Review – Five Ghosts #13 (Image Comics)

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Frank J. Barbiere
Artist: Chris Mooneyham
Release Date: 22nd October 2014

If you told me that Five Ghosts could get better than it already has been I would’ve told you you were lying. But it turns out it can in fact get better, and not only that, but it has! Now not only do we get our action/adventure fix every issue but also – just in time for Halloween – we get a good noir/pulp/horror story! In this humble reviewer’s personal opinion this is the best book on comic shelves right now, and if you aren’t reading it you are doing yourself a terrible injustice! But…if you haven’t been following along with the adventures of Fabian Gray and the Dreamstones, don’t fret as this is the beginning of a new story arc and it’s a perfect jumping in point.

As I said above, just in time for Halloween it seems Fabian has stumbled upon a town straight out of a Universal Monster Movie. The tale seems to have everything a good horror story should have; it has some zombies, mad scientists/doctors, a troubled town and even a cursed estate! What more can you ask for? Well how about we throw in our adventurer extraordinaire Fabian Gray and let the thrill ride begin! Barbiere throws a lot at us in this first issue but never does it feel overwhelming. We get the initial burst of action and horror followed by the explanation of events and the “rational” theory behind what is going on. Then we get a story about a cursed family and how their spirits still haunt their estate that no one dares go around anymore. Well… no one but Fabian Gray goes around anymore! And we even get introduced in the last few pages to a new villain that is part Doctor part madman!

I brag on Barbiere’s ability to tell excellent action adventure stories, but much, much can be said about Chris Mooneyham’s ability to tell the story on the visual side. Mooneyham has a style unlike many others in the industry right now. His artwork is highly detailed, yet he has a very sketchy rough look to it as well, which in my opinion fits well with the pulp action adventure story. The thing that impresses me most with Mooneyham’s work is his ability to capture emotions on people’s faces. There is one panel in particular that I had to stop and look again because in my excitement to read the newest issue I almost missed it. There is a small panel at the end of the page where Fabian is aiming down his bow at a zombie, but if you really stop and look he is smirking. When I caught that I myself chuckled, I mean honestly who wouldn’t enjoy and smirk at shooting down a zombie. I could really talk about just about any panel in any issue but keeping review readers interest through that would be impossible! I truly feel that Mooneyham and Barbiere are some of the finest craftsman in the industry right now and having them teamed up on such a wonderful book blows me away with each issue. All fan boy gushing aside if you aren’t reading this book, shame on you. You are missing out on story telling not only with words but visuals at its highest level.

Rating: 5/5.

The writer of this piece was: Shane Hoffman (aka “Hoff”)
You can also find Hoff on Twitter.