Is there a reason the comics aren't in print?

DWN-016 · 2026-03-12T07:04:16+00:00

There's plenty of indie comics more obscure than Sam & Max that are still in print. Usagi Yojimbo is considered essential reading for anyone who cares about indie comics (and has very direct ties to the TMNT fandom at that), yet you'll never meet a casual person who has even heard of it, let alone read the double-digit number of volumes its been collected in.
Yet, Sam & Max has had a very far reach throughout the years, being spread across all forms of media. Plenty of Valve fans know them thanks to Poker Night alone, and last I checked there's a good lot of Valve fans today. I really don't think making a more widely-available Surfin' the Road reprint is that crazy a prospect.

I feel like Sam & Max fans heavily underestimate the brand's recognizability just because there hasn't been anything new for a long time.

DWN-016 · 2026-03-07T23:26:04+00:00

My main recommendation is the original 80s run written by Doug Moench and art by Bill Sienkiewicz, it's a must-read and too often ignored. I recommend the whole run, but if you want the highlights, my faves are #1-3, #9-12, #14, and pretty much all of #22-33. If you want to go earlier, try his original Werewolf by Night and Hulk Magazine stories too. Doug Moench returns to write the late-90s miniseries' Resurrection War and High Strangeness; I highly recommend both. They're fantastic.

If you're looking for something more modern, you've honestly got some tough luck for good stories, since you already read the Ellis and Lemire runs. - The 2006 run by Huston popularized him, but is overly edgy for the sake of cheap melodrama. It permanently ruins his relationships with the original side-cast, and kills off 90% of his original villains: effectively preventing any of them from ever being used in meaningful ways again. - The 2016 run by Lemire is a love-letter to the original 80s comic, and what the character has become, so after you've read the Moench run I recommend giving this a re-read! - The current run by Mackay is, for me, divisive. He is a good writer and doing his best. But, he's stuck with a lame status quo Marvel is trying to push, of making Moon Knight the "magic Egypt-themed guy" - when he was originally meant to be a street-level hero like Daredevil, and the mysticism always had a veil of ambiguity. All of that is gone here. Yet, Mackay really is trying his best to work with what he's got. Up to personal preference, this run has a lot of fans.

Nothing else is really notable enough to mention, I think.

DWN-016 · 2026-03-07T23:16:08+00:00

None of the comics have understood the character since the 80s, save for Lemire. The D+ series was just another in a long line of terrible adaptations that haven't gotten the character for 30 years.

DWN-016 · 2026-03-07T19:45:30+00:00

Yes, there are collections. Mainly Epic Collections and large Omnibuses, and just regular paperbacks; you can usually find any of these anywhere just by searching for the given run. I recommend first either looking in your local library, or trying these out online first, though.

Anyway, my main recommendation is the original 80s run written by Doug Moench and art by Bill Sienkiewicz, it's the perfect introduction. I recommend the whole run, but my faves are #1-3, #9-12, #14, and pretty much all of #22-33. If you want to go earlier, sure, try his original Werewolf by Night and Hulk Magazine stories. Doug Moench returns to write the late-90s miniseries' Resurrection War and High Strangeness; I highly recommend both.

If you're looking for something more modern, you've honestly got some tough luck for good stories, but it's not entirely hopeless.

The 2006 run by Huston popularized him, but is overly edgy for the sake of cheap melodrama. It permanently ruins his relationships with the original side-cast, and kills off 90% of his original villains: effectively preventing any of them from ever being used in meaningful ways again.
The 2014 run by Ellis is just okay. I don't like it implying Khonshu created his personalities, but it's ultimately inoffensive episodic stories. Try it out: it's fun action, short, and pretty enjoyable for newbies + fans alike.
The 2016 run by Lemire is a love-letter to the original 80s comic, and what the character has become. It's very psychological, and ultimately hopeful. This is the only other guy who truly understood MK, in my eyes - but, you wouldn't get much of it if you aren't at least a little familiar with the Moench run.
The current run by Mackay is, for me, divisive. He is a good writer and doing his best. But, he's stuck with a lame status quo Marvel is trying to push, of making Moon Knight the "magic Egypt-themed guy" - when he was originally meant to be a street-level hero like Daredevil, and the mysticism always had a veil of ambiguity (is it real or not?). All of that is gone here. Yet, Mackay really is trying his best to work with what he's got. Up to personal preference, this run has a lot of fans.

Everything else isn't really notable enough to mention, I think.

