In the Heat of the Summer (aka The Mean Season) by John Katzenbach

 

(pb; 1982)

From the back cover

“In Miami, they call July the ‘mean season.’ This summer, a clever, elusive killer is terrorizing the entire city—and making frequent phone calls to crack newspaper reporter Malcolm Anderson.

“Now Anderson is trapped by the hottest story he’s ever had—trapped between his editors who want him to keep the story alive, by the cops who want him to help catch the killer, by his girlfriend who wants their lives safe again, and by his own fascination with the tortured murderer looking to get even for the sins of Vietnam.

“The story is making Anderson a national celebrity—and could make him the killer’s next victim.”

 

Review

Summer, a good, sometimes hard-to-set-down thriller, begins rough and chatty, but once it gains focus (about a quarter of the way through, about the time the killer contacts reporter Malcolm Anderson) it becomes a solid read, with effective commentary on the media’s role in war and murder as well as a few plot-convenient-dumb-character moments (e.g., Anderson giving away key killer-capture information to the killer). The edge-lined ending leans more toward whimper than bang, but it works for the book, Katzenbach's first. The resulting film—I forget its ending—likely had a different more bang-oriented finish, given Hollywood’s penchant for more crowd-pleasing, easier-to-digest fare.

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The resulting film (and the reason why the book was retitled), The Mean Season, was released stateside on February 15, 1985. Phillip Borsos directed it, from a screenplay by Christopher Crowe (billed as Leon Piedmont).

Kurt Russell played Malcolm Anderson. Mariel Hemingway played Christine Connelly. Richard Jordan played Alan Delour.

Richard Masur played Bill Nolan. Joe Pantoliano played Andy Porter. Andy Garcia played Ray Martinez. William Smith played Albert O’Shaughnessy [cinematic stand-in for Peter O’Shaughnessy].

Archie Meets Nero Wolfe by Robert Goldsborough

 

(pb; 2012: prequel to Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe book series)

 

From the back cover

“Archie Goodwin comes to New York City hoping for a bit of excitement. In his third week working as a night watchman, he stops two burglars in their tracks—with a piar of hot lead slugs. Dismissed from his job for being ‘trigger-happy,’ he parlays his newfound notoriety into a job as a detective’s assistant, helping honest sleuth Del Bascom solve cases like the Morningside Piano Heist, the Rive Gauche Art Gallery Swindle, and the Summer-Hayes Burglary. But it’s the kidnapping of Tommie Williamson, the son of a New York hotel magnate, that introduces Goodwin to the man who will change his life.

“Young Tommie has gone missing, and only one detective is built for the job: Nero Wolfe, the heavyset genius of West Thirty-Fifth Street. Together they will form one of the most unlikely crime fighting duos in history—but first Goodwin must find Tommie Williamson and prove to Wolfe that he deserves a place by his side.”

 

Review

Goldsborough, who’s authored eight other post-Stout Wolfe novels, has penned an excellent prequel to Stout’s first Wolfe book (Fer-de-Lance, 1934). Archie, slightly streamlined (appropriate for our current age), is as witty, all-around smart, and character-true (that includes Fritz Brenner and Wolfe’s freelance operatives) as any of the four Wolfe novels I’ve read.

This time around, Archie and Nero are less acerbic with each other, having just met, though Archie’s penchant for committing to necessary physical action (even hitting or killing someone) is still at the fore. Purists might grumble at Goldsborough’s streamlining of the actions and characters, but purity, is often the atmosphere of hypocrisy, existence not life, and joylessness. Great read. Might check out the author’s other works once I’m through reading Stout’s Wolfe works.

 

Note: In his post-novel “Author’s Notes” Goldsborough wrote that Archie was inspired by Fer-de-Lance: “In Fer-de-Lance, the first Nero Wolfe novel (1934), Archie refers briefly to the kidnapping of Tommie Williamson, the son of Burke Williamson, owner of a chain of hotels, and says that each year on the anniversary of the boy’s return, Mr. and Mrs. Williamson and their son dine at Wolfe’s brownstone to mark the occasion.”

