Five Ghosts, Volume Two: Lost Coastlines

Five Ghosts #2

by Frank J. Barbiere, Chris Mooneyham (Illustrations)

In 'Lost Coastlines', Fabian joins his old flame Jezebel on a trip across the sea to Japan and the mythical Island of Dreams. On their perilous journey they'll encounter pirates and a dark shadow from Fabian's past.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Supernatural, Adventure, Horror, Comic Book

184 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2014

About the author

Frank J. Barbiere is a #1 Amazon.com best-selling writer from New Jersey.

Frank is a former English teacher with degrees from Rutgers University and the Graduate School for Education.

After breaking into the comics industry with the creator-owned hit Five Ghosts (Image Comics), Frank has since worked for every major publisher in the U.S., as well as having a global presence in France (Glenat Comics), Italy (Cosmo Editoriale), and Spain (Norma) with his creator-owned work. He has written notable runs on Avengers World and Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. at Marvel Comics, as well as the creator-owned series Black Market and Broken World (BOOM! Studios), The Revisionist (Aftershock Comics), Violent Love (Image Comics), and The White Suits (Dark Horse Comics).

In 2017, Frank began working as a writer and narrative designer in the video games industry. He has since contributed to the Destiny franchise and was lead writer on Darksiders Genesis and Ruined King: A League of Legends Story. He currently works as a Lead Writer at Skydance Interactive.

Reviews

[Sarah (thegirltheycalljones) · Rating 2 out of 5]

How can such a cool idea end up being so tedious ? Lacks development for me, and the hero is too predictable.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is so packed with action sequences that it could have streched to another issue or two, but I'm not really complaining considering it's a unusually fast read. Our hero will be captured and will escape multiple times. It's almost funny how many times this happens. He will prove himself against all his foes and to his friends as well, especially after the difficult choice he makes at the very end.

Fabian Gray is asked by his former master's daughter Hisano to help her defend her family and possessions from a rival clan. They want to steal a fabled sword called Masamune. It turns out Hisano had a deal with her enemies that involved turning Fabian over to them. She is in turn betrayed and killed. Fabian escapes his bindings and kills his captors before Masamune is shattered in the fighting.

A man named Klaus organized the Japan operation with the goal of retrieving the Masamune. Elliot, one of his employees, brings the feared pirate captain Asif Quintano into the mix. Asif wants to take revenge on Fabian for his brother's death. His brother was a thief Fabian used to run with and eventually killed for having no respect for his enemies' lives.

Fabian is joined by cat burglair Jezebel who has a map to the Island of Dreams. The others in his team are Salty Jim, Handsome Jack and Amon who help steal a ship for the journey. Their goal is to search for more of the Dreamstone, but their plan is put on hold when their ship is captured by Asif's men with help from Asif's Dreamstone that disables Fabian's abilities.

Thanks to a pirate with the ghost of Sinbad who is attracted to the other Dreamstones, Fabian and his friends are released. The combined power of all the Dreamstones causes an explosion that shipwrecks the survivors on the Island of Dreams.

Fabian is separated from his friends and captured by a witch that also has Jezebel and Sinbad. He is forced to fight a mutated Asif for his friends' lives and his own. He wins after succumbing to the vampire within him and has to choose between saving his sister's soul or his friends. He chooses the latter to their surprise, so his mission to heal his sister's soul is still on the table.

[OmniBen · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review for the entire series, with the score for this volume) 3/5
This is a very good book, with a few notable flaws. Flaws that unfortunately take this from an outstanding read, and one that I would recommend to almost anyone, to a good book that I could only recommend to a certain type of reader. First of all, the art is absolutely stellar. I wasn't quite sure what I thought about it, as I went in completely blind, with little idea of the story and no idea of the art, although it quickly captured me, with its very heavy nods to the action cereals of the past. This book really does feel like a throwback to the seventies, with a slightly more modern colouring sensibility, although one still rooted in the halcyon days of action comics. The characters are interesting, as are their adventures, but the entire thing leaves me a little cold, as there simply is not enough writing in this book to elevate it above its current station. When the author deigns to give us a few words here and there, the whole thing dramatically improves, and I am swept away to some pretty magical places. Unfortunately, page after page after page goes by with barely a word being said, and I can't help feel let down by this rather significant omission. Comics are a marriage of words and visuals. Sometimes one can do more of the heavy lifting at times, but the best comics form an effortless synergy between the two. A synergy this book rarely attains. A synergy that I was left sorely wanting. Oh, how great this could have been. It's still pretty bloody decent though, however frustratingly so. 3/5


OmniBen.

[Erica Robyn Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately after reading Vol. 1: The Haunting of Fabian Gray, I had to dive right into Volume Two!

My thoughts:
I enjoyed this volume a lot! I found it far less confusing than the first and less rushed. Of course, this volume was much longer than the first, so we were able to get more content as well.

