Video Review: 'X-Men' #12 and 'Flashpoint' #3

Cristian is serving up a whole lotta reviews this week! And why not? There were a stack of big books that came out last Wednesday! You can see all of Cristian's reviews on his YouTube Channel here. This week Cristian has reviewed Moon Knight #2, X-Men #12, Uncanny X-Force #11, Superboy #8, Secret Six #34 and Fear Itself #3.

Video Review: 'Moon Knight' #1

Christian, one of our podcast listeners, shared his views on Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev's latest collaboration: Moon Knight #1. He enjoyed Bendis' script but wasn't crazy about all of Maleev's artwork. Click here for more of Christian's reviews of titles such as Fear Itself #2, Superboy #7 and Secret Six #33 (Christian, email us with a good jumping on point for Secret Six!)

Thanks again for sharing!

Cape Town Capsule Reviews, 5/4/2011 Releases

By Don M. Ventura

Moon Knight #1

Marvel Comics

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Brian Michael Bendis know what to do with a C-list comic book property. Moon Knight #1 is a testament to the writer’s ability to breathe life into a character who could easily have disappeared into obscurity at this point.

Bendis is joined by long-time collaborator Alex Maleev, whose artwork is less photo-realistic than his current work on Scarlett (also with Bendis). I prefer his work here, sharp defined edges and full of life. Matthew Wilson’s coloring is brilliant as well; I love the pre-modern age comic book textures employed throughout the book.

Bendis sets the action in Los Angeles where Mark Spector has relocated to continue his work as a television producer. The hero is guided by his Avengers teammates, Captain America, Wolverine and Spider-Man, who advise him to take up heroics in the City of Angels. Immediately Moon Knight finds himself knee deep in trouble as he uncovers a plot to obtain an defunct Ultron robot by the immense Mr. Hyde.

The book takes a somewhat surprising twist at the end---that was given away in the early announcements for the series—which is nonetheless effective. This is an exciting beginning for Moon Knight and his Amazing Friends.

'Moon Knight' Preview

I’ve always felt that, for a writer, the next best thing to getting to work on a creator-owned title is to work on lesser known properties. If a writer is assigned Superman, Spider-Man or any of the other household names, he is obliged to find that character’s distinguishable voice while staying well within the lines.

With the obscure characters that haven’t had a book in years, and possibly never a lengthy successful ongoing, writers have a more open canvass that isn’t going to meet with fanboy criticism when the character is taken to unexpected places.

This is what excites me about Brian Michael Bendis’ upcoming run on Moon Knight where I will assume the writer will do whatever he damn well pleases with the character—and I’m fine with this. Moon Knight is one of those properties that has been around for almost four decades and hasn’t had a successful run yet. Writers clearly enjoy playing with the character since he has continued to pop up all over the Marvel U for several years.

It’ll be interesting to see what new things Bendis can bring to the Mark Spector when Moon Knight launches in May with frequent collaborator Alex Maleev.

'Big Shots': Marvel is Ready to Relaunch Dardevil, Punisher, and Moon Knight Titles

Marvel is turning the return of their three grittiest heroes into an event called "Big Shots." Last week we got the first glimpse of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s take on Moon Knight—the multiple personaltied hero who has has an on again/off again relationship with the Marvel Universe. While Mark Spector has been helping support Secret Avengers and Heroes for Hire, Bendis and Maleev believe there is gold to be mined in a series of Moon Knight’s own.

Marvel is promising to bring two other street-fighting vigilantes back to prominence with their own all-star creative teams: Daredevil and the Punisher. The announcements for the powerhouses handling these characters will be announced at C2E2 in mid-March.

Marvel's 'Moon Knight' Teaser Promises Some One-Stop Avenging

Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev are getting ready to offer up their take on Moon Knight, that 70's Marvel creation that has bounced around the Marvel Universe for years. He's had a few ongoings, but I suspect the new team is going present something to which fans can really gravitate. Marvel offered up this first teaser for the new project today, and it promises a lot with its tagline "All the Avengers you'll ever need."

Moon Knight, by Bendis and Maleev, is scheduled for release this May.

New York Comic-Con: Saturday's Announcements

Here’s a quick glance at today’s announcements from the New York Comic-Con:

More DC Universe cartoons are on their way. Of course we know All-Star Superman is coming this Spring. Next up are Batman: Year One, Frank Miller’s classic retelling of Batman’s first appearance, and Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, starring my personal favorite Lantern, Guy Gardner. Also a new Green Lantern cartoon series will be showing up on the Cartoon Network late next year.

Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming (Powers) are set to release a new creator-owned title under Marvel’s icon label: Takio, a book about super-powered siblings who don’t always get along. Bendis promises a much lighter book then fans of he and Oeming are accustomed.

Bendis, who really needs more work, is reuniting with Alex Maleev (Scarlett and Daredevil) on Moon Knight. They plan to redefine this character who could do with a little redefining.

A Powers series may be in the cards. If you haven’t read Bendis and Oeming’s post-modern look at superheroes, you’ve got some reading to do.

Andy Diggle and Adi Granov are working on next summer’s Astonishing Captain America. The book is set to come out in conjunction with the release of the big screen Cap adventure Captain America: The First Avenger.

The X-Men are finally ready to jump into the Heroic Age as they team-up with Spider-Man on the mean streets of Manhattan. This could be interesting, because the X-Men have rarely done much super-heroing. Let’s see if it’s a good fit.

Dark Horse introduced their Dark Horse Bookshelf app which removes the need for third party distribution fees of their digital books. The savings are being moved onto the readers—$1.49 per issue—and creators get to take home more change. 2011 should be an extremely exciting time for digital comic books!

Hire Date: December 2010

Every company has a library of beloved characters whose ongoing titles have a shelf life of one or two years, regardless of the talent behind it. The best way to handle these properties, besides a well executed mini, is to put them all in a team book—no matter how ill fit some of the characters may be. So far I like the teasers I’ve seen for the new Heroes for Hire book; Marvel is due to announce it tomorrow. The best thing about a team of also-rans is that the creators are allowed more flexibility with how the writers handle (or mishandle) the characters. The original Heroes for Hire consisted of Power-Man and Iron Fist. This time Iron Fist is back, accompanied by a group of such 70’s mainstays as Paladin, Ghost Rider, Falcon, and Moon Knight. With Elektra and Punisher thrown into the mix, I’ll assume this is not an “all ages” title.

Writing team Abnett and Lanning (Majestic and The Authority) are behind this book, so let’s hope they regularly play up the stakes. Heroes for Hire is released this December.