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Ghosted
Ghosted Vol. 1
Jackson T. Winters is one of the greatest criminal masterminds to ever live, except he's rotting in jail after his last doomed score. But when a filthy rich collector breaks Winters out, he's tasked to put together an elite team of paranormal experts to do the impossible: steal a ghost from a haunted house of horrors!
Skybound's horror/crime mash-up is equal parts Ocean's 11 and The Shining, by writer JOSHUA WILLIAMSON (MASKS AND MOBSTERS, Captain Midnight) and artist GORAN SUDZUKA (OUTLAW NATION, Y: The Last Man)! Collects GHOSTED #1-5.
Skybound's horror/crime mash-up is equal parts Ocean's 11 and The Shining, by writer JOSHUA WILLIAMSON (MASKS AND MOBSTERS, Captain Midnight) and artist GORAN SUDZUKA (OUTLAW NATION, Y: The Last Man)! Collects GHOSTED #1-5.
129 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 4, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 226 reviews
October 22, 2020
Ghosted isn't really meaty, but if you want to read a short paranormal/heist story, you could definitely do worse.
Edit:
Or not. Because I can't name another paranormal/heist story that's in graphic novel format. Thank you sooo much for pointing out that inconsistency in my review, Sam.
The main character, Jackson Winters, was serving a prison sentence after his last job went wrong. You see little snippets of how much fun prison is for Winters, and then a crazy blonde chick busts him out of the pokey for a meet-n-greet with her boss.
Her boss turns out to be a wealthy old nutter who wants Jackson to put a team together, go into a particular Haunted Mansion, and bring him a ghost.
Sounds crazy, but the old fart is willing to pay a huge amount of money.
Plus, Winters ins't exactly in any position to refuse. It's either this, or Blondie is taking him back to the Big House.
The team is made up of an eclectic group that includes two brothers who have a paranormal reality tv show, a magician/fence, psychic medium, ghost debunker, the blonde chick, and (of course) Johnathan.
The plan is not to be in the house when the sun sets, but things rarely go according to plan...
There's a whole lot more to the story, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who wants to give it a go. Personally, I thought it was good, but not amazing.
However, I should mention that my teenage son really loved this, and was asking if I could find volume 2.
Who's cool?
Mom is! Mom is!
Oh, but don't worry, it doesn't have a cliffhanger ending, so you can read this as a stand alone.
Edit:
Or not. Because I can't name another paranormal/heist story that's in graphic novel format. Thank you sooo much for pointing out that inconsistency in my review, Sam.
The main character, Jackson Winters, was serving a prison sentence after his last job went wrong. You see little snippets of how much fun prison is for Winters, and then a crazy blonde chick busts him out of the pokey for a meet-n-greet with her boss.
Her boss turns out to be a wealthy old nutter who wants Jackson to put a team together, go into a particular Haunted Mansion, and bring him a ghost.
Sounds crazy, but the old fart is willing to pay a huge amount of money.
Plus, Winters ins't exactly in any position to refuse. It's either this, or Blondie is taking him back to the Big House.
The team is made up of an eclectic group that includes two brothers who have a paranormal reality tv show, a magician/fence, psychic medium, ghost debunker, the blonde chick, and (of course) Johnathan.
The plan is not to be in the house when the sun sets, but things rarely go according to plan...
There's a whole lot more to the story, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who wants to give it a go. Personally, I thought it was good, but not amazing.
However, I should mention that my teenage son really loved this, and was asking if I could find volume 2.
Who's cool?
Mom is! Mom is!
Oh, but don't worry, it doesn't have a cliffhanger ending, so you can read this as a stand alone.
February 24, 2018
A group of paranormal experts assemble for a heist on a haunted house. Their target? A ghostie!
Ghosted, Volume 1: Haunted Heist wasn’t bad but definitely had its flaws. I was going to summarise it as “a spooky Ocean’s 11” except that would imply the team was made up of necessary specialists and I wasn’t convinced that that’s what they were.
