This is the second issue of ‘Moon Knight’ under the guiding hand of Brian Wood and I have to admit, he’s been keeping enough of the style that Warren Ellis had used on the character to keep me interested. While he of course deviates a little by already setting up more clear cut multi-issue plot points, it was still a thrill to read.

While Ellis seemed to push the various aspects of Moon Knight’s personas and have them change by the issue, here we have the first case of multiple personalities popping up in a short period of time. Throughout the issue we see the character call himself by not one, not two, but three different names. In fact, this new revelation to the police that he has been working with so far may have caused a huge rift that will change the game completely that we’ve seen him playing.

The true stand out in this month’s issue was the framing and art of the comic. Greg Smallwood was responsible for a visual treat and his art clearly stood out as we were told the story in a new way. Nearly everything here was done in video from TV to camera phones to drones to security cameras we were given the story played out on screens.

It was fitting that this book takes place so shortly after one of the most horrific events in American history and is set in the Freedom Tower. For how paranoid the world is from the event, combined with how much is recorded from cell phone owners and more, the fact that this was ‘shot’ in its entirety was truly fun.

The villain? Nothing major this time, though the threat of what he could have done would potentially have had long term effects on many civilians in the Marvel Universe. That being said, I truly believe that this tale was being told just to lead us into the next chapter of Moon Knight’s life in New York.

With his split personas he is almost a mixture of Spider-Man and The Punisher and they have both been fighting crime and viewed as criminals for years. Obviously Spider-Man less so but the point remains. I almost hope this would force him to fight crime in another part of the world. Chicago tends to be ignored by super villains but has a long history with both the mob and serial killers, so this locale could be a perfect fit for him. Just a thought Marvel!

Wood and Smallwood have given us a highly entertaining and well put together book. With a unique way to frame and tell their story combined with well written dialogue and a good plot to boot, this is a strong continuation of the new world of ‘Moon Knight’. For anyone who was worried that the book would falter without Ellis at the helm, so far your concern is just as unfounded as mine was. This is still a series worth picking up and is quite easy to enjoy!

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MOON KNIGHT #8
Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Greg Smallwood