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Published by: Image Comics
Released on: Apr. 23, 2014
Writer: Frank J. Barbiere
Artist: Chris Mooneyham
Cover artist: Chris Mooneyham
In part five of the story arc “Lost Coastlinesâ€, Fabian Gray faces his demons, specifically people who've died due to his actions over the years, such as the one leading Fabian's bad acid trip: Navid. The disheveled Gray, holder of the Dreamstone, uses the powers of the stone to call the arsenal of unique abilities he gains from five fictitious literary characters. Characters like Merlin give him spell casting abilities; Sherlock Holmes gives him incredible intelligence and MacGyver-like tinkering skills.
His battle with Navid and the revenge-seeking dead want to kill Fabian Gray, and even though they are not real, they just might succeed. Gray has to call on his love for his twin-sister Silvia to gain the strength and the upper hand to combat the dead. His perseverance is rewarded with some quality time with Silvia, but that's not real either. Just another part of a trap set by some snake-wearing priestess. She has a gargantuan beast at her disposal and she has a couple of other people waiting with Fabian for whatever fate awaits them all. One woman in trouble he knows, the other woman has a Dreamstone just like he does.
This issue of the horror/adventure book is packed to the gills with action and rotten flesh, and set in a dank jungle atmosphere. Frank Barbiere further shows without a doubt that his talents in his script writing and his concepts go beyond his equally entertaining story over at Dark Horse Comics, “The White Suitsâ€. Five Ghosts is such an interesting idea and he keeps it from getting hokey, which it absolutely has the potential to be. The artwork by Chris Mooneyham is of a classic 70s style, and he totally channels Joe Kubert with the look of his work, at least in Five Ghosts. The fantastic cover for this issue looks like it could almost be from an old DC Comics Tarzan issue. He even puts his name on the cover in a similar way Kubert did. This reader loves it.
This is a really satisfying title. Great writing, great illustrations, and it's just good solid comic book entertainment with an old school feel to it. It has a pulp magazine air about it too, and that's not a bad quality in a book.
