How is Bendis' MOON KNIGHT Run?

[ChristmasFnatic]

It will be released next month(hardcover). Says it collects 1-12. Is it any good? Bendis is a mixed bag for me, I LOVE his Dark Avengers run, but disliked his later runs like GoTG.

THANKS!

[ed2962]

I was eager when it was first announced then I read the first couple issues and dropped it. The premise is really flawed ( basically because Marc is "crazy" he hallucinates Spidey, Logan, and Capt America talking to him all the time). There was also some nonsense about him trying to start a TV show. There was nothing that grabbed me otherwise so I gave up on it quickly.

[MrKnight]

A great idea and art with a massive flawed story. I’m going to grab for it the collection but it’s reallt average of below average

[Daniel22]

I'd recommend it. Maleev kills it as usual. The multiple voices in Marc's head were interesting. I liked that it was set somewhere besides New York. I did miss his usual supporting cast.
It's Bendis, to me he is extremely consistent. I'd put this behind Dark Avengers (which I also loved) but definitely ahead of GOTG.

[scribbleMind]

Awful if you're a fan of Moon Knight. Probably fine if you aren't.

[Daniel22]

Awful if you're a fan of Moon Knight. Probably fine if you aren't.

I'm a big fan. I really enjoyed it. What didn't you care for? Just curious, I don't run into a ton of fellow Moon Knight fans.

[CraigTheCylon]

Speaking as a big-time Moon Knight devotee and frequent Bendis critic...I think this run's pretty good overall? Do I lose my MK membership card for that?

A lot of the ideas do come off as cringeworthy from the outside: Marc getting into Hollywood just to throw some softball shade at superhero movies, replacing the old personas with duplicates of bigger-name superheroes so the book can pretend to have a starrier cast (and Bendis seemingly can write characters he knows more about) etc. But it mostly holds itself together (maybe not the Hollywood thing, but that's a very minor element overall), with the subcon-heroes working out better than I'd ever expect. Maybe it's just because they work within the same framework as the more traditional Moon Knight mental trinity, going from Steve/Jake/Marc to Cap/Spidey/Logan (in layman's terms: the respectable one, the loose-collared joker and the ugly violent core) doesn't feel like a huge leap. And the theme of MK trying to play nice and fit in with the hero elite is played out smartly, too. It's also got a surprisingly well-handled romance, a properly intimidating take on its primary villain, an appearance from DANSEN MACABRE, one of my personal favourite barely-D-list characters, and Alex Maleev's art is moody and noirishly expressive throughout.

But what really makes it work for me, in ways that Bendis books usually don't, is that it's paced like a limited series should be. (I don't recall if it was only meant to be 12 issues all along, or just got cancelled there) Bendis has a well-earned rep as the king of decompression, and will drag out the thinnest of plot threads for years of meandering books full of empty talking-heads chatter, but Moon Knight sees him behaving himself. The key plot is established by the end of #1 and every issue pushes Marc a few more steps along the path, with precious little wasted space. If every one of Bendis' series had this feeling of momentum, I'd have a buttload less to whinge about.

[XPac]

If you don't like Bendis, you won't like this book.

If you're a fan of Bendis (meaning you can take all his short comings as a writer, including questionable characterization and continuity at times), then I honestly thought it was a fun read. The art was good. The story had a pretty good love interest and a pretty uber villain. And the character did stuff outside his usual status quo, which can be refreshing.

As a fan of both Bendis and Moon Knight, it worked for me. But that might not be true for you if you're not both.

[Panic]

The art is good. The main problem is that it feels like a very contrived sales gimmick from a writer who didn't think Moon Knight himself was interesting enough to sell a comic, so he threw in Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Captain America.

[Michael Watkins]

He named a black character 'Buck Lime.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Buck

[Kaled]

I like Bendis but Moon Knight is one of the characters he does not know how to write.

[scribbleMind]

I'm a big fan. I really enjoyed it. What didn't you care for? Just curious, I don't run into a ton of fellow Moon Knight fans.

It's easier to say what I did like. I liked the art, naturally. I liked Nefarious as a villain. I think he should be a major villain more often, and I think Moonie should fight people above street level more often. I like that it wasn't another "Khonshu is evil/I'm fed up with khonshu" story. That's it.

[nnelg]

It will be released next month(hardcover). Says it collects 1-12. Is it any good? Bendis is a mixed bag for me, I LOVE his Dark Avengers run, but disliked his later runs like GoTG.

THANKS!

It sucked. Vengeance of the Moon Knight is better.

[Michael Watkins]

It sucked. Vengeance of the Moon Knight is better.

is that when he fought Scarecrow? I somewhat remember liking 'vengeance.'

[Daniel22]

It's easier to say what I did like. I liked the art, naturally. I liked Nefarious as a villain. I think he should be a major villain more often, and I think Moonie should fight people above street level more often. I like that it wasn't another "Khonshu is evil/I'm fed up with khonshu" story. That's it.

I agree, a break from the Khonshu story was nice. It's a great part of his story, and what really makes him special, but it doesn't have to be the focus all the time. I also liked Marc going against someone who totally outmatched him physically and agree that Nefaria should appear more often as a major threat. (That said, he had an appearance in Squirrel Girl that was really funny... so he's a diverse fellow).