It’s difficult to describe where I am with Max Bemis’ Moon Knight. To be honest I’ve been considering concluding my coverage of this series with the ‘Crazy Runs in the Family’ arc but I can’t really explain why. Am I enjoying the series? Absolutely I am, but I’m not sure I can write about it in an objective way anymore because despite its flaws I have fully bought into the spirit of it. Let me try to explain. If we trace the history of Moon Knight through its many phases (ha! Moon Puns) each left their unique mark on the character; the original series explored ghoulish enemies and Marc’s bizarre psychology with the quips and tone befitting a Bronze Age comic. ‘Fist of Khonshu’ tried to reframe the character as the literal errand boy of a group of Egyptian Priests, Marc Spector’s Moon Knight dropped the multiple personalities, added and then removed a sidekick, and then went absolutely nuts in its last 5 issues. Huston brought us gore and violence and vengeance, Hurwitz gave us resurrection and Deadpool, and Bendis tried to lay the groundwork for another one of his trademark breadcrumb storylines but ended up writing more about Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Cap than Moonie in his run. Warren Ellis boiled Moon Knight to his essence, gave him a sick new costume, and a run of episodic one-shot adventures. And finally, Jeff Lemire shattered all expectations for what the character meant and could be by intimately exploring Moonie’s psychology. Every run has left its mark on Moon Knight, all of them have taken queues from or written away from those runs that preceded them, and each generation of the character was unique in tone and purpose regardless of their success.
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Now I’m going to make a bold statement here and I’m sure it will send those anti-Bemis readers of mine into a tizzy. While trying to identify where Bemis’ series fits into the larger Moon Knight Legacy I’ve found that the closest analog in spirit is Doug Moench’s original series. Bemis’ run is as unpredictable, at times convoluted, and ultimately as fresh as the best Moon Knight issues from the early 80’s.

I understand that for a modern series to take so many queues from the Bronze Age of Comics (1970 - 1985) is quite bizarre and honestly I believe that is the very reason that this series is as divisive as it is. The book is so unfettered and flexible that it can be so many things at once and that makes it dizzying trying to pin down a method for analyzing it. Is it wordy? My god yes it is. Is it the best comic series that I’m currently reading? Not by a long shot. Is it the most fun? I have to say yes. Bemis’ run isn’t silly; there’s far too much violence and trauma to allow it that description. But it is undeniably wacky, and that’s not a quality that comics have anymore. You wouldn’t call the post-modern, format-dashing, fourth-wall shattering acrobatics that the Deadpool comics pull off every month wacky. Irreverent sure, punk rock undoubtedly, but never wacky.

And it’s this wackiness that I’m finding hard to properly critique. These issues are flawed and have their share of awkward moments but they feel like that original series and it is in that spirit that I offer up my review of issues 192 and 193.

First of all, fear not, Frenchie’s not dead. His undead exterior was merely a hallucinatory holdover from when we last saw him in Lemire’s run. Babysitter acquired, Marc is accosted by Bushman, the Truth, and the merry band of maimed street thugs assembled by the Sun King. Marc agrees to go quietly away with this motley crew in order to guarantee Diatrice’s safety and to try and save Marlene. Unable to resist the opportunity to torment our hero, Bushman provokes Marc who leaps into a visually stunning display of boat deck brawling. After cutting off two of Bushman’s fingers and dispatching the crew of the ship, Marc discovers a huddled mass of lost men, women, and children lured by the Sun King’s promise of an island all their own; a place where they could change the world together. Moon Knight is welcomed to Isla Ra by the Sun King who’s definitely taking his wardrobe queues from Jeff Probst (longtime host of Survivor) and the two settle in for a fireside psychedelically inspired philosophical discussion. Ra then makes his case from within Marc’s own mind, contextualizing the futility and ultimately harmful impact of Moon Knight’s vigilantism with hypothetical rebrands of the jet and silver avenger. In this trippy sequence we see Moon Knight as the herald of Galactus, Moonie inspired Sentinels, and Steven, Marc, and Jake in lab coats talking to the Fantastic Four before their accident and issue 192 ends with Marc proclaiming that Ra might be right.
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In issue 193 Marc is beaten, branded, and humiliated before the forgotten masses assembled by the Sun King all leading up to one final showdown on a moonlit beach in the center of a ring of fire. The brutality of this abuse intersects with some very sweet panels showing Diatrice earnestly praying to Khonshu to help her father. But all of this is merely the interlude to an epic smack-down of a fist fight where Marc, trading fists with flames, is beaten just about as badly as he’s ever been. While the Sun King picks apart Marc’s exterior, Jake, Steven, and Khonshu debate the reality of their existence within Marc’s head, their inability to help him, and the power that the Sun King has derived from his conviction, his absolute faith in Ra. Khonshu explains that the Sun King’s powers and his belief are as powerful as the different persona’s fatherly affections for Diatrice. This leads to a sort of clunky, but ultimately satisfying conclusion that Steven Grant puts like this, ‘Are you saying...if Sun King’s belief is a part of him, and in some weird metatextual way relates to his abilities, that, in a way, Marc has powers of his own?’ Jake then answers Steven’s question, ‘Holy @#$%...We have the power of crazy!’ This mental conviction helps Marc defeat Sun King and the issue concludes with Moon Knight rallying the lost souls tricked by the villain into returning home.

