Comics Review: "SPACE GHOST #4" is Only for People Who REALLY Like Good Comics

SPACE GHOST VOL. 1 #4

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: David Pepose

ART: Jonathan Lau

COLORS: Andrew Dalhouse

LETTERS: Taylor Esposito

EDITOR: Joseph Rybandt

COVER: Francesco Mattina

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jae Lee with June Chung; Michael Cho; Bob Layton

32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (August 2024)

Rated “Teen”

“The Cult of Zorak!”

Space Ghost is a superhero character created by the American animation studio and production company, Hanna-Barbera Productions.  The character first appeared in the Saturday morning cartoon series, “Space Ghost,” which was originally broadcast on CBS from September 1966 to September 1967 for 20 episodes.

In his original incarnation, Space Ghost was a superhero whose base of operations was a small world known as “Ghost Planet.”  He fought super-villains in outer space with his teen sidekicks, Jan and Jace, and their monkey, Blip.  His main weapons were power bands he wore around his wrists and lower arms; the bands fired off multiple energy beam-based attacks, including heat, cold, and force, to name a few.  Space Ghost could also fly, survive in space, and turn invisible (his “Inviso Power”).  He also had a space ship known as “the Phantom Cruiser.”

Space Ghost sporadically appeared in various comic book publications over a fifty year period.  Dynamite Entertainment has just launched a new Space Ghost comic book as part of its licensing agreement with Warner Bros.  Entitled Space Ghost Volume 1, it is written by David Pepose; drawn by Jonathan Lau; colored by Andrew Dalhouse; and lettered by Taylor Esposito.  In the new series, twins Jan and Jace Keplar and their pet monkey, Blip, meet that legendary cosmic vigilante known as “the Space Ghost.”

Space Ghost Volume 1 #4 (“The Cult of Zorak!”) opens at the specially designed Omegan Prison, where Zorak and his army of fanatical Zorathian warriors have broken free.  Space Ghost knows that Zorak will seek revenge against him, so he travels to Zorak's most recent base of operations, the planet Bellerophon.  It isn't Zorak awaiting the “Guardian of the Spaceways,” however; it is the mighty Titanor!

Meanwhile, Zorak, a prophet and worshiper of Lorak, the Locust of the Apocalypse, plots to bring his mythical god to life.  And Jan, Jace, and Blip are about to enter this game of fanaticism.

THE LOWDOWN:  Since July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department has been providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  Space Ghost Volume 1 #4 is the latest, but it is not the first Space Ghost comic book that I have read.

The first four issues of Dynamite's Space Ghost revival comic book are a pure delight.  Writer David Pepose is making me rapidly run out of good things to say about his storytelling.  Pepose retains the traditional Space Ghost, but he also rockets the character into a modern sensibility.  The Saturday morning pop sci-fi/fantasy is now darker and more menacing.  Still, the tone of this comic book series can appeal to readers young and old.  Pepose did not forsake a timeless appeal for the temporary thrills of grim and gritty “mature themes.”

I think this series really works because of Jonathan Lau's art and graphical storytelling.  Lau captures the edge in Pepose's scripts and turns it into pure rage against evil and into pure passion for justice.  Like Pepose, Lau retains the classic appeal of Space Ghost. Andrew Dalhouse's colors make for a gritty narrative, but they keep the classic comic book cool.  Letterer Taylor Esposito captures all the emotion that swirls in and out of this story.

I highly recommend Space Ghost Volume 1.  It is easily one of the best comic book media adaptations that I have read in years, dear readers.  It is almost too good to be true, but true, y'all, it is really good.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Dynamite Entertainment's Warner Bros. comic book series will want to read Space Ghost Volume 1.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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