What the hell is a “professional skeptic” and why was he needed? He didn’t do a damn thing except roll his eyes whenever spirits were mentioned! Why would you need a camera crew for a heist? And the Danny Ocean “criminal mastermind” didn’t seem to add anything either. I guess he was the fixer? I’d overlook their uselessness if they were an interesting bunch but none of the characters were.
Still, the story is entertaining enough here and there with a clever solution to heisting the ghost even if the third act gets a tad messy and boring. Goran Sudzuka’s art was pretty good for the most part too though he goes a bit overboard on the black shading which gets really noticeable towards the end - the effect is like you’re reading a poorly printed chapbook!
It’s not brilliant - the writing and art is so-so, the concept is equal parts derivative and original and the overall effect is fairly unmemorable - but Ghosted, Volume 1 was an ok book. Some horror comics fans looking for a twist on an old trope might get a kick out of this.
Ghosted, Volume 1: Haunted Heist wasn’t bad but definitely had its flaws. I was going to summarise it as “a spooky Ocean’s 11” except that would imply the team was made up of necessary specialists and I wasn’t convinced that that’s what they were.
What the hell is a “professional skeptic” and why was he needed? He didn’t do a damn thing except roll his eyes whenever spirits were mentioned! Why would you need a camera crew for a heist? And the Danny Ocean “criminal mastermind” didn’t seem to add anything either. I guess he was the fixer? I’d overlook their uselessness if they were an interesting bunch but none of the characters were.
Still, the story is entertaining enough here and there with a clever solution to heisting the ghost even if the third act gets a tad messy and boring. Goran Sudzuka’s art was pretty good for the most part too though he goes a bit overboard on the black shading which gets really noticeable towards the end - the effect is like you’re reading a poorly printed chapbook!
It’s not brilliant - the writing and art is so-so, the concept is equal parts derivative and original and the overall effect is fairly unmemorable - but Ghosted, Volume 1 was an ok book. Some horror comics fans looking for a twist on an old trope might get a kick out of this.
October 9, 2015
You'll never escape this house. It loves its guests too much.
What do you give an old billionaire who already has EVERYTHING in his collection of weird stuff? How 'bout a ghost? Bet he doesn't have one of those.
An elite squad of thieves and paranormal investigators ventures into a creepy ole mansion to get the old fart his ghost. Hint - they forget to take their ecto-goggles and proton packs. They get worse than slimed.
Oh, this could have been so, SO good!
If only the story had revolved more around the freaky family that lived, died and KILLED in the creepy old mansion. If only the writers had focused less on the living and more on the ghosts. If only the story hadn't gotten so damned convoluted. Seriously - I was supposed to laugh at that, right?
So much promise . . .
Next time, try crossing the streams.
What do you give an old billionaire who already has EVERYTHING in his collection of weird stuff? How 'bout a ghost? Bet he doesn't have one of those.
An elite squad of thieves and paranormal investigators ventures into a creepy ole mansion to get the old fart his ghost. Hint - they forget to take their ecto-goggles and proton packs. They get worse than slimed.
Oh, this could have been so, SO good!
If only the story had revolved more around the freaky family that lived, died and KILLED in the creepy old mansion. If only the writers had focused less on the living and more on the ghosts. If only the story hadn't gotten so damned convoluted. Seriously - I was supposed to laugh at that, right?
So much promise . . .
Next time, try crossing the streams.
September 17, 2015
Cardboard characters, clunky storytelling, plus the usual dose of postmodern irony - of interest only to the most desperate fans of the haunted house sub-genre.
February 27, 2015
Bullet Review:
It's OK. Nothing particularly bad but nothing extraordinary.
Jackson Winters is broken out of prison so he can compile a team to steal a ghost - basically Horror Ocean's Eleven. (But I'm sorry, Jackson Winters is no George Clooney.) The story plods along pretty much as you would expect - there are skeptics, there are cheats, there are thieves. It's creepy, but I certainly never had trouble getting to bed after reading this.
