Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood

Black, White & Blood

by Jonathan Hickman, Chris Bachalo (Illustrator)

At last, the BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD format reaches the vigilante that was reborn to star in it! A bevy of comicdom’s finest creators put their mark upon the Fist of Khonshu in stories depicted solely in stark black, white and blood red! Meet the all-different Moon Knight of the future — and wrap your head round a tale of the mixed-up marauder in reverse! Moon Knight teams up with the ever-amazing Spider-Man for a harrowing night of adventure — and seeks an odd favor from Doctor Strange! Moon Knight’s four personalities come together to debrief the events of one bizarre night — and Marc Spector’s mercenary past comes back to haunt him! A blood moon is rising, and these stories look better than ever on the oversized pages of a Treasury Edition!

COLLECTING: Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood (2022) 1-4

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fantasy, Crime, Anthologies

136 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 2023

About the author

Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

PT Tal como nas restantes antologias desta série, somos aqui apresentados a várias pequenas histórias recheadas de referências ao universo desta personagem.

O problema é que conheço muito pouco sobre ela, e isso acabou por prejudicar bastante a minha experiência de leitura. Pouco ou nada é explicado sobre o que nos é apresentado — as histórias partem do princípio que o leitor já tem um conhecimento razoável do personagem e do seu mundo, o que se torna problemático para quem, como eu, não está familiarizado.

Para além disso, achei as histórias pouco inspiradas. Normalmente, nestas antologias há sempre uma ou outra que se destaca, mas aqui senti que eram todas bastante fracas — com a honrosa exceção da última, que me pareceu verdadeiramente decente.

Se não forem já fãs da personagem, dificilmente conseguirão tirar prazer deste livro.

--

EN Just like the other anthologies in this series, this one presents us with several short stories filled with references to the character's universe.

The problem is, I know very little about this character, and that really affected my reading experience. Very little is explained about what you're being shown — the stories assume the reader already has a solid understanding of the character and their world, which is an issue if, like me, you're not familiar with them.

On top of that, I found the stories rather uninspired. Usually, in anthologies like this, there are always one or two standouts, but here I felt they were all quite weak — with the honorable exception of the last one, which I found genuinely decent.

If you're not already a fan of the character, I doubt you'll get much enjoyment out of this book.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. I have been really getting into Moon Knight mainly because of the current comic series and partly for his tv new series. He is one of the perfect characters for the Black White and Blood series because he is a violent character, with multiple personality disorders so seeing different creative teams showing their perspectives of him could just be how they differentiate her disorder.

The book, like the others, is in A3 format. It is difficult to review as there are a couple of stories I really liked and a couple I did not. I can say I enjoyed much more of them than I did not. The first story was ok, but the artwork was a bit confusing as I could not see clearly what was going on. The third story was backwards for some reason. If you are going for the Manga style, have the text boxes or dialogue going right to left as well, please. On a bigger personal complaint, I hate Spider-man (Peter Parker), always getting the annoying little brother treatment. At least they remembered Spider-man has superhuman strength.

Those were the complaints, but for the rest of the book, I got Moon Knight in one personality or another kicking butt. I liked that they showed Moon Knight in the aftermath of his fights as well as bruises in all. One of my favourites of the book was Moon Knight having a conversation with himself over breakfast after a hard night's work. The book finishes with a variant cover gallery.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A whole bunch of scenes...set ups..
4 issues with 3 settings each.

I get the idea and the art various from ok to great depending on the various creators.

There's cults...Russians in Africa....and other parts that are totally forgettable.

[Mattthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Moon Knight. He's one of my favorite superheroes. But this was just kinda meh. The first story in the book, the artwork was completely indecipherable in places. Then, one of the next stories is annoyingly laid out in reverse, which I didn't get until I struggled through the thing, trying to make sense of it reading forwards. Most of the rest here is just ok. This book did have some cool moments here and there.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't waste your time

[Matthew Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This one had some really great art throughout by different artists, but none of the stories jumped out at me as anything more than just okay.

[Logan Harrington · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/10:
This is horrible from start to finish, minus one fun story that includes both Spider-Man and Deadpool. I understand the premise of these anthology collections, but why can’t we stick to the three color rule and tell one longer, coherent story? Ughhhh.

“So white. Yet, so dark. Moon Knight.” - Spider-Man

[Breña · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verschiedene Kurzgeschichten. Highlights, Mittelmaß und, naja, Bodensatz. Insgesamt recht unterhaltsam und mit sehr unterschiedlichen Ansätzen.

