This new Moon Knight book looks great, and the premise that reveals itself by the end of the book piques my interest, but as a debut issue, this didn't hook me at all. The reason is fairly simple: writer Charlie Huston offers the reader little more than typical super-hero action. The title character's narration has him reveling in the sheer coolness of being a street-level super-hero. He's completely self-absorbed, and it makes the reader dislike him somewhat... so much so, actually, that it offsets the pity we're meant to experience by the issue's end. Moon Knight has often been seen as a Batman knockoff, but the writer sets him apart here, taking away the grim determination and tragedy and leaving us with just a former adventurer longing for the good old days.
When a galactic entity threatens not only the Earth but all of reality as we know, you call the Fantastic Four. When alien races are about to go to war, the Avengers are the ones to call. And when a mutant menace plans to rewrite mankind's genetic makeup, the X-Men are the only ones to prevent disaster. But the real fun, as one costumed crimefighter sees it, is dealing with the regular criminals in the concrete jungle. As Daredevil contends with ninja and mobsters and Spider-Man punches the animal-themed villain of the week, it's Moon Knight who's really tearing things up, taking armed robbers for the ultimate ride. There was a time when Marc Spector wasn't interested in the calling, but today, he'd do anything to have it all back.
Finch's art suits the edgy tone for which the story strives. Finch's linework really makes the title character seem as fierce and dynamic as he's meant to appear, and the choreography of the action is entertaining. More importantly, the artist instills a larger-than-life, iconic quality to the character, one that he doesn't possess but believes he does. Where the art goes a bit awry is with the latter pages, in which the man behind the Moon Knight mask and cloak is meant to seem weak and pathetic. Instead, he comes off as somewhat feral. He remains just as muscular, and I think it would have helped Huston's story had the hero seemed more feeble.
Huston's script provides the title character with a unique voice. The narration in the earlier part of the book is all about distinguishing the Moon Knight from the rest of the heroes in the Marvel Universe. Of course, he is distinct, but not in the way described in the captions. Moon Knight has always been a broken man. In the past, we've seen him as a high-functioning suffered of mutliple-personality disorder, but it seems as though Huston plans on exploring the character as being broken in a different manner in this series.
The biggest problem with Huston's script is that there's really not enough story here for a full issue. This comic book reads incredibly quickly... too quickly. I'm not looking to be involved in the thing for an hour or anything, but the reading was light. Huston just gives us the barest glimpse of the series's true premise, and even then, the silent approach to that sequence leaves a lot of questions. 5/10
