In ur opinion,who do u think draw moon knight best?
Mine is Declan Shalvey
BOY DID YOU ASK A QUESTION!!!!!!!
I’ve waxed on and on about the writers of Moon Knight. The best ones, the worst ones, a few mediocre ones that got the job done….
But what about the art?
Each artist has their own style, their own ideas, and their own grasp of Moon Knight.
When you get very lucky, you get a writer and artist dream team that create something beautiful.
Let’s start with Bill Sienkiewicz.
(THIS WASN'T EVEN FOR A COMIC. HE JUST FUCKING DREW THIS FOR FUNZIES)
He was not the first to draw Moon Knight. THAT was Don Perlin! Look at this cape design!
He was relatively new to the comic scene, but quickly a very sought after man. New Mutants, Electra, and many others for many different publishers.
And even after he left us he still pops in now and then to remind us that no one…NO ONE can draw Moon Knight like he can. Look at Sienkiewicz JUST FLEXING.
(2014 people!!) Someone came to him and went, "Hey we could use a Moon Knight Variant. Do you wanna dip back in and hand us a little ol' Moony?"
And he gave them this and I'm sure they went "...WTF we didn't even ask for this. We thought he'd just do him perched on a building or something in the distance. What do we do with this? It's too good holy crap."
(2022 because he felt like schooling us again with another cover)
But he gave us more than the cowl. He gave us the men who wear it.
And as amazing as his art was:
He also gave us the most important pieces:
I could wax on and on about Bill all day… But let’s take a look at some other artists.
Kevin Nowlan Kept the dark parts of the suit and the billowing cape.
Bo Hampton is the one that teamed up with Zelenetz to give us a fantastic sleek and angry design. Here's MK punching some Neo-Nazi in the face!
Chris Warner came later in "First of Khonshu" run and started with a very classic 1990s muscle bound and glitzy design. A design that might start to look familiar to those of you with a sharp eye (look at that belt. We're approaching the BLING age of Moon Knight.)
This was a weird time in comics for Moon Knight. We were switching out writers a lot and he suddenly had a much more Egyptian style theme.
Moon Knight art goes on a WILD ride after this. We get the "Marc Spector" run that spans late 80s and early 80s and the art gets very 90s. Solid, Dark, and BUSY.
Sal Velluto (With the Punisher! This was a fantastic pair up!)
Ron Garney Plays with the sharp edges of the cloak and that’s nice. Also gives his mask a bit more of a definition.
Gary Kwapisz comes in with a BOLD metallic Moon Knight. Just look at those fists! Time time in MK was just wild you guys.
James Fry flies in and tries to make sense of those MUSCLES.
1993 arrived and the 90s hit HARD.
Stephen Platt deep in that 90s style.
What’s happening here? I don’t know. You don’t know. No one knows. But man does it look ACTION COOL.
Muscles got BIG in this period in the 90s. Anatomy got weird and chest size had no limits.
Tommy Lee Edwards steps in and slims our pal Moon Knight back down.
Now THAT is a breath of fresh air. I love this.
Look at the use of that cape! And the hood? The subtle mask outline… Yes please.
Mark Texeira steps in after this. Let me tell you guys about this art. This is the start of the modern age. 2008!
(Look at the little Moon Knight design in the upper right near the signature! OMG little cutie!) Also the details in that rugged face and wet hair.
But how does the suit look?
Nice.
We leave behind the glorious Tex and head to David Finch! You might recognize some of these motiffs as we get to some more popular runs.
Hello there fist spikes! This is when Moon Knight starts to get his reputation as being a bit…punchy…
The point in his cowl gets defined in this style too.
Mico Suayan takes on this hard hitting run too.
Clean lines, dark darks and white whites and that cape! The spikes are gone but the muscles are coming back.
This was a big action packed run and numerous artists got a chance.
Now… This is about where I stop listing every single artist because it gets too fast pace with single issues, annuals, events, and all that fun business. SO here are some highlights. Also I have an upload limit so I'm sorry I can't show you all the beautiful art styles that branched off at this time.
Bong Dazo gave us that little sad startled cat.
Jerome Opeña Had such AMAZING action picks. I’ve never seen action done so well. And that outfit!
I…I could go on forever about this artist and the run he did. But that’s for another day… Just know that I think about it all the time and it lives in my head rent free.
I’m going to skip a lot here and jump to the BIG GUNS.
Hate the run, LOVE the art.
My dear Alex Maleev makes it worth it.
The absolute SLAYING of the white in every image kills me. LOOK. LOOOK AT THE USE OF NEGATIVE SPACE.
It honestly brings me back to Sienkiewicz.
I’m screaming inside holding this up to the moon.
From there we slide SO easily into Declan Shalvey my precious.
You know what I’m talking about.
Ron Ackins Took over from there and it was stellar.
I am going to skip over THREE artists on purpose because not only was the RUN bad (the worst) but also the ART was just the worst. (See BEMIS run. Ugh. Nothing was good in that run.)
Do I need to talk about Greg Smallwood?
Do I really need to post anything about Greg?
Or Cappuccio who works with MacKay's current run?
Or Federico Sabbatini who also fills in with MacKay?
(I would but I'm out of picture space. Thanks Tumblr).
So who is my favorite?
Hard to say… I’m caught up in the colors and designs of some, the action styles of others. Sometimes the raw power of MK’s fighting or just in how clever his cape and cowl are done.
And sometimes I crave that amazing 1980s Sienkiewicz designs of Moon Knight in the rain, Stained Glass Scarlet’s everything, and the shape of Moon Knight (or shapelessness of him).
I could argue that ANY artist that draws Moon Knight during a good run is my favorite. I could forgive most any style if the story is right and the style will weave into the words and the flow of his cape will settle into my heart once again.
And sometimes….
Well…
