I was a little skeptical on checking out the first issue of ‘Ghost’ right off the bat. I had missed the mini-series and on top of that, it’s a bit of paranormal mixed with action detective work mixed with… Well to be honest it felt like Batman Meets Hellboy and I didn’t really think they’d be able to pull it off.
Interestingly enough, it wasn’t the amazing artwork by Ryan Sook whose work on ‘X-Factor’ or ‘Seven Soldiers’ that drew me to the book. While enjoyable it didn’t sell me. It also wasn’t Kelly Sue DeConnick‘s amazing writing style that I loved in ‘Captain Marvel‘ and enjoyed in ‘Avengers Assemble’ that got me into picking up the issue either. I’ll admit it was something completely off base. It was the fact that the comic takes place in my hometown of Chicago which is a rarity.
With that being what drew me into the comic, let me quickly say that I should not have ignored those initial points because this is a solidly well put together first issue! It gives us hints of an origin, an idea of where they want to go with the series, and the art is spectacular!
I don’t even have to really say anything else but go buy this book! Now, that being said let’s get into the story itself. While long term Chicagoan may recognize a few pieces of scenery here and there, nothing overly stood out aside from the El. That’s OK as we find out quickly that the main character is Elisa. She’s a half human, half ghost trapped between Earth and Hell with a mission of sending demons back home.
Elisa chases down one demon that she kills and is quickly on the tail of another. The second demon she tracks down starts to build on the overall story line. He offers to make Elisa a deal on explaining what’s happening in Chicago in exchange for a fresh body to transfer into. The big piece of information he hints at, though, is that he knows everything about the Mayor of the city who also happens to be the main demon in charge of whatever is occurring.
As Chicago has historically had a corrupt political system, it’s by no means a surprise that a new corruption has infected it. But this time, the Mayor of Chicago is a major demon who has been slowly having all of the major political figures possessed. Why he’s doing that and who a mysterious Doctor October is, we’re going to have to wait to find out.
I truly felt that the mix of mystery and action worked well here, giving it almost a noir feel. While I mentioned in the beginning of this review that the comic felt like a mixture of Hellboy and Batman, it was done in a good way! Having missed the mini-series, I was worried this was going to make me feel that I was truly behind on the book from the first issue, but that didn’t end up being the case. My hometown may have sold me on picking up the title, but the top quality story telling and art has me ready to continue reading to see what happens next!
GHOST #1
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick, Chris Sebela
Artist: Ryan Sook