If anything, I'm a little upset that there aren't more women, BUT the women who are here are pretty complex and are actually important to the team (instead of just being someone's girlfriend or set of boobs walking around). The characters in general are just meh - though one character reminded me of Emperor Palpatine which gave me a chuckle.
The art conveys the story well - good colors, good lines, but somewhat creepy and dark still. Like the story and the characters, it's nothing awful, but nothing extraordinary either.
I have Volume 2, so might as well check that out too.
It's OK. Nothing particularly bad but nothing extraordinary.
Jackson Winters is broken out of prison so he can compile a team to steal a ghost - basically Horror Ocean's Eleven. (But I'm sorry, Jackson Winters is no George Clooney.) The story plods along pretty much as you would expect - there are skeptics, there are cheats, there are thieves. It's creepy, but I certainly never had trouble getting to bed after reading this.
If anything, I'm a little upset that there aren't more women, BUT the women who are here are pretty complex and are actually important to the team (instead of just being someone's girlfriend or set of boobs walking around). The characters in general are just meh - though one character reminded me of Emperor Palpatine which gave me a chuckle.
The art conveys the story well - good colors, good lines, but somewhat creepy and dark still. Like the story and the characters, it's nothing awful, but nothing extraordinary either.
I have Volume 2, so might as well check that out too.
June 24, 2021
This book was fantastic. Ocean's 11 set in a haunted house. Great art, great story.
October 31, 2021
This was such a great read!
It starts with Jackson Winters being asked by a man named Markus to rob a ghost for him from some Trask house and its haunted and well heist needs a crew and we follow the crew Robby, Oliver, Rusnak and others as they go to the house and try to rob a ghost but as its predicted it goes wrong and well its possession, dark magic and bloody scenes and nightmares, secret revelations and the twisted history of the house and how Jackson and co try to escape from the house while at the same time deal with a betrayal and take it to Markus.
It has a great premise and plot and falters in some areas but makes for a great and smooth read. While we don't know what happened wrong with Jackson and his first crew maybe it will be explained in future volumes and I like the twist with Markus and his sister which was good. And then finally the twist with the horror of it all which is not much maybe more in the future volumes. So it makes for a good one time read.
It starts with Jackson Winters being asked by a man named Markus to rob a ghost for him from some Trask house and its haunted and well heist needs a crew and we follow the crew Robby, Oliver, Rusnak and others as they go to the house and try to rob a ghost but as its predicted it goes wrong and well its possession, dark magic and bloody scenes and nightmares, secret revelations and the twisted history of the house and how Jackson and co try to escape from the house while at the same time deal with a betrayal and take it to Markus.
It has a great premise and plot and falters in some areas but makes for a great and smooth read. While we don't know what happened wrong with Jackson and his first crew maybe it will be explained in future volumes and I like the twist with Markus and his sister which was good. And then finally the twist with the horror of it all which is not much maybe more in the future volumes. So it makes for a good one time read.
March 19, 2023
Un horror interesant, cu multe scene clasice, a cărui premisă e destul de incitantă. Un miliardar obsedat de artefacte mistice angajează un hoț (pe care îl răpește din închisoare în prealabil) pentru a fura o fantomă care să se adauge ca un trofeu suprem colecției.
Hoțul se numește Jackson Winters și pare să aibă câteva antecedente legate de bântuiri. Casa din care trebuie furată fantoma e un conac pe cale să fie demolat, despre care legendele urbane spun că a adăpostit o mulțime de crime de-a lungul timpului, iar echipa lui Winters e alcătuită pe măsura cerințelor: 2 frați care filmează case bântuite pentru un serial on-line, un hoț cu experiență în artefacte mistice, Robby Trick, care pare să aibă și alte talente în zona aceasta, un medium, Edzia Rusnak, despre care nu prea știi ce să crezi, primele numere sugerând mai degrabă că e o impostoare decît o profesionistă a domeniului, un sceptic de serviciu - Oliver King, adus pentru a pune la îndoială orice și a vedea lucrurile outside the box, cum s-ar zice și o asasină, reprezentanta cumpărătorului, trimisă ca bodyguard, dar și ca garanție că lucrurile merg bine.
