Moon Knight #16 Review

Written by: Jed MacKay
Art by: Alessandro Cappuccio
Colors by: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover art by: Stephen Segovia, Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: October 19, 2022

Moon Knight #16 enters the heart of Chinatown with Reese and Soldier to discover why Tutor considers the region off-limits to his Structure of vampires. The answers Moon Knight finds will come at a deadly cost.

Is It Good?

Well, now. Moon Knight #16 is the type of comic that spends most of its time on exposition but ends with a status-quo-altering bang you won’t see coming. Based on the final page alone, this issue is a winner.

When last we left Moon Knight, he figured out Tutor’s vampire cult was ordered to stay away from Chinatown for some unknown reason. Now, we learn Chinatown has its own vampire gang, one far older than Tutor, and the competing “Fang Gangs” (trademark pending) are content to live in a Cold War of sorts as each can destroy the other for different reasons. Moon Knight, of course, is out to put Tutor down for good, so he’s willing to try to make the enemy of his enemy his friend.

Again, this issue is largely exposition with a lot of confident posturing, a deep history lesson on the origin of Chinatown’s “Fang Gang,” an explanation behind the threats that keep rival gangs in check, and the potential path for Moon Knight to form an alliance. It’s all presented with as much drama, and gravitas as Cappuccio’s stellar art can wring out of every panel.

The kicker of this issue is a bit of action in the B plot as Hunter’s Moon faces off against Grand Mal and Nemean on a city rooftop. The brutal fight breaks up the potential monotony of Moon Knight’s conversation with Lady Yulan to keep your eyeballs entertained. The fight ends definitively, ensuring consequences in the vampire war to come.

What should be a quiet, sedate issue turns out to be a tense, dramatic setup issue with a consequential battle ending in a hard-hitting final page.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts:

Moon Knight #16 journeys to the heart of Chinatown to uncover a secret Cold War between rival vampire gangs and a closer look into Tutor’s grand plan. The art is outstanding, the exposition (though lengthy) sets the stage and raises the stakes, and the last page will have consequences for several issues to come.