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Marc Spector: Moon Knight Omnibus
Marc Spector: Moon Knight Omnibus, Vol. 1
Moon Knight's longest-running series gets the Omnibus treatment! Marc Spector gets down and dirty tackling street-level crime as a vigilante of the night. But when his old nemesis Bushman conquers his homeland of Burunda, Moon Knight must renew an international rivalry against his deadliest foe - with Marlene's life at stake! Meanwhile, Marc gains an unwanted ally in Midnight, takes on the anarchist Flag-Smasher and finds himself on trial for his crimes as a mercenary! Can Spider-Man and the Punisher help Marc root out the source of his woes? Stained Glass Scarlet seeks redemption - and Moon Knight deals with Arsenal, Chainsaw, Ghost Rider, the Hobgoblin and a sidekick's revenge!
Collects Marc Moon Knight #1-34, Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #353-358, Moon Divided We Fall and material from Punisher Annual (1988) #2.
Collects Marc Moon Knight #1-34, Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #353-358, Moon Divided We Fall and material from Punisher Annual (1988) #2.
1064 pages, Hardcover
Published March 28, 2023
About the author
Chuck Dixon
3,484 books1,085 followersCharles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 13, 2023
Video Review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChR-d...
This Omnibus is really a 3 parter in my view. This Omnibus collects stories mostly in late 80's to early 90s and is a revival for the series. After the original series ended in the first two Omnibus we had Moon Knight go over to West Coast Avengers for awhile. So this is his first Solo series since the original and...well...let's talk about it.
The first 25 issues, which is a large chunk of this Omnibus, is written by Chuck Dixon, or Charles Dixon (Dunno why he changed his name?) And this has Marc Spector back as a superhero, whooping some ass. And this is a lot more like a typical superhero book, with a snappy Marc spitting back lines of a action hero while taking down bad guys.
This is not the same Moon Knight vibe we've come to expect.
And in a way this is probably a positive. Repeating a old run without having the same vibe could ruin it. Now that I've read enough of Dixon stuff, I believe he's a solid entertainment writer, meaning he writes fun superhero romps even if they are kind of hollow in the end.
Just like his Nightwing and Batman runs, Dixon let's Marc have fun being a superhero. Whooping ass, taking names, a little sexist with Marlene because...of course. Don't have to research much to see where Dixon is now days and who he writes with. But I'll save the political stuff for another day. The writing is solid enough to carry these stories even if they hold little to no weight. We know what will happen every issue, Moon Knight will survive, no big twist or turns.
I will say Jeff as Midnight was a fun character. He's the son of a criminal Moon Knight took down prior and now wants to learn from Moon Knight to be a hero. But he's rash, spontaneous, and of course makes a ton of mistakes, leading to some really fun stories with him.
Then, like some miracle of Khonshu, in comes J.M. DeMatteis with a 6 part story arc called Scarlet's Redemption and it's wonderful. Dark and twisted, filled with excellent imagery at times, and a broken man/woman storyline. When Scarlet returns she is not what she was in the previous stories back in the 80s, but instead a woman who can't seem to find herself and seeks something, or someone, to stop these thoughts. On the flipside you have Marc who's trying to be a better person, help people, even through violence, leaving these two to eventually come head to head in a unexpected way but also letting Marc grow tremendously as a character.
This story harken back to the tone and vibe of Doug's run, and man oh man was it a treat. I loved every moment of this arc and really boosted this volume. I almost would say it's as good as volume 1.
Then in came the Hobgoblin...and it was still solid! Only two arcs but it was fun to watch Moon Knight and Spidy stop a insane bastard that also links back to Marc's story. This was a solid story...
Then Round Robin came in. A overly long team up event starring Spider-man, Punisher, Nova, Night Trasher, and eventually Moon Knight a few issues in. Brings back Jeff in a uninteresting, shittier done, Winter Soldier way, and really this team up is overly written, not fun, and nearly put me to sleep not once but TWICE. It felt like a grown man playing with his action figures and trying to have them make a cohesive story. Having a few cool pages of team ups isn't enough for me.
Anyway sadly those last 6 or 7 issues drag this down a bit since it ends on a slog of a read. Saying that, Dixon run is solid superhero fare, similar to all his superhero stuff. It's good but never great. Redemption arc is insanely good and the true spiritual successor to Doug's run. So with those this does get a 3 out of 5 simply to average out the decent Dixon run (2.5-3/5) and excellent redemption run (5/5) and the piss poor round robin run (1.5/5)
So overall rating for the entire Omnibus is a 3/5.
