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Creative Team: David Pepose (Writer), Jonathan Lau (Artist), Andrew Dalhouse (Colorist), Taylor Esposito (Letterer), Joseph Rybandt (Editor)
SPACE GHOST Published by Dynamite Entertainment
FIRST THOUGHTS
We’re three issues into this SPACE GHOST series and I cannot believe that we’re three issues into a SPACE GHOST series that is this good. Dynamite has these licensed properties that come along from time to time and readers wonder if they can put the right creative team on the book that makes it worthwhile to pick up the book beyond the first issue, and this team working on this series has made me pump my fist in the air every time an issue ends.
THE STORY
If you’re not reading this series already (shame on you) here’s what you need to know. Space Ghost has lost his family because of Robo Corps and has built a reputation amongst the universe as a vigilante. Along the way, Space Ghost is trying to find a way to bring Robo Corps down, and in the first two issues finds Jan, Jace, and Blip. Each character is deeply affected by the actions of Robo Corps and has found safety and a home with one another as they seek answers and revenge.
READ LAST ISSUE’S REVIEW!
David Pepose is crafting a Space Ghost story that nods to the character generations of fans have come to know, but then spinning it into his own modern take, and there’s nothing more that this fan can want from a storyteller. Pepose uses every word on the page to not only progress the story that the issue is focused on, but lessons that Space Ghost is trying to teach Jan and Jace – and the reader as well. There isn’t a panel on the page where it feels like the characters are spinning in place. There is always a forward sense of movement that keeps readers engaged and learning more about these characters and this world that Pepose is building.
THE ART
The art in this series has been stellar. Jonathan Lau, Andrew Dalhouse, Taylor Esposito are all industry veterans if not by the amount of time they have been in the industry it is the amount of work that they have produced while they’ve been in the industry. Lau has done a lot of work over the years with Dynamite, so having him on board this series is a good choice. His art style in this book is moody and energetic at the same time with a panel of Space Ghost brooding to scare the criminals around him, and then once the action starts everything jumps off the page.
An important part of that energy is Dalhouse’s coloring. Dalhouse brings a lot of texturing into the colors that you may not notice at first glance. I would recommend going back over the pages and just studying the detail he puts into each page, it’s quite amazing and gives this book a unique look.
Esposito’s lettering is excellent throughout this issue as it dances between the characters and the panels, never obscuring what Lau has put on the page. Letters don’t get the credit they deserve many times because a readers notices their work because they are reading what they have put down on the page, but don’t recognize the work that is involved in getting those words, dialogue and narration, on to the page and melt within the scene so that you know they’re there without being pulled out of the story. Esposito does a great job with this.
FINAL THOUGHTS: 8
This issue is an interesting one because there’s a moment that it looked as if Jan might go a different route in order to learn more about what happened to her father, but it only lasted long enough for her to pull a fast one on our villain and the reader. This series continues to be strong and is building a universe out that is complex and entertaining to get to know.
