Tokyo Ghost, Vol. 2: Come Join Us

Tokyo Ghost

by Rick Remender (Writer), Sean Gordon Murphy (Artist), Matt Hollingsworth (Colourist)

Following the destruction of the Garden Nation of Japan, Constable Led Dent returns to his brutal beat, having succumbed to his inner demons. But as he stalks the streets of the Isles of Los Angeles, enforcing the corporate new world order, he's haunted by a ghost from Tokyo.

Collecting: Tokyo Ghost 6-10

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fiction, Dystopia

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 2016

About the author

Rick Remender is an American comic book writer and artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. He is the writer/co-creator of many independent comic books like Black Science, Deadly Class, LOW, Fear Agent and Seven to Eternity. Previously, he wrote The Punisher, Uncanny X-Force, Captain America and Uncanny Avengers for Marvel Comics.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B+) 79% | Good
Notes: Review pending re-read. Collected review for volumes 1-2 can be found here: Tokyo Ghost: Complete Edition

[Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The ghost of Tokyo has come for you all."

Remender and company don't disappoint. I may be biased toward his philosophical-psychological bent, but his writing is incredibly thoughtful if sometimes purposefully crude to serve his allegory. Mostly though, I'm super satisfied with how this mini-series ended. Dark and tragic, but surprisingly with hope.

If Eden is found, it's only natural that we destroy it. At the end of Volume 1, Remender left us on a huge cliffhanger: Led was forced to juice up or die while Deb was equally forced to inject herself with Sensei Kazumi's godlike anti-tech serum, followed by the detonation of a massive bomb which destroyed Tokyo and revealed Led standing in his full constabulary gear and motorcycle. Talk about a thrill ride. Talk about relapse.

While Volume 1 was moderately dark, violent, and perverse, Volume 2 takes it further. Like being severely pornographic. I'm talking genitalia, blowjobs, fetishes, even necrophilia. It crosses, nay, obliterates that line. Yet contrastingly this volume is also more fun and spiritually transcendent. Like the opening scene with the nymphomaniacal Miss Muffet and Little Jack Horner. Or Davey discussing his plan in cyberspace while go-karting with Mao, Hitler, and Stalin. Or nature taking back the world, led by our female protagonist.

"Every cent you earn is torn from the flesh of the earth."

Satisfyingly and tragically, we get that change necessary for main characters. Led, Deb, and Davey (as I suspected) all transcend themselves. What I enjoyed about their journeys is the unpredictability. Davey's trajectory was fairly average for a super villain, although the cyberpunk/video game slant is very cool. But Led and Deb continue their complexity, their story full of love and tragedy, numbness and clarity. I like that even in the end Deb still isn't 100% pure, still human, still vulnerable. And damn it, Led is a brilliant character to watch on a downward spiral. Can't say I'm surprised, but I think he finds redemption.

So there you have it. 10 issues come and gone. I wish there was more. But Remender did his damndest in less than 300 pages, writing a dark electric world full of scathing allegory, creeps and samurai, nihilism and romanticism. Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth are still my favorites, having mind-blowingly brought this world and its players to life, dark and mechanical, light and arboreal.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funnier, crazier and (far) darker than first volume.
Maybe ending was a bit rushed, but totally enjoyed the ride.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw the picture of a old fuck (who resembles Trump so it was even better) sucking his own dick I knew I was in for a treat.

Political jokes aside this story is basically focusing on taking down a organization that has used people's needs against them to control them. This is the aftermath of the terrible faith of our heroes in the first part. This is the revenge side of it all. The part where she's had enough and the GHOST OF TOKYO RISES!

It's entertaining throughout, going at brisk pace (which is my only negative. It feels semi-rushed) however this had everything I wanted really to finish this story. I enjoyed my time in this world, it reminds me of Ready Player One but actually GOOD. It's fun, wonderfully drawn, and I liked the message/themes it was pushing. Mostly cause I love technology but also fear it at the same time. It's such a scary thing at times.

Anyway check it out, see if you enjoy it as much as I!

