Marc Spector’s old girlfriend has been kidnapped by a man calling himself the Sun King. Leaving his daughter (!) behind with his seemingly undead pal Frenchie, Spector heads off to meet the Sun King once and for all. Confused? Good. Now you’ve entered the twisted mind of the Moon Knight!
MOON KNIGHT #192 – “Crazy Runs in the Family, Part 5”
Writer: Max Bemis
Penciler: Jacen Burrows
Inker: Guillermo Ortego
Colorist: Matt Lopez
Letterer: Cory Pettit
Cover: Jacen Burrows/Mat Lopes
Publisher: Marvel Comics
What You’ll Find Out:
The Sun King, with the help of new villain Truth and Moon Knight’s nemesis Bushman, have kidnapped Spector’s former girlfriend Marlene. With no other choice in sight, Marc Spector heads off to the Sun King’s hideaway – a tropical island paradise! But there’s more than meets the eye in this issue and nothing is as it seems. It would appear the tropics are going to be no vacation for the Fist of Khonshu!
What Just Happened:
Mark Spector is sitting around the table with his “undead” pal Frenchie and his daughter Diatrice. We know Marc is still suffering from his mental illnesses because he envisions Frenchie as a zombie. We learn later it’s a coping mechanism, and Spector says that perceiving Frenchie as “dead” helped him to appreciate their friendship.
Their conversation is interrupted when a brick flies through the window. It’s Moon Knight’s old nemesis, Bushman – and he’s got an offer Moonie can’t refuse.
It seems Bushman has been sent to “collect” Mark and take him to the Sun King, a man who’s as unstable as Spector and claims to be sent by the Egyptian Sun God, Ra. The Sun King has some incentive for Mark Spector to make the trip too – he’ll never see Marlene again if he doesn’t come along peaceably.
Will it be the Sun King versus the Moon Knight?
The next issue will be the final arc in the 6-part “Crazy Runs in the Family” storyline and we’ll no doubt see a battle royal!
Rating: 7.8/10
Final Thoughts:
When Jeff Lemire left Moon Knight, I thought that would be the end of the series. But Max Bemis has taken us on a wild ride since Lemire’s departure, and I don’t think anyone wants it to stop anytime soon. Whether Bemis intends to write the series as an oddball comedy or a psychotic episode in sequential art form remains to be seen, but it’s a compelling story either way. The introduction of Moon Knight’s daughter, while largely unexplored, offers new story opportunities as well as a reason for Spector to somehow regain his sanity and live up to his responsibility as a parent.
Jacen Burrows’ art is fantastic and is a good match for the storylines. In so many comics today, the art blatantly overshadows the writing, and that isn’t the case here. Guillermo Ortego’s colors are subdued and appropriate, nicely enhancing the pencils and helping set the mood on each page.
This is a very good issue of a series that is far different from most other Marvel superhero offerings. Weird story + extraordinary art = a hopefully long run for our favorite mentally unstable superhero.
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