Five Ghosts #3
Fabian Gray gets taken to the forgotten city of Shangri-La. He is told that his connection to the ghosts that give him power are from a connection to the very essence of fiction, and that connection is killing him. He’s taken to a mystical fountain that will heal him, if he passes certain trials.
Creators: Frank J. Barbiere (writer) Chris Mooneyham (artist) Lauren Affe (colorist)
Thoughts: This book has some really clever concepts behind it, but suffers from a lack of clarity. Fabian dying from a connection to the essence of fiction is interesting. What I take away is a bit of commentary, saying that being too heavily invested to fiction can harm a person. At the end of the day, they’re just stories, and real life has to take precedence. At the same time, it is brought up that throughout time, within different cultures, the same stories and ideas always come up, so there is still some kind of universality and grandeur to a story. Maybe I’m just pretentious, but that’s what I came up with. The problem is that his connection is not adequately explained. They try to explain it, but it was just confusing. There was a scene at the beginning, that either set up the end of the issue, or didn’t go anywhere, and I don’t know which. While this was an enjoyable read, certain things were unclear.
The tone in this book is fantastic. It just screams classic pulp. The characters, the settings, the story, and the art all create a pulp feel, and it works perfectly. The art looks like a modern version of an old pulp magazine, and I love it. If you’re a fan of pulps, this is worth picking up.
I’m not a fan of the pacing in this book. Not much happened, and I can say that for the last two issues. It’s not so bad that I feel I was ripped off, but I wish things had moved along faster. Frankly, this would probably read better, if I were to read all the issues in one sitting.
Overall: This issue was enjoyable, but had some notable flaws. If you’re a fan of pulps or classic literature, than I would suggest running out to find all three issues, but if you aren’t, wait for the trade. It’s worth reading, but would be better in one sitting.
Creators: Frank J. Barbiere (writer) Chris Mooneyham (artist) Lauren Affe (colorist)
Thoughts: This book has some really clever concepts behind it, but suffers from a lack of clarity. Fabian dying from a connection to the essence of fiction is interesting. What I take away is a bit of commentary, saying that being too heavily invested to fiction can harm a person. At the end of the day, they’re just stories, and real life has to take precedence. At the same time, it is brought up that throughout time, within different cultures, the same stories and ideas always come up, so there is still some kind of universality and grandeur to a story. Maybe I’m just pretentious, but that’s what I came up with. The problem is that his connection is not adequately explained. They try to explain it, but it was just confusing. There was a scene at the beginning, that either set up the end of the issue, or didn’t go anywhere, and I don’t know which. While this was an enjoyable read, certain things were unclear.
The tone in this book is fantastic. It just screams classic pulp. The characters, the settings, the story, and the art all create a pulp feel, and it works perfectly. The art looks like a modern version of an old pulp magazine, and I love it. If you’re a fan of pulps, this is worth picking up.
I’m not a fan of the pacing in this book. Not much happened, and I can say that for the last two issues. It’s not so bad that I feel I was ripped off, but I wish things had moved along faster. Frankly, this would probably read better, if I were to read all the issues in one sitting.
Overall: This issue was enjoyable, but had some notable flaws. If you’re a fan of pulps or classic literature, than I would suggest running out to find all three issues, but if you aren’t, wait for the trade. It’s worth reading, but would be better in one sitting.
A Look Inside