Povestea e pe măsura participanților, începe ușurel și devine din ce în ce mai violentă. Numărul 5 care închide story-ul pare puțin grăbit pentru că aici se întâmplă cam toate lucrurile esențiale și tot aici afli o mulțime de detalii care încheagă întreaga poveste. Era poate mai bine să mai fie un număr, chiar două, dedicate acestui story. Arta e bună, desenele sunt întunecat-gotice, portretele bine realizate, fantomele, scenele violente, umbrele și bântuirile bine realizate, iar culorile nu dau greș. Multe contururi întunecate, multe scene dominate de o singură nuanță, contrast bine făcut, negru cât trebuie.
Pentru mine a funcționat ok ideea și povestea, clișeele au fost acolo unde le era locul, întorsăturile de situație la fel, dacă nu s-ar fi grăbit, cred că ar fi ieșit o poveste grozavă.
Hoțul se numește Jackson Winters și pare să aibă câteva antecedente legate de bântuiri. Casa din care trebuie furată fantoma e un conac pe cale să fie demolat, despre care legendele urbane spun că a adăpostit o mulțime de crime de-a lungul timpului, iar echipa lui Winters e alcătuită pe măsura cerințelor: 2 frați care filmează case bântuite pentru un serial on-line, un hoț cu experiență în artefacte mistice, Robby Trick, care pare să aibă și alte talente în zona aceasta, un medium, Edzia Rusnak, despre care nu prea știi ce să crezi, primele numere sugerând mai degrabă că e o impostoare decît o profesionistă a domeniului, un sceptic de serviciu - Oliver King, adus pentru a pune la îndoială orice și a vedea lucrurile outside the box, cum s-ar zice și o asasină, reprezentanta cumpărătorului, trimisă ca bodyguard, dar și ca garanție că lucrurile merg bine.
Povestea e pe măsura participanților, începe ușurel și devine din ce în ce mai violentă. Numărul 5 care închide story-ul pare puțin grăbit pentru că aici se întâmplă cam toate lucrurile esențiale și tot aici afli o mulțime de detalii care încheagă întreaga poveste. Era poate mai bine să mai fie un număr, chiar două, dedicate acestui story. Arta e bună, desenele sunt întunecat-gotice, portretele bine realizate, fantomele, scenele violente, umbrele și bântuirile bine realizate, iar culorile nu dau greș. Multe contururi întunecate, multe scene dominate de o singură nuanță, contrast bine făcut, negru cât trebuie.
Pentru mine a funcționat ok ideea și povestea, clișeele au fost acolo unde le era locul, întorsăturile de situație la fel, dacă nu s-ar fi grăbit, cred că ar fi ieșit o poveste grozavă.
December 10, 2013
Crossposted at Booklikes
Disclaimer: Copy via Netgalley in return for a fair review.
This is hyped as a mash-up of a ghost story and Ocean’s Eleven. And it is. But the Ocean Eleven is the George Clooney version and not the Old Blue Eyes version.
This is not intended as a criticism, but it needed to be said.
Ghosted is about con, Winters, who is hired to steal a ghost. He gets together a crew, there is violence and betrayal. It is a solid if not outstanding read.
It also is more in the tradition of Noir then something like Ocean’s Eleven, either one. It reminds me more of the mini-series Mob City on TNT – gritty, dark, templates rather than characters. And while Ghosted is not as good or compelling as Mob City, it isn’t a waste of trees either.
