I’ve elected to spend a lot of my time reviewing “Five Ghosts” talking about the perfect symmetry the creative team has achieved, but issue #15 proves there is still so much to say, as Chris Mooneyham and Lauren Affe carry the issue almost by themselves, and deliver one of the most thrilling chapters of the irresistible series.
WRITTEN BY: Frank J Barbiere
ART BY: Chris Mooneyham
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: Feb 11, 2015
Fabian is in the throws of full on vampire beast mode. Van Helsing does whatever he can to keep the monster at bay, and meanwhile Sebastian is in the lair of the mustache twirling villain. This third part of the new horror arc sees every character pushed to their absolute limits, and ends with one of the most enticing cliffhangers I’ve had the joy of experiencing.
Make no mistake; this is a full on battle issue. Fabian can hardly control himself and bounds on top of Van Helsin with superhuman strength. Mooneyham does well to make the fight engaging and dynamic will never feeling overwhelming. In fact he adds an incredible cinematic element to the showdown that bleeds emotion for both of these tormented men.
In the most climatic moment, we’re brought to a flashback of Van Helsing’s past. It’s something we’ve seen before in “Five Ghosts” but here it’s even more heartbreaking because we see how Van Helsing became a monster, hunting monsters. It’s painful to experience and the brief reprieve from his anguish is only a clever ruse.
Fabian is far from being in control, and this issue reminds us of his long journey ahead. It’s easy to lose sight of the charismatic hero’s journey, but at his core he’s still a deeply broken person. Despite having very few lines, the ugly truth of Fabian’s character is on full display here. See, Barbiere may take a back seat with the dialogue this issue but his masterful hand is still readily apparent in the way everything is plotted out. The fight scene and the flashback scene are meant to give this massive release of tension, but the aftermath is so much worse that you can’t help but feel a massive hole in your heart by the time you get to the final page.
Better yet, it’s a brilliantly paced read that fans of the series have become accustomed to, but it never feels overly crowded or difficult to digest. Instead “Five Ghosts” #15 reads like silk, and weaves brutality around you in circles. The result is a fantastic low point for the already dark storyline that proves these characters still have miles to go.
“Five Ghosts” is a perfectly oiled machine. The creative team is in perfect sync and the storytelling is near flawless. It’s a celebration of the mastery that can only come with creator owned comics, and somehow it continually raises the bar for itself. Every month it pulls of something entirely new and unexpected, but makes it look easy, making it one of the most compelling books being published at Image Comics.