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Spectre Deep 6
2020 Bram Stoker Awards Finalist
In the vein of Flatliners and Ghost meets The Bourne Identity and La Femme Nikita, a diverse team of black ops "Spectres"--elite soldiers who died in the line of duty only to be reanimated by military scientists and brought back as actual ghosts--carry out illicit missions for the United States government in exchange for day passes to haunt their old lives and fulfill their unfinished business.
Spectre Deep 6 is a paranormal sci-fi graphic novel that centers on six reanimated spectres who have the tactical precision and paranormal abilities to carry out the most important and clandestine missions for our government. Missions that are too dangerous, illegal, and secretive to leave any trace--assassinations, regime toppling, technology theft, halting nuclear weapons programs, and more.
When the Spectre Team assassinates a target, they literally scare the victim to death, making it look like they had a stroke or heart attack, so the target appears to die from natural causes. Then they ghost from the scene, leaving no trace they were ever there. They're the perfect weapons. The downside to spectre soldiers? They're like batteries that need to be recharged, or they'll disperse and pass on. That's why they have to stay locked in containment most of the time, a glorified ghost prison located in a secret military bunker under Area 51 and powered by a nuclear reactor (it takes a lot of energy to charge a ghost). Oh, and ghost soldiers can get a bit ... testy. They don't always get along or follow orders. After all, they didn't ask to be brought back.
In the vein of Flatliners and Ghost meets The Bourne Identity and La Femme Nikita, a diverse team of black ops "Spectres"--elite soldiers who died in the line of duty only to be reanimated by military scientists and brought back as actual ghosts--carry out illicit missions for the United States government in exchange for day passes to haunt their old lives and fulfill their unfinished business.
Spectre Deep 6 is a paranormal sci-fi graphic novel that centers on six reanimated spectres who have the tactical precision and paranormal abilities to carry out the most important and clandestine missions for our government. Missions that are too dangerous, illegal, and secretive to leave any trace--assassinations, regime toppling, technology theft, halting nuclear weapons programs, and more.
When the Spectre Team assassinates a target, they literally scare the victim to death, making it look like they had a stroke or heart attack, so the target appears to die from natural causes. Then they ghost from the scene, leaving no trace they were ever there. They're the perfect weapons. The downside to spectre soldiers? They're like batteries that need to be recharged, or they'll disperse and pass on. That's why they have to stay locked in containment most of the time, a glorified ghost prison located in a secret military bunker under Area 51 and powered by a nuclear reactor (it takes a lot of energy to charge a ghost). Oh, and ghost soldiers can get a bit ... testy. They don't always get along or follow orders. After all, they didn't ask to be brought back.
- GenresGraphic NovelsHorror
ebook
First published May 12, 2020
About the author
Jennifer Brody
14 books187 followersJennifer Brody (Vera Strange) is a New York Times Bestselling Author and Stoker Award Finalist. Her books include The Continuum Trilogy, Disney Chills, and Stranger Things: Starcourt Mall Escape. She is the co-author of All Is Found: A Frozen Anthology and Star Wars: Stories of Jedi and Sith. A fan of all things dark, weird, and wonderful, she's always writing something new. www.jenniferbrody.com
You can find her on Twitter and TikTok @JenniferBrody, and Instagram and Facebook @JenniferBrodyWriter.
You can find her on Twitter and TikTok @JenniferBrody, and Instagram and Facebook @JenniferBrodyWriter.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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May 12, 2020I really enjoyed this graphic novel that blends fantasy with science fiction, as the ghost forms of a group of people are pulled into a unit to do some mega-power mayhem on villains.
Each of the early chapters was a nifty blend of backstory and action, so that by the time we reached chapter five, we had a good idea who these characters were, what motivated them, how they fit (or didn't fit) together . . . and then the storyline kicks into high gear.
The blend of humor, emotional connection and action I thought especially deftly done. I also really appreciated the diversity of the characters, while avoiding special snowflake or tokenism. They all have their talents and their human flaws, adding nicely to the interpersonal dynamics.
The art was rich with jewel tones and slashes of brilliant color, conveying the action nicely.
In short, by the end I was sharply disappointed there wasn't more. I really want to know what happens next, especially with one character. Two. No, make that three . . .
Copy provided by publisher
Each of the early chapters was a nifty blend of backstory and action, so that by the time we reached chapter five, we had a good idea who these characters were, what motivated them, how they fit (or didn't fit) together . . . and then the storyline kicks into high gear.
