Creative Staff:
Story: Kelly Sue DeConnick & Chris Sebela
Artwork: Ryan Sook
What They Say:
An unlikely ally sneaks Ghost into a secret meeting, where a legion of disguised demons gather around Dr. October—until her cover is blown! Meanwhile, the very human serial killer prowling the streets of Chicago takes a personal interest in Sloane and Tommy!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The first issue of Ghost in its fourth run of the series was one that was admittedly a bit rough to get into since events had happened elsewhere prior and you basically had to hit the ground running. It did come together and we got some of the basics of what’s going on and even a couple of answers in a way which made it feel like we at least had some progress, something you don’t often get with first issues. For me, it was just getting back into a character like Elisa Cameron as Ghost that made it worthwhile since I’ve long liked the character and a new interpretation is always welcome since this is connecting to bigger events. But something about that first issue just nagged at me and I’ll admit a three month gap between issues doesn’t help either.
Elisa’s quest for more information is what dominates here now that we got a feel for her powers and operation in the first issue, as well as the kind of group she’s surrounded herself with. They’re not exactly thrilled she’s made a deal with Beleth for more information, but I like the pragmatic approach she’s taking in that she’ll work with the demon in human form to achieve her bigger goal. She may not give him exactly what he desires, since she has no real love or even like for creatures like him, but she’s not going to close off an avenue just because of what he is. And with him in tow, she manages to get some decent bits about hell itself, the realm where they all come from before being pulled into this world, and that helps the reader flesh things out a bit more in understanding how they’re taking to life in the human world.
The main focus continues to be on Doctor October since she’s coming across in a similar but different vein as Ghost herself, and that opens up a lot of questions. Beleth as least has an idea where to get more information, a demon social club called The Epilogue of all things, and while it provides some neat moments in pressing the flesh as well as getting Elisa all dolled up, we once again see that Doctor October is basically a couple of steps ahead of her. Which is what you have to feel with the demons, and it should be, since you have so many things going on for decades based on what the mayor had been doing since taking on power. You want to feel like many of the established demons, who have no desire to go back to where they are, have come up with human world customs to adopt, a certain softness in some way as well having faced no threats for so long, that you can have a social club like this. But also to see how Doctor October can view a longer game in order to defeat Elisa.
The fight that erupts there, quite naturally, is a good bit of fun but isn’t quite as long as one might like and not as detailed since they’re all pretty much small fry, for her and Beleth. It offers a few clues, but it doesn’t feel quite tangible yet what they are as the two of them go about things, and especially since it feels like Beleth is continuing to hold back on things. I like the dynamic between the two but it also feels just a touch disconnected in presentation, in terms of flow of the dialogue and the panel work. All of this is paired with a few behind the scenes movements in other areas, such as members of the team doing their investigations, and the larger looming background threat as well. But we also get a good bit of information about James Barrow from the first issue and that’s going to be an interesting piece of the puzzle if it really does get explored further, at least beyond the why of how people are chosen to be taken over.
In Summary:
Admittedly, some of my very minor issue in getting into this book comes from the delay since it’s been longer than usual from the first and what we get here is kind of transitional in a way. We get some minor reveals that could mean more down the line, but it’s hard to see what’s useful at this point and what isn’t. With just the two issues, most of the time is focused on Elisa so I can’t really get a good feel for the supporting cast yet, to the point where even Beleth feels a lot more fleshed out and central than those that Elisa trusts. We get some good dialogue throughout and some interesting places to visit, which opens up its own questions, but Ghost is at that early point where it’s still revealing itself and it’s doing what it can to provide things to latch onto without just asking more and more unanswered questions. And I totally appreciate that. It just feels like it needs a bit more tightness and focus with the core story that I can’t quite put my finger on yet.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: March 12th, 2014
MSRP: $2.99
