Weekly Comic Book Review

by Greg Hurwitz (writer), Jerome Opena (art), Paul Mounts (colors)

The Story: New York City continues to welcome the return of a kinder, gentler Moon Knight to its crime-fighting fraternity, while the vigilante reconnects with sometime lover, Marlene.  Meanwhile, archenemy Bushman is brought back from beyond the grave by The Hood in order to strike at the returning hero. His first order of business? Break everyone out of Ravencroft Asylum.

What’s Good: I was at a loss when I saw that Marvel was launching a new Moon Knight ongoing series only four months after the previous volume’s final issue went on sale.  I feared, just as ended up being the case with their relaunched Black Panther and Punisher series, that this was merely a continuation of the same story with a gratuitous #1 slapped on the cover.  It certainly didn’t help that the last few issues of Moon Knight’s previous run were some of the worst comics I’ve read in a long time. Still, my interest was stirred when I saw that Jerome Opena was the artist on the new series. He had done a great job on the aforementioned Punisher book, capturing a grittier, darker New York City that rarely sees the likes of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four.  I purchased the first issue based on that criteria alone, but later on I was happy to find that there was a lot more to love about the series. With this third issue, Hurwitz and Opena gives us their best installment to date, proving that this is one relaunch that continues to be well-deserved.

Hurwitz’s decision to focus on Bushman and his return to the land of the living works thematically well this issue.  His resurrection is the direct result of the hero’s own “resurrection” earlier in the story, pushing to the forefront the idea of him as Moon Knight’s opposite number.  This gives the villain, and the story, a certain amount of weight that might have otherwise been absent had the circumstances of the plot been different.  The writer also successfully sells Bushman as a credible threat.  The military efficiency with which he marshals his forces shows him as someone not to be taken lightly. I’m eager to see how his machinations play out in the end.

As I mentioned before, artist Jerome Opena’s work was what attracted me to Vengeance of the Moon Knight to begin with, and he remains a main factor as to why I continue to enjoy the series.  He visualizes every scene just right here.  From Spider-Man to the Scarecrow to the inmates at Ravencroft Asylum, Opena makes each character come to life and always look as if they belong in this comic book.  Specifically, his handling of Bushman is perfectly in sync with Hurwitz’s take on the character.  One look at him and you know all there is you need to know (and fear).  Not every penciller can achieve that, but Opena does so quite well.

What’s Not So Good: The most prevalent criticism over the years when it comes to Moon Knight is that he’s nothing but a cheap knock-off of DC’s Batman.  While I’m sure the character’s fans could argue against that point, they’d most likely find it difficult to do so with this issue in their hands.  Brooding, tortured billionaire in tights who has a knack for standing in the shadows?  Check.  Insane asylum full of criminal crazies, including those of the super-powered variety?  Check.  Archenemy of said billionaire with a chalk-white face and killer smile?  Check.  Scarecrow-themed bad guy who calls himself the Scarecrow?!  Double-check!  With all of those elements present, it’s hard not to posit that it is Hurwitz’s intention here to write a sort of Batman homage.  While I agree that if he was going to do it with any character, Moon Knight would certainly be the most obvious, I’m not sure that I’m comfortable with how it ends up coming off.  While there are certainly bits that stand out as unique, too much of this issue threatened to convince me that I was reading a different comic, and that’s never a good thing.

While Opena knocked almost all of this issue out of the park, he did fall victim to the same sins that his writer is guilty of when it came to his take on one of the villains.  To be fair, the artist draws a wonderfully creepy, demented Scarecrow.  He obviously enjoyed bringing the character to life and it shows.  The problem is once again that we’re not given anything new here.  Except for the absence of the pointy hat, this Scarecrow is almost identical to his more famous doppelganger from the Distinguished Competition.  Considering the similarities between the two, I’m disappointed that Opena didn’t take this opportunity to really push the limits in terms of his interpretation of the character.

Conclusion: Despite distracting similarities to DC’s own nighttime avenger, Hurwitz and Opena make Vengeance of the Moon Knight #3 work thanks to this month’s spotlight on wonderfully wicked baddie Bushman. A particularly affective last page left me wanting to see what happens next.

Grade:  B

-Joe Lopez