Comics
Review: ‘Ghost’ #0
During the 90s, Dark Horse took a shot at creating their own branded superhero universe and created characters like X, Barb Wire, and Motorhead. One of the most successful characters to spin out of the line was Ghost, a female reporter, Elisa Cameron, that digs a little too deep into a story about the corruption in the city of Arcadia and is murdered in order to keep her quiet. She returns as a phantom spirit sent back to avenge her own death, while keeping her love ones out of harm’s way.
After more than a decade, Dark Horse brings Ghost back to life starting with a 3-part serial in “Dark Horse Presents”, which is now collected as “Ghost” #0. The story functions as the launching point for the upcoming mini-series “In The Smoke & Din”. Dark Horse gives writer Kelly Sue Deconnick (“Captain Marvel”, “Avengers”) and artist Phil Noto (“X-Men”) the job of resurrecting “Ghost” and rebooting one of their most successful properties.
WRITTEN BY: Kelly Sue Deconnick
ART BY: Phil Noto
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
RELEASE: September 19th, 2012
Phil Noto is a master at drawing beautiful women and it shows in “Ghost” #0. The original series emerged out of the 90s bad girl craze, so the character tended to be portrayed in cheesy sexual poses that distracted from the overall storyline. Noto manages to bring some class back to the character by perfectly capturing the dark supernatural element of the book with his simplistic but gorgeous artwork. Noto also turns out two visually stunning splash pages that perfectly capture the essence of his expressive and elegant style.
Kelly Sue Deconnick does a good job of setting up the mystery of Ghost and making it intriguing. The dialogue in this issue is rock solid and the premise of building the story around a pair of paranormal ghost hunters allows the creative team to take the series in a number of different directions. Deconnick does a good job of keeping things a mystery as the issue ends on a cliffhanger that will leave readers hungry for issue #1. How fast things will unravel is still unclear. Furthermore, it’s a mystery if any premise/plotlines of the original “Ghost” series will be revived in this reboot.
Ghost #0 works mostly as a teaser issue that sets up the impending mini-series “In The Smoke & Din”, but it is a good first chapter from the creative team.
3.5/5 Skulls
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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