Ghosted, Vol. 2: Books of the Dead

Ghosted

by Joshua Williamson, Davide Gianfelice (Illustrator), Miroslav Mrva (Illustrator)

After his last job, Jackson Winters won his freedom. But even now, he can't put his very real ghosts to rest. News of his reappearance has spread, and there are people who have waited a long time to use his peculiar talents for all the wrong reasons.

Collects GHOSTED #6-10.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Supernatural, Paranormal

113 pages, ebook

First published June 11, 2014

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember Jackson Winters?
Well, this crazy old lady scratching stuff into the wall does...



If you liked Haunted Heist, then you might really enjoy this. Books of the Dead picks up Jackson's story a few months after the events of the last book.



Jackson and Trick are hiding out on an island, enjoying the payday they got from the last job when the past catches up to them. Well, Jackson's past catches up to them.
That damn casino job! *shakes fist*
Anyway, he's given a deal by the head honcho of the casino...
Rescue a (demon possessed) girl from the clutches of (supernatural?) sex slavers, and they'll be square.
Easy-peasy, no?



Best thing about this one (to me) was the inclusion of Anderson, as a ghost who is determined to haunt Winters for the rest of his life. Or kill him. And sometimes protect him...because that death just wouldn't be painful enough.



You find out more of Jackson's past, including what happened to his casino crew. And you also learn that Anderson isn't the only supernatural force haunting him. Or whatever she's doing...

All in all, it's a decent amount of fun, but I don't think I'd recommend you run out and buy this one. If you can borrow it from a friend or the library, though? Yeah, sure check it out!

[CS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

Ehhhhhhh...I didn't like this one as much as Volume 1. Firstly, I felt the story was convoluted and tossed together like a salad. Then I felt almost like some pages were missing - scenes suddenly skipped ahead, characters suddenly appeared with no intro or movement.

I was actually glad when this was over.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great read!

Jackson is celebrating the freedom but he gets enlisted by some Crow woman to find her granddaughter Nina but well she is possessed and well taken by a "Brotherhood of closed book" and thus we follow him as he is on the hunt for this woman but what he finds is possessed women, crazy cult and the blood crow witch and the messed up history of the woman who hired him and it takes him on a strange supernatural adventure filled with wonders and horrors and losing closed one and him finding something new about himself!

Its a great volume and a must read for sure and I love the way williamson builds the suspense and that blood crow thing with Nina while interesting could have used some more exposition but I digress and it still makes for a good read for its strange yet psychedelic plot and all in all its awesomely done and the art is good.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far Williamson's best work to date. I love this book.

[Cisz Geverink - Strasters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Echt geniaal dit! Ik ben fan ♡
zou hier 100 delen van kunnen lezen... AWESOME READ!!!!

[RG · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure why but this just didnt work for me. Not sure if its the story or the art but its not something I'll talk about or remember extremely well.

[Valentin Derevlean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackson Winters și Robby Trick își duc zilele fericiți pe o insulă câștigată mai mult sau mai puțin meritat în urma ultimei afaceri cu fantoma răpită din conacul bântuit. Dar trecutul nu-i lasă în pace, așa se face că Winters și Trick sunt nevoiți să călătorească în mijlocul junglei, pentru a recupera o tânără posedată de un spirit rău din mâinile unei grupări dubioase, care comercializează fete posedate și artefacte întunecate pe piața neagră. Alternativa e cea în care sunt uciși, și această finalitate le cam iese în drum în ultima vreme. Așa că o luptă cu trupe de guerrilla, ocultiști și o junglă bântuită nu mai pare chiar așa neașteptat. Cu această ocazie aflam și ce s-a întâmplat la acea misiune celebră de jaf ratat al unei bănci, când toți partenerii lui Jackson au fost găsiți uciși. Plus mici detalii care dau farmec și rotunjimi poveștii.

Din păcate, arta nu e la fel de grozavă. Am pierdut desenatorul din primele numere, iar Davide Gianfelice parcă duce multe dintre paginile de aici către arta de tip animație Disney. Nu e dezastru, dar nici grozav.