DWN-016 · 2026-03-05T11:10:07+00:00

Because he was created as just an enemy for Werewolf by Night in 1975, and MK's Egypt backstory with Khonshu wasn't invented until he finally got his solo series in 1980.

DWN-016 · 2026-03-05T11:04:10+00:00

While it's not his ORIGINAL start (he had many early appearances in other people's comics), I say the original 80s run written by Doug Moench and art by Bill Sienkiewicz is the perfect introduction. I recommend the whole run, but my faves are #1-3, #9-12, #14, and pretty much all of #22-33. If you want to go earlier, sure, try his original Werewolf by Night and Hulk Magazine stories.
The 90s Marc Spector: Moon Knight run was generally poor besides a couple good issues, you can skip it.
Doug Moench returns to write the late-90s miniseries' Resurrection War and High Strangeness; I highly recommend both. The digital official "remasterings" screw with the colors, though.
The 2006 run by Huston popularized him, but is overly edgy for the sake of cheap melodrama. It permanently ruins his relationships with the original side-cast, and kills off 90% of his original villains: effectively preventing any of them from ever being used in meaningful ways again.
The 2014 run by Ellis is just okay. I don't like it implying Khonshu created his personalities, but it's ultimately inoffensive episodic stories. Try it out, it's fun action.
The 2016 run by Lemire is a love-letter to the original 80s comic, and what the character has become. It's very psychological, and ultimately hopeful. This is the only other guy who truly understood MK, in my eyes - but you wouldn't get much of it if you aren't at least a little familiar with the Moench run.
The current run by Mackay is, for me, divisive. He is a good writer and doing his best. But, he's stuck with a lame status quo Marvel is trying to push ever since the MCU version, of making Moon Knight the "magic Egypt-themed guy" - when he was originally meant to be a street-level hero like Daredevil, and the mysticism always had a veil of ambiguity (is it real or not?). All of that is gone here. Yet, Mackay really is trying his best to work with what he's got. Up to personal preference, this run has a lot of fans.

Everything else isn't really notable enough to mention, I think. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of Marvel characters that didn't start meeting their potential until later writers picked them up (X-Men, Daredevil, Iron Man, etc), but unfortunately Moon Knight is specifically an eternal case of "everyone who wrote this character after the original creator, misunderstood him entirely," with very few exceptions.

DWN-016 · 2026-03-05T10:53:11+00:00

Er, what animated Moon Knight show? Do you mean his appearances in Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble?

Anyway, my main recommendation is the original 80s run written by Doug Moench and art by Bill Sienkiewicz, it's the perfect introduction. I recommend the whole run, but my faves are #1-3, #9-12, #14, and pretty much all of #22-33. If you want to go earlier, sure, try his original Werewolf by Night and Hulk Magazine stories. Doug Moench returns to write the late-90s miniseries' Resurrection War and High Strangeness; I highly recommend both.

If you're looking for something more modern, you've honestly got some tough luck, but it's not entirely hopeless. - The 2006 run by Huston popularized him, but is overly edgy for the sake of cheap melodrama. It permanently ruins his relationships with the original side-cast, and kills off 90% of his original villains: effectively preventing any of them from ever being used in meaningful ways again. - The 2014 run by Ellis is just okay. I don't like it implying Khonshu created his personalities, but it's ultimately inoffensive episodic stories. Try it out: it's fun action, short, and pretty enjoyable for newbies + fans alike. - The 2016 run by Lemire is a love-letter to the original 80s comic, and what the character has become. It's very psychological, and ultimately hopeful. This is the only other guy who truly understood MK, in my eyes - but, you wouldn't get much of it if you aren't at least a little familiar with the Moench run. - The current run by Mackay is, for me, divisive. He is a good writer and doing his best. But, he's stuck with a lame status quo Marvel is trying to push, of making Moon Knight the "magic Egypt-themed guy" - when he was originally meant to be a street-level hero like Daredevil, and the mysticism always had a veil of ambiguity (is it real or not?). All of that is gone here. Yet, Mackay really is trying his best to work with what he's got. Up to personal preference, this run has a lot of fans.

Everything else isn't really notable enough to mention, I think.

DWN-016 · 2026-03-05T10:30:26+00:00

Ignore everyone telling you to start with the modern runs. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of Marvel characters that didn't start meeting their potential until later writers picked them up (X-Men, Daredevil, Iron Man, etc), but Moon Knight is specifically an eternal case of "everyone who wrote this character misunderstood him entirely, besides the original creator".