Clunky, wordy, and convoluted but entertaining nonetheless. A line from The Lion King comes to mind, ‘Slimy, yet satisfying.’ It’s not a perfect book. But it’s fun. I don’t think that the ‘Power of Crazy’ is all that eloquently or succinctly put but to Bemis’ credit, he does comment on its clunkiness and to be honest, it is as reasonable and vague as every other exploration of how Moon Knight’s powers (such as they are) work.

Jacen Burrows’ artwork triumphs once again, especially in issue 192. From the Shark attack cover art to the boat-deck brawl Burrows is a man very much in his element. I will forever be grateful to him for bringing Moon Knight, Herald of Galactus to life, astride his crescent moon glider in that issue. I honestly believe that the range of work present in this first run on Moon Knight is resume enough for Burrows to pick and choose his projects for the rest of his career. There is earnestness in this series and genuine novelty and though it feels like the product of another era of Comics, I believe that’s part of its charm. Until next time, Geek On!

Of the many horror stories that I love and revisit as often as possible, one that continues to find a special place in my heart is the 2002 film, Bubba Ho-Tep. That story, which features Elvis Presley and J.F.K. fighting an evil mummy in a rest home is simply a delight to watch over and over again, because of the fact that it is so original and so unique and quite frankly, so damn perfect. It’s just a magical tale that Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis sell with their fine performances and well, it’s one that I often think of because of the ‘What if?’ factor. 
 
After all, there was, for a time, the idea of a sequel floated about called Bubba Nosferatu and man, how cool would it have been to see Bruce don the Elvis outfit once again to kick some vampire tail from here to Graceland? But alas, that project has yet to come to fruition since there were some creative differences between Bruce and Don Coscarelli when it comes to the script and that’s okay, because it’s best those two men be on the same page over such ideas and also because, what cannot be explored on screen, can be explored in the comic book world.
 
Because after many years of playing ‘What If?’ in my mind, IDW Publishing, and Joe R. Lansdale have delivered unto us, a magnificent prequel/sequel to a magnificent film by way of Bubba Ho-Tep and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers. Now this particular tale takes us back in time to when Elvis was still at the top of his game and enjoying the good life through and through. But the Colonel comes knocking with an all-important mission for the King, one that comes from President Nixon himself in that…there’s an alien threat that has arrived on our world and it will be up to the King and a rag tag group of fighters to deal with this threat accordingly, and well, it’s inherently clear after reading the first issue of this new series, that I, and other fans of this franchise are going to be in for quite the treat.
 
That’s largely due to the fact that this prequel feels organic in every way imaginable. You can hear Bruce Campbell’s voice in your head whenever Elvis speaks on the page, and much like the movie, the story takes its time to allow for us to get to know the characters and build their world properly and holy cow, what a world this comic is building. This book just feels like a classic 1970’s horror film, with monsters lurking around every corner and it includes artwork that quite frankly has that washed out feel of the era and well, it does such a good job with both elements that when the issue came to a close I was hungry for more.
 
If anything, this is it. This is the sequel/prequel fans of this franchise have been waiting for and what matters most, it’s good. It’s damn good, and I love the fact that while this tale feels independent in its own unique way, it found a way to tie together the connective tissue it shares with the film, something that serves as a reminder that we are going to be in for a wild ride, one that will make us laugh and leave us in awe and this is a series that I’ll definitely be following closely in the months to come because the King is back baby, and those blood-suckers better beware…