VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT #1 is a continuation of the previous MOON KNIGHT title, by the same creative team of Jed Mackay, Alessandro Cappuccio, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Cory Petit. Off the bat, I think it’s important to address the elephant in the room of “is there a point to the relaunch other than sales”, but truthfully I don’t think the answer is apparent yet. If I had to go back on my opinions on relaunches in general, I would say “no” (just look at how many Gene Luen Yang Shang-Chi series there are even though they’re one big story), but I’ll let them cook and see what comes out of it.
That aside, wow. Mackay, Cappuccio and co. do not lose their stride from the previous title, keeping up the quality and the momentum without skipping a single beat. This entire issue is a flashback, narrated from the perspective of Reese, as she describes the days starting from sitting for Marc’s shiva to the night they met the new Moon Knight.
First off, I think it’s great how much care there is put into the days after Marc’s death in the first place, especially considering his Jewish faith. Mackay’s done a good job through the previous title too in making sure that’s an aspect of the character that is well-respected, and I’m glad that it’s a mainstay here too.
From then on, after the week of sitting for shiva, comes the action, a look at what the new status quo looks like for the Midnight Mission, and it’s really interesting to see how they all operate now, yet recognize that something is indeed different, that someone is missing. The buildup from there to the new Moon Knight is just as cool. It’s paced perfectly, not a moment rushed, and the set-up is so intriguing that I can’t wait for issue #2.
The art is as phenomenal as it was since I opened up the first issue of Moon Knight by this team two and a half years ago (wow, it’s been that long, time flies). Cappuccio and Rosenberg bring their A-game as per usual, with extremely good composition and action that looks like it’s actually moving, and expressions that always give you an insight on how someone’s feeling. Petit’s lettering is great as usual too, not a single miss there.
If you’ve been reading Moon Knight, you should absolutely be picking up Vengeance of the Moon Knight #1. If you haven’t, this issue seems like you can pick it up just fine, but it’s too early to say. I would recommend going back and reading the run prior, which, if you haven’t already, what are you doing?
