Review – Five Ghosts #16 (Image Comics)

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Frank J. Barbiere
Artist: Chris Mooneyham
Release Date: 8th April, 2015

This story arc continues to escalate and ramp up the intensity and anticipation for what will happen next. I feel like a child on Christmas morning ripping open presents every time I grab an issue, I can’t help but blaze through feverishly, turning page to page while being utterly captivated by the imagery and the storytelling.

As this darker side of Fabian’s adventures continues, more and more characters reveal themselves and Barbiere even treats us to a little more unexpected background on the dreamstones themselves. When we last left Fabian he was being captured by the mysterious Mad Scientist, if you will, who I mistakenly guessed at being Dr. Frankenstein, I was wrong but I will let you discover his identity on your own.

As I stated earlier, with each new issue this story arc has continued to ramp up and increase in every aspect of good thrilling storytelling. Frank has been able to add characters and leave it open for speculation as to just who they may truly be, being that most are drawn from some literary form or another. This approach allows us, the readers, to try and figure out who’s who, makes it feel as though you are part of the story. It really succeeds in drawing the reader in and connecting them to what is going on.

The stories move at a near cinematic pace, and while you read you can practically feel the action and tension that is put in each panel. Add to the writing Mooneyham’s ability to tell the visual story and you have nothing less than masterpiece in panels. Like every issue there are some panels that stand out more than others, and Mooneyham certainly doesn’t disappoint in this issue, delivering an absolutely stunning full-page splash following Fabian’s showdown with the Vampire. I also can’t get enough standalone shots of Fabian, whether as he himself or as one of the five beings that haunts him.

I’ve been saying it for as long as I can remember, but I simply cannot recommend this book highly enough to readers. It really has everything you could ask for; incredible writing, stunning visuals and intensely engaging story lines. You truly are missing out on comic story telling at its highest levels if you aren’t following the work of Barbiere and Mooneyham.

Rating: 5/5.

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