A String of Beads by Thomas Perry

 

(oversize pb; 2015: eighth book in the Jane Whitefield series)

 

From the back cover

“A year after getting shot on a job that took a dangerous turn, Jane has settled into the quiet life of a suburban housewife in Amherst, New York—or so she thinks. One morning, coming back from a run, Jane is met by an unusual sight: the female leaders of the eight Seneca clans parked in her driveway in two black cars. They have come to her with a troublesome request. Jane’s childhood friend from the reservation, Jimmy [Sanders], is wanted by the police for the murder of a local white man and has fled. The clan mothers believe Jane is the only one who can find him. But when Jane begins to retrace a journey, she took with jimmy when they were fourteen years old, she realizes that the police aren’t the only ones after him. As the chase intensifies, the number of people caught up in this deadly plot grows, and Jane is the only one who can protect those endangered by it.”

 

Review

A year after Jane’s kidnapping, torture and revenge in Poison Flower, Jane—always wary of potential danger—has settled into semi-comfortable life with her doctor-husband (Cary McKinnon). But when the female members of an influential Seneca/Native American council seek her help in locating and rescuing her good, on-the-lam childhood friend (Jimmy Sanders) who’s been accused of murder, she takes on Sanders as a runner. The closer Jane gets to locating and helping Jimmy (and those related to her current run), the more complications arise—many linked to killer/thievery ringleader (Daniel Crane) and his Mafia-afiliate associates (Salamone and don Lorenzo Malconi).

There hasn’t been a less-than-excellent entry in the Jane Whitefield series thus far, and Beads is no exception. Beads has an especially strong Seneca-centric storyline to it, reminding me a lot of its source novel (Vanishing Act, 1995). Of course, there’s lots of physical defensive/tactical talk and elements, action, strong character development for its lead characters, and villains worth hissing at. Worth owning, this. Followed by The Left Handed Twin.

House of Rejects: The Making of Rob Zombie's Firefly Trilogy by Dustin McNeill

 

(oversized pb; 2023: nonfiction)

 

Review

Rejects is an entertaining, comprehensive and read for fans of Rob Zombie’s cinematic works, replete with an overview of Zombie’s pre-film musical and personal life and plenty of film pre-production/behind-the-scenes details (but not enough to clutter to Reject’s effective flow) and media/fan reactions (positive and critical) to give readers a sense of breadth regard his works and life. Rejects is light and deft enough to appeal to casual Zombie fans while also giving readers enough of an inside look at his cinematic and musical worldview to engage more-than-casual readers. Worth owning, this.

Marked for Revenge by Emelie Schepp

 

(hb; 2015: second book in the Jana Berzelius series. Translated from the Swedish by Suzanne Martin Cheadle.)

 

From the inside flap

“When a Thai girl overdoses smuggling drugs, the trail points to Danilo, the once criminal MMA-trained public prosecutor Jana Berzelius most wants to destroy. Eager to erase any evidence of her sordid childhood, Berzelius must secretly hunt down this deadly nemesis with whom she shares a horrific past.

“Meanwhile, the police are zeroing in on the elusive head of the long-entrenched Swedish narcotics trade, who goes by the name The Old Man. No one has ever encountered this diabolical mastermind in person; he is like a shadow, but a shadow who commands extreme resepect. Who is this overarching drug lord? Berzelius craves to know his identity, even as she clandestinely tracks Danilo, who has threatened to out her for who she really is. She knows she must kill him first, before he can reveal her secrets. If she fails, she will lose everything.

“As she prepares for the fight of her life, Berzelius discovers an even more explosive and insidious betrayal—one that entangles her inextricably in the whole sordid network of crime.”

 

 

Review

Set seven or eight months after the events of Marked for Life, Jana Berzelius still hasn’t found all the answers to her questions regarding her violent and mysterious past—but there are others who hold those answers, and they’re protecting or seeking to harm her (and it’s hard to tell which, e.g. as with Danilo Peña). Not only that, the events, elements, and people involved in her life, past and present, might also be involved in her current case, involving the overdose of a Thai bodypacker with heroin inside her, more deaths, and deeper political corruption.

