Comics
5 Skull Review: “Five Ghosts” # 11
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.
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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