The heist story is gripping enough to keep the reader’s attention, and this makes up for the fact that the characters are not as real as they could be – they are very much types. The plot twists are well done and not insulting, and while a woman reader could wish for better female characters, they are not bad or weak characters – just women in the tradition of noir. This makes the criticism genre driven as opposed to the comic driven.
There is some humor, mostly of a sexual banter between Winters and Anderson; however, there is a rather funny Harry Potter reference. It should be noted that despite the humor this is a story for teens and adults and not children.
The ending actually does transcend noir and humanizes the villain. This is done rather well, and much better than certain villains who become stars of their own and then heroes (cough Magneto cough). It is wonderful to see storytellers who can make a bad guy human without making the bad guy into a good guy. The end is also thought provoking, a good bonus that makes up for the lack of Ocean’s cool.
The artwork ties in very well to the story and is very noir like in its own right.
Disclaimer: Copy via Netgalley in return for a fair review.
This is hyped as a mash-up of a ghost story and Ocean’s Eleven. And it is. But the Ocean Eleven is the George Clooney version and not the Old Blue Eyes version.
This is not intended as a criticism, but it needed to be said.
Ghosted is about con, Winters, who is hired to steal a ghost. He gets together a crew, there is violence and betrayal. It is a solid if not outstanding read.
It also is more in the tradition of Noir then something like Ocean’s Eleven, either one. It reminds me more of the mini-series Mob City on TNT – gritty, dark, templates rather than characters. And while Ghosted is not as good or compelling as Mob City, it isn’t a waste of trees either.
The heist story is gripping enough to keep the reader’s attention, and this makes up for the fact that the characters are not as real as they could be – they are very much types. The plot twists are well done and not insulting, and while a woman reader could wish for better female characters, they are not bad or weak characters – just women in the tradition of noir. This makes the criticism genre driven as opposed to the comic driven.
There is some humor, mostly of a sexual banter between Winters and Anderson; however, there is a rather funny Harry Potter reference. It should be noted that despite the humor this is a story for teens and adults and not children.
The ending actually does transcend noir and humanizes the villain. This is done rather well, and much better than certain villains who become stars of their own and then heroes (cough Magneto cough). It is wonderful to see storytellers who can make a bad guy human without making the bad guy into a good guy. The end is also thought provoking, a good bonus that makes up for the lack of Ocean’s cool.
The artwork ties in very well to the story and is very noir like in its own right.
February 16, 2017
3 and a half stars.
The easy way to describe it would be a paranormal and mildly-gory Ocean's 11, maybe? Some elements are not very original but all in all, it was a good story with a heist team, and I'd sell my family for a good heist story with a kick-ass team! Even though this team is not the best I met (yet?), they did the job! Plus, GHOSTS!
I didn't notice when purchasing this one that it was a series, will gladly read the next volumes!
(Scott, I think you rec-ed it to me forever ago...so thanks!)
The easy way to describe it would be a paranormal and mildly-gory Ocean's 11, maybe? Some elements are not very original but all in all, it was a good story with a heist team, and I'd sell my family for a good heist story with a kick-ass team! Even though this team is not the best I met (yet?), they did the job! Plus, GHOSTS!
I didn't notice when purchasing this one that it was a series, will gladly read the next volumes!
(Scott, I think you rec-ed it to me forever ago...so thanks!)
January 26, 2022
Al parecer soy la única persona que ha leído este cómic y que lo califica en Goodreads🕴🏼
DESPERDICIO. Es muy bueno, no espere que fuera así ni que me gustara tanto.
Trata sobre un hombre que está en la cárcel y una disculpa llega una mujer a sacarlo de ahí, pero claramente no es porque sea buena persona. Esta mujer trabaja para un señor y este señor quiere que el protagonista le consiga un fantasma…SI, una fantasma.
Puede que suene muy raro, pero no tienen idea de los giros que da y lo bien construida que está la historia.
Si pueden conseguirla HÁGANLO.
4/5⭐️
DESPERDICIO. Es muy bueno, no espere que fuera así ni que me gustara tanto.
