Reviews- MOON KNIGHT VOL. 1: FROM THE DEAD and MAGIC WIND VOL. 5: LONG KNIFE

MOON KNIGHT VOL. 1: FROM THE DEAD (Marvel, 2014; Softcover)

Collects Moon Knight #1-6 (cover dates May- October, 2014)

Writer: Warren Ellis

Artist: Declan Shalvey

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

Well all right! Now we're talking...a modern Marvel Comic not rooted in a crossover or designed to read as a bloated six issue arc. Warren Ellis has constructed six largely stand alone issues heavy on the action and light on the talking heads. I am unfamiliar with Declan Shalvey's artwork but loved it, ditto Jordie Bellaire's color art. Colorists do a lot more heavy lifting in terms of the artwork than they did even a decade ago, almost acting as an inker at times. Moon Knight has been reinterpreted in a way that doesn't discard what has happened before yet feels fresh and current. I'll be back for Volume 2.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone

Paper stock: Good weight semi-glossy coated stock.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Thick waxlike lamination. Marvel uses a thinner cardstock these days, allowing the book to be more malleable.

MAGIC WIND VOL. 5: LONG KNIFE (Epicenter, 2014; Softcover)

Collects Magic Wind #5 (cover date December, 1997)

Writer: Gianfranco Manfredi

Artist: Giuseppe Barbati and Bruno Ramella

Colorist: Connie Daidone

I buy too many damn books. I am making it something of a New Year's resolution to drop a lot of this ancillary stuff. I need to whittle my backlog down rather than add to it. The sad thing is that Magic Wind is good stuff. This is part one of a two-parter, but even the cliffhanger can't keep me hanging on.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone

Paper stock: Thick glossy coated stock.

Binding: Sewn binding.

Cardstock cover notes: Dull matte coating, sufficiently thick enough to resist scuffing.