This Omnibus is really a 3 parter in my view. This Omnibus collects stories mostly in late 80's to early 90s and is a revival for the series. After the original series ended in the first two Omnibus we had Moon Knight go over to West Coast Avengers for awhile. So this is his first Solo series since the original and...well...let's talk about it.
The first 25 issues, which is a large chunk of this Omnibus, is written by Chuck Dixon, or Charles Dixon (Dunno why he changed his name?) And this has Marc Spector back as a superhero, whooping some ass. And this is a lot more like a typical superhero book, with a snappy Marc spitting back lines of a action hero while taking down bad guys.
This is not the same Moon Knight vibe we've come to expect.
And in a way this is probably a positive. Repeating a old run without having the same vibe could ruin it. Now that I've read enough of Dixon stuff, I believe he's a solid entertainment writer, meaning he writes fun superhero romps even if they are kind of hollow in the end.
Just like his Nightwing and Batman runs, Dixon let's Marc have fun being a superhero. Whooping ass, taking names, a little sexist with Marlene because...of course. Don't have to research much to see where Dixon is now days and who he writes with. But I'll save the political stuff for another day. The writing is solid enough to carry these stories even if they hold little to no weight. We know what will happen every issue, Moon Knight will survive, no big twist or turns.
I will say Jeff as Midnight was a fun character. He's the son of a criminal Moon Knight took down prior and now wants to learn from Moon Knight to be a hero. But he's rash, spontaneous, and of course makes a ton of mistakes, leading to some really fun stories with him.
Then, like some miracle of Khonshu, in comes J.M. DeMatteis with a 6 part story arc called Scarlet's Redemption and it's wonderful. Dark and twisted, filled with excellent imagery at times, and a broken man/woman storyline. When Scarlet returns she is not what she was in the previous stories back in the 80s, but instead a woman who can't seem to find herself and seeks something, or someone, to stop these thoughts. On the flipside you have Marc who's trying to be a better person, help people, even through violence, leaving these two to eventually come head to head in a unexpected way but also letting Marc grow tremendously as a character.
This story harken back to the tone and vibe of Doug's run, and man oh man was it a treat. I loved every moment of this arc and really boosted this volume. I almost would say it's as good as volume 1.
Then in came the Hobgoblin...and it was still solid! Only two arcs but it was fun to watch Moon Knight and Spidy stop a insane bastard that also links back to Marc's story. This was a solid story...
Then Round Robin came in. A overly long team up event starring Spider-man, Punisher, Nova, Night Trasher, and eventually Moon Knight a few issues in. Brings back Jeff in a uninteresting, shittier done, Winter Soldier way, and really this team up is overly written, not fun, and nearly put me to sleep not once but TWICE. It felt like a grown man playing with his action figures and trying to have them make a cohesive story. Having a few cool pages of team ups isn't enough for me.
Anyway sadly those last 6 or 7 issues drag this down a bit since it ends on a slog of a read. Saying that, Dixon run is solid superhero fare, similar to all his superhero stuff. It's good but never great. Redemption arc is insanely good and the true spiritual successor to Doug's run. So with those this does get a 3 out of 5 simply to average out the decent Dixon run (2.5-3/5) and excellent redemption run (5/5) and the piss poor round robin run (1.5/5)
So overall rating for the entire Omnibus is a 3/5.
