Fanboys Anonymous

What's happening, peeps? Are you ready for another review of the All-New Marvel NOW! Moon Knight comic book series? Who said you had any choice in the matter? (Well, you're the one holding the mouse or thumbing the touchscreen…so that answers that, I guess.) Let's roll, then!


Warren Ellis keeps up the pace with his one-shot Moon Knight stories in Moon Knight #3, titled "Box," and never ceases to please. It's surprising how little is actually written in these issues as Ellis taps into the artistic synergy of Declan Shalvery and Jordie Bellaire, whose lines and colors, respectively, take the heft of the storytelling. Ellis gives us the bare essentials of the one-off plots and weaves in another morsel of Marc Spector's overarching story before letting Shalvey and Bellaire run free with their talents.

I feel quite proud of myself for the captioning!

This issue introduces another stunning new look in Moon Knight's repertoire of costumes: the Egyptian bone armor, which allows Moon Knight to fight otherwise intangible malevolent forces—in this case, the poltergeists of four punk-styled gangsters terrorizing a certain stretch of road in New York City. The visuals of his new costume are absolutely stunning, and I tip my hat to both Ellis and Shalvey. Shalvey had revealed in a few interviews his intensive collaboration with Ellis to get the look for the new costume just right, particularly in the large bird skull mask. The frustration and effort paid off, guys!

I loved this issue the most compared with the past two—which were both great, mind you!—not just because of the new costume, but because Ellis once again draws his inspiration for the story from a classic Moon Knight tale. As soon as I saw the spectral gangsters and the mysterious box on the title page, I immediately recognized the callback to Moon Knight (Volume 1) issues #31–32 and their two-part story written by the Moon Knight-legendary Doug Moench and illustrated by Kevin Nowlan, Terry Austin, and Christie Scheele, "A Box of Music for Savage Studs," and "When the Music Stops…."


The classic tales told the story of Dough Row, a decrepit street in Brooklyn of merchant shops plagued by a gang of teenage punks called the Savage Studs who terrorize the shop owners for money to fund their club dance party. It's a beautifully written, sad story about desperation and broken dreams that not even Moon Knight could fight against to bring peace to Dough Row. The original story was very street level, so there was no supernaturalism to it despite what the cover to issue #31 would have you believe. Although the names and locale were changed in the new story, the memory was still there for Moon Knight's hardcore fans, and it was a very nice nod from Ellis and company.


This issue saw the continuation of the Marc and Khonshu relationship mystery that the first issue had touched upon, but it only gave us enough of a taste of the pie to keep readers hooked. Ellis, Shalvey, and Bellaire continue to prove their worthiness for any Marvel book through Moon Knight, and I only hope we get at least a double-digit run from the current creative team before they pass on the baton.

Moon Knight #3 receives 5 out of 5 stars for both Ellis' writing and Shalvey and Bellaire's art, making this issue a definite must-read for any Marvel fan. Don't forget to check out Moon Knight (Volume 1) #31–32, both of which can be found in the cheap Essential Moon Knight Volume 2 compendium.

If you read this issue as well as its inspiration, how did you feel Ellis and company did with honoring Moench and company? Was that bone armor badass or what? Let us know in the comments section below, and look forward to my next review here on Fanboys Anonymous!