[Jakub Kvíz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second and final volume was a little bit weaker, but still a very good read. Those few pages with the main antagonist at go-karts with Hitler, Mao, Bin Laden, and Genghis Khan were brilliant. A satisfying conclusion to a nice mini-series.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a brutal ending to volume 1, Tokyo Ghost spirals down into its explosive final act with even more heartbreak, cyberterrorism and bloody dystopian madness. Debbie and Led found their temporary paradise only for it to be taken away. Now that Led has fully relapsed into his addiction and lost control of himself, it’s up to Debbie to stop the man she loves and put an end to the technological reign of terror that’s been haunting them since they were abandoned as children.

Judging by the building trauma and darkness of the first volume, i just knew volume 2 was going to be an emotional rollercoaster. And it sure packed the punch I was hoping for. I quickly grew attached to Debbie in a short period of time and her character really had a chance to shine to its fullest in the bittersweet finale of Tokyo Ghost.

The series provides a twisted look into a world ruled by a disconnected reality where people retreat into their deepest fantasies to escape reality. The consequences are devastating for everyone involved; an ironic fate for those obsessed with instant gratification, conformity and mob mentality. To be fair, it takes guts to stand up to these things when they’re so easy to lose yourself in.

I enjoyed the classic cyberpunk vibe of the story and the psychological exploration of Debbie and Led’s characters. I also just have to bring up the fact that Debbie’s character design is awesome. She looks like a fusion between Samurai Jack, Black Cat and A2 from Nier Automata. The things she had to sacrifice and bet her odds against in order to fight for the betterment of humanity made me like her a lot in spite of her personal flaws.

Sometimes the dialogue was corny, the pacing was too fast and it got a little preachy, but I thought it was a great miniseries considering how few chapters there were.

Tokyo Ghost: Vol. 2
My Rating: 4.5/5

***

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[Václav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this was a beautiful ride. What an epic story can be told in ten issues. It was thrilling, crazy, beautiful and again, epic. And I really enjoyed it from beginning to the end. Remender and Murphy are a great combination. Murphy know his art - he's skilled in making great exteriors (I loved that in White Knight too) with no problem jumping from them to close up action. This is an excellent comics book for me. Great story (which is long enough and nicely closed), great art, cyberpunk, crazy action, samurais - total fanservice for me.

[Starlight Kid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet again shock over substance, going to drop this series now and not sure how much Remender I can take anymore.

Not much in terms of actual plot more just lets see how shocking we can be in terms of violence and sex.

Very poor.

[Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blechhhhh...I actually kind of liked the first volume of this. I'm a fan of Remender's when he's at his best and Sean Murphy is an artist I really like, too. But this is just plain bad. This is Remender at his worst, even worse than his work in Low. This reads like a rip-off of Judge Dredd with some sex and swearing thrown in for equal measure. Did not care for this one bit.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than the 1st but still not 5 star quality. The story develops more, we get a real villain and some sort of conclusion. I guess open ended in some ways for it to be continued later if they want to.

[Sud666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first book of this series. The second volume is a tad underwhelming.

In the wake of the events of the first volume, it seems that the Tokyo garden has fallen. Led Dent is back on his drugs and is being stalked by his ex-girlfriend. A slightly darker and more depressing tale. What I don't understand is the ex-gf's powers. Debbie went from homeless waif to master samurai without seeming to train. The artwork which was quite good when detailing large panels- never quite matches the scope of the first volume. The story is ok. At least it wasn't terrible, but neither was it as good. All in all a underwhelming follow up to a pretty good first volume. Too bad.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

A could-have-been good conclusion of vol.1 if it hadn't shipwrecked on Remender's blunt-and crass, the porn scenes were for pure shocking value-incapacity to not jackhammer his message in the reader's brain. The guy must think we're all morons.

2* for the art only. I hate it when an interesting plot is butchered by a hack.

[Javier Muñoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tenía las expectativas altas con este tomo que concluye la serie, el primer tomo me gustó mucho y me dejó con ganas de más, lamentablemente en este tomo creo que tanto Remender como Muyphy bajan un poco de nivel, no demasiado, pero lo suficiente como para que me decepcione un poco.

Por un lado Remender se pone un poco pesado y reiterativo, no recuerdo si lo era también en el primer tomo pero al menos en este consigue sacarme un poco de la historia, sobretodo con dos temas muy concretos, la lucha entre la naturaleza y la tecnología y la relación de codependencia entre un adicto y su cuidador. Por otro lado, en este tomo como en el primero hay mucha acción, coas que veo bien pero en este parece que Sean Murphy le ha dado menos importancia a los escenarios y los ambientes, que eran lo que realmente me encantó del primer tomo.

