Vengeance of the Moon Knight
Posted by dailypop on June 18, 2009
As many readers may know, I am a big supporter of Moon Knight. A character who on the surface may appear to be a poor man’s Batman or a rich man’s Punisher, he is actually neither. A man brought back from the brink of death with a distinct personality for each phase of the moon, he is a unique breed of vigilante. He out-crazies both characters and is truly more driven than either while the level of violence that he delivers to the criminals on the street would shock even Frank Castle into silence. The Moon Knight is not fighting a war as the Punisher does, nor is he acting as a warder over his city as Batman does… he’s making the wrath of his God Konshu known. Not content with breaking up gangs or destroying drug empires, Moon Knight has been known to carve a crescent symbol into the foreheads of his prey each night they continue their deviant behavior. Eventually they figure it out and the attacks stop.
In the latest series, writers Charlie Huston and Mark Benson have stepped up the the threat level that Moon Knight poses in the Marvel Universe, making him a character that demands attention. In the past 20 odd issues he has challenged Iron Man’s Super Hero Registration Act (and even tricked the psych test) and taken on the entire Thunderbolts team.
So what’s next?
Writer Gregg Hurwitz and artist Jerome Opena have been announced as the creative team behind a new ongoing series titled the Vengeance of the Moon Knight. It’s unclear to me if this is a restart or renaming of the current series or if it is an additional monthly (while I think MK is tops, I’d be surprised if the character had that much popularity!). The creators and editor Alex Alonso spoke about the project at Wizard World Philly.
The New Moon Knight
“VENGEANCE opens with Moon Knight crashing back into the heart of the Marvel U as Jake Lockley—a brand new super hero with the gear and gizmos to make his mark,” reveals Hurwitz. “We’re gonna have a lot of fun with appearances from some staples from the Marvel U, and we get to see Moon Knight in a whole new way.”
In addition to a new direction, the series will also see a new costume design by Opena.
“I was hesitant, in the beginning, because I really liked the original design,” he admits. “But a new look was what they wanted for the character to coincide with the re-launching of the title. So, with that in mind, I tried to keep the most important iconic aspects of the original design intact while also trying to satisfy what Gregg and Axel were looking for. It was a challenge to try to have all those new elements still fit the iconic image of Moon Knight and to keep him recognizable to everyone.”
The name Alex Alonso should be familiar by now. Formerly of DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint, Alonso has since moved to Marvel and worked on restructuring several of their most successful comics including X-Men, Spider-Man and the new Punisher and Black Panther series.
“Gregg’s an amazing writer, focused, passionate and meticulous,” praises Alonso. “VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT provides the perfect platform for his skills. He knows how to write super heroes.
“Jerome is a future superstar who is right for just about anything. What makes him perfect for VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT is his uncanny ability to navigate between oftentimes claustrophobic psychological material and the widescreen, big budget action that drives a book like this.”
Read the whole piece here.
Recommended:
Moon Knight Volume 3: God & Country
Moon Knight Volume 4: Death Of Marc Spector
Essential Moon Knight, Vol. 1
