July’s going to be a big month for Marvel’s Moon Knight. The publisher announced today that, along with an oversized 25th issue of the character’s ongoing series by writer Jed MacKay and artists Alessandro Cappuccio, Alessandro Vitti, and Partha Pratim, the first full month of summer will also see the launch of Moon Knight: City of the Dead, a five-issue miniseries by writer David Pepose and artist Marcelo Ferreira that spins out of the events of Moon Knight #25 and introduces the fan-favorite MCU character Scarlet Scarab to Earth-616.
Here’s how Marvel describes the two July-shipping issues:
Moon Knight’s past and present collide! The past comes back to bedevil Moon Knight as he pursues his latest enemy, someone once familiar and new. From grim New York nights to the blazing sun of Alexandria days, Moon Knight hunts for answers among the graves of Hart Island while haunted by the last mission of the Karnak Cowboys, a mercenary crew counting among its members Marc Spector, Jean-Paul Duchamp, Robert Plesko… and the official comic book debut of Layla El-Faouly! The issue also includes a classic Moon Knight story from the past by legendary comic writer Doug Moench and Eisner-winning, Emmy-nominated artist Bill Sienkiewicz.
Then, following the events of MOON KNIGHT #25, Marc Spector is taken on his most harrowing adventure yet! Written by David Pepose with art by Marcelo Ferreira, MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD features Layla El-Faouly’s super hero debut as the all-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 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!
Layla El-Faouly, the Egyptian hero known as the Scarlet Scarab, was introduced in last year’s Moon Knight Disney+ series. Played by May Calamawy, Layla was a figure from Marc Spector’s past who became entangled in Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac)’s battle against former avatar of Khonshu Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke). Layla became Scarlet Scarab during the season finale, becoming Taweret’s avatar in order to aide in the final battle against Harrow.
In the announcement, both MacKay and Pepose expressed their enthusiasm at introducing Scarlet Scarab to comics:
Jed MacKay told IGN, “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.” He continues, “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.”
Look for both Moon Knight #25 and Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1 (of 5) to arrive in stores and digitally in July.
