Issue #6 left some big shoes to fill, but both Wood and Smallwood have stepped up to bat against all odds and made a convincing play with their first issue. The tradition of done-in-one short stories for each issue continues while revisiting another plot thread that has remained untouched since the first issue and won't be touched again until issue #9 in November.
In this issue, Moon Knight pursues a high-tech, stealthy assassin across Manhattan in a city-wide blackout. Again, Moon Knight's stark white suit plays a significant role for the character as he becomes the unfaltering and unforgiving beacon of light and vengeance during his night travels. There is more to the assassin than meets the eye, however, as his agenda transcends politics and hits home with Marc Spector's own origin story.
What I really loved about Ellis' run on the book was his attentiveness to the character's mythos; in every issue, there were key references to past Moon Knight stories, specifically during Doug Moench's excellent series in the '80s. Wood continues to appease Moon Knight fans with this issue, as it references both the character's iconic origin of rebirth in Sudan (or Egypt, for the modern rendition) and the morally challenging "Trial of Marc Spector" story from Marc Spector: Moon Knight, in which Marc's past comes back to haunt him as he's put on trial for aiding a despot's rise to power in the South American Republic of Bosqueverde.
Smallwood does a bang-up job in the art department; style is both reminiscent of Shalvey's own heavy inks and unique to his own credit. I really only had three issues with the art (lines and colors, to be fair), one of which the blame could partly be placed on Wood: first, the assassin's active digital camouflage was not at all convincing. He's running through the busy New York streets with large, pixelated color splotches covering his entire body except for his hands, head, and sniper rifle, and though the digital camo is supposed to be mimicking the background colors, it should've been easy enough for even the colorblind to spot a covert-ops type running past with a gun.
Second, there is a panel transition that is overall jarring if you're not an attentive reader that makes it look like Moon Knight just suddenly materializes out of nowhere to stop the bad guy. If you weren't paying close attention, you'd miss Moon Knight's obscured entrance in the "BANG"-shaped panel. Finally, I had an issue with Smallwood's Mr. Knight (now called Mr. Night, apparently; Nick Lowe and Ellie Pyle, you missed a spot) design, specifically the eyebrows. I know they're supposed to be representative of his browline, but they look like eyebrows to me, which is very awkward when superimposed over a relatively featureless white mask.
Moon Knight #7 did fairly well in the shadows of its predecessors—to dispel all ye naysayers who dropped the book as soon as Ellis and Shalvey left (shame on you!). It gets 4.5 stars out of 5 for the writing (that end twist!) and 4 out of 5 stars for the art. The new creative team suffers its first-time flaws, but I'm still confident as ever in the success of the series all around, regardless of creative switch-ups.
How do you think the new creative team did? What did you like about this issue, or what problems did you have? What are you looking forward to? Tell us below in the comments section, and continue to follow Fanboys Anonymous for more Moon Knight reviews by yours truly!
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