I’ve got a confession to make. Before reading the brand-new Space Ghost #1, releasing this week from Dynamite Entertainment, I had absolutely zero experience with the character or his world. I’ve never seen any of the cartoons, never read any previous comics, nothing. I knew the name and the iconic costume. Otherwise, I went into this reboot blind.
However, I have been a fan of writer David Pepose for a while. So, I hoped that he and the rest of the creative team – artist Jonathan Lau, colorist Andrew Dalhouse, letterer Taylor Esposito and editor Joseph Rybandt – could introduce me to Space Ghost and get me hooked on the series.
Dynamite Entertainment
But surprisingly, not much is revealed about the titular hero in this first issue. That appears to be by design, as Pepose obviously wants the Space Ghost – his motives and his methods – to be shrouded in an aura of mystery. Be that as it may, thanks to Lau’s style, the hero makes a grand entrance. Both his physical presence as well as his powers look strong, impressive and cool throughout. We know from the introductory text on the title page that he fights for justice; but we don’t learn much else about him in this first issue.
Instead, the story follows Jan and Jace Keplar and their pet monkey, Blip. They are the children of scientist Jarrod Keplar, whose research facility is being attacked by bounty hunters. The whole issue revolves around their perilous attempt to escape, running into trouble at every turn. It reminds me a lot of the sequences in the original Jurassic Park film involving the sister and brother trying to escape the velociraptors – with Space Ghost in Sam Neil’s role.
We get to know Jan’s and Jace’s basic personalities fairly well. Jace is the shy and intellectual one, while Jan is more of the brave leader. Oh, and it’s mentioned pretty early on that there’s more to Blip than just a pet monkey.
Dynamite Entertainment
The comic is basically one long action sequence from beginning to end. The tension is heightened by Lau making every scene feel very tight – claustrophobic at times. We almost always feel like we’re too close to the characters, like everyone’s going to run into each other at any moment. Accordingly, the research facility – the setting of the whole comic – is nothing but crowded rooms and tight hallways.
I especially like the colors by Andrew Dalhouse. Even though many scenes are colored to reflect the loss of power and the saturation of red emergency-lights, there are still plenty of panels with bright, contrasting colors that pop on the page. Space Ghost’s predominantly white outfit only brings out the red on his gauntlets and belt or the yellow of his cape. Jan and Jace wear bright yellow and blue jumpsuits with red gloves and belts. The various bounty hunters are also colored in bright, primary colors. Despite plenty of shadows, not all is dark and dreary.
Dynamite Entertainment
As for the overall plot, Pepose has compared Space Ghost #1 to The Mandalorian, and I think that fits well. If I didn’t know it belonged to a different franchise, I’d believe you if you told me this was a Star Wars comic – and Space Ghost was some weird Jedi saving the innocent siblings from ruthless bounty hunters. In that category of sci-fi, it’s a good comic.
But my biggest problem with Space Ghost #1 is that it doesn’t really rise up to be more than that. Maybe this is due to my ignorance of previous incarnations of the franchise, but nothing makes me feel like I’m reading anything better than a standard sci-fi comic. It’s good, but nothing about it is spectacular.
Well, except the four gorgeous covers you get to choose from. The main cover by Francesco Mattina is stellar. But you’ll have a tough choice once you see the equally fantastic variant covers by Jae Lee, Bjorn Barends and Michael Cho. Best make up your mind before going to the comic shop.
In conclusion, Space Ghost #1 is an action-packed reboot of the classic cartoon character with cool art buoyed by great coloring. It’s better than most comics on the shelf, but also doesn’t feel much different than any other sci-fi action-adventure. I’m sure fans of the franchise will be extremely excited, but new readers might need something more from future issues.
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