
Image Comics 2015
Written by Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
Penciled & Cover by Phil Hester
Inked by Eric Gapstur with Ande Parks backup assist by Mark Stegbauer
Coloured by Mauricio Wallace backup by John Rauch
Alright so this is kind of kitschy and fun. Take two socialites, those that love to drink seem slightly aloof and completely oblivious to what’s around them, who happen to have a knack for dealing with ghosts and the supernatural and you’ve got this book. It’s almost like you’ve got a hip modern Ozzie and Harriet solving supernatural crisis’ and the writing is kind of brilliant and Phil’s interiors sell it as a pseudo horror comedy perfectly.
We open with new house owner Donna Donner who can’t believe she’s moved out of the city to the suburbs. This isn’t modern times at least I hope it isn’t as Donna is home loving her new home when she starts hearing voices and proclaims who her best friend is and the house responds in a not so polite manner. She has to unpack the phone to call Sadie and get her and husband out there ASAP. I think I love that these people are all lushes it’s just perfect now if we’d see them smoking too it would complete the whole 50’s/60’s era I have in my mind.
Ben squared or Ben2 from here on out have really brought some of the best dialogue to this book. It’s funny, irreverent and keeps things interesting and quite honestly they bring back the term funny book. My grandmother used to call them funny books so it’s a great memory this evokes for me. As Sadie and Frank explore the house their witty banter with one another is quite the spectacle as they are besieged by haunted dolls and finding a gateway which takes them on one heck of journey through a ghostly world.
This is a journey you have to take yourself because in all honesty this is just plain fun and taking you through my experience of it would ruin that fun. Suffice it to say that this is completely unique and utterly charming. Sadie and Frank are just the kind of people you’d like to have a cocktail party with since they seem to talk and get constantly sidetracked throughout the conversation. They seem flighty sure but that’s a major part of their charm and the fact that they can do this successfully is beyond belief.
The interior artwork by Phil is just as charming and not too scary but the intent is there and you still get a nice sense that this is a serious situation they’ve found themselves in. Plus putting Sadie in what looks like a full length cocktail gown and Frank in that suit really give you this whole classic feel that this is the 50’s/60’s era even if it’s not.
There’s a back up feature here and it’s the story of how Frank and Sadie meet for the first time and how they fell in love in that meeting.
If you want pure unbridled fun, whimsy and a story of the most unusual ghost hunters ever then you need to pick this up because it really is a good time.