As reported originally by IGN, writer Jed MacKay will be doing an oversized anniversary issue of Moon Knight #25 along with a five-issue run called ‘Moon Knight: City of The Dead’. The run of the comic will also see the official debut of Layla El-Faouly, the beloved character Scarlet Scarab from the Moon Knight MCU television series. Thus, making her the second MCU heroine to be adapted into a comic (the first one being Darcy).
Featuring art by Alessandro Cappuccio, Alessandro Vitti, and Partha Pratim, Moon Knight #25 promises to be an enchanting new situation where Moon Knight comes in conflict with someone from his past: looking back at the final missions of Marc Spector’s old mercenary crew. The issue also will also include a classic Moon Knight tale by legendary comic writer Doug Moench and Eisner-winning, Emmy-nominated artist Bill Sienkiewicz.
MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD
Written by David Pepose with art by Marcelo Ferreira, MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD will feature Layla El-Faouly’s superhero debut as the all-new Scarlet Scarab. The storyline synopsis sees Moon Knight try and protect a runaway, left barely alive outside the Midnight Mission. Journeying far beyond the land of the living, we see the character battle across the mind-bending underworld known as the City of the Dead.
“Working on MOON KNIGHT #25 was a bit of a mammoth task… 70 pages of story, cutting between three stories, each with their own artist! It was a really exciting opportunity to have that much space to work in, telling a Moon Knight story in a longer form than we’re usually used to.” said Jed Mackay in an interview with IGN, “Bringing Layla El-Faouly into our story was exciting. Adding an already beloved character into the universe of the comics is a really interesting opportunity, and being able to show the “before” to David and Marcelo’s “after” was a wonderful bit of synchronicity. It was an idea that we both came to independently, and the way our stories were able to dovetail is something that I’m looking forward to people experiencing. While the Scarlet Scarab will indeed be turning up in MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD, in MOON KNIGHT #25 we’re seeing a much younger Layla and a much younger Marc Spector as they embark on a mission as members of the crack mercenary team, the Karnak Cowboys.”
David Pepose added, “I’m thrilled to be tackling one of my all-time favorite Marvel characters in MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD. Teaming up with sensational artist Marcelo Ferriera, we’re sending Marc Spector on one of his most mind-bending adventures to date — rescuing a young runaway’s soul from the City of the Dead. Yet as a mercenary and as a hero, Moon Knight has been no stranger to leaving a body count… so he might see some familiar faces looking for payback! But Marc won’t be embarking on this mission alone… I couldn’t be more excited to be writing Layla El-Faouly’s debut as the all-new Scarlet Scarab! Layla has been such a fun character to adapt—she knows Marc better than almost anyone, and that tension is going to spark some spectacular fireworks on this otherworldly adventure.”
