Fanboys Anonymous

Welcome back to my comic book review series! Today I shine the spotlight on the second chapter in the new "season" of one of Marvel's breakout series, Moon Knight #8. This is the next installment in Brian Wood and Greg Smallwood's run of the book (you can read my review of their first installment here), and so far they've been able to pull their own weight after Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey, and Jordie Bellaire blazed all expectations with their six seminal issues.

In this issue, the creative team tells the story in a refreshing approach that is new to the series and, perhaps, much more grounding than the standard comic book storytelling style. Every panel—save for those in the final two pages—is drawn as if the scenes were recorded by various kinds of video recording devices, from smartphones to surveillance cameras. Additionally, the dialogue is separated from each panel, strategically placed along the bordering gutters of the page, and color coded to each character.

Now, why did the creative team and letterer Chris Eliopoulos use this strange format? Because it provided, as I've stated before, a more grounding perspective to the action and makes this book feel like a black ops action thriller. It's a fitting format, too, for the story at hand.

One evening in the City that Never Sleeps, a disenfranchised madman takes hostages for ransom up in the 88th floor of the Freedom Tower. The police—unable to approach the situation without the madman setting off a bomb—turn the operation over covertly to Moon Knight. Being one of the few heroes in New York with the expertise to pull off a stealth operation of this magnitude, Moon Knight utilizes his advanced tech, mercenary skills, and multiple personalities to save his city and people.


Once again, Wood appeals to the hardcore Moon Knight fans with the reemergence of Moon Knight's Steven Grant and Jake Lockley personalities, but adds them strategically to the silver Avenger's more combative personalities. Strangely enough, he uses Grant's name as the name of Moon Knight's heroic personality (indicated by his caped Marvel NOW! costume) and Lockley's name for an identity tied to a new alteration of the Marvel NOW! costume, which ditches the cape and includes a macabre white face mask. His Lockley personality seems to now be aligned with a close-quarters, acute damage combat style, with which Moon Knight uses his intimate knowledge of the human body to take down his opponents.

I very much enjoyed Smallwood and Bellaire's art in this issue over the last, as it felt akin to the same synergy Bellaire and Shalvey had in the first six issues. Additionally, Smallwood's style seems to have found that sweet spot that made Shalvey's special to the book, which made it all the more enjoyable to read. Bellaire's muted tones and shadowy blues helped to hit the point home that Moon Knight's best work is done at night.

Moon Knight #8 fills me with confidence that this new creative team will carry the book that much further after the last one's impressive run—if only readers would stick or return to the book and give it a chance post-Ellis and -Shalvey. (Nudge nudge.) I give it 5 out of 5 stars for both the art and the writing, as both sides of the creative team did an outstanding job on their second outing together. Hopefully this new synergy will last!


Were you as impressed with this issue as I was? What questions are you looking forward to being answered in the next one? What is the deal with Marc's psychologist? Let us know about your thoughts in the comments section below, and continue following Fanboys Anonymous for more Moon Knight reviews by yours truly.