One of the earliest comics I can remember reading was Moon Knight #5 in 1980. I remember reading it over a family Christmas holiday, blown away by the art, recognising Klaus Janson’s name but feelings somewhat bewildered by the name of the penciller. How did you pronounce Sienkiewicz anyway? “Ghost Story” was mesmerising and I spent much of the next couple of years trying to catch up and keep caught up whilst living on a backward island in the English Channel. Eventually my Dad kindly bought me a subscription and from #21 onwards all my troubles vanished (Bill didn’t draw that issue, it was a very strange filler by Vicente Alcazar). With #22 came the return of Morpheus and Bill ramped his art up a notch, then #23 and he outdid himself again – I was watching high quality widescreen TV/film making in comic form decades before TV caught up, and my pre-teen mind just demanded more. With #24 I got it – the return of Stained Glass Scarlet is a highlight of Bill’s run with Doug Moench, but it was the next two issues that took my head apart.
The arrival of Black Spectre, with Moench’s commentary about society’s treatment of Vietnam war veterans, to this day makes The Sopranos look like a comedy show in comparison. Marc Spector’s antithesis is almost a precursor for the alt right, as Knowles hides his anger and hate from the people, using a professional facade to encourage them to turn against their own interests. #26, “Hit It” in contrast was poetry, almost a meditation on violence:
This wasn’t superhero comics, this was next level storytelling – this was art. That two storytellers were trying to say something about violence far beyond superheroes and villains stuck with me into adulthood I think. Simplistic answers for social problems were never good enough for me after this.
Art from Moon Knight (1980-) #28
Cover from Moon Knight (1980-) #29
There were three more issues – #28, back to more of a ghost story, whilst #29 marked the return of Werewolf By Night with perhaps Sienkiewicz’s best art of all – some truly grotesque horror, which could never have turned up on a news stand. The art faded somewhat with #30, which was sad, but by then Bill had his sights on the New Mutants with Chris Claremont, and together they broke new ground for Marvel’s mutants. The Moon Knight run was a run was about 20 years ahead of its time, it evolved the medium without even trying and my fondness for it has been lasting. I’ve actually been able to thank Moench, Sienkiewicz and their editor, the late Denny O’Neil in person for their work, and hope to chat more with Bill one day in the future.
4 Color Dreamer 