No, it’s not another DC reboot, it just happens to be coming out during their “Zero Month!” Hearing the same origin stories I’ve heard over and over again, just with minor derivations? No thanks. A comic about a character I’ve never tried out before, but been interested in, created by a stellar team? Now that’s more like it.
Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Illustrated by Phil NotoFormer journalist Vaughn Barnes has been reduced to moonlighting as cameraman for the shoddy paranormal-investigation cable TV show Phantom Finders. But when a curious device summons the specter of a beautiful, translucent woman, Vaughn is plunged into a mystery of criminal intrigue that spans two worlds! Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Noto launch their exciting new take on one of Dark Horse’s most popular characters ever!
* Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel) brings a keen new eye to the spectral heroine.
* Renowned artist Phil Noto (Angel & Faith, X-23) perfectly captures the wraithlike elegance of the enigma known as Ghost!
* Collects Ghost stories from DHP #13 – 15
Dark Horse’s Ghost is a character with over sixty issues to her name, when you count crossovers and one-shots. With this new series, though, Dark Horse and DeConnick have made the smart decision to make the book as new-reader friendly as possible. While there are certainly more than a handful of Ghost fans out there, this is a book running on star power; unlike, say, the latest Batman series, there will be more people picking up these first issues because they are written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and illustrated by Phil Noto than there will be because of franchise recognition (sorry, Ghost fans, but I’m one of them). Starting a new series assuming readers are going to have read everything regarding the character beforehand is always a bad practice, but certain franchises can and do get away with it — unlike this one. Were this comic to pick up where Ghost Vol. 2 #32 left off, it would be guaranteed for failure no matter who worked on it. As is, it is a welcoming read for new readers, and hopefully for older fans as well.
DeConnick’s use of voice has often been one of her stronger points, and we see her work her magic in this first issue quite well. First is our new protagonist, Vaughn, a former reporter who does not necessarily “want to believe,” as it were. Many stories involving the otherworldly and paranormal don’t know exactly how to handle skeptics: either they are presented as easily convinced or so stubborn as to keep denying the existence of the undead while a vampire is sucking away the last of their blood. DeConnick easily finds the happy, realistic medium: Vaughn doubts what he can only see, but begins to believe when the unnatural begins to leave its mark on the physical world. Ghost-hunting Byers is the complete opposite, believing in these matters before having any actual “proof” and feeling vindicated when his faith is found out to be well-placed. I have known a few Byers in my time, friends who are so excited when it comes to matters that myself or others might otherwise find ridiculous that I can set aside my skepecism for a moment to listen to them, and DeConnick has that exuberance right on target — plus the naivetee that often accompanies such wide-eyed wonder. The murder mystery that Kelly Sue has given her readers is intriguing, yes, but it’s her excellent handle on character that will keep readers coming back issue after issue.
Phil Noto is an ideal pick for a book like this. His highly realistic style actually heightens the paranormal qualities of the book; after all, how can one make the otherworldly seem all that special if the mundane is already highly stylized? Even though Ghost herself is actually rendered rather naturally, following basic rules of proportions and the like, but Noto chooses to give her subtle differences in body language in facial expression that nonetheless firmly plant her in a world other than our own. If Noto hasn’t proven himself as one of the finest artists in the industry before this — which, by the way, he has — his ability to make Ghost seem simultaneously so normal and yet so very, very out of place is a testament to his delicate, masterful touch. That being said, some of the things we have come to know and love Noto for are not as prominent here. The excellent sense of motion that he displayed in ‘Triggergirl 6’ is not as prominent here, nor is his usual amazing handle on human emotion. Not-quite-as-good-as-usual Noto, though, still amounts to tip-top art, and the output that he presents in this first issue of “Ghost” is nevertheless a fine example of great comic book-ing.
Continued belowIn the past year or two — in case you haven’t noticed — more than a few characters and franchises have been rebooted. DeConnick and Noto’s “Ghost,” though, is one of the few reboots done right. Whether you’re a long-time fan of the character, someone who has wanted to check her out for a while, a follower of DeConnick and/or Noto, or, finally, just someone who loves good comics, give #0 a try and see if you like it. You just might.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy it!
This does not affect my rating of the issue itself at all, but boy do I not like alternative number conventions such as #0s or, even worse, #X.Ys. Whether or not this issue was a reprint, it should have been issue #1. Let’s not make comics any more difficult to get into for the non-reader than they are already, please.
