REVIEW: Five Ghosts Vol. 3

Five Ghosts Volume Three
Written by Frank J. Barbiere
Art by Chris Mooneyham
Colours by Lauren Affe
Let’s judge this book by its cover… Vampire in a graveyard looking very blood thirsty. It’s a bit B-movie poster looking.

The facts are these… After being fused with “the dreamstone” Fabian Gray was possessed by five literary ghosts, an archer, a wizard, a detective, a samurai and a vampire and now has access to their unique abilities.

If you’re sitting comfortably we can begin… A young boy is running through the woods when he is attacked by a group of monsters, using the skills of an archer Fabian saves the boy and takes him into town to bring medicine to the Â sick townsfolk. There he meets the town elder and asks for his assistance in locating his missing friend, showing the elder the only clue he has the elder quickly recognizes the symbol as the demons seal, the elder tells a tale of a family lost in grief over their son they summon a demon. Though the tale may be false their family home is where he might find his friend. In town a dark figure calls to the sick and offers them medicine, this is not the medicine that will make them better, instead it transforms them into hideous creatures.

Fabian sets out when he is lured into a trap and attacked by more of these creatures, summoning the skill set of the samurai he fights back the best be can before he is overwhelmed. Luckily for Fabian, Van Helsing steps in to lend a hand and the two fight together. Fabian is bitten and infected by one of the creatures as his vampire ghost offers to help cure him of this blight and takes over turning in Van Helsing. Where as Fabians friend, Sebastian, is being helped by a doctor and it appears the dark figure is working for him. Torturing Sebastian until Fabian, his true prize arrives.

Fabian and Van Helsing battle tooth and nail before both being captured by the dark figure. The doctorÂ Reveals he’s been looking for the dreamstone for years working for a cabal, he tells Fabian his name is Dr. Moreau.Â Van Helsing is thrown into a cell with Sebastian and the pair fight past the guard and get out looking for Fabian.Â Fabian taps into the full power of the dreamstone to get out of his bindings and fight off the dark figure as Dr. Moreau flees in fear. Meeting up with Helsing and Sebastian, the three get ready to escape as Sebastian transforms into a huge creature and attacks them both. Not wanting to kill his friend, Fabian looksÂ for a way to subdue him, and heads off in search of a cure from Dr. Moreau. Finding him and scaring him into submission The good doctor tells him the cure is in his own blood, channeling his vampiric side, he bites and takes Moreau’s blood back to his friend and cures him. Dr. Moreau then injectsÂ himself with his super tonic and becomes some sort of hybrid monster and attacks. Getting his friends to safety, Fabian quickly finds a sword and he and theÂ samurai ghost battle the creature. Having no luck hacking at the beast he calls upon his wizard powers and shows the monster real power. With Moreau gone Fabian and his new friends head out to find and destroy the cabal. The End.

What fantastic read. The art took me back to the late 80’s early 90’s the character of Fabian looks an awful looks like Superman of the time. The art fits the story to a tee. It’s fast paced but well told. The flashbacks tell enough of the characters that we get to know them without being bored by origins. The strut moves along never slowing. The reveal of Van Helsing and Dr. Moreau I didn’t see coming. I really enjoyed it. The use of his ghosts fit perfectly without being beaten over the head with “looks he has the power of five ghosts” it was fluid.

That’s gonna leave a mark… There is a lot of fighting and although there is stabbing and shooting the blood wasn’t over used.

The Good, the Bad and the Star Rating…
The Good – Story, pacing, artwork and idea were all great. A full story.
The Bad – Fabian looked too much like Superman from the he 90’s comics.
The Stars – Another solid book. I had fun reading this one. It’s exciting and dramatic. 4 stars.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Do you agree with my review? Comment below or find me on Twitter @DawnOfComics and let me know what you thought of this book.

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Dawn of Comics

Hey, I'm Shane.
Been into comics since I was about 5. Loved watching Wonder Woman and superboy in the 80's.
I Started reading seriously about 10 years ago. Began to collect a few comic series, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, Teen Titans, Justice League of America and Superman Batman all pre flashpoint. Being honest that was my favourite run.