[Corey Rososky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the shorts in this were really great, others really sucked, but the art across the whole thing was such a treat to look at that I can't give it less than a four. Otherwise, probably would've been three. Also moon knight is cool as hell

[Youssef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moon Knight: Black, White and Blood Review


# 1

"Anubis Rex"

By Jonathan Hickman & Chris Bachalo

I didn't understand what's the purpose of this. It's crazy how one of my favourite writers can write one of the worst stories i've ever read.

( 2/5 )


"SO WHITE. YET, SO DARK."

BY MUREWA AYODELE & DOTUN AKANDE

So, i actually liked this one a lot. It's about Moon Knight and Spider-Man going after two muggers that have stolen a Scarab that belongs to Anubis.

( 4/5 )


"THE END"

By MARC GUGGENHEIM & JORGE FORNÉS

Very well done!

" LIFE CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD BACKWARDS; BUT IT MUST BE LIVED FORWARDS." --SØREN KIERKEGAARD

( 3.5/5 )


# 2

"THE EMPTY TOMB"

By BENJAMIN PERCY & VANESA R. DEL RAY

( 3.5/5 )


"A HARD DAY'S KNIGHT"

By DAVID PEPOSE, LEONARDO ROMERO & CHRIS SOTOMAYOR

( 3/5 )


"BLOOD RED GLIDER"

By PATCH ZIRCHER

( 3.5/5 )


# 3

"WRONG TURN"

By ERICA SCHULTZ & DAVID LOPEZ

( 3.5/5 )

"NO EMPTY SKY"

By JIM ZUB & DJIBRIL MORISSETTE-PHAN

( 4.5/5 )

"ASTRONUTS"

By ANN NOCENTI, STEFANO RAFAELE & CHRIS SOTOMAYOR

( 1.5/5 )


# 4

"GOOD MORNING"

By CHRISTOPHER CANTWELL & ALEX LINS

Brilliantly written and beautifully drawn.

( 5/5 )

"THE SCENT OF BLOOD"

By NADIA SHAMMAS, DANTE BASTIANONI & CHRIS SOTOMAYOR

( 4/5 )

"BORN TO BE"

By PAUL AZACETA

( 4.5/5 )

[Alex Sarll]

It's great that, having road-tested the idea with second-stringers like Wolverine and Deadpool, Marvel now feel ready to start opening the Black, White & Blood anthology format to their best characters – though I confess that this is one time when I'd be happy for them to leave Squirrel Girl out. The creator names here perhaps aren't as big as on those previous volumes – and the pages definitely aren't as big, given I read it in singles, rather than an oversized collection from the library – but the overall standard is high, the character's knotty psyche(s) providing plenty of opportunities for experimentation even as his methods ensure the red ink doesn't go to waste. In fact, the weakest link may be the biggest names – I like Jonathan Hickman, mostly, and I still like some Chris Bachalo art, but putting the two together on the same short story does possibly end up a little too opaque. Elsewhere, though: "Mutually assured destruction is only a threat if it's not your entire way of life." Yeah, these guys get him.

[Benedict Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in Issues

[Norman Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

2023 Eisner Award finalist - Best Short Story (“Good Morning,” by Christopher Cantwell and Alex Lins in Issue #4), Best Single Issue/One-Shot (Issue #3, edited by Tom Brevoort)

This anthology series attempts to heighten the drama by limiting the colors to black and white with red highlights. The individual vignettes, written by a variety of authors, are definitely a mixed bunch, ranging from comedy to dark horror. If you're not familiar with Moon Knight's backstory, a lot of these tales won't make much sense. There's a lot of dream imagery, and some very intense violence, including some references to suicide. The various artists do a good job, although I didn't see anything too innovative other than the coloring, and that technique has been used on a number of other titles over the years so that it's not that special, either.

[João Proença · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sendo fã de Moon Knight, estava na expectativa com este livro. Preto, Branco & Sangue é uma coletânea de pequenas histórias sem uma linha contínua que mergulha no simbolismo, violência e conflitos internos que a personagem usualmente tem.

Tal como a arte, algumas histórias são melhores que outras, mas nenhuma se destacou. É uma leitura estranha, e ideal para quem gosta de comics fora do padrão e gosta de ver um herói retratado sob múltiplas perspetivas artísticas.
---
As a Moon Knight fan, I was really looking forward to this book. Black, White & Blood is a collection of short stories without a continuous line that delves into the symbolism, violence and internal conflicts that the character usually has.

