I have avoided the Marvel character Moon Knight because it looks so much like an attempt to create a Marvel knockoff of Batman. Many top comic writers and artists have turned the character into something unique. The most unique quality of Moon Knight is that he has three secret identities, a mercenary, a wealthy playboy, and a cab driver. Writers have developed this into the idea that Moon Knight is mentally ill and suffers from dissociate identity disorder.

 

Warren Ellis specializes in writing stories about odd loners who are hyper competent and possess skills far beyond normal people. Moon Knight is a perfect fit for his approach, alongside other Ellis titles like Transmetropolitan, Doktor Sleepless, Fell, Karnak, and Desolation Jones. Ellis expands on MK's multiple identities by giving him two new heroic appearances. As Mr. Knight he is a white suited detective who consults with the police in ways that the dangerous vigilante Moon Knight cannot. He also dons a suit of Egyptian shamanistic armor with a bird skull mask that allows him to punch ghosts. A fun dark take on a fringe Marvel character.

 

 

I have no idea what this was about and ended up skimming most of it by the end. Whatever this was it didn't hold my interest at all. Boring. Next!!

Moon Knight has always been in the shadow of Batman, but he has some quirks that Batman doesn't, being semi-possessed by an egyptian god (Khonshu, the Moon God) so he has a sort of immortality but he's powered by a powerful sense of justice. Right now he's dealing with some issues to do with how he has split himself into working pieces and often doesn't remember what his other selves do.  Talking to entities he sees but no-one else does is not helping the opinion people have of him.

 

It's interesting to see how he protects those he cares for by distancing himself from them but it's a hard life, even if you do have many selves to talk to and a god watching over you.  

 

It's interesting, much darker than earlier stuff I read, but still I want to read more.

Diversity features heavily in Trees, Vol 1.: In Shadow. There are some male to female and female to male transgender characters, as well as some homosexual characters. There is also diversity in terms of races represented. This is not a book where the white people rule, by far. (But there is a crack about rich white men that had me snorting!) And there is a good chunk of the book that focuses just on one of the LGBT relationships that was nice to read.

Trees, Vol 1: In Shadow was weird, but it was also well-thought out and thought-provoking. The only thing I didn’t like, really, was the art style. Even after I finished the volume, I wanted to keep reading. I wanted to know about the Trees. I wanted to know what it was like when they first landed, I wanted to see them speak beyond the little bit that we see at the end. I thought the premise that’s laid out in the very beginning was super interesting and… well, yes, I just need to know more!

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