Publishing Information: Paperback; 560 Pages
Publisher: Marvel; 22 February 2006
ISBN 10: 9780785120926
ISBN 13: 978-0785120926
Series: Volume 1 (three volumes currently at time of review)
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson
Back of the Book: "Debuting as both enemy and ally of the Werewolf by Night, Moon Knight's three personalities equaled one eerie adventure after another by Moench, Miller and more! Earning enemies like the brutal Bushman and the macabre Morpheus early in his career, Moon Knight also teamed up with Spider-Man, the Thing, and others against well-known and forgotten villains alike! Spun by Cyclone! Caught by Crossfire! Plus: an early fight with the Purple Man alongside Luke Cage! Featuring Topaz from Witches and the original White Tiger! Includes black-and-white stories not reprinted in more than two decades! Collects Werewolf By Night #32-33; Marvel Spotlight #28-29; Spectacular Spider-Man #22-23; Marvel Two-In-One #52; Hulk Magazine #11-15, 17-18, 20-21; Marvel Preview #21; Moon Knight #1-10."
I am a fan of the latest edition of the Moon Knight comics. It is a little more gritty and mature for the average comic book and has a decent story arc. With comic books rather hard to find in South Korea when I came across the Essential Moon Knight Volume 1, I had to pick it up. I know a decent amount about his origins and his motivations for doing what he does so reading about his early adventures looked like a sure fire winner.
Sadly, this is not the case. Perhaps I was spoiled by reading a more compelling story arc with the latest incarnation of the character. In Essential Moon Knight Vol. 1 the character begins the book feeling real campy and not as impressive as I read about shortly before moving to Korea. He mainly is a guest star on some of the biggest Marvel titles. His introduction to the Marvel Universe was not as clear cut as it could have been. We are told he is an expert and highly sought after mercenary and hired by a secret organization that wants to capture a werewolf, he wears silver and that is about it. While I have never read Werewolf at Night before it looked like a decent and compelling comic for its time. However, for an introduction to a new character it felt incomplete.
After Mark Spector/Moon Knight's introduction he goes on a tour of other famous characters: Spider-man, Hulk, and others. The artistry starts out looking campy, then goes to impressive and finally ends nearly where it began. The stories are decent but not anything that you will really remember or care to remember as most of the story arcs are just a few issues. Moon Knight jumps in does his thing to either partner up or disrupt things and then jump right back out. While this is fairly common with new characters it never really felt as if he had any impact on things when the greater picture was taken into account. Then you get to the ten issue run of Moon Knight and you can see the character finally take shape and get a real feel for the superhero.
Even for a fan of Moon Knight, I was not all that impressed with Essential Moon Knight Volume 1. It was great to see his origins, but I found the stories were a little dated and in all honesty, boring. There are a few real winners in the collection; however, based on the amount of reading you have to do to get there and the constant doldrum I am not sure it is worth it for the reader. Moon Knight is a compelling character but for an opening collection of his stories, it fails to capture the character or your imagination. Truth be told, I was bored while I read it.
Plot 6
Character 7
Style 6
Artwork 6
Overall 6/10
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