Just like the art, some stories are better than others, but none really stood out. It's a strange read, and ideal for those who like non-standard comics and like to see a hero portrayed from multiple artistic perspectives.

[Fabian Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Tiene historias entretenidas, es una recopilación de historias cortas como Superman Red & Blue y Batman Black & White y por li mismo creo que para disfrutarlas más debería de conocer mejor al personaje. Espero leyendo más historias de Moonknight eventualmente regresar a esto y apreciarlo más.

Aun así la calidad del arte es impresionante y los diseños de Moonknight son muy interesantes visualmente.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cool collection of short stories, the title kinda implies but the art of everything is only in black white and red. The restriction of color is a rewarding boundary, most of the stories look amazing (but some are hard to make out). There’s some other ones of these with similar “violent” characters if MK isn’t your vibe (but he should be).

[NewWorldGod · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

[Matteo Mazzotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun! did not realize this had a gimmick until after i bought it! but i had a good time!

[Robby · Rating 3 out of 5]

An anthology series similar in vein to Batman: Black and White, this combines multiple tales by different writers and artists about the cowled hero, with the restriction of only using black, white and red. While many of the artists use the red frequently, often to gory effect, I was more entranced by the ones who showed more restraint, using the extra color to highlight otherwise minute details. As for the writing, many of the stories are either a bit too experimental for their short length (looking at you Hickman), or are pretty generic adventures. The highlight is "A Hard Day's Night," a tale visually reminiscent of Darwin Cooke, in which the various personas of Moon Knight "meet" at a diner and explain how their shared body received various wounds.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moon Knight is such an obvious choice for the Black, White & Blood treatment. The format makes for some extremely stylish art, and the character is very suited to a bunch of short stories that explore the many different aspects of his life, and to experimental storytelling. For example, the third story in this anthology is told backwards, something that I think would be a lot less convincing with most other characters. There were one or two stories that I didn't love, but overall this was a great anthology.

[Mark Medland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up a buddy of mine was a big Moon Knight fan. Now I know why. All of the art and stories work. While I still don’t quite understand how the Moon Knight “works” I did enjoy this.

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contento che, grazie all'arrivo della serie tv, qualcuno finalmente consideri un po' Moon Knight. La fattura dell'impresa, però, rimane simile a quella dello stesso volume dedicato a Wolverine: con qualche differenza.

Come, appunto, "Wolverine: Black, White & Blood" anche questa uscita tricromatica di MK risulta davvero molto apprezzabile, pubblicato per la pura voglia di sperimentare, dare spazio ad autori meritevoli e giocare con i colori: non solo bianco e nero, ma anche tanto il rosso, colore non proprio dei costumi di Marc Spector (e soci nella testa), ma legato ad esso in quanto croma del sangue e della sofferenza che da sempre accompagnano il personaggio. Come sempre, quando i colori la fanno da padrona - vedi l'analoga iniziativa più famosa "Batman: Black & White" - non sempre tutti riescono a sfruttare propriamente l'aspetto grafico per rendere particolare il tutto. C'è chi fa il compitino, e chi si fa "sottomettere" dall'ansia di dare un senso a quel rosso, finendo per scazzare. Però, tutto sommato, devo dire che ricorderò piacevolmente la cosa. Uniche note dolenti, le seguenti:

- L'iniziativa faceva già parlare di sé per la presenza del dream team Jonathan Hickman e Chris Bachalo, e se ne parlava tanto per la qualità dell'accoppiata, quanto per il fatto che lavorassero assieme su un personaggio come il Cavaliere Lunare. Tuttavia devo dire che non ha rispettato granché le aspettative, ma forse perché la bassa fogliazione ne ha castrato l'espressione e le potenzialità dei due;
- La storia di Murewa Ayodele e Dotun Akande l'ho odiata con tutto il mio cuore. E' una storiella nata da accozzaglie di conoscenze sparse qua e là apprese dal MCU (tant'è che l'Uomo Ragno, ospite, indossa il costume visto al cinema).

Qui una mia personalissima Top 5 delle storie che mi hanno colpito di più:

5 - No Empty Sky (Jim Zub & Djibril Morissette-Phan)
4 - A Hard Day's Knight (David Pepose & Leonardo Romero)
3 - The End (Marc Guggenheim & Jorge Fornes)
2 - Born To Be (Paul Azteca)
1 - Good Morning (Christopher Cantwell & Alex Lins)

[Eleazar Camez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although Ellis' Moon Knight run can feel like an anthology thanks to its episodic nature and lack of an overarching story, this is truly a collection of stories that are unfortunately mostly inconsistent in terms of quality as well as story and tone. Some of them attempt to capture the more mystical, mysterious, introspective nature of recent runs while not fully understanding what makes those types of Moon Knight stories really work, while others place him in outlandish situations or scenarios that feel too far removed from what feels normal for Moon Knight. None of them are truly bad, but only a handful feel truly worth recommending.