The blend of humor, emotional connection and action I thought especially deftly done. I also really appreciated the diversity of the characters, while avoiding special snowflake or tokenism. They all have their talents and their human flaws, adding nicely to the interpersonal dynamics.
The art was rich with jewel tones and slashes of brilliant color, conveying the action nicely.
In short, by the end I was sharply disappointed there wasn't more. I really want to know what happens next, especially with one character. Two. No, make that three . . .
Copy provided by publisher
June 13, 2020
What happens when dying for a cause isn’t enough? That’s part of a question posed in Spectre Deep 6, a fantastic new original graphic novel series (I hope!) from Jennifer Brody and Jules Rivera. Following the story of Captain Bianca Vasquez, an undercover agent who died while searching for her missing husband, but who was brought back through a technology that allows her to inhabit a physical form while on missions. Her team is a mismatched bunch of unique agents who are also living their second lives—and, frequently, longing for their original existences.
Along with Vasquez, who appears Latinx, the cast includes Kim Masters, a Black agent who desperately misses her cats; Kacey Flame, a glamorous, white, pink-haired agent who is more able to be herself now that she’s dead; James Sparks, a Black former military engineer determined to undo the gains of a woman who forged data about a dangerous missile (and had Sparks killed when he discovered the problem); Bart Bartholomew, a surfer tanned, video-game playing ham who’s lost without his best friend; and John Song, a Spartan but sarcastic Asian American soldier. The ethnic diversity of the characters is clearly intentional, but it also feels entirely organic to the story. The diversity of personalities on the team is also an important piece, and we get just enough hints into each back story to want to know more about these characters’ inner lives. When you can’t go back to your old life—and you’re technically dead—how do you move forward? The existential dread seems to roll right off Bart and Kim, but for some of the other characters, creating a game plan for how they can continue to impact the world seems like a huge part of what drives them—especially Vasquez, who is seeking ways to be reunited with her missing husband and her living daughter.
While off duty, the spectres live in glass containments, giving them a sense of their own lives, but it’s unclear if these are “real” in any traditional sense. While on duty, they wear special suits, and have paranormal abilities beyond just life after death. The first two chapters of the book describe a mission that becomes very personal for Vasquez; the third shows the spectre agents on leave, visiting their old haunts, so to speak. The introductory mission is needed to set the stage for the world, but it’s the deeply personal stories of the third that make this a not-to-be-missed graphic novel, and will leave reader wondering when they can possibly get their hands on the next part of the story.
The advance copy I received from the publisher had only the first three chapters; I’m relieved to know that the full book is twice as long, as my biggest complaint about the sample was that it was just enough to whet my appetite! I’ll be seeking out the full version of this book to learn more about the characters—and see just where the results of their first mission take them.
Along with Vasquez, who appears Latinx, the cast includes Kim Masters, a Black agent who desperately misses her cats; Kacey Flame, a glamorous, white, pink-haired agent who is more able to be herself now that she’s dead; James Sparks, a Black former military engineer determined to undo the gains of a woman who forged data about a dangerous missile (and had Sparks killed when he discovered the problem); Bart Bartholomew, a surfer tanned, video-game playing ham who’s lost without his best friend; and John Song, a Spartan but sarcastic Asian American soldier. The ethnic diversity of the characters is clearly intentional, but it also feels entirely organic to the story. The diversity of personalities on the team is also an important piece, and we get just enough hints into each back story to want to know more about these characters’ inner lives. When you can’t go back to your old life—and you’re technically dead—how do you move forward? The existential dread seems to roll right off Bart and Kim, but for some of the other characters, creating a game plan for how they can continue to impact the world seems like a huge part of what drives them—especially Vasquez, who is seeking ways to be reunited with her missing husband and her living daughter.
While off duty, the spectres live in glass containments, giving them a sense of their own lives, but it’s unclear if these are “real” in any traditional sense. While on duty, they wear special suits, and have paranormal abilities beyond just life after death. The first two chapters of the book describe a mission that becomes very personal for Vasquez; the third shows the spectre agents on leave, visiting their old haunts, so to speak. The introductory mission is needed to set the stage for the world, but it’s the deeply personal stories of the third that make this a not-to-be-missed graphic novel, and will leave reader wondering when they can possibly get their hands on the next part of the story.
The advance copy I received from the publisher had only the first three chapters; I’m relieved to know that the full book is twice as long, as my biggest complaint about the sample was that it was just enough to whet my appetite! I’ll be seeking out the full version of this book to learn more about the characters—and see just where the results of their first mission take them.
June 6, 2020
I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The nitty-gritty: Fans of sci-fi graphic novels will probably love this, but I struggled a bit with the format and plot.
