Ghosted #7

By Joshua Williamson, David Gianfelice and Miroslav Mrva

The first arc of Ghosted was excellent, and what made it even better is the fact that it caught many readers by surprise. Joshua Williamson seems to be the master of surprise with this series as he continually keeps the audience guessing as to what will happen next. But can the second arc be as good as or better than the first?

Last issue saw some old acquaintances of Jackson Winters kidnap him and Trick. They have a deal for him, rescue their kidnapped possessed family member Nina, and Jackson gets a clean slate. This issue Jackson and Trick, escorted by Nuki and Skinner, try to find out where Nina might be held. Jackson has to use all of his cunning to get to the bottom of this one.

This series is only 7 issues old, but they have been 7 excellent reads. Joshua Williamson constantly shows us that Jackson Winters is a selfish man with his own agenda, but he is written so well that we like him anyway. Williamson has this extraordinary way of bringing in new characters and making the reader like them instantly, as demonstrated with Skinner. Much like the show Lost, if a character dies, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are out of the series. This is a book about ghosts, so it’s not uncommon to see some past players show up again. Even though Anderson died last arc, she is still around and taking jabs at Jackson. This is actually one of the stronger relationships in the book. Both of these characters hate each other, but are still connected. This issue, much like all the ones before it, was an excellent read.

The art this issue is done by David Gianfelice, who does a nice job of keeping things dark and gloomy. There is a brief flashback of Jackson’s past that Gianfelice knocks out of the park. The way the panels are arranged and the reader can only see the woman’s mouth could actually make you turn your head sideways to see the rest of her face. Fight scenes look brutal and this issue does not lack for blood, and Gianfelice is the reason for this.

This book has honestly been one of the best series to come out in a good while. Joshua Williamson continues to kill this series with great character work and thoughtful story telling. Not that you need another reason to buy this series, but the letters page has been turned into a “share your ghost story” section, which is downright creepy. An all around great job by everyone involved.