Zenescope Entertainment 2016
Written by Pat Shand
Illustrated by Julius Abrera
Coloured by Fran Gamboa & J.C. Ruiz
Lettered by Taylor Esposito of Ghost Glyph Studios
Ghosts and spirits have been with us since man first started walking the earth. What are they and what do they want? Why do some mean us harm? One team of paranormal investigators sets out to answer those questions, hunting the vengeful spirits that cross over into our world and facing the most terrifying hauntings man has ever known.
I do like that this series centers around a central cast of characters that find cases that are within their realm of expertise and solve them. Granted they solve them much more quickly than I’d believe possible but that’s what one of issues are about right? This time around I like the idea that an object is being used as the catalyst for this story, spoiler alert on that one folks. I think going that route with this story shows off that not all hauntings and ghosts are centered solely around unresolved business.
Pat does a great job tying the story into the background of one of our main characters here. Setting this story in her own backyard, see where she grew up, gives her that unique perspective about what could be happening as well opening old wounds about having lived there. It’s nicely played off each other and gives us a closer look at why she has the gruff outer exterior which of course makes us like her more.
The interiors here are great! The attention to detail is great to see and I wish more artists used it as we see here. The use of page layouts through angles, perspective and even the backgrounds in play help us really get into this story. Also I do like that Julius keeps the ghosting to a minimum so that when we do see it it has greater impact on the reader. When we finally do see him on the other side well it’s got that right amount of vengeful spirit mixed with that of a dead man whose rest was disturbed.
While i’m not usually the biggest fan of one of stories, I’m one of those that feels like once he gets into the story it’s over, this run is different. That they’ve decided to do this with the feel of any of those reality ghost hunting shows, that they go, investigate and leave gives it more of a relatability to it. Plus we all love the idea of ghosts and the supernatural and Pat taps into that here in a fresh way to keep us engaged while also keeping us on our toes.
I think that by also tying in a character's background into the story opened up another avenue that allows the reader to become more invested in the group. So the way this issue is structured, how the pacing flows and the look at the characterisation does this nice job in blending the investigation alongside character development.
This is a consistent series that manages to entertain, thrill and make us look at ghostly activity just a little bit differently.