[Sonic · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ok.

[Valéria. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooooh I liked this vol. 2 way more than first one. Not only because story became more interesting, but I also loved Jackson's humor. Liked those jungle ghosts a lot.

[Anto Tilio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gusta mucho el estilo de esta historia y cómo juega con todo lo relacionado a los fantasmas y lo esotérico. En esta oportunidad, la pseudo paz que consiguió Jackson después de su último trabajo se ve turbada cuando alguien de su pasado lo encuentra. Acá vienen antiguos enemigos a buscarlo para encargarle un trabajito de su especialidad. El trabajo que le arruinó la vida y lo sigue atormentando fue un robo fallido en un casino de Las Vegas, la dueña del casino lo tiene entre ceja y ceja pero ahora lo necesita para que recupere a su nieta que ha sido secuestrada por una secta rara de las junglas de México.
Conocemos un poco más de la historia de nuestro protagonista, a la vez que presenciamos como sigue haciéndose enemigos en el camino.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ghosted Vol. 2 Books of the Dead collects issues 6-10 of the Image series written by Joshua Williamson and art by Davide Gianfelice.

Winters is living in hiding on a tropical island when a random encounter lets some old enemies know that he is still alive. Winters is made to help the casino boss from the heist that landed him in prison. The mission is to rescue the boss's grand daughter who has been kidnapped by sextraffickers. Why did they get Winters for the job - because of his new expertise with dealing the possessed!

I'm still a bit disappointed with the fast paced conclusion to volume 1 as I think it would have worked much better being told over two arcs. I also just didn't really care for the story presented in the second arc. It still has the book's dry sense of humor which is strangely charming but I didn't care for the change in art. Still curious to see where the book goes from here and hoping for a rebound.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

** Review is for all four volumes read back to back

Supernatural Heist story. Ok. I'm in. The first volume worked all by itself and each subsequent one built upon that foundation for a steadily broadening world, without trying to do to much to soon. But then it goes and ends on a hook for the next series that has (so far) never appeared.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't bad. The change in artist isn't so great, but the story continues to be strong, and this picks up just a few months after events in the first volume. I think I'll keep reading.

[Rogue Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok so I really liked the following volume in the Ghosted series. I can't even wait to read the next one.
But I felt that it wasn't as good as the first one. But that's really all just personal; I like haunted houses, but this witchdoctor possession deal in the Aztek monuments just isn't my style. It's alright, but I still like the haunted houses and the stories of the ghosts that haunt them so much more. That's what I want.
With all that said, I was not expecting certain things to happen. I had grown to really like the characters, so when certain things happened, I was a little sad. You'll see when you read volume 2.
Cool story. I didn't like that they changed the way they drew Jackson, but I suppose it's very much called for once you get into the story. I feel like the fact that there were new people working on the project also played into that. But they stayed true to what the first volume really was, and it was a great read. Can't wait for volume 3 and to see what happens to Jackson! :D

[Tandri Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

[Michael Beblowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

The initial volume of Ghosted, felt a bit rushed, although it had an interesting premise. A career thief haunted by an incident at a failed casino heist involving the supernatural possession of his team, is broken out of prison by an eccentric millionaire and collector of occult artifacts who enlists him to steal a ghost. A series of double crosses has left Jackson literally haunted by the ghost of Anderson and is eventually coerced by the Native-American crime family who owned the casino where he was forced to kill his possessed girlfriend and cohorts, to rescue a possessed granddaughter who was smuggled into Mexico to work at a demonic bordello run by the Maestro, a fiendish disciple of the dark arts who uses the possessed women to write books of the dead. The narrative was really rushed with little or no stellar dialogue or coherence, after the initial twist of the first book the betrayals and ulterior motives just seemed obligatory.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackson returns!
I was glad to see the male lead of Haunted Heist come back in the second volume of Ghosted. Although I enjoyed the first volume a little bit more (due mostly to being a big fan of traditional haunted house stories), the second installment is just as good in terms of illustration and story. It offers more in the way of a suspense, too, being set in a temple-like adventure-type environment. *It struck me as being a homage to the Indiana Jones movies or something to that effect. Again, it doesn't skimp on the gore or pull any punches in terms of how diabolical and self-serving Jackson is (or any characters in it, really).
Recommended for those who like their horror mixed with a bit of suspense and/or action. It's still one of my favorite ghost-supernatural-horror series.
Happy reading!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Jackson Winters, how do you get yourself in these situations? Oh yes....your life of crime took you down this path.
Jackson has been living the high life in an island and soaking up the sun for six months after the haunted house incident, and then he's spotted by an old foe. The foe does not want to kill Jackson, rather, wants his assistance in retrieving her kidnapped daughter, but of course, that's not the whole story.....
Don't want to ruin anything so you must just read! An couple of old friends return from the past and we get some insight into Jackson's pickle that landed him in prison!

