Ghost #5

By Chris Sebela, Jan Duursema, Dan Parsons, & Dan Jackson

Ghost #5 explores Elisa’s everyday trials as she seeks a new life and a new identity while still keeping up with her duties as Ghost. The collaborated works of Chris Sebela and the creative art team create a great issue that succeeds in developing an interesting series of new issues for Elisa to overcome, while also expanding on the already established story so far. Sebela achieves a complete story that includes all supporting characters, all of whom are integral parts of the story progression with a very limited number of needless scenes.

The art team has created a specific look reminiscent of classic comic books. Duursema’s artwork is wonderfully detailed, particularly during the opening scene, in which rainfalls create a visually appealing environment for Ghost to pummel her victims in. The art excels in various character shots, whether it’s in full-body, dynamic action scenes, close-ups on hands and faces, or large landscape panels that display the setting. Vibrant colors from Dan Jackson add to the classic comic book look as he uses simple shading and minimal shadows to keep every page light and bright. Visually, the book is a great example of what comics should be, not only in look, but in placement of shots and panels that create fluid motion in the page. Some artists have the ability to create motion in a motionless image, and the combined works of this art team creates that motion perfectly.

Elisa continues to be an interesting, relatable character as this issue displays a very realistic situation that some readers could relate to. Her problem of starting a new life and leaving her old identity, name, and occupations behind creates a great central story arc that calls for the inclusion of the supporting characters to help her on her journey. Her current problems represent some of the best problems a superhero can have, namely: what to do with their time when they’re not out saving the world? This issue explores her uncertainty on this topic quite well. Von Ghastly, a new character introduced this month, is a creepy, yet menacing villain who is built up to become more than a match for Ghost in later issues.

Ghost #5 has almost no flaws, but there are a few things that prevent it from being considered “perfect”. Elisa’s search for a new identity and her troubles of mixing her heroic life with her normal one could have been further explored as there is a lot of material that can be delved into regarding that particular plot. A comic book doesn’t have to be filled with action, cover to cover, not that this issue was, but the substitution of more character development instead of excitement could be beneficial in future installments as it would have been nice to see Elisa’s new life expanded further. Cliffhangers and mysterious characters create a great ending for Ghost #5 and set up for an upcoming issue that is sure to be just as entertaining as this one was.