Series: Moon Knight
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Greg Smallwood
Color Artist: Jordie Bellaire
Summary from Comixology: “The book you’d be insane to miss! Marc Spector (a.k.a. Moon Knight/Jake Lockley/Steven Grant) has been fighting criminals and keeping New York City safe for years…or has he? When he wakes up in an insane asylum with no powers and a lifetime’s worth of medical records, his whole identity (identities) are called into question. Something is wrong, but is that something Marc Spector himself? Jeff Lemire and rising star Greg Smallwood are calling everything you know about Moon Knight into question.”
There is only one way that I can accurately describe Moon Knight #1, and that with three simple words: “Trippy. As. F–K.” This book really makes you question everything you know about Moon Knight, and I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about the character to begin with. All I know about Marc Spector is what I read in Warren Ellis’ fantastic, albeit brief, run from a couple years ago. I know the basics of the character, but a lot of those core beliefs are stripped away and questioned here in the first issue of Lemire’s run, Welcome to New Egypt: Part 1 of 5.
Jeff Lemire is one of my favorite writers in the industry at the moment, and I think his weird style fits the feel of the character perfectly. I am also really looking forward to Lemire (hopefully) doing some art for this book, because not only does his writing match the style, but his art would be beautifully trippy with his character. The issue seems like a beautiful homage to “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”, where Marc is stuck in a Mental Institute and is trying to escape, and one of the characters that Marc meets straight reminds me of Jack Nicholson as Mac. The deeper you get into the book, the more “confusing” it gets. I unfortunately can’t quit describe how it’s confusing without giving spoilers, but trust me, you’ll want to read this issue.
Greg Smallwood and Jordie Bellaire make a perfect art team for this book, the colors are just fantastic. I wholeheartedly believe that Bellaire is the best colorist in comic books. Smallwood’s linework and attention to detail is just phenomenal. There are multiple pages where a lot of things are happening but it’s still so easy to tell what’s going on, and the splash page towards the end… WOW. It absolutely makes the book worth the price tag. In the summary from Comixology they call Smallwood a “rising star” and this book might have just proven why that’s true.
If you are a fan of Moon Knight, or just looking for a new series to get into, Moon Knight #1 is the book for you. It has everything you could possibly want: Egyptian gods, mental hospitals, shock treatment, corrupt nurses, and Moon Knight just being a complete badass. $4.99 seems like a high cost for a comic, but this first issue convinced me that the series is worth it.
Music Pairing
Remember how I mentioned shock treatment? Well, Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wd777-Iopo