Before I get into my review, I want to mention that I’m not a big fan of graphic novels, and I’ve struggled with them in the past. Every time I’m offered the opportunity to read one, my thought is that I’d love to give this format another shot, because I feel like I should love them. But once again, I have to admit I only partially enjoyed this one, and I’ll try to explain more below.
The story is actually pretty interesting. Soldiers who have died in the line of duty are reanimated and brought back as ghosts to join a covert black ops team called Spectre Deep 6. As ghosts, these operatives can more easily infiltrate sensitive areas and complete their tasks, especially since they each have supernatural abilities. The science behind their reanimation, however, involves the team members needing to be “recharged” after each assignment, and so they spend their down time in an underground bunker in individual capsules (like battery chargers). After each assignment, their commander decides how well each one did and allows them “day passes” to go back and revisit their old lives.
Kudos to the writing team of Jennifer Brody and Jules Rivera for including so much diversity in this novel. Not only do we get a wide variety of people of color, but there is one character who dies as a man but is reanimated as a woman. I loved this twist on a trans character and thought it was a brilliant idea.
Each character is portrayed as having unique thoughts and passions and lives, and I loved that the authors spent quite a bit of time developing each one. This isn’t just an action-heavy story, but really delves into the emotions and relationships of the characters. My favorite parts of the story were the times the team members got day passes and were able to go back to their old lives. We learn a lot about each one during these sections. Bianca Vasquez has a young daughter in foster care (her husband disappeared and she died, so it was inevitable). Bianca always visits Zoey on day pass, and in this rare case, Zoey is able to see her mother in her ghost form (most living people cannot see the spectres at all). Bianca’s story is heartbreaking because Zoey is not in a good place. She’s staying with a horrible family and all Bianca wants is to get her daughter out. The story also includes Bianca’s missing husband Zane, and due to spoilers I won’t tell you what happens, but I will say Zane was my least favorite character in the story.
The other characters were also interesting, although their backstories aren’t as heavy as Bianca’s. Kim Masters is a cat lover who always goes home to visit her cats. Kaycee Flame is the trans character who is worried about those she left behind finding out about her true nature. James Sparks was a talented aircraft designer who was betrayed by his boss at work. John Song is an aggressive soldier who died by suicide. And finally, Bart Bartholomew is a laid-back hippie who loves to surf and play video games. Each one brought something unique to the story, although in this volume those character strokes are rather broad and we don’t get a lot of details about their lives.
So why did I only rate this three stars? Well, for one, I found the overall story to be rather fractured and hard to grasp, which again might just be the nature of the graphic novel format. It took a while to figure out what was going on as the story jumps around quite a bit, going from present to past and back again. The sections in the past are great to fill us in on the characters’ backstory, but visually they came out of nowhere and were sometimes more confusing than illuminating. I also had trouble understanding some of the artwork. It seems like the characters are encased in a weird ghostly bubble whenever they are out on an assignment, but I don’t think that was ever explained (or I simply missed it!). Other parts of the world-building left me scratching my head as well, like the mechanics of the spectres getting from place to place and the actual reanimation process, which was like poof! You’re reanimated!
The story arc was a little vague as well, and I didn’t get a true sense of growing tension. There is an action-packed ending involving other Spectre teams from around the world, but it just wasn’t fleshed out enough to be truly engaging.
It’s very possible that I simply missed a lot because of the format and not having a lot of experience reading graphic novels, so do give this a try if you are a fan. This is only the first in a series, and I have to admit I’m a little curious to see what happens next.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy
Before I get into my review, I want to mention that I’m not a big fan of graphic novels, and I’ve struggled with them in the past. Every time I’m offered the opportunity to read one, my thought is that I’d love to give this format another shot, because I feel like I should love them. But once again, I have to admit I only partially enjoyed this one, and I’ll try to explain more below.
The story is actually pretty interesting. Soldiers who have died in the line of duty are reanimated and brought back as ghosts to join a covert black ops team called Spectre Deep 6. As ghosts, these operatives can more easily infiltrate sensitive areas and complete their tasks, especially since they each have supernatural abilities. The science behind their reanimation, however, involves the team members needing to be “recharged” after each assignment, and so they spend their down time in an underground bunker in individual capsules (like battery chargers). After each assignment, their commander decides how well each one did and allows them “day passes” to go back and revisit their old lives.
Kudos to the writing team of Jennifer Brody and Jules Rivera for including so much diversity in this novel. Not only do we get a wide variety of people of color, but there is one character who dies as a man but is reanimated as a woman. I loved this twist on a trans character and thought it was a brilliant idea.