En todo caso un cómic entretenido que cierra la historia de forma correcta y es un espectáculo a nivel gráfico, aunque en mi opinión no está al nivel del primer tomo.

[Alex Sarll]

You know that vaguely hippy mate who posts annoying memes about how we're slaves to our mobiles on Facebook, and never seems to register the irony of that? Imagine them collaborating with the staff of the Canary on a rewrite of American Flagg!. There's this guy in charge in the future who's like Trump, right? And after the mainstream media give him an easy ride, they literally suck his cock! LOL!!! Or the digs at superhero blockbusters keeping the masses distracted, which don't feel at all hypocritical from the writer of a recent, terrible Avengers run. And hey, if we just stopped all technology, life would be much better for everyone except the breadheads, yeah? No mention of the reactor meltdowns, or the plane crashes, or the poor bastards on life support.

Despite all of which, Murphy's art very nearly manages to sell this naïve farrago. And that's a level of talent which is almost dangerous.

[Bon Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, Nintendo must be very pleased with the ending! Or Ninten don't (anybody familiar with this reference)? Kids will be kids, what can I say. But maybe it's a subtle input on one important distinction between tech of the present/future and the past. It was never a problem until it all became connected. Our Gameboys and even home computers of the very recent past never threatened our sanity, morality, and most importantly, it never threatened to monopolize our attention. Between our bicycles, running, swimming, soccer, just plain hanging out and sitting in front of the screen, there was no competition. Yeah, we would have a go at few sessions of Super Mario, Last Ninja or Commando, but some sort of physicality would always win in the end. Nowadays, it's exact opposite.

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talking about the whole story here, i.e. volumes 1 and 2: I really like settings like these where the technology has taken over the world but then there's some places of paradise left. The story is fine if a bit shock over substance here and there, and the baddie is kind of random. But I find the critique of extreme online life and pollution and general hedonism interesting subject, so overall I liked this. There are also some really gorgeous panels there art-wise.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es una maravilla editada por @norma_editorial. Una alegoría sobre la influencia que la tecnología tiene en nuestra capacidad de pensar y actuar como individuos con libre albedrío, sobre la progresiva pérdida de contacto con la naturaleza y los sentimientos, muy bien representado por el contraste entre una Los Angeles al punto del colapso y un Japón que se erige como último bastión.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume completes the Tokyo Ghost story. There was a lot of strange nudity in this volume, it was a little off putting at times. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this story that teaches us what could happen if we let ourselves become too reliant on tech.

The cost of correcting the work was grand. A well recommended graphic novel.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoyed the first half of this story, then you'll do so again in the back half. There were a few moments that felt like Remender was being overly graphic for the sake of doing so, but maybe there was a point to it that I just didn't catch.

The art is kinetic when appropriate and serene when necessary. I won't give anything away about the story. By now, we all know it's a tale of revenge.

[Silence · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find my full review and more at: owlsandvowels.org

If I were to be brutally honest, I would say that many might gloss over the subtext found in Tokyo Ghost, but those who are willing to dive a little deeper will be rewarded. I was. I highly recommend.

[Scifi70sface]

Brilliant conclusion to the first part! Cannot recommend this highly enough. Just read it now. well, after part 1 of course. Great artwork, brilliant imagination story and characters. This will be the future... loved it

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorry to see that this series has ended but in my opinion it holds promise for future arcs. Remender is a giant talent and this civilizational warning has lessons that we all, in our current delirious state, could take lessons from. I know I could benefit from unplugging from the grid.

[Aron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but i thought it was a bit of a let down after Vol. 1

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really interested in how Tokyo Ghost was going to depict Japan and Japanese people since I teach a class that looks at depictions of Japanese in movies. On that level, this comic series was kind of interesting. Often Japan is depicted in movies as being especially technologically advanced, but Tokyo Ghost goes the opposite route, with all the Japanese basically looking like they came out of a samurai movie. Actually, this kind of depiction is not uncommon either, since a lot of modern stories like to play with ninjas and samurai in the modern world (see Samurai Girl, The Wolverine, Enter the Ninja, etc). Tokyo Ghost even does the whole “white savior” angle, with the matriarchal Kazumi replaced by a white girl wearing Japanese clothes and bearing the sword of the good Japanese. This isn’t necessarily wrong or right, though the prevalence of white characters basically coming into Japanese worlds and being better (like The Last Samurai, Black Rain, The Wolverine, American Ninja, etc) can be at least annoying, even if you don’t think it’s necessarily racist.