Revenge is an excellent, immediately immersive sequel, just as—if not more than—hard to put down than its action-oriented thriller source book, with a deepening of its characters, new and recurring. Worth owning, this. Followed by Slowly We Die.

Constantine by John Shirley

 

(pb; 2005: movie tie-in)

 

From the back cover

“Hidden from mortal eyes are the angels and demons that coexist with mankind. . . supernatural beings who seek to influence our lives for better or worse. Amoral and irreverent renegade occultist and paranormal detective John Constantine is blessed and cursed with the ability to interact with this secret world. When Constantine teams up with skeptical L.A. policewoman Angela Dodson to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation catapults them into a catastrophic series of otherworldly events—even as the forces of Hell conspire against Constantine to claim his immortal soul.”

 

Review

Based on the 2005 film (itself based on a six-issue story arc** of the DC/Vertigo-label comic book Hellblazer), Shirley’s movie novelization captures the moral and physical grime of John Constantine’s world as he, a P.I. with a shady past, investigates supernatural crimes while trying to save humanity from spiritual beings who seek to subvert humanity to their misguided or evil ends. 

This time out, the guilt- and dead friends-haunted Constantine has stage 4 cancer, which will soon claim him, even as he puzzles out and tries to prevent a Hell-bound being from physically traversing the boundaries of spirit and flesh. His initially reluctant endeavors—he’s more inclined to tip a pint or ten at a local pub—take on a new urgency after he meets a L.A. policewoman (Angela Dodson) whose suicidal twin births more than a sibling’s grief. This is a great film tie-in read which, while it diverges from its noticeably expansive source material in terms of scope, captures and boils down the essence of its core characters (Constantine, his friend Chaz, etc.) while making for an entertaining flick and companion read. 

Penned by an overall excellent writer, Constantine is worth reading for fans of horror/supernatural and movie novelizations as well as fans of its source comic book series, provided they don’t expect the resulting film work or novel to be an exact translation of the writing that spawned it (film and books are different mediums, and its cinematic setting is Los Angeles, not England). Also worth owning, this.

[**Hellblazer, issues 41-46]

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The source story arc (“Dangerous Habits”) of Hellblazer (again, issues 41 through 46) was written by Garth Ennis; it was illustrated by Will Simpson. The film version was released stateside on February 18, 2005. Directed by Francis Lawrence from a script by Kevin Brodbin, Constantine features a noticeably streamlined and relocated storyline, with several source-story characters absent or encountering different fates. Below, the Hellblazer omnibus, which collects issues 41 though 133.

Marked for Life by Emelie Schepp

 

(pb; 2014: first novel in the Jane Berzelius series. Translated from the Swedish by Rod Bradbury)

 

From the back cover

“When the head of immigration is shot dead, suspects quickly emerge. But no one else can account for the mysterious child-size fingerprints at the scene.

“Public prosecutor Jane Berzelius steps in to lead the investigation. Young and brilliant but emotionally cold, Berzelius, like her famous prosecutor father, is not swayed by the devious widow or threats of blackmail. She is steely, aloof, impenetrable. Until the boy. . .

“On a nearby shore, the drug-addled body of a young teen is found along with a murder weapon. Reviewing his autopsy, Berzelius sees something hauntingly familiar. . . Carved deeply into his flesh are initials that scream child trafficking—and trigger in her a flash of recognition from her own nightmarish childhood.

“Now, to protect herself and keep her dark past a secret, she must solve the crimes and find the depraved mastermind first. . . before the police do.”

 

Review

Fans of Jo Nesbø, Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series (and its streamlined David Lagercrantz and Karin Smirnoff-penned sequels), and other Nordic thrillers might find Schepp’s Marked for Life to be their burn-through-the-pages catnip—like Nesbø,Schepp alternates between past and present in her chapters, with strong characters, strong writing, excellent pacing and well-timed reveals. This is an excellent, tear-through-it read, one worth buying. Followed by Marked for Revenge.

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Viaplay, a streaming service specializing in Nordic thrillers, dramas and comedies, put out the Marked for Life-based series in 2024 (Jana—Märkt för livet). It was canceled after one season because of its production company’s “downsizing.” (As of this writing, it's streaming on for no extra charge on the Amazon site.)

