Moon Knight takes on the Sons of the Jackal in a new preview of City of the Dead #1

Moon Knight in action.
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Jed MacKay's run on the monthly Moon Knight book has been a real highlight of Marvel's recent output. And while the publisher has been increasingly hinting at dark times ahead for Marc Spector - this week publishing an ominous teaser that promises "The last days of Moon Knight" - it's clear the character is more popular than ever.

In fact, spinning out of MacKay's run is the five-issue City of the Dead - Moon Knight's first ever event series, written by David Pepose with art by Marcelo Ferreira.

We have a first look at pages from City of the Dead #1 in the gallery below. In the action-packed preview, Moon Knight intervenes when a gang of street thugs dedicated to Anubis attack a kid. Spoiler: it doesn't go so well for them.

Although Spector is a big part of the new series, the book is said to really focus on Layla El-Faouly, the MCU's Scarlet Scarab, as played on screen by May Calamawy. 

The character made her first comics appearance in this week's bumper-sized Moon Knight #25, having been created for the Disney Plus TV show - not the first time a TV or movie character has been incorporated into the comics.

The cover for Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Marvel's official blurb for the new issue has this to say:

"THE DEBUT OF THE NEW SCARLET SCARAB! When a young runaway is attacked by a gang of death cultists, he is left barely alive outside the Midnight Mission. But Marc Spector made a vow long ago to defend the travelers of the night…and as long as a spark of life remains, his mission isn't over yet. Follow Moon Knight on his most harrowing adventure yet, as the Fist of Khonshu journeys far beyond the land of the living - and battles across the mind-bending underworld known as the City of the Dead!"

Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1 is published by Marvel Comics on July 19.


You can discover the history and powers of Moon Knight right here.

Will Salmon
Comics Editor

Will Salmon is the Comics Editor for GamesRadar/Newsarama. He has been writing about comics, film, TV, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he has previously launched scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for over a decade. He sometimes feels very old, like Guy Pearce in Prometheus. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places and he runs the micro-label Modern Aviation, which puts out experimental music on cassette tape.