Marvel Comics 2021
Written by Jed MacKay
Illustrated by Alessandro Cappuccio
Coloured by Rachelle Rosenberg
Lettered by VC’s Cory Petit
Moon Knight’s hidden enemy is revealed — but revealed is not the same as caught, and he soon finds masks beneath masks as he hunts his way after his new nemesis. At the same time, Dr. Andrea Sterman pierces Moon Knight’s own mask and, for the first time, gets some honest answers.
This is one of those powerful issues that really lets us inside Marc’s mind and lets us know what he’s thinking. I love that after the whole deal with him taking out the Avengers has led to him needing to see a qualified superhero therapist, yes there are those in this world. I also love that I had to look up what D.I.D.(dissociative Identity Disorder) was because I’m used to seeing MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) and that Jed presents this as casually as he does and engages the reader as he did with me here is a wonderful thing to see. Plus she’s hard-as-nails too and isn’t going to let him skate with glib or flowery answers. He’s there for a reason and should he not follow her guidelines for treatment or just assess that he’s handling things okay then who knows what’ll happen unless is shipped off to somewhere like Ravencroft.
I’m such a huge geeky fanboy of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does this utterly phenomenal job with their ever changing and evolving personalities. The pacing is excellent and it takes us through the pages revealing the dual stories happening side by side as we are taken on such a strong and powerful journey.
I am completely thrilled by the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I’m also very much liking the way that the layers are opening up new avenues to be explored. The ending opens up one and it’s a doozy! Explored or not they all add this sensational depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are exceptionally well handled.
The interiors here just get better and better with each issue. That scene with Marc and the statues behind him is for me a new iconic vision! I mean the chair, the lights and the plants there just resonate completely. The linework is clean, crisp and sharp and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work we see is nicely rendered. We see some really strong use of backgrounds throughout and they enhance and expand the moments beautifully while also working within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show an extremely talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work are beautifully rendered. The whites that we see are amazing in how luminescent they are.
This is a great issue in terms of personal growth and interest as well as how it sets up the next, or continuing, arc we’re going to see. As Marc’s world has been thrown for a loop in more ways than one I look forward to seeing what else life is going to throw at him, and yes MORE TIGRA! The writing here is phenomenal and the characterisation is raw and powerful while the interiors create the mood, tone and feel for every single moment making this the book that it is.