Princess of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

 

(hb; 2023: twenty-fourth book in the Dune series)

 

From the inside flap

“Two years for Dune: The never-before-told story of two key women in the life of Paul Muad’Dib—Princess Irulan, his wife in name only, and Paul’s true love, the Fremen Chani. Both women become central to Paul’s galaxy-spanning Imperial reign.

“Raise in the Imperial court and born to be a political bargaining chip, Irulan was sent at an early age to be trained as a Bene Gesserit Sister. As Princess Royal, she also learned important lessons from her father—the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. Now of marriageable age, Princess Irulan sees the machinations of the many factions vying for power—the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, the Spacing Guild, the Imperial throne, and a ruthless rebellion in the Imperial military. The young woman has a wise and independent streak and is determined to become much more than a pawn to be moved about on anyone’s gameboard.

“Meanwhile, on Arrakis, Chani—the daughter of Liet-Kynes, the Imperial Planetologist who serves under the harsh rule of House Harkonnen—is trained in the Fremen mystical ways by an ancient Reverend Mother. Brought up to believe in her father’s ecological dream of a green Arrakis, she follows Liet around to Imperial testing stations, surviving the many hazards of desert life. Chani soon learns the harsh cost of Fremen dreams and obligations under the oppressive bootheel of the long Harkonnen occupation.”

 

Review

Princess, like many of the Dune books, is a slick, often hard-to-set-down (especially in the last third) science fiction tale with plenty of action, drama and series-recurring characters—while Princess is not a vital entry in the series it, set two years before the events of the original Dune novel (1965), is a welcome addition to the series, further explaining some of the relations between certain characters and organizations (e.g. CHOAM and the Tleilaxu). I especially enjoyed Wensicia's story arc as well as her relationship with her oldest sister, Irulan.

Apeship by Carlton Mellick III

 

(pb; 2024: third book in the Apes**t series)

From the back cover

“An intolerable prick takes his weird daughter, his college-aged girlfriend, her douchey brother, and her awkward best friend on a boating trip to show off his new yacht. But when they come across an abandoned cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, they find themselves hunted by a group of sadistic mutant killers hellbent on keeping them as their immortal playthings for all eternity.”

 

Review

Mellick returns to the risible, out-there horror of the pink crystals (which keep the dead, however mutilated, alive and alert) with Apeship, this time set on the ocean, first on “Daddy Cool”’s yacht (The Crotch Moistener) and later on the long-lost-at-sea The Pacific Princess (its exterior seen in the first season of the television show The Love Boat, 1977-87). As with the first book, Apes**t, there’s little/no explanation how the decades-at-sea Pacific Princess became a floating home to the pink crystals and new(?) mutants, so those craving backstories in their entertainment might see that as lacking; if Mellick writes a fourth Apes**t novella—an idea he mused about recently—he might do what he did in Clusterf**k and provide more background about the pink crystals and specific characters.

Another recurring Apes**t element: cringey characters with strange and wild secrets. This time out, they’re less cringey and almost likeable at times. Also revisited are Mellick’s piss takes on political correctness and generational differences (e.g., the ‘r word,’ cultural appropriation), 1970s/1980s television, sex (tacky, gory, horrific), and other social affronts, all spot-on hilarious, and not recommended for the easily offended.

For the rest of us who appreciate deviant humor, unkillable mutants and often-horrible people, Apeship may prove to be a laugh-out-loud, equally over-the-top entry in the Apes**t series.

 

Note to new Apes**t readers: Apeship can be read without reading the books before it. They also can be read in any order. That said, those who enjoy the series may get more enjoyment reading them in publication order because they are loosely linked via character. In this most recent Apes**t entry, Lily and her father (Blaise, aka “Daddy Cool”) are cousin and uncle to frat bro “Extreme Dean” (from Clusterf**k)—early on in Apeship it’s noted that he “went missing last fall.”