I really enjoyed learning about Fabian's past in this volume and how he and his sister had trained together once long ago. I also enjoyed that we were introduced to a new character named Jezebel, who also has dreamstone embedded in her face and also has a "ghost."

Again, I thought that the artwork and coloring was absolutely stunning. There were many pages where the artwork guided the story, which I always love.

My favorite line:
We've all made deals with the devil. It's where we go from there that counts.

I could not put this volume down! I cannot wait to get my hands on Volume 3. Unfortunately, it isn't available in my local library system...so it may be awhile. :(

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for volumes one and two.

This series is interesting, to say the least. It features a treasure hunter named Fabian Gray who have a piece of Dreamstone embedded in his chest. The Dreamstone causes him to be haunted by five literary ghosts: Robin Hood, Count Dracula, Merlin, Miyamoto Musashi, and Sherlock Homes. Each ghost can take over Fabian's body and gives him the power of that character, such as katana skills as Musashi or magic and wisdom as Merlin. As Fabian discovers new places and new treasures with his research assistant, Sebastian, trouble continues to find him. Throughout the story, someone seems to be after Fabian, but it is unclear just why yet,unless they want his Dreamstone. There are also sprinkled snippets about his sister having lost her spirit or some such event, which is also unclear, but what is clear is that Fabian is trying to find something to bring her back. In the second volume, Fabian joins his thief friend Jezebel as they search for the Isle of Dreams, leading Fabian to decide between his past and present.

Initially, I gave The Haunting of Fabian Gray a 3/5 and Lost Coastlines a 4/5 resulting in a 3.5/5 for the first two volumes. The first volume was interesting, but it took awhile to figure out what was doing on and to be drawn into the story. The end didn't have me caring much to continue, but I had the second volume anyway, so why not see where it goes. The second volume develops more of the story and ends well with potential for more adventures. The art itself even has an adventurous feel to it, like 1950's movie posters. Overall, I enjoyed the story and feel like it has potential, just not enough to bring me to volume three...

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second volume wasn't quite as impactful as the first, but we also needed a bit more set to continue to flesh things out. Fabian has made peace with his ghosts (for now) but that doesn't mean he has fully mastered those abilities. Nor will his enemies be content to leave those dream stone shards where they are. And there are a lot of pieces on the board.

This comic still needs a bit of focus, but at least we have the general shape of a path for Fabian as he tries to find more information about other dream stones out there. The pulp setting means that finding information isn't exactly easy so some patience is needed. But there's still a lot of room for exploratory adventures!

[Douglas Cosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- A little better than Volume 1. Fabian is still searching for his sister (and best friend's wife). First chapter is a standalone story set in Japan, but does have a tie-in with the main plot line that some bad, secret group is trying to get their hands on Fabian. The rest of the book takes place on the sea with many pirates and much swashbuckling. As with the first book, great art and mediocre writing. I realized that the plot is pretty good, but the dialog is a bit comic book cliche.

[Brendan Mckillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good genre fiction/pulp stories focus almost entirely on plot and only pays attention to character development as needed to propel the plot along. Frank Barbiere continues to deliver exciting genre fiction in volume 2 of Five Ghosts. I’m a little disappointed that there is only one volume left to the series. I really enjoy the adventures of Fabian Gray.

Chris Mooneyham’s art is outstanding in this series. Shifting his styles to embellish and heighten the impact of the story. He is a great fit for this type of storytelling.

[Danial Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabian's quest to revive his sister has him cross paths with former allies as well as new ones, who force him to face consequences for past actions. At the same time, the mysterious Council continue to pull strings from behind the scenes to retrieve the dreamstones in-bedded in Fabian Gray's chest. The volume concludes on the Isle of Dreams where Gray is made to choose between his desires and the needs of those around him.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A one issue short followed by a longer, multi-part story that doesn't ever really get going. The first little short may be the best part of the entire volume since everything after suffers from a bit of a slow pace and some murky/uninteresting/inconsequential backstory. Luckily the art is still great and the concept leaves enough room for some interesting things to happen down the road. Looking forward to three, but a little worried it might not pick back up.

[Stephen Newell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s still going strong in volume 2, and if action sequences are your thing, you’ll find more of them here than in the first. The art continues strong as well, but there are a few instances (the flashback scenes) where the panels look messy and straight-up unfinished. I understand the look he was going for, but I just found it distracting and annoying. Can’t wait to see where volume 3 leads me though (hopefully to some answers concerning HOW these dreamstones actually work...).

[Scott Waldie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continues to blow out the setting and deliver more of Fabian's international adventures, but it doesn't seem to forward its narrative all that much, even if it fills in a few detail. Still, love the art and a lot of the characters and creature designs are distinct. Fans of the Mignolaverse would like it, I think.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of volume one still stands, this comic is just not for me. Lack of importance of the main characters mission to help his sister and issues filled with random exploration events just doesnt hook me. Love the illustration though.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabian and company work on stealing a ship, but are then ambushed by pirates and end up on a very strange island. The question is open as to who set Fabian up and who is hunting for whom.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

About the same as the first. not bad. entertaining

[Frank M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't like this story as much as the first trade. Offers more backstory of the main character. The art on the villain was shaky sometimes.

