Review: ‘Moon Knight: City Of The Dead’ #1 Is A Horrifying Adventure
by Tony Thornley
Moon Knight has fully embraced his role as the protector of those traveling at night. Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1 shows the length he’ll go to accomplish that mission.
David Pepose, Marcelo Ferreira, Jay Leisten, Rochelle Rosenberg, and Cory Petit explore the darkest part of Moon Knight’s mythology.
When a young boy is caught in a crossfire, Marc Spector determines he’ll save him in a way only he can. He descends into the city of the dead. There he finds that this is no simple task. A mad demon has a plan, and Marc has to fight through the souls of those he’s wronged to save a young soul. That’s a tough task for a former hired killer…
Moon Knight stories should be a little bit more violent, with a dose of mythology and a little bit of surrealism. Pepose nails that right out of the gate. He links the story closely with the main series, telling an action tale that fits right at home with most of Marvel’s hard hitting street heroes. Then he twists it into the supernatural, and it takes a horror turn as it does so. Even better, Marc’s character- both his emotional self and his history- are a huge part of the supernatural portion of the second act, rooting it in who he is.
Ferreira and Leisten do some great work here though it starts not the strongest. I do think the first few pages show them getting their feet with the characters, as it’s weaker than the latter half. The anatomy is a little weird, and Moon Knight’s suit is a bit too detailed. But when the story shifts to Marc’s travel to the city of the dead, it clicks. The city is scary, and its inhabitants feel supernatural but still mundane. They play with disconcerting layouts as the villains attack Marc, which makes it work even better, coming to a great conclusion to the issue.
Rosenberg has created a visual language for current Moon Knight stories, so I’m glad she’s here. She gives Mark a white glow that visually sets him apart from everything else on the page. It looks so great. Petit plays a little bit with his bubbles to make the letters pop on the page. I’m not sure why he chose the font color he did with the narration, but otherwise it looks great.
Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1 is available now from Marvel Comics
Overview
I was glad to pick this up. It’s written well, and visually once it gets its footing, it really shines. I’ve lapsed on the main series, and this just makes me want to catch up.