Up the Line by Robert Silverberg

 

(pb; 1969)

From the back cover

“Judson Daniel Elliott III thought of himself as being a pretty square type. But he was simultaneously attacked by restlessness, weltschmerz, tax liens and unfocused ambition. This left him, with several horrible alternatives.

“In the circumstances, he was glad to accept the advice of Sam, his friendly black guru, who introduced Jud to the Time Service, Sam himself being a part-time Time Serviceman.

“And a roistering bawdy lot they turned out to be. Judson was astounded at the ease with which he took to the swinging life of a Time Courier—and before he knew it, he had, of course, landed himself in a marvelous transtemporal paradox whose name was Pulcheria.”

 

 

Review

Set in the “now-time” of 2059 (for the most part), Up is a lusty, socially freewheeling science fiction tale, with a young lothario protagonist who time hops and leads tourist groups through the early centuries of mankind, and quickly learns and exploits the loopholes in the rules regarding his profession. This fast-moving, well-written first-person narrative has the distinctive tone of the free-love 1960s, with occasionally egregious (especially in the uptight now) language—e.g., Elliott’s sex-enthusiastic attitude and his brief, well-intended and wince-inducing descriptions of “black guru” Sam, and Elliott’s pointed, and quick-temper use of a certain racial epithet—for which he promptly apologizes).

If you are mature and open-minded enough to take these occasional that didn’t age well elements with maturity, understanding and brief-wince grace, Up might be a humorous, blast-from-the-past science fiction thrill-source. If you’re not, skip the mostly deft, historically pulpy and time-travel picaresque Up.

“Moon Knight” Omnibus Vol. 1 by various artists and writers (Part 2 of 2)

 

(oversized hb; 2020: graphic novel. Collects Werewolf By Night #32-33, Marvel Spotlight #28-29, Defenders #47-50, Spectacular Spider-Man #22-23, Marvel Two-in-One #52, Moon Knight #1-20, and material from Defenders #51, Hulk! magazine #11-15, 17-18 and 20, Marvel Preview #21 and Amazing Spider-Man #220.)

 

From the inside flap

“Soldier of fortune Marc Spector. Millionaire playboy Steven Grant. Taxi driver Jake Lockley. All three are aspects of the same man; together, they are Moon Knight! Spector’s fighting skills, Grant’s resources and Lockley’s street smarts combine in the form of Marvel’s strangest vigilante—aided by his loyal pilot, Frenchie, and Marlene [Alraune], the woman with whom he shares all his lives.

“Meet him in the pages of Werewolf By Night, where he is hired by the shadowy Committee to hunt the lycanthropic Jack Russell. His crescent cape soon glides him across the Marvel Universe as he fights alongside the dynamic Defenders, tussles with the Thing and shares the first of many encounters with Spider-Man. But Moon Knight is no ordinary costumed crimefighter, and his co-creator Doug Moench showed exactly why in the Hulk! magazine, of all places—beginning a character-defining collaboration with superstar-in-the-making Bill Sienkowicz.

“Moench and Sienkowicz began building the strangest rogues’ gallery in comics, pitting their silver-clad vigilante against lethal threats, including Lupinar the Wolf, the Cobra and the haunting Hatchet Man. Then, as Moench and Sienkowicz continued the adventures in the first Moon Knight title, they explored Spector’s past to reveal his true origin, his bitter rivalry with the bloodthirsty Bushman and his uncanny connection with Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon! From there, they continued to mix super-heroics with the supernatural, plunging Moon Knight deep into New York’s darkest corners and introducing evermore bizarre adversaries, such Arsenal, the one-man army; the nightmarish Morpheus and Stained Class Scarlet, the nun with a crossbow!”

 

Overall review

Caveat: (possible) minor spoilers in review. Part 1 of review is here. Vol. 2 is here.

Moon Knight is one of the stranger comic book anti-heroes with his dissociative disorder as well as his often out-there villains, creepy and street-gritty, torn-from-the-headlines plots and settings (usually New York City), and overall unsettling feel and endings—the overall feel is one of somewhere between for mature audiences and teen friendly comics (if they’re into dark stuff), leaning more toward pulpy for mature audiences fare. On occasion, this grittiness lent itself to insensitive language (the rare use of the words “pansy” and “slut”), but given the context of their usage, it makes sense. This series was an excellent and crazy-in-tone expansion on his character and the characters (and the resulting situations) surrounding him.

