Nerds That Geek Comic Book Review: ‘Moon Knight’ (2006) No. 20 – ‘In the Company of Wolves’

Written by Joel T. Lewis

In celebration of the upcoming release of the Moon Knight series premiering March 30th on Disney Plus I’m doing a deep dive on some of the lesser explored corners of the Moonie Mythos. This time we’re taking a look at a good old fashion Moonie VS Werewolf by night spectacular. It’s brutal, it’s animalistic, and it’s oh so glorious. “In the Company of Wolves” written by Mike Benson and illustrated by Mike Deodato Jr. 
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Driven literally underground by his very public murder of Black Spectre, Moon Knight recalls an unexplored encounter between himself and his oldest comic book adversary: Jack Russell, the Werewolf by Night! 

Jack Russell, the werewolf by night, is captured and forced to share his deadly curse with the unsuspecting foot soldiers of a high roller’s blood sport ring. His handlers collect his blood to temporarily give the unwitting human competitors the strength and appearance of werewolves. Meanwhile, Detective Flint and Moon Knight investigate a string of bloody murders, thought at first to be the handiwork of an overzealous new serial killer. It quickly becomes clear that the gory evidence left behind at the crime scenes is the work of something big. And clawed. So, Moon Knight investigates a nightclub called the Lu’Pine after gathering intel as the cab driver Jake Lockley and discovers the nightmare dog-fighting ring hidden below. 

Moon Knight frees the captured competitors, setting them on their captors and discovers that the temporary lycanthropes, while viscous, don’t hold a moonlit candle to the genuine article. Freed by the full moon’s light, Jack Russell towers over Moon Knight in his animalistic form and the caped hero and Marlene work to bring the big wolf down. Blurring the line between man and violent beast himself, Moon Knight defeats the werewolf but spares the man, allowing Russell to escape his cruel incarceration. ​

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All due respect to Mr. Benson, but this one is all about the art for me. When you start a run with a talent like David Finch, you establish a different level of expectation for a book’s artwork. Mico Suayan maintained the style and tone of the book skillfully after Finch departed and Tomm Coker gave us the haunting grit of issue 13, but when you get a rip, tear, slash-fest script featuring the Jet and Silver Avenger and his first foe and Mike Deodato Jr. is on the job, well that’s something special. 

Claws, viscera, muscle, sinew, bone. These have got to be a few of Deodato’s favorite things. With multiple excellent Werewolf designs and carnage teasing the wild final clash between the massive Jack Russell and our hero, Deodato runs wild in this issue. Deodato’s Moonie design sports a massive billowing cape that just dances out of the panels. The waves and creases in the cape evoke broad dramatic motion even as the Fist of Khonshu stands still showcasing Deodato’s masterful character work. 
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Look, I love it when Moonie crosses crescent darts with Bushman, Stained Glass Scarlet, and Morpheus as much as the next guy, but the main event of Moon Knight matchups is always going to be Werewolves for me. They share a common inspiration in the full moon, they both have aspects of themselves they can’t control or repress, and they represent insatiable appetites for carnage. This is one of the rare Werewolf storylines in the Moon Knight canon, one I recommend highly, and if you happen to find a copy in your local comic shop, you’re in for a treat: the issue includes reprints of Moon Knight’s first appearance in Werewolf by Night 32 and 33! ​

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