[The Geeky Viking · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of the same fun, pulp adventures of treasure hunter Fabian Grey from the team of Barbiere and Mooneyham. If you're a fan of Doc Savage style pulp comics than this is the series for you.

[Dean liapis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume drug a bit, and just wasn't as exciting as Vol 1, but was still enjoyable. Still going to keep reading, but I'm hoping this is just a temporary dip and not a straight up slide.

[Jake Kilroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series continues to be a blast as we learn more about the perilous world of cursed-ass Fabian Gray, who is maybe kind of a not-so-great a guy, as it turns out.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Gripping read but a bit frustrating knowing bits that have been set up might not be paid off as the series didn't finish.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was good but not great. I am enjoying the story but I did lose interest in some places. Backstory is well and good but too much and I lose sight of the present.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoying this series so far.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of the same, if you're into that. Pulpy and full of adventure, but little in the way of substance, not surprised it never had a proper conclusion

[Anchorpete · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am going to say what I did in my last review, because I feel like it is applicable to this trade, as well.....

This book has a lot of panels without dialogue, and instead of seeming inspired, it seems cheap

This book harkens back to the old pulp stories that inspired Indiana Jones, and yet it doesn't seem to have much more depth to it, than that.

I always get this incest vibe between the main character and his comatose sister. that would certainly make the book more interesting.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun story. Volume 1 was good enough to bring me back for Volume 2, obviously. It's a fun, well told story. You can tell the writer is getting use to the characters and the story. That's not a "hit" against the writer, because he is writing a story that's worth reading and Volume 3 will be read. He just seems to be a newer writer, or a newer writer to the comic book / serialized form, and doing it pretty gosh darn well.
The three star rating isn't meant to be a "hit" against the writer, artist, or the story. It is a good story, worth the investment, to be sure. I just tend to give 4 start ratings and feel with the "beginner" feel that there is room for growth and there is nothing wrong with that.
On the note of growth, the art is pretty gosh darn amazing. I like the feel of it and it fits the story being told well. The flash back scenes are very well done and the color palette is gorgeous.

Hopefully, this story continues and continues to grow. The writer will only get better, the art dialed in and a true serialized comic will be fully formed. This has the potential to be one of those "gems" that few know about, but once it fully hits its stride the rest will jump onboard.

I can not wait to continue the ride.

[Brannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun series. It's a call back to the 1940's pulp stories and old adventure serials. There's a lot of action, exotic locations, a variety of monsters and villains and yet there is also a dark overall quest that spans the entire series.


The author is taking his time developing the characters and their emotional motivation and development. This is either a good or bad thing depending on the type of reader you are, I for one have been loving the slow burn of the main quest and characters intertwined with short fun adventures. Just because it's a comic doesn't mean you can't take your time with the story.


I look forward to reading more volumes in the future.

[Fernando Gálvez · Rating 4 out of 5]

De lectura rápida el segundo tomo de las aventuras del busca tesoros (y problemas asociados) de Fabian Gray nos lleva a Japón y la búsqueda de una solución al problema que arrastra desde el tomo anterior. Enfrentándose a demonios, ladrones de joyas, piratas y una isla misteriosa que promete cumplir todos tus sueños a un alto precio la historia recuerda a Doc Savage o a Indiana Jones con un arte de Chris Mooneyham que a momentos se deja llevar por los caminos de Sienkiewicz, Kubert y hasta algo de Romita Jr en sus viñetas.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun tale of adventure with Fabian Gray. Well, maybe fun isn't the best word for it. It's violent. Like, multiple beheadings violent. But they're all bad guys so that doesn't count.

Anyway, Fabian is still trying to save his sister. This time his leads take him to what reads like Southeast Asia and pirates. And there's more with the dreamstones, mysterious stones that give bearers superhuman powers.

Okay, it is kind of fun. But the best stories are. This series is well-written and well-drawn. It has an interesting story with likable characters. It's all good.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second installment in the Fabian Gray collection. This takes place in the ocean and on the Coasts of this weird, pulp oriented world created by the author and illustrator. Pirates and rogues, as well as the Island of the Dreaming, where an ancient entity seeks to destroy Fabian, both his soul and body.
This was just as good as the first volume, and man is Hollywood missing a golden opportunity to make an amazing movie. They would probably just mess it up anyhow, so I will wish but not expect. Oh well....
Check this out, and as for me I'm going to delve into volume 3!

Danny

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read volume 1 ages ago, but it stuck with me. I find the haunting and literary premise to be fascinating, and opens up so many options. When I finally learned that there are not one, but two new volumes since I read the first book eons ago, I immediately requested them from the library.

This is just such a cool series. I love the story, I love the characters.. I just love the whole thing. These are definitely going on my wish-list.