in a pending war with the gods that have lost their ability to directly interact with humans, except Seth, who of course is planning nothing good.

It's kind of like the Marvel version of Warren Ellis's Supreme: Blue Rose, which similarly took advantage of a muddled mythology to produce something great.  The art is in the best Marvel tradition of allowing low-profile characters to have an indy look (this time courtesy of Greg Smallwood).  There's every indication that Lemire has been granted all the leeway he needs to give Moon Knight the story he's always deserved.

I'm assuming all the supporting characters who aide Marc will be familiar to long-time Moon Knight readers, of which I am not.  I've been a dabbler.  This is a character who even got the Brian Michael Bendis treatment, and even that didn't leave an impression on fans.  So in its desperation, Marvel turned to Lemire, perhaps one of the few writers who could have finally figured out that the answer was there all along.  Lemire is fearless.  Of course he'd put Marc in an asylum.

Which makes it all the more rewarding when, in later issues, he's once again running around in that neat white sport suit variant that makes him look like the deranged Spirit.  Perfect.  Is all this in Marc's head?  Probably not.  But it could be.  That's why you have a writer like Jeff Lemire taking the helm.  Because he just might be crazy enough to give Marc Spector the opposite of a fairy tale ending...