Today is a sad day from a wonderful issue. I’ll get to why it’s sad in a moment as I really want to talk about the sixth book in a series I really hope you’ve all been picking up. In the latest issue of ‘Moon Knight,” we have Warren Ellis once again at his peak giving us some great views of Moon Knight, a new incarnation of a classic villain, and really just a great grasp on how the new villain comes together. As always, Declan Shalvey just blows it out of the water with the art and I cannot wait to see whatever he works on next because artistically this is something beautiful to look at.

With each issue being a stand alone story that delves into different ways of story telling, we have a chance of perspective here. Instead of primarily following Mr. Spectre, we instead are following Detective Ryan Trent. Who is Trent you might ask? Well, Trent is a man that is shown to have been verbally put down his entire life. When his boss tells him he’s worthless and sends him to just follow this non-cop’s lead, he instantly hates Mr. Spectre. It’s a hate that quickly turns to obsession and in a way that makes sense as we see his back story.

It isn’t hard for him to figure out that he’s really Moon Knight and from there things get a little wonky. We really get a good look at a disturbed individual here. Someone who wants to not only kill Moon Knight, but replace him in order to be the hero of the story, the city, and prove his worth in the eyes of his co-workers.

Clearly he’s full on bonkers. However, the way he pursues Mr. Knight is interesting as his own little psychosis could in some ways be compared to how Spectre has been in various points of his life. As he slowly works on luring his prey to the eventual confrontation between the two, your eyes will be glued to each panel. In fact, in order to confront his now sworn enemy, he feels that the only way to do so is to become Moon Knight’s polar opposite and dons the mantle of one of his oldest enemies.

At the beginning of the review I said this was a sad day. Why is that you may ask? Well, from the beginning it was announced that Ellis and Shalvey were only planned to be on the ‘Moon Knight’ title for six issues and that means this closes out their run. They’ve really come up with a fitting perspective on the protector of night travelers and I’m going to hate to see them go. I really hope that Brian Wood and Greg Smallwood can carry the torch when they take over in the next issue as they have big shoes to fill. Ellis and Shalvey I’m not sure if you read reviews of your work but if you do, I’d like to personally thank you for coming up with a take on a character that is long overdue and I hope your vision continues going forward.

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MOON KNIGHT #6
Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Declan Shalvey