Moon Knight By Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev - Vol. 1

Item arrived in excellent condition. Thank you very much

Great book.

Nice to have a different spin. Slightly darker but touch of humour.

Having only read Charlie Huston and David Finch's take on Moon Knight in "The Bottom", I didn't have the best opinion of Moon Knight - a schizophrenic drug addict saved from death by an Egyptian God and tasked with saving lives dressed in white decorated with Ancient Egyptian paraphernalia. The character seemed contrived and Moon Knight/Marc Spector was too intensely troubled to be relatable or sympathetic. Enter Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. While Maleev is arguably Finch's equal in art (though the two have different styles), Bendis is the best writer Marvel has and easily more entertaining than Huston.In Volume 1, Marc Spector has relocated to Los Angeles and become a TV producer of a show based on his life until Captain America, Spider-man and Wolverine appear and remind him of his duties as Moon Knight. MK begins his fight against this mysterious LA Kingpin and comes into possession of Ultron's head. But Spector's mental issues remain untreated and who's to say what's real and what's not?While I thought Bendis made Spector infinitely more likeable and funny, I'm still not convinced of MK as a superhero. It seems he can just about hold his own in a fight and that's about it. His get-up seems a bit silly and his own personal quest is obscure and unconvincing. The villains he fights are pretty laughable and when he finally confronts the LA Kingpin, it's underwhelming mostly because MK is able to defeat him quickly and easily without any trouble.That said, it's not a bad story. It reads a bit like a LA Noir detective story with Moon Knight as protagonist and definitely has its moments. Having a superhero who's actually diagnosed as crazy is quite unique (though Bendis makes the salient point that all superheroes are crazy for even putting on a costume and doing what they do) and affords Bendis narrative texture you won't find in his work on Spiderman or Daredevil. But this is only half the story with the arc concluding in Volume 2 so reading just Volume 1 is a bit unsatisfying. It's a good start to a difficult character to bring into the mainstream but Bendis and Maleev have made a fine effort to do just that.

It was the first time I had picked up a comic by Bendis and I was very pleasently surprised. It sets up Moon Knight as a conflicted C-list superhero who is determined to prove himself as California's protector to his team mates (Captain America, Wolverine and Spiderman), which are fighting alongside him to stop a powerfull and mysterious villian from becomeing the crime kingpin of Los Angeles. Or so he thinks, in reality they are by-products of his schizophrenia which is revealed to the readers quite early on. So as it turns out he is just imagining his much needed help. That is until he blows the cover of ex-avenger Echo who he eventually persuades to help him.The book also touches quite nicely on Moon Knight's personal life as TV producer Marc Spector. Complimented nicely by Alex Maleev's unique art tyle it is the best graphic novel I have read in a while, which is quite an acomplishment given that I just finished reading Batman: Night of the Owls arc and Venom: Circle of Four.Though this isn't one to pick up if you buy comics for over the top action or shocking revelations. If you want a more gritty and realistic take on comics, this might just be for you.

I read a library copy of the paperback.There are some rave reviews around about this collection and with just two volumes in the series it looks an enticing product.I like Moon Knight, there really is some potential with the character but he’s been allowed to coast along since the glory days of Bill Sienkiewicz.I did not hold out much hope for a Brian Bendis written series, I’m not a fan of his writing.Pause for spoiler.The angle here is that multi-secret identity Moon Knight is actually multi-personality and he hears voices…which manifest as heroes Captain America, Spider-Man and Wolverine.If these heroes represented different aspects of Me’s psyche then I could accept this angle – Cap for sensible advice, Spidey for a humorous viewpoint perhaps and Wolverine for violent reaction or something.Perhaps they could manifest as each a side to MK and perhaps his own different personalities and that could build an interesting ‘support-cast’ in his own head/life.It doesn’t pan out like this.Bendis writes each hero as Bendis writes every hero, bland with an attempt at one-line quips.The gimmick is squandered.Return from spoiler.The art is, due to some rave reviews I have read- I presume – an acquired taste…as I don’t like it. It’s vague, scribbled and scratchy and I do not understand the appeal.It is also nothing like the cover of this volume which intrigued me.An undercurrent of an Ultron plot is supposed to blossom into a link with ‘Age of Ultron’ – I did not see a necessary link and I’m not remotely interested in picking up the second volume of this series to see if it does indeed develop anywhere.Someone call for Warren Ellis ….