What I found more off-putting, though, was how gross and silly the world is. Now I get that the message of the story is very anti-tech, and the grossness (such as the constant references to sexually explicit television shows, the journalist who literally gives the bad guy leader a blow job, the guy with lasers shooting out of his jock strap around his exposed penis, the giant octopus ride where women apparently ride with the thing’s tentacles up their crotches, the image of a woman urinating into a man’s mouth) is meant as a condemnation of the society’s decadence and waste, it is just too much for me, and is often kind of presented for laughs. Really, though Remender seems to want to give a serious message, I think the silliness of the way in which the world is presented and the ludicrous over the top baddies combined with this wild pastiche sense to the story and design degraded (at least for me) the story’s impact. I did like that the story tackled the horrors of codependency and addiction, even if the story comes across as Luddite in the extreme. Even a Game Boy will doom the world!

Anyway, not really a fan, but it was interesting!

[RatGrrrl · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 23%

I hated the first volume on Libby, which I read because I got this volume in a random pull of a bunch of comics from the library. I knew I shouldn't pick this up, but I am a ratgrrrl with zero impulse control, so I thought I would give it a go. It couldn't be any worse...

Maybe it's worse, or maybe after finishing the first volume and reflecting on how much I didn't enjoy it, I had no more scales on my eyes and goodwill in my heart, but I am now happy (read: sad) to now confirm that these comics absolutely suck.

I hate being negative and generally make a point of avoiding being disparaging or insulting, but these comics are such purile frash that rhwh are insulting to read, so they started it. I wish there was a word for what cringe is attempting to convey, but fails as we are all incredibly cringe and life if better when we accept that. We are also all trash and I absolutely enjoy some trash, as a treat, but this is not good trash or even the good kind of bad trash. It's just such massive edgelord dudebro energy that I am flabbergasted Image publish it and genuinely can't imagine anyone not on the fedora forum on fucking fourchan finding this the least bit amusing.

The art is still rather pretty, but the fucking stupid shit the artist is made to draw...

The writing continues to sound like a joke writer fired by Andrew Dice Clay and the Grand Theft Auto 'comedy and parody' writers team for their work being too obvious, obnoxious, and lowest common denominator.

This comic continues to be an insult to the concept of cyberpunk and I hate it very much.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Florin Pitea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reasonably good, but a far cry from LOW.

[OmniBen · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review for the series as a whole) 3.75/5
I read this a while ago... I have no idea how I didn't review it then. I would've sworn that I had. Anyway...
I remember sending a friend a message after an issue or so of this, pretty much saying how much I was digging it. I can still recall that feeling at the time. I might have been slightly over embellishing my opinion of the book, but the art and the world, and the general direction of the story... I certainly thought this one was going to be a firm favourite come the end. Alas, once it was all said and done, a favourite it wasn't. Firm in its goodness, definitely. A firm recommendation for others to read, undoubtedly. But a firm favourite, no way Jose.
Most of this books issues must be laid firmly at the feet of Remender here. I kept reading it, absorbed in Murphy's art and the look of the world, waiting for Ricky boy to come to the party, and bring a story worthy of everything I expected this title to be. Everything the art and the world were telling me it could be. It just never really got going. Never really kicked into high gear, having me turn the pages like Johnny 5 on electric E. Exact moments are a little dim on the old recall, well over a year ago, considering all I've read since, but the distinct aftertaste of disappointment and too much being left on the table still permeates the old memory bank.
It's better than so much of the dross available for your undiscerning consumption in the mainstream industry these days, but dammit, I wanted, needed this to be a bit better. 3.75/5


OmniBen.

[Tyler Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5. Read it in one sitting and I read to be entertained. Fun idea.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for children. Graphic and disturbing. But a valiant and painful look at a potential future.