The visuals are what save this book's rating from being lower. Moon Knight has a reputation for being grittier and more violent than other heroes, and his costume's striking color scheme also lends itself incredibly well to this collection's concept. The use of shadows and of splashes of red for color are elements that are present throughout Moon Knight's history and therefore all the more powerful when given the spotlight.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was schon bei Wolverine, Deadpool und Carnage gut geklappt hat, sollte bei Moon Knight doch eigentlich nicht schiefgehen. Marvel hat beim Mondritter allerdings auf weniger bekannte Autoren und Zeichner gesetzt als bei den vorigen SW&B-Anthologien, für die es eine gute Gelegenheit war, mit dem nicht ganz einfachen psychischen Zustand des Hauptcharakters zu experimentieren.

Diese Kurzgeschichtensammlung bietet eine große Auswahl an Geschichten – von klassischer blutiger Action bis hin zu geistreichen (und oft auch depressiven) Handlungsbögen mit unserem Helden mit dissoziativer Identitätsstörung.
Aber auch hier sind teilweise Geschichten dabei, die weniger gut sind, aber auch welche, die trotz der Kürze sehr viel Tiefe haben und hängen bleiben. Die Qualität der Erzählungen schwankt mitunter sehr, die Zeichnungen jedoch enttäuschen keinesfalls.

5/5 Punkte für die Zeichnungen, 3/5 für die Geschichten an sich.

[Nikolai · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of Moon Knight stories, this contains a wide breadth from classical, bloody Moon Knight action to the more cerebral (often depressing) stories of our favorite hero with DID.
Due to the nature of anthologies, there will definitely be some stories you connect to more and others that just don't get you as much. One of my personal favorites was the third story, which involves a unique way of storytelling.
While the writing at times dips and surges in quality depending on each story, the art never disappoints. It's a really gorgeous comic, that purely on a visual level would definitely get a 5/5.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dozen 8 page stories. Tempting to give thoughts on all of them, but, you know, lazy.

The best was the first one written by Hickman and drawn by Bachalo. Typical Hickman story (that is a plus for me) with excellent companion art. I think there is enough ideas and material in this for a six part mini - I would love that! Actually I think a lot of the stories would have been enhanced with a higher page count, they felt a bit rushed.

Art generally better quality than the story. Artists love drawing Moon Knight.

The story I disliked the most was the one with Dr. Strange, seemed pointless and uninteresting.

[Pádraic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't like how much of a Scrooge I've become about current Moon Knight, he's one of the only superheroes I give a damn about as a character (as opposed to, say, liking Ewing's run on Immortal Hulk but not caring about Hulk elsewise), but of this anthology of short tales I really did only like two or three of them. Some are so far removed that they might as well be about a different character, and the rest tended to blur. I did always prefer novels to short stories, I guess the same applies to the comic format.

[Nuno Ferreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mais uma BD de elevada qualidade. Cavaleiro da Lua é um herói com o qual não estou muito familiarizado – nem sequer vi a série com Oscar Isaac – mas estas BDs de Preto, Branco e Sangue são sempre ótimas. Esta não foi exceção. O único handicap são as diferenças artísticas próprias do conceito antológico, que fazem com que as melhores artes deixem as “menos boas” em posição fragilizada. A nível artístico houve alguns momentos menos bons e outros muito bons, sendo o meu preferido o quadro de interação com o Homem-Aranha.

[Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthologies are great! They allow you to enjoy many stories in one single place. And thematic anthologies allow you to enjoy many points of view for one single theme. In this case, Moon Knight.

The problem, tho, is that the stories in this anthology don't have enough space to breathe. 10 pages are not enough to tell a good comic book story. In my opinion, each issue should have been its own story, rather than three.

Either way. Every issue has at least one or two stories each that are worth reading. Although, again, they suffer from being too short.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 'Black, White & Blood' anthology series continues with Moon Knight stories!

Consistently solid short stories from some of the best Marvel writers out there. There's something for everyone. Classic Moon Knight, White Suit'd Modern Moon Knight, and even future avatar of Khonshu and her Knight. Anything and everything is possible in this anthology series.

Bonus: the best Moon Knight stories, IMO, showcase the mental instability of the main character.