For any other comic you’d think issue #13 would be unlucky, but “Ghosted” proves to be the exception. Mixing deep characterization with a heavy dose of world building and a few callbacks, Williamson proves he’s playing the long game, and the comic is all the better for it.
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Williamson
ART BY: Davide Gianfelice
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: September 10, 2014
I’ve always been a huge fan of “Ghosted.” The world has always felt immense, stretching far outside the realm of the pages. This month Williamson illustrates the scope of his world better than he ever has before while deepening the mystery behind Jackson. I have more questions than answers now, but it makes me positively overjoyed since they push me to think twice about the occult world I’ve been part of for a year now.
There is something seriously fucked about Jackson. As if the end of the last issue wasn’t enough, this month pushes the questions ever further. The old woman tests Jackson’s otherworldly connection and rules out Anderson’s haunting. So what exactly is going on? I haven’t got a clue, but the narrative is driving at something much larger than we’ve seen before.
The past two arcs of “Ghosted” have felt condensed and stand-alone, but that was just a feeling. As the comic pushes along Williamson is showing his loyal dedication to the long game. Everything in this strange haunted world is tied together in a strange way. Which really culminates this month in a perfect slice of world building.
Williamson takes us to the haunted black market. A sprawling labyrinth of occult intrigue and the place were Trick’s son has decided to hang his hat. Of course just as everything seems to be going right, the past comes back to haunt our ragtag team and everything pushes to the boiling point before the issue ends with a tantalizing teaser for the hell that is about to come.
David Gianfelice owns the world of “Ghosted” more with each passing issue. This month the real highlight is the way in which he lingers on the spirits who share this world with the living. He depicts Anderson’s image as near perfect but always includes some physical deformity that causes her image to send chills down your spine.
He handles the action well enough, and really brings the sprawling black market to life with relative ease. I’m excited to see how he handles the payoff of next issue, but I’m sure it will be thrilling.
“Ghosted” shows no signs of slowing down. It’s getting everything right by focusing on character and world building. Third arcs can be tricky thanks to the expectations set up by previous introductions, but Williamson alters the formula just enough with each new arc that things always feel new and exciting. This time he’s showing a little more of this hand, and offers the idea that not everything in this world is happening by coincidence, Jackson may have much more to do with things than we once thought.
Williamson builds a brand new world of horror that is endless in its inspiration and chilling in its execution. “Ghosted” is a near perfect blend of genres that shows unsavory antiheros in the most unpredictable criminal world of all: the world of the undead.