Official Description:
We’ve all heard of ghost stories…but what ghost stories to the ghost themselves tell? After a deadly accident, estranged father and daughter Lucas and Harmony Agate can see the dead–an overwhelming amount of them. Each one with their own warnings, cries for help, and malevolence alike. But the pastor and his daughter aren’t the only ones with this haunting ability; there are other nearly-deads, some of which have malicious intentions…

Creative Team:
Created by: Cullen Bunn and Leomacs
Written by: Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by: Leomacs
Colored by: Jason Wordie
Lettered by: Ed Dukeshire

Reverend Lucas is currently tending two flocks and feeling like he may not be serving either of them. What begins as a regular night for the Agate family leads to terror, tragedy and secrets in a compelling beginning for this new series. This story is very clearly getting ready to take us on a journey that won’t be as simple as Good vs. Evil. This journey into the gray will be highlighted with red…

 

Cullen Bunn brings us characters that are very clearly each dealing with their own issues, and the strain that those issues can create between loved ones. Angsty teens are nothing new, but Bunn does a good job establishing not only the reasoning behind this other-than-average angst, but also in giving characters that are clearly well-thought out and complex. By the end of the issue, I felt eager to learn more about the world, and confident in the writer’s ability to lead me there. My prior experience with BOOM! Studios has been mostly limited to their work with Power Rangers, so I enjoyed a shift in art-style. The use of two different art styles in the issue (the flashback portion “Unfolding” is illustrated by Brian Hurtt and colored by Bill Crabtree) is neat way of solidifying shifting of perspective from Lucas and Harmony to Chris, and I hope this is a tactic that is continued to be used going further. The rest of the issue has a grit and grain to it that I think served the environment and tone of the story well, with the color by Wordie really complimenting and highlighting specific moments in the story well.

 

I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. There are clearly some concepts at play in this world that will require much more exposition, but Bunn has given us just enough information to wet the palate without overindulging. It could have been very easy to go overboard on exposition with this world where there is clearly a lot to explain, but both the reader and Lucas will have to uncover the bits and pieces as they go.

 

Rating:

ComicsOnline gives Ghostlore #1 – 4/5 ghastly screams!