Dustin Gebel
Marvel has just revealed the plans for July’s Moon Knight #25, a seventy-page anniversary issue from writer Jed MacKay and artists Alessandro Cappuccio, Alessandro Vitti, and Partha Pratim. The story, dubbed Danse Macabre, will explore points from across Moon Knight’s history, as his mercenary history crashes into his work with the Midnight Mission. The Danse Macabre is an allegorical work that depicts a dance of death which is used to remind people of death’s equalizing inevitability.
It’s an interesting motif to drop into this run, which has played with the surrounding death that created this iteration of Khonshu’s Fist. MacKay has also made clear in this run that death is more permanent for the avatars of the moon god, as the weakened Khonshu can no longer revive his Fists. The issue will use this exploration of death and Marc’s past to debut Layla El-Faouly for her first comic appearance. The past also circles back with a classic backup story from the celebrated Moon Knight creative team of Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz.
Jed MacKay told the website IGN,
“Working on MOON KNIGHT #25 was a bit of a mammoth task… 70 pages of story, cutting between three stories, each with their own artist! It was a really exciting opportunity to have that much space to work in, telling a Moon Knight story in a longer form than we’re usually used to.” He continues, “Bringing Layla El-Faouly into our story was exciting. Adding an already beloved character into the universe of the comics is a really interesting opportunity, and being able to show the “before” to David and Marcelo’s “after” was a wonderful bit of synchronicity. It was an idea that we both came to independently, and the way our stories were able to dovetail is something that I’m looking forward to people experiencing. While the Scarlet Scarab will indeed be turning up in MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD, in MOON KNIGHT #25 we’re seeing a much younger Layla and a much younger Marc Spector as they embark on a mission as members of the crack mercenary team, the Karnak Cowboys.”
MOON KNIGHT #25
Written by JED MACKAY
Art by ALESSANDRO CAPPUCCIO, ALESSANDRO VITTI & PARTHA PRATIM
Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN
The story will also spin out into a new miniseries, Moon Knight: City of the Dead, which will be written by David Pepose with art from Marcelo Ferreira. The series focuses on Moon Knight as he tries to protect a young runaway from cultists while crossing through the city of the dead. The miniseries is also set to be the first appearance of Layla El-Faouly’s Scarlet Scarab, a moniker coming straight from the recent Disney+ series.
Layla was created for the show, but the mantle of Scarlet Scarab belonged to Abdul Faoul, the leader of the Sons of the Scarab, a group working to end the British occupation of Egypt. The character, created by Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins, and Frank Springer, would appear throughout the issues of Invaders and Thor before his death. He then passed the knowledge of the Scarab to his son in Thor #326.
David Pepose added,
“I’m thrilled to be tackling one of my all-time favorite Marvel characters in MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD. Teaming up with sensational artist Marcelo Ferriera, we’re sending Marc Spector on one of his most mind-bending adventures to date — rescuing a young runaway’s soul from the City of the Dead. Yet as a mercenary and as a hero, Moon Knight has been no stranger to leaving a body count… so he might see some familiar faces looking for payback! But Marc won’t be embarking on this mission alone… I couldn’t be more excited to be writing Layla El-Faouly’s debut as the all-new Scarlet Scarab! Layla has been such a fun character to adapt — she knows Marc better than almost anyone, and that tension is going to spark some spectacular fireworks on this otherworldly adventure.”
MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD #1 (OF 5)
Written by DAVID PEPOSE
Art by MARCELO FERREIRA
Cover by ROD REIS
Variant Cover by DAVI GO
Moon Knight #25 hits shelves on July 12, 2023, while Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1 releases on July 19. Stay tuned to Comic Watch for continued information and reviews of both Moon Knight titles.