Trata sobre un hombre que está en la cárcel y una disculpa llega una mujer a sacarlo de ahí, pero claramente no es porque sea buena persona. Esta mujer trabaja para un señor y este señor quiere que el protagonista le consiga un fantasma…SI, una fantasma.
Puede que suene muy raro, pero no tienen idea de los giros que da y lo bien construida que está la historia.
Si pueden conseguirla HÁGANLO.
4/5⭐️
September 6, 2016
Apparently I enjoyed this more than a lot of other people... Based on reviews. That's the great thing about books
November 6, 2020
2.5/5
OK? I guess. Brutal, predictable, but with solid moments.
OK? I guess. Brutal, predictable, but with solid moments.
August 17, 2018
A pretty solid paranormal heist thriller. Solid story but a little predictable. Didnt really have a crazy conclusion, was expecting something more after reading his nailbiter series. I guess being written before he hadn't developed his craft.
December 20, 2019
The story felt a bit rushed. I loved the idea though. The artwork was great too.
July 29, 2020
7.28.20 update: rating changed to 1.5/5. I dislike this book, but don't have particularly strong feelings toward it.
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Edit 3-31-16: Lowered to 2/5. Rating out of 10 is more like 4.5. Not impressive.
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Edit 3-31-16: Lowered to 2/5. Rating out of 10 is more like 4.5. Not impressive.
April 22, 2018
After reading Birthright, I went back to read some of Joshua Williamson's other work. This is a high concept but not executed very well. I liked it but I felt it could have been better. It seems like a light on character movie script more than a comic book. Not bad, but very shallow. The concept is a thief is broken from prison to help steal a ghost from a haunted house. What a great idea! It did not live up to that concept but I applaud the trying.
October 2, 2016
FREAK'N AWESOME!!!
Verhaal lees echt heerlijk weg, illustraties zijn echt gruwelijk hier en daar. Loved it!!! Andere 3 delen ook gelijk besteld net ♡
Verhaal lees echt heerlijk weg, illustraties zijn echt gruwelijk hier en daar. Loved it!!! Andere 3 delen ook gelijk besteld net ♡
October 3, 2017
I picked this up expecting a spooky read perfect for fall. What I got was so much more. This gritty, snark-filled in your face adventure with a healthy dose of diversity and the paranormal hit the spot! It's raw. If you're offended by language or gore, this may not be the one for you. Jackson was a complex character who lives light on the edge, thinks three plays ahead of each other, and grows on you... like a fungus, despite his harsh ways. I read this in one sitting because I had to know what happened next in the mystery/heist. I highly recommend this one, especially if you like Supernatural! .
September 21, 2021
Ghosted Vol. 1 Haunted Heist collects issues 1-5 of the Image series written by Joshua Williamson and art by Goran Sudzuka.
Jackson Winters is one of world's greatest thieves but is sitting in prison after a disatrous heist. A mysterious benefactor breaks Winters out of prison to create a crew in order to steal a piece to complete his master collection - a ghost!
I love the premise of this book of mixing a heist caper with a haunted house. Unfortunately, I think the pace of the book is too fast. I feel it would have worked better over two arcs instead of just the one. Many of the characters are just there for plot points instead of actually building to be anything more. The art help elevate the book. I enjoyed it, but I do think it could have been better.
Jackson Winters is one of world's greatest thieves but is sitting in prison after a disatrous heist. A mysterious benefactor breaks Winters out of prison to create a crew in order to steal a piece to complete his master collection - a ghost!
I love the premise of this book of mixing a heist caper with a haunted house. Unfortunately, I think the pace of the book is too fast. I feel it would have worked better over two arcs instead of just the one. Many of the characters are just there for plot points instead of actually building to be anything more. The art help elevate the book. I enjoyed it, but I do think it could have been better.
November 23, 2020
FINALLY, a decent comic.
