The news is out, as of Eric Stephenson’s keynote speech at Image Expo: Frank Barbiere and Chris Mooneyham’s “Five Ghosts” has now been expanded to an ongoing, with a one-shot sixth issue coming with guest art from Garry Brown, the artist of “The Massive,” before Barbiere and Mooneyham kick off their newest arc (titled “Lost Coastlines”) in issue seven.
This book has been an undeniable hit, bringing in both rave reviews and a bevy of fans hoping to be in on the latest big thing from Image. We talk to Barbiere today about the arrival of this news, what it means to them, where the book is going, share some new art from Brown and Mooneyham, and much more.
People – don’t miss this book. It’s just going to get better and better.
So the big news is out: Five Ghosts lives another day, going from mini-series to ongoing series. Was this always on the table? How did both you and Chris as well as Image decide to keep this party going forward in an ongoing fashion?
Barbiere: It was always “the dream,” so to speak. Clearly launching a new book into the comic market is risky business and we are beyond thrilled at having found a pretty solid readership. When I was putting together the first “arc” or “series” with Chris we purposely made it a five part story mainly because we were self-publishing and even that was going to put us massively in debt. When Image came in we knew there was a greater chance of the book finding an audience, and I immediately had plans for a second arc, but there was no guarantee we could sustain. By the time orders came rolling in for issue three we had a pretty good idea that we were safe to continue. We were considering going the “Hellboy” route, but in the end decided to move forward into a true ongoing series, as that’s pretty much been our dream since we started. Plus, we have a lot of stories we want to tell!
Well I’d hope so, especially after the recent, extra badass issue of Five Ghosts – #4, for those wondering – that really found Fabian Gray confronting who he is and hopefully unlocking his potential for the future. I know the first step is a sixth issue that features guest art from The Massive’s Garry Brown, and it’s a one-shot. What are the main reasons for putting a one-shot issue in-between arcs, and do you imagine you’ll be doing that going forward?
Barbiere: Chris and I have known Garry for a long while (Chris even longer as they were classmates at the Kubert School together) and have always been fans of his stuff. Garry had shown interest in doing some Five Ghosts stuff as far back as our self-published first issue (he had a pin-up in it) and I think it’ll be a nice way to bridge the gap between our story arcs. Logistically, it also gives Chris a bit of a break to get ahead on our second arc. I think it’ll be a fun point for new readers to jump in and get a nice, self-contained adventure as well, coming right off our trade. The work Garry’s been doing is fantastic and I think anyone who has been a regular reader of Five Ghosts will really enjoy this issue.
You mentioned previously that you thought of going the “Hellboy” route, but instead you decided to take it in the direction of a true ongoing. With the second arc starting after Garry’s one-shot, will you be treating it almost as a new number one to make sure it’s new reader friendly, or will it be following right on the heels of the action at the end of the first arc?
Barbiere: Both the one-shot and the new arc take place after the events of the first arc, so continue in a sense of being an ongoing. You won’t necessarily *have* to have read “The Haunting of Fabian Gray” to get onboard, but we certainly will be building on a lot of stuff we planted as seeds in the first arc. I think what a few people were caught up with towards the end of the first five was how we were going to tie up all the Silvia stuff–and the short answer was, we’re not! The quest to save Silvia (Fabian’s twin-sister and Sebastian’s fiance) is the main driving force of FIVE GHOSTS, along with Fabian’s ongoing “redemption,” so it was never the plan to wrap that up in the first five issues. We’ll be sure to have a recap page of sorts, but the best way to get caught up is going to be to grab the trade (out Sept. 18th!)–which we’ve priced pretty competitively at $9.99 to get people on board.
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Ah! See, that’s what I thought – the main, overarching journey is to save Silvia. Besides that ongoing saga, what can you tease readers with about the next arc, titled “Lost Coastlines,” besides it being named after a totally awesome Okkervil River song?
Barbiere: We’ll definitely be capitalizing on the globetrotting nature of the adventure genre and exploring some really fun places in this arc. The whole arc hinges on a treasure map (something we’ll be working a lot into the design of the issues and art) as well as an enemy from Fabian’s past. There will also be some new characters (and thankfully more than one leading lady), new threats, a lot of Shakespeare, and some other fun literary and pulp characters in the mix as well. And pirates.
One of the things I’ve really loved about the series so far is how playful and inventive the art has been, and it sounds like you’ll be doing even of that at least with the treasure map aspect being worked in. With one arc under his belt, do you think Chris is ready to take his art to an even higher level? It feels like he’s already doing that on a per-issue basis.
Barbiere: Yeah, Chris has really risen to the occasion. We had never done a monthly book, but he definitely stepped up and dove in to our pretty tough schedule. With some down time between arcs I know he’s excited to take a little more time–plus with the new settings there’s a whole new set of inspiration and excitement.
I’m extremely happy to have him as a collaborator–we’ve been working together for almost six years and it’s been amazing to watch him grow on the page.
Obviously given that you’ve expanded to an ongoing, this book is a success in both your and Image’s eyes. How blown away are you by the response, both from a fan response and a sales standpoint?
Barbiere: To say I’ve been “amazed” is a bit of an understatement, haha. Clearly I believe in the book, but at the same time I feel like it definitely is a little “weird,” so I’m thrilled to see so many retailers taking a chance on it, let alone readers who are enjoying it. Chris and I were both complete unknowns coming into this (barring some self-published stuff and some shorts I had in Dark Horse Presents), so the fact we’ve been able to find what seems to be a fairly sizable audience is thrilling.
I think we definitely caught some synergy with the fantastic streak Image Comics has been on, and I can’t emphasize how flattered and excited I am to be working with them. The freedom here to tell exactly the story we want with no editorial interference has been so freeing (and horrifying–if anything goes wrong it is certainly “our fault”).
That being said, we very purposely priced our first trade at $9.99 with hopes of bringing in some new readers. We try to keep the book in general fairly cheap ($2.99 for our regular sized issues!) and print on a bit of higher quality paper, so I hope readers and retailers know we care about putting out a quality product at a reasonable price. We’ve put a lot of care into book design and presentation on an issue-to-issue basis. I also just have to give a shout out to all the retailers who have been supporting us–without them we are nothing in this market, and it means the world to us every time we hear about retailers hand selling our book and sparking new customers onto it. I try to get out to as many shops as possible to help out, but they are on the frontlines and we certainly owe a lot of our “success” to forward thinking retailers who aren’t afraid to try something new.
Any last words for readers who are still on the fence with “Five Ghosts,” as ridiculous as that may be?
Barbiere: Without sounding like a broken record, we’re beyond appreciative of anyone who checks out our book and hope you stick along for the ride. I can promise that issue 6 is going to be a great issue, and that going forward into “Lost Coastlines” there is going to be a lot to love. This book continues to be a love letter to all the things we adore about comics, adventure, literature, and pulp, and I think arc two is going to literally take us deeper into our own mythology and some fun, new unexpected places! There is certainly a big narrative we are building and are grateful to have the space to unwind it all.