July 6, 2024
Issues individually rated below -
Issue #1: 1.5/5
Issue #2: 4/5
Issue #3: 3/5
Issue #4: 2/5
Issue #5: 2.5/5
Issue #6: 2/5
Issue #7: 3/5
Issue #8: 3.5/5
Issue #9: 3.5/5
Issue #10: 2/5
Issue #11: 3/5
Issue #12: 3.5/5
Issue #13: 4/5
Issue #14: 2.5/5
Issue #15: 3/5
Issue #16: 2.5/5
Issue #17: 3.5/5
Issue #18: 4/5
Issue #19: 4/5
Issue #20: 4/5
Issue #21: 4/5
Issue #22: 3.5/5
Issue #23: 3.5/5
Issue #24: 4/5
Issue #25: 2.5/5
Issue #26: 2.5/5
Issue #27: 2/5
Issue #28: 3/5
Issue #29: 2.5/5
Issue #30: 3/5
Issue #31: 1.5/5
Issue #32: 4.5/5
Issue #33: 4/5
Issue #34: 3.5/5
Amazing Spider-Man #353: 4/5
Amazing Spider-Man #354: 3/5
Amazing Spider-Man #355: 2.5/5
Amazing Spider-Man #356: 3/5
Amazing Spider-Man #357: 2/5
Amazing Spider-Man #358: 2.5/5
Moon Knight: Divided We Fall: 2/5
The Punisher Annual #2: 2.5/5
Issue #1: 1.5/5
Issue #2: 4/5
Issue #3: 3/5
Issue #4: 2/5
Issue #5: 2.5/5
Issue #6: 2/5
Issue #7: 3/5
Issue #8: 3.5/5
Issue #9: 3.5/5
Issue #10: 2/5
Issue #11: 3/5
Issue #12: 3.5/5
Issue #13: 4/5
Issue #14: 2.5/5
Issue #15: 3/5
Issue #16: 2.5/5
Issue #17: 3.5/5
Issue #18: 4/5
Issue #19: 4/5
Issue #20: 4/5
Issue #21: 4/5
Issue #22: 3.5/5
Issue #23: 3.5/5
Issue #24: 4/5
Issue #25: 2.5/5
Issue #26: 2.5/5
Issue #27: 2/5
Issue #28: 3/5
Issue #29: 2.5/5
Issue #30: 3/5
Issue #31: 1.5/5
Issue #32: 4.5/5
Issue #33: 4/5
Issue #34: 3.5/5
Amazing Spider-Man #353: 4/5
Amazing Spider-Man #354: 3/5
Amazing Spider-Man #355: 2.5/5
Amazing Spider-Man #356: 3/5
Amazing Spider-Man #357: 2/5
Amazing Spider-Man #358: 2.5/5
Moon Knight: Divided We Fall: 2/5
The Punisher Annual #2: 2.5/5
February 8, 2026
3.9 stars
July 25, 2023
To me this was not as good as the 1st series but still some good reading throughout the run. Recommended
May 5, 2026
The 90s Moon Knight run. There's 8 perfect issues in here, buried under a flood of mediocre comics.
I'm not surprised that Moon Knight was an obscure character for the longest time, given that he got such a poor characterisation in his only run in the 90s. I read the 80s run before, collected in Moon Knight Omnibus, Vol. 1 and Moon Knight Omnibus, Vol. 2, which introduced the idea of the split personalities and his (not so little) cast of supporting characters. This run throws that out of the window.
The Omnibus can basically be divided into 3-4 parts.
#1-24 & 34 Chuck Dixon focuses solely on Marc Spector, a rich and former mercenary who has his friend Frenchie and his girl Marlene. He's fighting supervillains, teams up with other heroes and carries out the vengeance of Konshu. This is just a poor man's Batman and the split personalities are deeply missed. The artwork is also quite a letdown.
#26-33 DeMatteis J. M. writes 6 issue Scarlet Redemption arc that is very reminiscent of the famous Kraven's Last Hunt and it's just as good. That's right, these 6 issues are perfect and I would buy this as a standalone deluxe edition. The 2 Hobgoblin issues that follow are great as well.
Amazing Spider-Man: #353-358 The round robin storlyine, where Spider-Man, the Punisher, the New Warriors, Darkhawk and Moon Knight team up. This crossover is boring, badly written and doesn't make any sense. Thanks Al Milgrom, I'll make sure to avoid your comics from now on. At least there's Mark Bagley artwork in this crossover.
#25 & Divided we Fall #25 is a crossover with Ghost Rider, that is a lot of fun. It's written by Howard Mackie, who was also doing the ongoing Ghost Rider series and this issue is also collected in the Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Omnibus, Vol. 1.
Divided we Fall is a forgettable graphic novel about Moon Knight, Frenchie and Marlene.
In summary, the biggest part of this collection is mediocre. A small part is amazing and another small part is horrible. Given that, I can't really recommend this book, there's better books in the 90s, or better Moon Knight stories from other decades out there.
I'm not surprised that Moon Knight was an obscure character for the longest time, given that he got such a poor characterisation in his only run in the 90s. I read the 80s run before, collected in Moon Knight Omnibus, Vol. 1 and Moon Knight Omnibus, Vol. 2, which introduced the idea of the split personalities and his (not so little) cast of supporting characters. This run throws that out of the window.