Definitely gave me Six of Crows meets The Shining vibes and i really enjoyed that. The characters were all very distinct. I loved the art style. This was a solid ghost story that I'd love to see adapted tbh. Very enjoyable.
Definitely gave me Six of Crows meets The Shining vibes and i really enjoyed that. The characters were all very distinct. I loved the art style. This was a solid ghost story that I'd love to see adapted tbh. Very enjoyable.
January 15, 2026
An interesting concept and nicely-done illustrations that recall the horror comics of the mid-to-late 20th century. Nonetheless, each character was more unlikable than the next and it was hard to rouse much interest in any of them. I'm not sure if I will continue with this series.
March 30, 2023
Mehhh!!! I`m so tired by this ideea of haunted houses! I think that they should be banned for a while from stories and novels.
The artwork wasn`t great either!
Not for me!
But I learn my lesson, when I will see haunted houses, in movies, or books... "run Forrest, run ...(!)"!
The artwork wasn`t great either!
Not for me!
But I learn my lesson, when I will see haunted houses, in movies, or books... "run Forrest, run ...(!)"!
February 17, 2022
This book started with a prison-rape splash page and got worse from there.
I was recently chatting with a friend about how Josh Williamson was now the writer for DC's flagship Batman series, and how I'd been meaning to check out his well loved, and relatively recent, Flash series.
That reminded me that I have one volume of his creator-owned series Ghosted on my shelf. Now why was it that I'd not continued on with that series again? Oh...
I'm gonna do this in dot point form because the book really doesn't deserve my time or yours.
Real quick, the premise is a master thief is broken out of prison by a millionaire who wants him to steal a ghost for him, from a haunted mansion. Ok here we go.
1. Main character is entirely unlikeable. I think he's meant to be cocky and snarky, but a charming rogue. He's a prick.
2. The dialogue sucks.
3. The artwork is super inconsistent. Some shots look great. Some look like a first draft. Sometimes a characters forehead grows several inches between panels.
4. It is constantly trying to be edgy. AND I QUOTE: "y'know, every time you open your mouth... I get an erection."
5. So much exposition dumping.
6. Seems to assume sexual themes and/or swearing = mature writing.
The funniest bit is that this volume COMPLETELY wraps up. There's no drive to get the next book, even if you were wiling to put up with the books overwhelming amount of flaws. It ties everything up with a neat bow, and then has the audacity to add a "TO BE CONTINUED" a page over.
Baffling that this made it two four volumes. Insane Williamson has been handed the keys to the caped crusader.
Ah well. Maybe all he needed was an editor?
Skip this one.
I was recently chatting with a friend about how Josh Williamson was now the writer for DC's flagship Batman series, and how I'd been meaning to check out his well loved, and relatively recent, Flash series.
That reminded me that I have one volume of his creator-owned series Ghosted on my shelf. Now why was it that I'd not continued on with that series again? Oh...
I'm gonna do this in dot point form because the book really doesn't deserve my time or yours.
Real quick, the premise is a master thief is broken out of prison by a millionaire who wants him to steal a ghost for him, from a haunted mansion. Ok here we go.
1. Main character is entirely unlikeable. I think he's meant to be cocky and snarky, but a charming rogue. He's a prick.
2. The dialogue sucks.
3. The artwork is super inconsistent. Some shots look great. Some look like a first draft. Sometimes a characters forehead grows several inches between panels.
4. It is constantly trying to be edgy. AND I QUOTE: "y'know, every time you open your mouth... I get an erection."
5. So much exposition dumping.
6. Seems to assume sexual themes and/or swearing = mature writing.
The funniest bit is that this volume COMPLETELY wraps up. There's no drive to get the next book, even if you were wiling to put up with the books overwhelming amount of flaws. It ties everything up with a neat bow, and then has the audacity to add a "TO BE CONTINUED" a page over.
Baffling that this made it two four volumes. Insane Williamson has been handed the keys to the caped crusader.
Ah well. Maybe all he needed was an editor?
