Marvel’s All-New, All-Different Moon Knight Writer Jeff Lemire Discusses New Ongoing Series
Marvel is in its All New, All Different phase, which comes from the remains of Secret Wars. DC Comics also goes through its own similar phases, as it’s coming off of convergence. Marvel is well into this one, but some comic books had yet to be released, including Marvel’s on-again, off-again character Moon Knight. Moon Knight’s first origin story can be traced back to the series Werewolf By Night in the late ’70s. Moon Knight, all in all, has been resurrected more than five times now from 1980 to 2016.
The Warren Ellis-led Marvel’s Moon Knight put him back on top in 2014, but according to Comic Book Resources, successful Green Arrow and Justice League Dark writer Jeff Lemire is taking Marvel’s All-New, All-Different Moon Knight down a different path. Lemire’s direction of this arc of Marvel’s Moon Knight would be best understand by looking into what Moon Knight series he is getting inspiration from.
“My favorite Moon Knight is definitely the original run by Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz. They captured the gritty atmosphere of New York City in the ’70s and ’80s in a really great way, and were quite inventive and experimental for their time. It’s incredible to look at Sienkiewicz’s progression and evolution as an artist and storyteller. Over the course of the run, you really see him come into his own and start experimenting as the series goes on. And of course, Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey’s run of a couple years back is also incredible. Those six issues are a perfect run of comics in my opinion. Six issues that boil the character down to his essential ingredients and manage to reinvent him without losing what made him great. So I took my cues mostly from these two runs.”
“I draw very heavily from the Moench/Sienkiewicz run in terms of supporting cast and villains. So there is a very large supporting cast including old favorites like Crawley, Frenchie, Marlene and Gena. But they will all be presented in a new and mysterious light. And we will see some old school Moon Knight villains too. And of course, Warren Ellis’ take on Khonshu is also key to my plans.”
Jeff Lemire will be joined Greg Smallwood, who also drew Moon Knight for his second arc in the last series. There has been no word on whether or not this series will connect in any way to the last, but the last three were loosely connected, and seemingly in the same universe. The Inquisitr reported last year, when the news of Moon Knight’s continuation was first made known, that Marvel’s Lemire was going to be exploring Moon Knight’s mental health.
Moon Knight’s second origin, which has persisted in one form or another over the years, has focused on his fractured personality after he was resurrected by the Egyptian deity Khonshu. Moon Knight’s first solo run under Moench/Sienkiewicz dealt with it as him playing multiple alter egos, and Warren Ellis gave Moon Knight different suits to deal with this. Lemire’s Moon Knight starts off this series in a mental institution, which will be key to the All-New, All-Different Marvel iteration Moon Knight.
“Yes, I really want to explore mental illness through this character. It’s really what makes Moon Knight so unique and it’s what got me so excited about the book in the first place. But I don’t want the series to become preachy or pedantic. So this exploration of mental health will be a very metaphorical one at times and will be executed in a way that is hopefully still very entertaining and even fun. But, yes, I definitely have a point of view and something to say about the way we view mental illness as a society, and I’m not shying away from it.”
Moon Knight prior runs in the last series were short six-issue runs, but Jeff Lemire has struck a new deal with Marvel, and will apparently be getting at least 12 issues, and maybe more.
“I have a longer term plan that what we saw on ‘Moon Knight’ in recent years, where Ellis, Wood and Cullen Bunn each did six-issue arcs. As I said, I’ve already scripted the first 10 issues of this series, and I have the first 12 plotted out. And I hope the series is successful enough that I can keep going and exploring new things with Marc Spector and Moon Knight after that as well.”
Moon Knight fans and newcomers alike will not have to wait long to check out Marvel’s All-New, All Different Jeff Lemire-led Moon Knight, as it will be in stores April 13.
Will you be looking out the new series?
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[Image via Ricardo Lopez Ortiz | All-New, All-Different Moon Knight | Courtesy Of Marvel Comics | Resized]