The Omnibus can basically be divided into 3-4 parts.
#1-24 & 34 Chuck Dixon focuses solely on Marc Spector, a rich and former mercenary who has his friend Frenchie and his girl Marlene. He's fighting supervillains, teams up with other heroes and carries out the vengeance of Konshu. This is just a poor man's Batman and the split personalities are deeply missed. The artwork is also quite a letdown.
#26-33 DeMatteis J. M. writes 6 issue Scarlet Redemption arc that is very reminiscent of the famous Kraven's Last Hunt and it's just as good. That's right, these 6 issues are perfect and I would buy this as a standalone deluxe edition. The 2 Hobgoblin issues that follow are great as well.
Amazing Spider-Man: #353-358 The round robin storlyine, where Spider-Man, the Punisher, the New Warriors, Darkhawk and Moon Knight team up. This crossover is boring, badly written and doesn't make any sense. Thanks Al Milgrom, I'll make sure to avoid your comics from now on. At least there's Mark Bagley artwork in this crossover.
#25 & Divided we Fall #25 is a crossover with Ghost Rider, that is a lot of fun. It's written by Howard Mackie, who was also doing the ongoing Ghost Rider series and this issue is also collected in the Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Omnibus, Vol. 1.
Divided we Fall is a forgettable graphic novel about Moon Knight, Frenchie and Marlene.
In summary, the biggest part of this collection is mediocre. A small part is amazing and another small part is horrible. Given that, I can't really recommend this book, there's better books in the 90s, or better Moon Knight stories from other decades out there.
November 18, 2023
(Zero spoiler review) 2.5/5
I love Moon Knight. His limp and languid revival for the despicable Disney Plus show (which I was never going to watch, yet I'm well aware of) typifies Marvel's ongoing inability to properly implement this character into their universe. Moon Knight is Marvel's Batman, not Daredevil. Daredevil may be the bigger name with the better runs, but Marc Spector could and should be Marvel's answer to Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne, haunted by his past and his desire to fix his city and keep everyone from experiencing the same heartache and loss as he has. Marc Spector, trying to atone for his past misdeeds and grappling with the supernatural influence's shadow he now lives in. Sure, Marc Spector will never have Batman's rogue's gallery, but in truth, he doesn't need it. Moon Knight should be the darker, dirtier, more street level Batman, but instead, we get run's like this, which do nothing to elevate the character, but instead, drag him further and further into mediocrity and obscurity.
I appreciate Chuck Dixon. The man has taken a stand against the horrendous state of modern comics, and I respect and admire that. He has written a bunch of stuff I've never read, yet I still look forward to reading. What I have read so far however, has done little to show me he deserves to be mentioned alongside the great names of the industry.
Most of the time, this could be any generic superhero kicking about in these stories. Dixon completely misses the character here. Misusing or outright wrecking the outstanding cast of side characters, the worst of which is Marc and Marlene's relationship. Turning their fracturous yet special relationship into that of a petulant bunch of dim witted adolescents. It was painful to read and I never really got over it. Sal Velutto's art is fine for the most part, although something about it just leaves me cold and indifferent. That and it got worse and worse the longer it went on.
I read about half of Dixon's run until I gave up and kept flicking through the pages, hoping for a story/creator line up change to get me interested again. Needless to say, I kept seeing Dixon/Velutto on the book each time, and my heart sank the closer the book got to being over. All that changed when we got to the DeMateis / Garney Scarlet Redemption arc, which is one of the greatest things I've ever read in Moon Knight and one of the best comics I've read in a long time. That, and it's the only reason this book isn't lower than a 2, and the only reason I'm keeping this book. I've reviewed that separately so please check it out.
All in all, this was a monumentally disappointing affair. We sure as hell don't need more bog standard Moon Knight stories to throw on the wasted altar that is this character's sad legacy. I'll return to Scarlet Redemption again and again, but the rest of this book may as well not exist. 2.5/5
OmniBen.
