Moon Knight #08
Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Greg Smallwood
Colorist: Jordie Diane Bellaire
Publisher: Marvel
As the second issue of the new creative team, I find this to be something of a breaking point for them – so how did they hold up? Pretty damn well, in my personal opinion.
We open up in the midst of a hostage situation at the World Trade Center in this issue, but as opposed to the last hostage situation Moon Knight had to face, this one requires quite a bit more tact. This shift in Moon Knight’s approach/handling of the situation is accompanied by an interesting shift in narrative style – the story is told from multiple points of view, through the lenses of cameras, primarily a newscaster, an NYPD helicopter, Moon Knight’s new “Scarab” bots, an onlooker’s cellphone, and even from the cameras of this issue’s antagonists. While a bold alternative to the more traditional point of views and perspectives we’ve grown accustom to in the series, it’s refreshing to experience the story in this way because it’s more humanizing, and we get to feel more of the situation. Not just the hero pressed against time to beat the bad guy, but the officer having manage the press, the hostage forced against his will to read a terroristic statement, even what this whole ordeal looks like to an “average joe” in an era where everything and anything can be filmed (something of a social commentary, whether on purpose or otherwise). This theme is also utilized in progressing towards the issue’s close, as the new team gears up for a more congruent story than in the prior arc.
This issue ultimately left more doors open than closed, but that may not be too bad considering that Wood is clearly steering away from the more disjointed, episodic nature of the first arc in favor of setting up for bigger gears to be put into motion. This issue also marks a pivotal point, as elements from Ellis’s run are recalled and reevaluated in order to signal that change is coming, and I personally can’t wait.
Artist: Greg Smallwood
Colorist: Jordie Diane Bellaire
Publisher: Marvel
As the second issue of the new creative team, I find this to be something of a breaking point for them – so how did they hold up? Pretty damn well, in my personal opinion.
We open up in the midst of a hostage situation at the World Trade Center in this issue, but as opposed to the last hostage situation Moon Knight had to face, this one requires quite a bit more tact. This shift in Moon Knight’s approach/handling of the situation is accompanied by an interesting shift in narrative style – the story is told from multiple points of view, through the lenses of cameras, primarily a newscaster, an NYPD helicopter, Moon Knight’s new “Scarab” bots, an onlooker’s cellphone, and even from the cameras of this issue’s antagonists. While a bold alternative to the more traditional point of views and perspectives we’ve grown accustom to in the series, it’s refreshing to experience the story in this way because it’s more humanizing, and we get to feel more of the situation. Not just the hero pressed against time to beat the bad guy, but the officer having manage the press, the hostage forced against his will to read a terroristic statement, even what this whole ordeal looks like to an “average joe” in an era where everything and anything can be filmed (something of a social commentary, whether on purpose or otherwise). This theme is also utilized in progressing towards the issue’s close, as the new team gears up for a more congruent story than in the prior arc.
This issue ultimately left more doors open than closed, but that may not be too bad considering that Wood is clearly steering away from the more disjointed, episodic nature of the first arc in favor of setting up for bigger gears to be put into motion. This issue also marks a pivotal point, as elements from Ellis’s run are recalled and reevaluated in order to signal that change is coming, and I personally can’t wait.
A Look Inside