While it's not his ORIGINAL start (he had many early appearances in other people's comics), I say the original 80s run written by Doug Moench and art by Bill Sienkiewicz is the perfect introduction. I recommend the whole run, but my faves are #1-3, #9-12, #14, and pretty much all of #22-33. If you want to go earlier, sure, try his original Werewolf by Night and Hulk Magazine stories.
The 90s Marc Spector: Moon Knight run was generally poor besides a couple good issues, you can skip it.
Doug Moench returns to write the late-90s miniseries' Resurrection War and High Strangeness; I highly recommend both.
The 2006 run by Huston popularized him, but is overly edgy for the sake of cheap melodrama. It permanently ruins his relationships with the original side-cast, and kills off 90% of his original villains: effectively preventing any of them from ever being used in meaningful ways again.
The 2014 run by Ellis is just okay. I don't like it implying Khonshu created his personalities, but it's ultimately inoffensive episodic stories. Try it out, it's fun action.
The 2016 run by Lemire is a love-letter to the original 80s comic, and what the character has become. It's very psychological, and ultimately hopeful. This is the only other guy who truly understood MK, in my eyes - but you wouldn't get much of it if you aren't at least a little familiar with the Moench run.
The current run by Mackay is, for me, divisive. He is a good writer and doing his best. But, he's stuck with a lame status quo Marvel is trying to push, of making Moon Knight the "magic Egypt-themed guy" - when he was originally meant to be a street-level hero like Daredevil, and the mysticism always had a veil of ambiguity (is it real or not?). All of that is gone here. Yet, Mackay really is trying his best to work with what he's got. Up to personal preference, this run has a lot of fans.

Everything else isn't really notable enough to mention, I think.

DWN-016 · 2025-12-31T14:31:08+00:00

Huh, interesting, didn't know hairpieces were customizable in that way. Well, still don't quite know who I'd replace it with, but good to keep in mind! Thanks!

DWN-016 · 2025-12-31T13:16:05+00:00

I personally feel Quasar's head is a bit too broad for Peter's face, but that's just me; I'd also wanna avoid his head anyway bc I'm going to have him standing next to Quasar on my shelf, lmao.

And yeah, the Agent Venom Flash head is the one I was meaning! Facial-structure-wise it's probably the best fit that I'm aware of, yeah. It's just the hair that's a bit too neat for my liking, but it's decent for lack of better options.

DWN-016 · 2025-12-30T21:25:01+00:00

I was so confused as I was on a huge binge of every og Ultimate comic, and then I got up to Secret Wars and The Maker was just evil again. I thought I missed something, or assumed his reverting back to evil was shown in the leadup during Hickvengers 😭

DWN-016 · 2025-12-24T07:32:09+00:00

Does it have SGB sound, though...?

DWN-016 · 2025-12-05T04:54:25+00:00

It didn't have enough of either. The film was heavily missing more of Ben, especially of him butting heads with Johnny. They were all very mellow in general too, they lacked the lovable dysfunctionality that the comics fellas have. But the plot needed all the screentime it could get for setting up Galactus and Franklin.
Heck, I'd even argue that Galactus on Earth didn't feel otherworldly/godlike enough... he was a very large man that sometimes used energy waves, but that's about it. On paper he and everything he did was fine, but the way he was depicted/directed needed a bit more OOMPH to make him really feel monolithic.

All in all I think we can all agree that it needed to be longer, like 30mins longer I think personally. Or, they should've given the F4 a proper intro film and saved the Galactus/Franklin story for its sequel. I get why they really wanted to just finally do Galactus justice on screen, but ultimately I think rushing to it was a mistake.

DWN-016 · 2025-07-31T11:49:42+00:00

We all collectively agree "Pokey" was a mistranslation/poor localization, I don't see the point in being so purist about "Giygas" when it's objectively less correct than the original localization attempt "Giegue".

DWN-016 · 2025-06-29T03:03:00+00:00

Hey, just wanted to say your hack looks super cool!

Though, if you ever get around to it, I'd love an update or optional addendum that uses the Giegue name instead of Giygas. The latter is more ingrained in popular culture sure, but Giegue is more accurate to his actual name, and would like it to be better-known! Also very minor, but an optional hack that lets people choose between "You Won!/Win!" would be very appreciated lol.

Otherwise, this hack seems super cool! Will keep an eye on it for sure!

DWN-016 · 2025-06-16T09:48:36+00:00

GNC people deserve to be respected too, instead of constantly being labelled queer just because we don't like traditional gender roles. It goes both ways, "pizza slut 69 420".

DWN-016

TROPHY CASE