Skip this one.
December 26, 2014
I didn't like this. The protagonist (Jackson T. Winters) is an ex-grifter who is doing time in prison for a failed heist. He's broken out of jail by an eccentric millionaire who wants him to steal a ghost. At this point you have a classic heist set-up: assemble the team, devise a plan to steal the McGuffin, and walk away with the money. And the comic pretty much follows the heist formula through to the end.
However, Winters' sexism overshadowed pretty much every interaction with the only female character in the story and got in the way any kind of meaningful character development.
Also, the pacing was off, with too many reveals in the third act that weren't supported by the set-up in the first couple of acts. I think if they'd dropped the heist formula and done a haunted house story, the overall arc would have been more successful.
However, Winters' sexism overshadowed pretty much every interaction with the only female character in the story and got in the way any kind of meaningful character development.
Also, the pacing was off, with too many reveals in the third act that weren't supported by the set-up in the first couple of acts. I think if they'd dropped the heist formula and done a haunted house story, the overall arc would have been more successful.
January 12, 2016
This is my second Williamson series (Birthright being the first), I think anything by Williamson is a sure fire hit for me. I love the concept, basically it's Ocean's Eleven mixed with a ghost story. Instead of stealing a bunch of money, they're hired to steal a ghost from an old mansion. Hijinks happen from there. I can't wait to read the follow up volume's.
August 9, 2016
Was kinda hoping this would have been better than it was. It reminds me of some haunted house movies from the 90s. So basically this wasn't very original. Not sure if I will read the next volume or not.
June 10, 2024
I usually don't like stories like these with ghosts and this was not a perfect one either, but I enjoyed it. It had definitely more than I was expecting. I liked it even more as I reread it.
January 24, 2019
The story has little originality. The 'ghosts in a haunted house' spiel has been done to death and stealing a ghost isn't as interesting as it would seem. Perhaps it's not that the supernatural element is done unconvincingly, but the characters and the dialogue surely are. They're trying to be serious, but failing miserably. Jackson's one-liners are especially corny. I didn't get involved in any of them and the supernatural problem was too easily solved, almost rushed. At least it was a fast read. This book was too mediocre for the series to warrant any more attention.
Jackson T. Winters is broken out of jail by Anderson Lake. He is brought to Markus Schrecken, a rich collector of supernatural items who wants Jackson to steal a ghost from the haunted Trask Mansion before it's bulldozed and replaced with a new mall.
Jackson T. Winters is broken out of jail by Anderson Lake. He is brought to Markus Schrecken, a rich collector of supernatural items who wants Jackson to steal a ghost from the haunted Trask Mansion before it's bulldozed and replaced with a new mall.
April 14, 2018
Why did I like this so much?
It was just so much fun. It's not every day that I read about a guy who agrees to steal a ghost in exchange for getting sprung from the slammer (and not thrown back in). There was also one of my most favorite things in the world - a roundup! It was done Armageddon style with him insisting on his own crew for the heist and then showing each in his/her natural environment with an explanation of the character's skills that make him/her essential for the team. Really gets my blood pumping for reasons I can't explain.
This wasn't perfect and admittedly came across a little hokey at times, but I liked the story, I liked the art, and I liked the unlikable set of characters.
4 Stars
Already grabbed the other volumes because I need a little mindless fun in my life.
It was just so much fun. It's not every day that I read about a guy who agrees to steal a ghost in exchange for getting sprung from the slammer (and not thrown back in). There was also one of my most favorite things in the world - a roundup! It was done Armageddon style with him insisting on his own crew for the heist and then showing each in his/her natural environment with an explanation of the character's skills that make him/her essential for the team. Really gets my blood pumping for reasons I can't explain.
This wasn't perfect and admittedly came across a little hokey at times, but I liked the story, I liked the art, and I liked the unlikable set of characters.
4 Stars
Already grabbed the other volumes because I need a little mindless fun in my life.
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