Ghosts #1

Vertigo Comics presents 9 ghostly tales of phantoms, spectres & apparitions from some of the finest writers & illustrators working today.

The Team

Written & illustrated by Al Ewing (The Ninjettes TP), Joe Kubert (Jew Gangster, Tor : A Prehistoric Odyssey), John McCrea (Hitman Vol. 7 : Closing Time, The Boys Vol. 5 : Herogasm), Phil Jimenez (Spider-Man : American Son), Paul Pope (100%, Batman : Year 100), David Lapham (Stray Bullets, The Strain) Gilbert Hernandez (Luba, Chance In Hell HC), Geoff Johns (Aquaman Vol. 1 : The Trench, Blackest Night) & Jeff Lemire (The Underwater Welder HC, The Nobody). Cover by Dave Johnson (The Mighty Vol. 2). Published by Vertigo Comics.

The Pros & Cons

Just in time for Halloween, 9 chilling and sometimes funny tales of ghosts in one spooktacular sized issue! Here’s how I’ll do this, I’ll mention the ones I liked, the ones I didn’t care for and then I’ll tell you if it’s worth your attention at all. I’ll make it brief or else like some characters in this comic, I’ll be haunting this review forever. Here goes.

My favourite story has got to be “Ghost-For-Hire”, it’s written by Geoff Johns & illustrated by Jeff Lemire. It’s a touching & light hearted story that reminds me of the movie The Frighteners, fans of Lemire’s style will definitely appreciate this one. After that I enjoyed “A Bowl of Red” by Neil Kleid & John McCrea, a wickedly sinful & culinary tale about a little place in El Paso, Texas that serves the hottest chilli made by the devil himself. It’s a freaky story drawn with hellish style by John McCrea. Then there’s “Wallflower” by Cecil Castelluci & Amy Reeder about the life & times of a loving couple who start to drift away from each other like ghosts. I thought it was a clever metaphor for the average ghosts we’re accustomed to. “The Dark Lady” is by Gilbert Hernandez, it’s about two boys who aren’t what they appear to be, you’ll want to read this one twice to fully appreciate it. Finally there’s “The Night, after I Took the Data Entry Job, I Was Visited by My Own Ghost”, which fully demonstrates that expression “This job is killing me”. It’s a smart little yarn about rock n’ roll and green ghosts.

Now for the not so good ones. There’s “The Dead Boy Detectives”, imagine the Hardy Boys as paranormal investigators…meh. “Bride” by Mary H.K. Choi & Phil Jimenez, about a rich junkie grieving & tripping. Looks great, but I was bored to tears. After that there’s “Treasure Lost” by Paul Pope, about space pirates…yawn! Finally there’s “The Boy and the Old Man” by the late & great Joe Kubert, like the title says, it’s about a boy & an old man in the jungle with bad spirits. According to this comic, it was Joe Kubert’s last story before he passed away last summer. It’s basically unfinished sketches without any colour. Don’t get me wrong, Kubert was a legend in the comic book world and I was saddened by his passing, but this is for hard core fans only. 

The Outcome

I enjoyed 5 out of 9 stories, which isn’t too bad and at a hefty cover price of 7.99$, it was definitely a gamble. Some stories were hot, others were not, but in the end, it was worth it.