I love Moon Knight. His limp and languid revival for the despicable Disney Plus show (which I was never going to watch, yet I'm well aware of) typifies Marvel's ongoing inability to properly implement this character into their universe. Moon Knight is Marvel's Batman, not Daredevil. Daredevil may be the bigger name with the better runs, but Marc Spector could and should be Marvel's answer to Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne, haunted by his past and his desire to fix his city and keep everyone from experiencing the same heartache and loss as he has. Marc Spector, trying to atone for his past misdeeds and grappling with the supernatural influence's shadow he now lives in. Sure, Marc Spector will never have Batman's rogue's gallery, but in truth, he doesn't need it. Moon Knight should be the darker, dirtier, more street level Batman, but instead, we get run's like this, which do nothing to elevate the character, but instead, drag him further and further into mediocrity and obscurity.
I appreciate Chuck Dixon. The man has taken a stand against the horrendous state of modern comics, and I respect and admire that. He has written a bunch of stuff I've never read, yet I still look forward to reading. What I have read so far however, has done little to show me he deserves to be mentioned alongside the great names of the industry.
Most of the time, this could be any generic superhero kicking about in these stories. Dixon completely misses the character here. Misusing or outright wrecking the outstanding cast of side characters, the worst of which is Marc and Marlene's relationship. Turning their fracturous yet special relationship into that of a petulant bunch of dim witted adolescents. It was painful to read and I never really got over it. Sal Velutto's art is fine for the most part, although something about it just leaves me cold and indifferent. That and it got worse and worse the longer it went on.
I read about half of Dixon's run until I gave up and kept flicking through the pages, hoping for a story/creator line up change to get me interested again. Needless to say, I kept seeing Dixon/Velutto on the book each time, and my heart sank the closer the book got to being over. All that changed when we got to the DeMateis / Garney Scarlet Redemption arc, which is one of the greatest things I've ever read in Moon Knight and one of the best comics I've read in a long time. That, and it's the only reason this book isn't lower than a 2, and the only reason I'm keeping this book. I've reviewed that separately so please check it out.
All in all, this was a monumentally disappointing affair. We sure as hell don't need more bog standard Moon Knight stories to throw on the wasted altar that is this character's sad legacy. I'll return to Scarlet Redemption again and again, but the rest of this book may as well not exist. 2.5/5
OmniBen.
February 3, 2025
The Marc Spector series was probably my personal favorite of the Moon Knight series, but the first series was excellent and for the most part I've always liked the character. This series mostly dropped the split personality aspect and was a lot more straight forward, with Moon Knight being even closer to Batman then he was originally. It didn't hurt that The Punisher was all over this volume, as well as several other guest heroes and some cool villains as well. I also have some nostalgia for this series as I read several of the issues when I was younger. While not everything in this volume was great, to me there was much more good than bad.
February 23, 2024
After emerging into some prominence in the early '80s with the great Moench & Sienkiewicz run, Moon Knight faded to a certain amount of obscurity in the latter portion of the decade. Aside from appearing in a few issues of Marvel Fanfare, Moon Knight would continue on in the Marvel Universe as a regular member of the West Coast Avengers during Steve Englehart's tenure on the book. Written out by John Byrne when he took over the book, Moon Knight disappeared for a bit only to emerge in Punisher Annual #2 as part of the "Atlantis Attacks" storyline. A new ongoing run for the character would begin shortly after, helmed by Chuck Dixon (credited here as Charles Dixon) with artwork primarily by Sal Velluto. This new run was titled Marc Spector: Moon Knight and it would deviate away from the film noir style of storytelling honed by Moench & Sienkiewicz, and even the infusion of Egyptian lore used by Alan Zelenetz and Chris Warner in "Fist of Khonshu". Dixon preferred to have his version of Moon Knight used solely as a mercenary turned vigilante, and kept the stories rooted in the street level. The earlier allegations of Moon Knight being Marvel's Batman has never felt more apt than in this run.
Dixon's stretch on the title is fun and breezy stuff, filled with action, snappy one-liners and relatively low stakes. Marc Spector does away with the multiple identities here and instead Dixon rounds out the supporting cast by having Marlene spend more time contributing to the story. Old villains like Bushman, Midnight and others make regular appearances, but this run feels incredibly disconnected thematically and tonally from the stuff that came before. There are some fun ideas here like a new sidekick who is the son of a former villain who turns out to be more trouble then he's worth.
