Nerds That Geek Comic Book Review: 'Moon Knight' (2017) #192 & 193 - The End of 'Crazy Runs in the Family'

Written by Joel T. Lewis

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.

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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!

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