There are times when an issue is such a quick read, that I get to the end in a foggy disbelief. That isn’t a bad thing. It’s an impressive thing. “Five Ghosts” #11 is a smooth as silk tour through a terrible, and hellish nightmare ride across the sins of Fabian Grey’s past.
WRITTEN BY: Frank J Barbiere
ART BY: Chris Mooneyham
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: April 23, 2014
It happens that Fabian Grey’s world is full of possibility. So nothing should manage to be overly surprising. However, Frank J Barbiere manages to keep things interesting by subverting the obvious. The story takes a hard turn into horror that chips away at an already chipped man. Fabian’s past isn’t all bad though.
This is an incredible issue that moves the plot forward while exemplifying some of main pursuits of Fabian’s character. Who he was, who he strives to become, and how he think’s he’s going to do it. Saving Silvia is his everything, but there are still legions of undead to deal with.
The action is beyond what I’ve come to expect from Chris Mooneyham, a man who comes to continually surprise me on this series. It isn’t an eighteen-panel page of insanity, no it’s just a showdown between Fabian and the aforementioned undead warriors. It’s threatening, scary, and triggers a beautiful shift in the story so quickly. The scene is leads empowering, shifts to threatening in a page, and shifts again smooth as butter.
The horror of what happens to Fabian here is very real. He confronts himself, and I’d be damned if he likes what he sees. This is a man with many sins, and his atonement isn’t going to be light. Things don’t look like they’re about to get better any time soon either. The issue lingers on a final page that will leave you with a lump in your throat. As bad as those last few pages were, it’s what’s next that lingers with you.
A brilliantly paced character piece manages to make “Five Ghosts” #11 one of the best issues of the series. It’s an incredible amount of fun that doesn’t forget it’s pulp roots, while twisting the knife on some old wounds. All seems to be lost as we’re thrown forward into the last chapter of Lost Coastlines.
I don’t know what else to say about this book, other than it might be my favorite thing on the stands. Barbiere paces a story with the pure cream of the storytelling. Mooneyham is a beast as he lingers on the small details like a throw pebble, only to follow it up with an explosive demonstrate of energy. The wild and energetic style pulses though this book. I can’t wait to read it again.