But the strongest portion of this run is Marc Spector: Moon Knight #26-32, by the guest creative team of J.M. DeMatteis, Ron Garney and Tom Palmer. Their arc, entitled "Scarlet Redemption", features the return of Scarlet Fasinera, AKA Stained Glass Scarlet, a mother of a deceased mobster turned killer nun. Stained Glass Scarlet has always been one of Moon Knight's most interesting and complex rogues, and DeMatteis really dials up things up by telling a story steeped in religious symbolism and the complex nature of morality. Read within the context of the more action heavy, compressed stories bookending this arc is highly surreal since it genuinely feels like such a massive departure for the series.
Unfortunately, the quality of the stories here aside from the "Scarlet Redemption" arc is pretty lackluster and at times pretty bad. The "Round Robin" storyline that spanned issues of Amazing Spider-Man was particularly dreadful. While most of the Dixon stuff is decent enough, it is very average comic storytelling that doesn't do anything unique for the character. The Hobgoblin storyline following "Scarlet Redemption" is okay, but really the main redeeming comics collected here were all written by DeMatteis.
This omnibus edition ends with the one-shot, Moon Knight: Divided We Fall, written by Bruce Jones and with art from Denys Cowan. It's a pretty forgettable story featuring Bushman again that is no where near the quality of work you'd imagine from greats like Jones and Cowan.
I grew up on reading Moon Knight, and though this is technically the era I grew up reading, I can't justify this series with that much of a positive review. It's fun at times but mostly just okay, and the lows here are pretty significant. Only the "Scarlet Redemption" issues are really worthwhile, but you don't need to buy the entire omnibus to read a half dozen issues or so.
Dixon's stretch on the title is fun and breezy stuff, filled with action, snappy one-liners and relatively low stakes. Marc Spector does away with the multiple identities here and instead Dixon rounds out the supporting cast by having Marlene spend more time contributing to the story. Old villains like Bushman, Midnight and others make regular appearances, but this run feels incredibly disconnected thematically and tonally from the stuff that came before. There are some fun ideas here like a new sidekick who is the son of a former villain who turns out to be more trouble then he's worth.
But the strongest portion of this run is Marc Spector: Moon Knight #26-32, by the guest creative team of J.M. DeMatteis, Ron Garney and Tom Palmer. Their arc, entitled "Scarlet Redemption", features the return of Scarlet Fasinera, AKA Stained Glass Scarlet, a mother of a deceased mobster turned killer nun. Stained Glass Scarlet has always been one of Moon Knight's most interesting and complex rogues, and DeMatteis really dials up things up by telling a story steeped in religious symbolism and the complex nature of morality. Read within the context of the more action heavy, compressed stories bookending this arc is highly surreal since it genuinely feels like such a massive departure for the series.
Unfortunately, the quality of the stories here aside from the "Scarlet Redemption" arc is pretty lackluster and at times pretty bad. The "Round Robin" storyline that spanned issues of Amazing Spider-Man was particularly dreadful. While most of the Dixon stuff is decent enough, it is very average comic storytelling that doesn't do anything unique for the character. The Hobgoblin storyline following "Scarlet Redemption" is okay, but really the main redeeming comics collected here were all written by DeMatteis.
This omnibus edition ends with the one-shot, Moon Knight: Divided We Fall, written by Bruce Jones and with art from Denys Cowan. It's a pretty forgettable story featuring Bushman again that is no where near the quality of work you'd imagine from greats like Jones and Cowan.
I grew up on reading Moon Knight, and though this is technically the era I grew up reading, I can't justify this series with that much of a positive review. It's fun at times but mostly just okay, and the lows here are pretty significant. Only the "Scarlet Redemption" issues are really worthwhile, but you don't need to buy the entire omnibus to read a half dozen issues or so.
February 19, 2025
So i've always wanted to read this series after i got my first moon knight comic's many years ago and i decided to pull the trigger on this omnibus without knowing much about it, I must say i was pleasantly suprised to find out Chuck dixon of batman fame and Sal velluto of justice league task force were the first creative team on this book, The writing is pretty strong and starts right after Marc leaves the west coast avengers and returns to new york, Sal vellutos artwork is great!, i knew what to expect from reading his other work but he Shines in this series, The stories The trial of marc spector and the Bushman Dictator stories Were great.
I found the subplot of midnight jeff wilde to be a bit of a slog at times But it really all paid off in round robin the sidekicks revenge which was a fitting end for the character at the time mirroring his own fathers demise at the hands of moon knight and Co.
