Moon Knight may like to work alone, but even he has a dysfunctional family, with Khonshu being the overbearing father figure and Hunter’s Moon being the overzealous brother, always looking to prove himself to be the better Fist. However, there was a time when Marc Spector had a loving wife named Marlene, and a doting daughter, Diatrice, who had to leave him when Khonshu’s madness became too much to bear. Now, Jack Russell, the Werewolf by Night, has his paws on Marc’s daughter as he looks to invoke an old prophecy to transfer his curse. Moon Knight Annual #1 from Marvel Comics, written by Jed MacKay with artwork from Federico Sabbatini and Rachelle Rosenberg and letters from VC’s Cory Petit, reignites an old rivalry that ends up in a bloody tussle under the moonlit night.
Moon Knight Annual #1 opens like any other night in the Midnight Mission when Reese brings in the latest client in need of Mr. Knight’s help, and none other than Marlene walks in. Marc takes a minute to compose himself, temporarily changing places with Jake Lockley but soon reappearing to meet his wife. He learns how the werewolves attacked her and kidnapped their daughter, Diatrice. Meanwhile, Jack Russell relays his life’s sob story to Diatrice so that she can understand that what is coming next is absolutely necessary. So, Marc, in true Moon Knight fashion, crashes the werewolf den with the help of Hunter’s Moon to save his daughter from the jaws of a cursed beast.
Moon Knight Annual #1 takes a breather from the nightly vampiric capers of the white-clad vigilante and reunites him with old foes and estranged families under the worst circumstances possible. The flow of the story is linear, and while the narrative seems to alternate between Marc and Jack, the structure helps to weave the whole picture together as an expository opening act. From then on, the fists do the heavy lifting, propelling the tale into familiar territory that Jed MacKay has been treating readers to for the past year. The exciting premise sets the tone of the book, but for an Annual, the issue remains trapped in familiar molds. Perhaps a larger page count might have helped in exploring the relationship dynamics and, more importantly, the horror aspects that eventually get sidelined. However, given MacKay’s flashy style, the concise nature of the issue remains its perfect version.
What makes the issue stand out is Federico Sabbatini’s dynamic line slashes that cut through the tension and fill the book with a sense of fleeting pace, harmoniously matching MacKay’s own tempo. Who would have thought that Moon Knight clearing a room full of werewolves with a khopesh would be the redeeming factor in the tale? With Sabbatini making sure that fun is the watchword, this was inevitable. The animated paneling puts the action front and center, and the impeccable directional lines do the rest. Colorist Rachelle Rosenberg renders each page with care, using scarlet tones for the werewolf eyes to create a scary effect while giving Marc a whitish glow as if the moon itself has descended upon Earth.
With the moody aesthetic emanating from the artwork, Moon Knight Annual #1 could have been so much more, given that Werewolf by Night is all the rage right now. However, looking at the issue as a standalone enterprise, the story has ups and downs, with the action being an integral part of the fun reading experience. There are some interesting moments in the book that show the mettle of the characters. In that regard, Diatrice takes the cake, but Dr. Badr is not far behind, who, despite being a thoroughly religious Fist of Khonshu, has a strong moral north. Moon Knight Annual #1 is able to bring together a lot of elements in one single tale and successfully finds a conclusion without much hassle.
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