DC Comics 2017
Written by Jeff Parker
Illustrated by Ariel Olivetti
Lettered by A Larger World Studio
After the thrilling events of FUTURE QUEST, a new age of adventure begins! First up, Space Ghost and his young wards Jan and Jace team up with the Herculoids to rebuild the mighty Space Force. Will they rise again to become defenders of the galaxy? Or is there something lurking in the shadows ready to stop them for good?
So this is going to be a rotating series where different creators come in and tell stories based on the characters we see teaming up in Future Quest. This makes me happy because I didn’t want Future Quest to end and this way it makes more sense than trying to release a book for each one. We can rotate through stories about the characters, see franchises, and by different creators so honestly no chance of getting bored. So long as the stories aren’t stretched out to fit into trades and make sense in the length they are told this is going to be great.
After the work I’ve seen Ariel do over in Brutal Nature to see that same quality brought to this makes me giddy. The work is astounding and the attention to detail that he’s able to put into it just gives me everything I never knew I wanted and so much more! The characters have an amazing look and feel to them and the animals regardless if they be a monkey or some alien life form are so well rendered that the surpass that cartoon quality and move into that real world one with ease. The use of page layouts through their angles, perspective and the utilisation of backgrounds make the ebb & flow of the story move gracefully.
I love the idea behind this story. Space Ghost is the last of the Space Force and his young charges Jan and Jace are being trained to one day join and rebuild those ranks. That we see them in school here is fantastic because you always wonder how they got to traverse the universe helping him out without going to school. Plus it adds to the mystique surrounding them and Space Ghost in ways I wasn’t expecting to see.
The characterisation here is superb! I couldn’t be any happier with it since we get a full range of not only emotions but reasons behind what’s going on and what the past has wrought. Then add into the mix that the gang heads to Amzot and we see the Herculoids making a guest spot well it has all the appeal of the previous book and continues to unify the Hanna Barbera universe together.
As cheesy as we’ve seen Space Ghost be over the years I have to admit that so far this may be my favourite iteration of the character. Jeff manages to have it encompass the entirety of his existence regardless of where it was, see Cartoon Network, and make it blend to work with his plans for the future. DC might have struck pure gold with this one, not trying to make it go the “realistic” route but letting it stay rooted in the Cartoon Universe it resonates more with readers of all ages.