Moon Knight’s original run went from 1975 to 1984; his second run went from 1985 to 1990.

Worth owning, this, if you like your super-heroics gritty, provocative, and sometimes hallucinogenic.

 

Review, issue by issue

Moon Knight: “The Macabre Moon Knight!” (#1): Marc Spector’s mercenary past explodes his vigilante present when his former, steel-fanged employer (Bushman) reappears in New York City to violently take over gambling and other criminal enterprises.

Spector’s Khonshu-resurrected vigilante/millionaire persona (Moon Knight/Steven Grant) must stop the implacable, relentless Bushman—whose renewed presence may not be accidental—before he destroys everything Spector/Moon Knight holds true.

 

Moon Knight: “The Slasher” (#2): A serial killer (The Skid Row Slasher) stalks derelicts—including Bertrand “Jake” Crawley, Moon Knight/Lockley’s (cab driver persona) informant—drawing Moon Knight/Lockley (Spector’s cab driving persona) into the violent mix.

This is one of my favorite Moon Knight issues. In it, a life-changing chunk of Crawley’s past is shown, Moon Knight/Lockley reveals his true identity/alter egos to those close to him, and another wildly disturbed killer is confronted, ending in a weird-healing, tragic form—neo-pulp/pulp at its comic book best, despite, or because of, its melodramatic courtroom finish.

 

Moon Knight: “Midnight Means Murder!” (#3): Marc Spector/Moon Knight [MK] sets out to catch the Midnight Man, an elusive art thief, but is it a trap for MK?

Fun issue, despite an instance of brief, casual sexism (a slap on a woman’s butt) that might read as shocking for modern readers.

 

Moon Knight: “A Committee of Five” (#4): The Committee, a criminal group reorganized after MK and Jack Russell (aka Werewolf By Night, lycanthropic target of the Committee) busted it apart, wants revenge on MK—after all, he was hired to capture Russell, but turned on them and took their money.

To get their revenge, they hire five specialized, top-notch assassins to kill him. Can MK survive this seemingly endless circle of violence?

This MK issue, solidly clever, reconciles the original-now-called “fake” origin of MK in Werewolf By Night (issues 32-33), with the wildly different origin story in Moon Knight #1. 

 

Moon Knight: “Ghost Story” (#5): Brambles, New York. MK stalks two bank robbers (John Creach, Frankie Parkins) who seek their erstwhile partner in crime (Edward Redditch) in a spooky house. Seems Redditch inherited a lot of money in his mother’s will, and it’s time for Redditch—or his partners—to collect it.

Impressive, effective use of multiple flashbacks in this issue, leading up to the atmospheric haunted house portion of the story, adding a welcome complexity and twists to it.

 

Moon Knight: “White Angels” (#6): When Joshua Mendossi, Marc Spector’s close friend and Director of Police in St. Lucien, asks Spector/MK for help, MK—as Spector—flies there with his usual crime-fighting entourage: Frenchie, Marlene Alraune, Gena, her two adolescent sons (Ray and Ricky) and Crawley to the impoverished, voodoun-superstitious island which is dominated by a white plantation owner (Norman Vidal). It seems a lot of poor young black villagers have been disappearing and reappearing as zuvembies (resurrected dead men loyal to a voodoun houngan, Le Ange Blanc [or “the White Angel of Death”]).

Once on St. Lucien, Spector/MK and his friends encounter a grimmer situation than expected. The themes in this issue (like a lot of MK issues) are especially dark and somewhat mature—though still age-appropriate for a Marvel/kids’ comic book; this is to the series’s credit, as is the especially pulpy and creepy feel of this gravitas-infused storyline.

 

Moon Knight: “The Moon Knights” (#7): A group of terrorists with ransom in mind release a mind-altering drug in Chicago’s water supply, causing much of the city’s denizens to go violently insane—with MK, Marlene Alraune, Crawley, and Frenchie in the middle of it. Cliffhanger finish.