[Scott Waldie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story gets a little more colorful here by mixing in Native American and Central American supernatural elements, as Jackson gets caught up once again in his past. I also though the art in this volume was a little better, but still not terribly impressed with the story. A number of the characters from the first arc return here, often just to serve as deus ex machinas, and the ghosts in this one are themed properly, but it's just a violent tale full of unlikable people that aren't able to change that as we get to know them better. It's far from bad, but not all that good.

(This is for Volume 2, not just Issue #2)

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume was something of a step down after the promise of the first story arc. The wisecracking jokes are a bit stale this time and the framing of scenes is bizarre. A guy gets a drop on the hero with his gun; the two are separated by about 20 feet. The next panel reverses their respective positions and has the hero slugging the guy in the face. How did he cross that room, circle around, and then get close enough to punch? Hopefully this series improves.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought Vol. 1 could have been a quick little standalone, but apparently Jackson Winters isn't done just yet. Here's what I'm learning:

1. People are going to die. Whoever, whenever.
2. Crazy crap is going to happen. Lots of ghosts and spirits and demons (oh my!).
3. I'll keep reading because these are just fun page-turners. The first two volumes haven't been "deep" by any means and honestly I'll be disappointed if the next ones are.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Williamson's supernatural crime thriller continues here and its evolving into a complete world. Jackson Winters just wants quiet and keeps getting sucked into insanity. I liked this book better than volume one mostly do to the artwork of Davide Gianfelice. He does a great job with the supernatural elements, especially the scenes in the jungle. Excited to tread the next volume.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story arc much better than Volume 1. Jackson Winters still did not evoke a lot of empathy from me, but the story felt less like a bad direct-to-video mash-up of Ocean's 11 and The Conjuring. The ghostly rain forest critters were fun. Still not in love with the series, but at least it didn't feel like narrative masturbation.

[Paul W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brilliant concept, poorly executed again. This time, a group kidnaps girls who are possessed and uses them to write Necronomicons. Such a great idea! But it turns into a hack and slash. It was profoundly disappointing.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate this series. I wanted to give up on this after the first volume but I read this volume for whatever reason and wish to hell I hadn't. The writing is lazy and unimaginative and the characters are unlikable. I quit!

[Harold Eckett · Rating 3 out of 5]

What seems to be happening here is that they had an idea for a haunted house comic and now the authors wanted to broaden the scope by taking the characters into a new location, but it lacks the extended approach of switching the story. There are more characters, but they are one-dimensional.

[Bill Coffin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Billed as a mash-up of Ocean's 11 and The Shining, Ghosted fails to live up to its own heist. Filed with characters we don't care about and narratives that don't matter, Ghosted isn't clever enough to work as a heist story, nor disturbing enough to work as a ghost story.

[Leif · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the idea of a Necronomicon factory. That's about it.

A silly, enjoyable arc from a silly, enjoyable comic series.

Again, will read the next arc because I evidently collected the whole series (must have gotten it on the cheap. This is NOT the kind of comic I usually read).

[Laurian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character is a very enjoyable gentleman to watch fail.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the art work in this volume better than the last, but I didn't like the story as much. It felt sort of rushed.