REVIEW: Five Ghosts #14

Written by Frank Barbiere
Art by Chris Mooneyham
Colors by Lauren Affe
Published by Image Comics
Release date: December 3, 2014

Every once in a while, we get a title that manages to captivate the imagination, and excite many comic book fans, and one of the titles that best fit that description is Image Comics Five Ghosts. If you haven“t read an issue of this book yet, I highly recommend you pick up either of the first two arcs, but if you don“t mind jumping in later into the series, the current arc, Monsters and Men is shaping up to be just as great as the other two.

Five Ghosts #14 sees our hero, Fabian, traveling through the dense Romanian forest in search of his friend Sebastian even after being warned of the dangers of doing so by one of the locals. Fabian is a bit of a badass with little fear for anything, and with the powers imbued to him by the Five Literary Ghosts, he feels that anyone who comes upon him should fear him instead. Unfortunately for Fabian, this is the land of ancient evils and he encounters demonic vampires who trick him into helping one of their own disguised as a helpless maiden. Using his powers, Fabian manages to fend off several of the creatures, but struggles until the appearance of the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing – yes, of Dracula fame – who manages to fight off more of the creatures. Stubborn and cocky, Fabian carelessly continues to fight on his own and is bitten by one of the creatures. He is forced to give in to the will of one of his five ghosts and is turned into one of the vampire creatures ready to attack Van Helsing as the issue ends.

Barberie“s writing in this title continues to be superb and this is easily one of the best paced and action packed books in the market today. Each and every panel serves to tell a piece of the overall story which is something we rarely see today. The characters are all unique and well written, and it is a breath of fresh air to see a powerful hero such as Fabian be so flawed and human. He may certainly be powerful, but he easily lets this power get to his head as he is still learning of the powers that lie within.

The art by Chris Mooneyham is spot on as well with an artistic style that isn“t often seen in today“s comics giving the book a very pulpy feel. The panel work is fluid and always depicts very dramatic action which easily keep pace with the story and makes this visually one of the best horror books out today.

There has definitely been a large resurgence in this type of book recently but Five Ghosts continues to be among the best and this issue is no different. If you“re looking for a past-faced, exciting and gritty story that will have you begging for the next issue, this book is definitely for you.

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Martin Ferretti

Martin Ferretti is an avid comic book reader, Hearthstone player, IT professional, father, and all around geek. His fascination with Valiant Comics may be bordering on the insane, but hey, it keeps him happy. Follow him @Valiant_Central on Twitter or his Valiant news and reviews site ValiantCentral.com