If you've ever thought about reading more moon knight i really would reccomend this book, especially if you can find it for a good price.
I found the subplot of midnight jeff wilde to be a bit of a slog at times But it really all paid off in round robin the sidekicks revenge which was a fitting end for the character at the time mirroring his own fathers demise at the hands of moon knight and Co.
If you've ever thought about reading more moon knight i really would reccomend this book, especially if you can find it for a good price.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2025
I remember an interview with Chuck Dixon where he said something like "Moon Knight has a great costume but as a character he'd have to stand on a chair to kiss Batman's feet". I kept thinking of this as I read these two years of stories from Dixon where he jettisons most of his supporting cast from the first series and ignores MK's multiple secret identities/personalities. I'm not saying Moon Knight is better than Batman, but maybe you don't need the chair if you don't strip away all the most interesting bits. Maybe all this was done away with in The Avengers and Dixon is just inheriting this status quo, I don't know.
Regardless, Dixon does deliver some solid super heroics. Then after he leaves the book, JM DeMatteis drops in for a 6 issue arc that knocks it out of the park. Weird how the book is better when someone brings back the cast and a villain from the first MK run. Must be a coincidence.
Regardless, Dixon does deliver some solid super heroics. Then after he leaves the book, JM DeMatteis drops in for a 6 issue arc that knocks it out of the park. Weird how the book is better when someone brings back the cast and a villain from the first MK run. Must be a coincidence.
October 27, 2024
Most of the book was just average superhero fare, a Batman type without the supernatural aspects or the multiple personalities established in the last two collections, but near the end we get a terrific spooky Stained Glass Scarlet story and the Spider-Man story Round Robin: The Sidekick's Revenge, which is a classic superhero romp, and those bumped my review up a star.
February 13, 2026
Qué maravilloso es adentrarte por primera vez en la historia del caballero luna. Buen arte y buena escritura. Muy entretenido
July 24, 2024
I should have been really disappointed, but surprisingly, it was just a little bit of a disappointment.
Chuck Dixon writes most of the issues in the series. The only thing I know Dixon from is the Punisher stuff he did in the 80s. And if you think about it, this really does feel like an 80s Punisher comic, but with a little less gunfire. There doesn’t seem to be a real explanation as to why all his identities are gone. His girlfriend Marlene used to call him by a different name. But now he’s just Marc Spector. No dark, brooding atmosphere. No ghostly enemies. No supporting cast from the streets of New York.
So what makes it good? Marc’s two main support members, Frenchie and Marlene are both more fleshed-out, understandable people. Art by Sal Velluto, and later Ron Garney is fantastic. The fights with Bushman are really good; as is the Stained Glass Scarlet story by DeMatteis.
Comics were on a downward spiral in the late 80s. It was just a taste of the garbage that we would have to read in the early 90s. I’m willing to be forgiving because there is still some quality in this book.
Just do your best to overlook the terrible Spider-Man crossover and the poorly written brain-washing story by Bruce Jones.
Chuck Dixon writes most of the issues in the series. The only thing I know Dixon from is the Punisher stuff he did in the 80s. And if you think about it, this really does feel like an 80s Punisher comic, but with a little less gunfire. There doesn’t seem to be a real explanation as to why all his identities are gone. His girlfriend Marlene used to call him by a different name. But now he’s just Marc Spector. No dark, brooding atmosphere. No ghostly enemies. No supporting cast from the streets of New York.
So what makes it good? Marc’s two main support members, Frenchie and Marlene are both more fleshed-out, understandable people. Art by Sal Velluto, and later Ron Garney is fantastic. The fights with Bushman are really good; as is the Stained Glass Scarlet story by DeMatteis.
Comics were on a downward spiral in the late 80s. It was just a taste of the garbage that we would have to read in the early 90s. I’m willing to be forgiving because there is still some quality in this book.
Just do your best to overlook the terrible Spider-Man crossover and the poorly written brain-washing story by Bruce Jones.
June 14, 2023
I liked the Direct Market dust jacket more the standard editon, but the contents of the two versions is the same. Marc Spector/Moon Knight undergoes several character arcs in this collection. Although each writers take of the cast and world is different, the respect for continuity is what makes it works. The clunky aspect of the series are dropped in favor for a more grounded and gritty approach. The art is excellent and it was a joy to see old 90s coloring techniques. I cannot wait for Volume 2 to be released next year.
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