 

Moon Knight: “Night of the Wolves” (#8): MK and company’s city-wise/Chicago nightmare continues as MK—dazed and wounded—tries to stop the terrorists from poisoning the water supply (this time with a fatal drug), rescue Marlene Alraune (who has most likely gone mad) and try not to pass out before accomplishing these first two feats.

 

Moon Knight: “Vengeance in Reprise” (#9): The Bushman, defeated by MK in Moon Knight issue 1, escapes from prison. MK tears through the criminal underworld looking for him, while a threatening presence stalks Frenchie and Marlene Alraune. Is the Bushman or someone else?

Cliffhanger ending to this especially suspenseful, tightly edited issue. For Spector/MK’s character, this is a milestone situation/issue.

 

Moon Knight: “Too Many Midnights” (#10): Marc Spector/MK’s four-persona tension/crisis comes to a (possibly) disastrous head after the Bushman escapes what he intended to be MK’s watery tomb (a fate Frenchie and Anton Morgart, aka the Midnight Man, last seen in issue 3, are meant to share).

Post-sewer escape, Spector/MK is as broken as his residential Khonshu statue that “resurrected” him in Africa, while his friends and lover (Marlene Alraune) search for him—even as the Bushman and his crew embark on a vicious, effective crime spree.

Melodramatic scenes—in an intentionally funny, Shakespearean way—make up part of this issue, as well as those of Spector/MK’s rebound. Like the issue before it, this is an especially comic book-y, excellent milestone issue for Spector/MK.

 

Moon Knight: “To Catch a Killer” (#11): Their new copter operational—the previous one was wrecked beyond repair in issue 7—MK, Marlene Alraune and Frenchie head down to New Orleans to find the drug-dealing murderer of Frenchie’s on-the-lam (and recently returned) ex-lover, Isabelle Kristel.

Creed, a behemoth of a mohawk-sporting man, is a formidable and relatively less bizarre villain, but a good palate-cleanser character (considering how many mind-frakkers MK goes up against). Good, heartbreaking glimpse of Frenchie’s past and thwarted future in this issue.

 

Moon Knight: “The Nightmare of Morpheus” (#12): A mutated, gone-psychotic sleeping-experiment patient, Robert Markham (aka Morpheus), seeks revenge on the doctor (Peter Alraune) who accidentally made him that way.

MK gets involved when Marlene, Peter’s sister, is informed of Markham/Morpheus’s attacks on Peter, who’s fleeing his monstrous ex-patient’s “ebon energy” (black beams of freezing nightmare-inducing energy). MK gets unexpected help from a cop, Detective Flint.

 

Marvel Team-Up Annual: “Power Play!” (#4): MK, Iron Fist, Power Man and Daredevil are thrown into a crazy situation when Killgrave the Purple Man, whose uttered suggestions spread madness and chaos, works with Wilson Fisk (aka The Kingpin) to physically turn the entire city against the four heroes.

Fun, well-written and -illustrated hero/villain mashup, with a bit of 1981 sexism (courtesy of Power Man) in the mix.

 

The Amazing Spider-Man: “A Coffin for Spider-Man!” (#220): In this plot-twisty issue MK begins pulling high-profile robberies for the Directorate, a committee of syndicate crooks; it seems MK is gunning for a position on their board—and Spider-Man is there to stop him, once he’s figured out MK’s game.

 

Moon Knight: “The Cream of the Jest” (#13): Two cellmate-felons (Ace Taggart; Jonathan Powers, aka the Jester) waste no time in going after those who put them in prison: MK (for Taggart) and Daredevil (for Powers). Meanwhile, MK and Daredevil—initially solo, later teaming up—seek out the paroled, revenge- and robbery-minded criminals. Fun, relatively light issue.

 

Moon Knight: “Stained Glass Scarlet” (#14): A vicious gunman (Joe Fasinera) escapes from a life sentence in prison and goes on a city-wide shooting spree. MK and the mysterious Stained Glass Scarlet (a beautiful, melancholic woman in a red dress) separately seek out the mad-dog Fascinera.

A palpable sense of grief suffuses this issue with its explicit mention of John Lennon’s then-recent murder. This is an especially timely issue, not only dealing with gun violence, Lennon’s death, but beautifully illustrating its themes of retribution and failed salvation.

 

Moon Knight: “Ruling the World from His Basement” (#15): An Asian ambassador is stalked by a racist, rodent-costumed freak (Xenos). The police (including Detective Flint, last seen in Moon Knight 12) think it’s probably MK. Xenos is a fun, over-the-top new foe, whose psychological underpinnings make this another standout issue in the Moon Knight series.

 

Moon Knight: “Shadows on the Moon!” (#16): A hyper-focused and resilient muscleman (Blacksmith), who’s studied MK’s fighting style, is hired by a rich industrialist and terrorist (Alexander Latimer) to kill MK. The Thing (aka Ben Grimm) from the Fantastic Four makes an appearance in this complex-for-a-comic-book story, with impressive reader-immersive callbacks to MK’s history.

 

Moon Knight: “Master Sniper’s Legacy!” (#17): Benjamin Abramov, Marc Spector’s friend and Mossad agent, pays Spector an unexpected visit, telling the former mercenary he wants Spector to take a coded microdot to a contact (Streglov) in Lausane, Switzerland. When Abramov is killed by a hitman (Master Sniper), in the employ of a terrorist dictator (Nimrod Strange), MK—as Marc Spector—sets out to deliver Abramov’s microdot. Of course, revenge is also on Spector/MK’s mind as he travels to Switzerland, even as Master Sniper tracks him, Marlene Alraune, and Frenchie there.

This exciting, fast-paced and well-drawn (hello, Bill Sienkiewicz and artistic company!) issue has a cliffhanger-ish ending, so be prepared to (want to) read the next issue immediately.

Issue 17 also includes a solid and somewhat humorous bonus short tale, “The Worship of False Idols,” a tale of Marc Spector’s mercenary past.

 

Moon Knight:  “The Slayers Elite” (#18): In Jerusalem, MK battles three of Nimrod Strange’s “Slayers Elite”—gun-specialist Jou-Jouka; Kareesh-Bek, with his acid-filled knives; and the giant Sumaro, master strangler and garrote expert. MK engages with them to prevent the Slayers Elite from murdering Marlene Alraune and Anna Abramov (Benjamin’s widow, briefly seen in issue 17 after her husband was shot by Master Sniper at Strange’s behest).

This issue, a direct-story continuation of the previous one, is just as thrilling (on all levels) as issue 17.

 

Moon Knight: “Assault on Island Strange” (#19): MK (as Marc Spector), Marlene Alraune and Frenchie find themselves in an Enter the Dragon-esque situation as they infiltrate Nimrod Strange’s terrorist-stronghold island, with offshore support from Streglov and his men—introduced in issue 17, Streglov is the man that Benjamin Abramov, prior to his death, wanted Spector to deliver a coded microdot to; said microdot contained information about Strange’s terrorist activities, past and alarming future.

Meanwhile, Strange has armed himself with a new weapons-loaded outfit and is calling himself Arsenal, making him even more formidable. Cliffhanger finish.

 

Moon Knight: “Cut Adrift Off the Coast of America” (#20): Nimrod Strange (aka Arsenal), having escaped the destruction of his Third World Army and his island base in the last issue, threatens Manhattan, NY, with oil-based fires that would kill “ninety-seven percent” of its denizens.

Fortunately, MK, Streglov and Marlene Alraune—the last of these heroes undercover as one of Strange’s three female bodyguards—are around to stop him before his black-smoke nightmare is unleashed on Manhattan.

This is an especially dark issue for MK and Marlene because there’s the acknowledged implication that Marlene, calling herself “Mary Sands,” likely had to sleep with Strange (along with her fanatical, fellow bodyguards, Yumi and Asigi)—off-camera, of course. This lends a more-emotional-than-usual tone to the story, at least for Marlene and MK.

Great, emotionally potent wrap-up to MK’s latest, thrilling story arc, and equally excellent capper for the first Moon Knight omnibus. Followed by Moon Knight” Omnibus Vol. 2 (by various artists and writers).