Hard to read this one without wincing
I love Moon Knight, and I loved the first six issues of this run (for the most part). So I say this with a little bit of disappointment and a lot of hope for the future, that this issue was pretty poor. The writing has been good. At some points even very good. But while this issues main idea is solid, it falls flatter than Oklahoma in the dialogue department.
This issue brings Moon Knight into contact with the everywhere-at-once Deadpool, as he wakes to a disturbance at the nearby hospital. He arrives only to find 'Pool hovering over a comatose patient, gun drawn. Moony saves the man in a battle with Deadpool, only to discover that he is actually a pretty bad dude. This leaves Moon Knight questioning his actions in saving the man, and further questioning what he should do now. This is not at all a bad plot, I like the idea of a reformed Moon Knight being tested with these little moral dilemmas. But why on Stan Lee's green earth did the dialogue get so unbelievably corny?! Like this little number...
Deadpool: Don't interrupt me when I'm working!
Moon Knight: Killing a feeble old man is working?
Deadpool: Feeble? Aren't you even a little bit curious as to why he has bodyguards?
Moon Knight: No, I'm more concerned with kicking your ass!
Really? That's your best banter? C'mon Gregg...c'mon.
The dialogue stays pretty bad throughout most of the book, even Moon Knight internal monologue at the end was sub-par. And that's usually my favorite part of the Moon Knight stories. He's not a bad writer, he just needs to get back to the way he was doing things in the previous six issues. Maybe he feels uncomfortable writing with Deadpool, feeling like he needs to make Moony compete in the banter department. He never has been a great comedy writer. I'm sure this crossover was Marvel's idea, let's just hope that things get better.
But that's only the writing, and I'm far less upset with the writing then I was with the almost inexcusable art in this book. Good lord, what an awful transition. Going from Opena's beautiful work in the first arc to...to this. First of all, Huat uses WAY too many little doodle to convey action. Early in the book, Lockley opens a tunnel in his floor using a button, which is surrounded by two little lightning bolts to make sure the audience knows he's using electricity! This continues throughout the book, but more annoying then that is the crazy confusing angles of some of the shots, absolutely indecipherable compositions, and I don't even know what the hell happened to everyones ankles. There is a shot, in one panel, of just Moon Knight's ankle, and it is literally so out of proportion IT'S DISTRACTING. If ankles aren't your strong suit, fine. I can't draw, so I won't judge. But if you can't draw faces, don't paint portraits. On top of the awkward character proportions, I feel like this book has way too anime-inspired. And don't get me wrong, I don't mind an anime-esque style, but it really doesn't fit with this book.
To sum up, I can pretty much find a problem, or inconsistency on every page of this issue, and that can't happen. I truly hope this book doesn't continue to suffer from constantly changing artists. It's ruined other series, and I truly hope it doesn't happen to one of my favorite characters. Let's all hope this was just one bad issue, and that the rest of the arc takes care of some of these little problems. Fingers crossed folks.
