WHICH MOON KNIGHT COMICS TO READ FIRST, Comics Bookcase investigates
By Zack Quaintance — Last week, Marvel/Disney+ dropped the trailer for the new Moon Knight TV show, giving the wider world outside comics a first glimpse of one of the most enigmatic superheroes. In the aftermath of this trailer, an equally enigmatic figure arose on comic book Twitter with a message about which Moon Knight comics to read first…
DON'T READ THE WARREN ELLIS RUN AS YOUR FIRST MOON KNIGHT RUN. DON'T READ LEMIRE AS YOUR FIRST MOON KNIGHT RUN. DON'T READ BEMIS AS YOUR FIRST MOON KNIGHT RUN. DON'T READ THE CURRENT RUN AS YOUR FIRST MOON KNIGHT RUN
— l*c 🌇 (@thedaiilybugle) January 18, 2022
Who was this person? Where had they come from? What did they actually want us to read? Why were they yelling? This mysterious tweet had really sparked a cadre of VERY IMPORTANT questions, one of which we here at Comics Bookcase have spent the entire last week (every waking second, almost, tbh) investigating — WHICH MOON KNIGHT COMICS TO READ FIRST ACTUALLY? That’s a clunky-way to phrase it, but you get the idea. So strap in for the second-ever Comics Bookcase investigation, and checkout our findings after the jump below…
WHICH MOON KNIGHT COMICS TO READ FIRST
To inform this investigation, I spoke with a number of sources (okay, mainly Comics Bookcase features editor, Harry Kassen), and what resulted was a clear progression for how to read Moon Knight comics, with one obvious choice for where to start…
Moon Knight by Doug Moench and co.
So many of the Moon Knight runs in recent memory work to redefine the character in various (and usually pretty entertaining) ways. To get the most out of comics like that, it’s good to have a foundation of what the character was initially all about. That’s where these comics come in. In the books made by Moench and his collaborators dating back to the ‘70s, all the fundamental Moon Knight stuff is in there, the establishing of Marc Spector’s world, as well as the traits that set Moon Knight apart from other superheroes. You get the military action, the supernatural, the gritty street level hero stuff, and the forays into the glamorous world of the ultra rich. And if that all isn’t enough, you also get early artwork from artist Bill Sienkiewicz.
So yes, while that above tweet was goofy as all get out, our investigation did find that these Moench comics are WHICH MOON KNIGHT COMICS TO READ FIRST. Links to buy some of them can be found below, complete with information about which comics they all include…
Moon Knight - Omnibus, Vol. 1 (the most comprehensive book on the list, due out March 1)
Moon Knight by Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood
Once you have a basis from the Moench Moon Knight era, our investigation found you can officially ignore the loud tweet, concerned primarily as it was with what Moon Knight comics to read first. You are now ready to dive into my own personal favorite Moon Knight comics in recent memory, those written by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Greg Smallwood, one of the best modern superhero artists. These books take all the elements of the characters (many of which were established in the Moench stories), and blend them into a new take on mental health. With Smallwood’s artwork, they are an impressive and engaging read, start to finish.
You can find a link to read these comics below in a single volume…
Moon Knight - Divided We Fall
Finally, the third phase of our investigation found (once again via Harry Kassen) that once you’ve grounded yourself in Moon Knight and also read the best modern redefinition, it’s time to go the other way and read the most obscure, hardest to find Moon Knight Comics — Divided We Fall. Published in 1992, these comics are now out-of-print and uncollected, making them totally obscure. Written by Bruce Jones, penciled by Denys Cowan, inked by Tom Palmer and Mike Manley, colored by Noelle Giddings, and lettered by Ken Lopez…if you manage to find and read these comics, congratulations.
At that point, our sources suggest you should take to Twitter with an all caps Tweet of your own, insisting these are the only Moon Knight comics that matter. Find links to buy them below…
Just kidding, you’re on your own for this one…good luck!
Read our first Comics Bookcase Investigation, Why Does Alan Moore Like Hyperthick?
Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.