Each character is portrayed as having unique thoughts and passions and lives, and I loved that the authors spent quite a bit of time developing each one. This isn’t just an action-heavy story, but really delves into the emotions and relationships of the characters. My favorite parts of the story were the times the team members got day passes and were able to go back to their old lives. We learn a lot about each one during these sections. Bianca Vasquez has a young daughter in foster care (her husband disappeared and she died, so it was inevitable). Bianca always visits Zoey on day pass, and in this rare case, Zoey is able to see her mother in her ghost form (most living people cannot see the spectres at all). Bianca’s story is heartbreaking because Zoey is not in a good place. She’s staying with a horrible family and all Bianca wants is to get her daughter out. The story also includes Bianca’s missing husband Zane, and due to spoilers I won’t tell you what happens, but I will say Zane was my least favorite character in the story.
The other characters were also interesting, although their backstories aren’t as heavy as Bianca’s. Kim Masters is a cat lover who always goes home to visit her cats. Kaycee Flame is the trans character who is worried about those she left behind finding out about her true nature. James Sparks was a talented aircraft designer who was betrayed by his boss at work. John Song is an aggressive soldier who died by suicide. And finally, Bart Bartholomew is a laid-back hippie who loves to surf and play video games. Each one brought something unique to the story, although in this volume those character strokes are rather broad and we don’t get a lot of details about their lives.
So why did I only rate this three stars? Well, for one, I found the overall story to be rather fractured and hard to grasp, which again might just be the nature of the graphic novel format. It took a while to figure out what was going on as the story jumps around quite a bit, going from present to past and back again. The sections in the past are great to fill us in on the characters’ backstory, but visually they came out of nowhere and were sometimes more confusing than illuminating. I also had trouble understanding some of the artwork. It seems like the characters are encased in a weird ghostly bubble whenever they are out on an assignment, but I don’t think that was ever explained (or I simply missed it!). Other parts of the world-building left me scratching my head as well, like the mechanics of the spectres getting from place to place and the actual reanimation process, which was like poof! You’re reanimated!
The story arc was a little vague as well, and I didn’t get a true sense of growing tension. There is an action-packed ending involving other Spectre teams from around the world, but it just wasn’t fleshed out enough to be truly engaging.
It’s very possible that I simply missed a lot because of the format and not having a lot of experience reading graphic novels, so do give this a try if you are a fan. This is only the first in a series, and I have to admit I’m a little curious to see what happens next.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy
May 12, 2020
Spectre Deep 6 by Jennifer Brody and Jules Rivera is a non stop action packed graphic novel. The art was absolutely amazing.
Lately I have been more into paranormal sci-fi stories, and this hit the nail on the head. I loved all the characters, especially Kim (love cats) and Kaycee (from the minute I saw her pink hair).
The story was intriguing, and I couldn't put it down. After reading, there were some cool extras in the back that I loved. The extras gave a little back history to each character, making you love them even more!
I recommend this to anyone who likes sci-fi, paranormal, or graphic novels, you will definitely want to give this a try!
I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Lately I have been more into paranormal sci-fi stories, and this hit the nail on the head. I loved all the characters, especially Kim (love cats) and Kaycee (from the minute I saw her pink hair).
The story was intriguing, and I couldn't put it down. After reading, there were some cool extras in the back that I loved. The extras gave a little back history to each character, making you love them even more!
I recommend this to anyone who likes sci-fi, paranormal, or graphic novels, you will definitely want to give this a try!
I received a copy in exchange for my honest review.
January 1, 2023
This was an interesting concept of ghosts-turned-spies that I enjoyed reading. At times the flow of the story wasn't as tight, with some of the story becoming disjointed and a little hard to follow, but overall it was enjoyable. I did like the diverse representation of all the characters and they were fun to follow as they did their haunts. The characters were not all fully fleshed out, but it was not detrimental to the story. Some backstory given was just enough for each character and I did like the ensemble action scenes. A++ to the illustrator for the sci-fi/futuristic feel of the story. Really enjoyed the colors, especially the dark panels with vivid blues and reds, and greens to highlight they are spectres using tech and how these things interfere with each other.
July 30, 2020
Spectre Deep 6 has an original sci-fi concept with a great cast of characters. I love the character's witty banter. The heart of the story is in the team and the family relationships. Overall, this story has really nice comedy moments to balance out the deeper subjects.
March 18, 2023
DNF. This sounded pretty cool as a concept, but I'm not a fan of the slavery and reward system for "good behavior". This left a bad taste in my mouth.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews