Who'd Like A Cocktail? #255

Yeah, you tell . . . hey, hang on, that's what I do . . .

Monday Memories #33 - Ghost/Batgirl #3

Each Monday this year I'll be taking a look back at a random comic, prestige format issue, graphic novel or collection of reprints from amongst my 3,000 or so comics that date from 1962 to 2003 - I figured anything in the last ten years would be too recent to hark back to.

The comics are chosen completely at random and apart from a four week lead-in period, even I don't know what I'll be looking at in the weeks to come!

Ghost Ongoing Series

Although it was announced a while back, it's now confirmed that Ghost will be returning in November as an ongoing, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Christopher Sebela with art by Ryan Sook. This will be one I'll be picking up, though I'm a little disappointed that the linked article contains the line "DeConnick is back to write the initial arc of the new series"

That kind of implies she'll be leaving after four to six issues which is a shame. Still, I'm more than willing to give this a go.

Perusing Previews - May 2013

As much as I love Star Wars, I can't think of a better ending for these furry little bastards.

Monday Memories #14 - Ghost #13

Each Monday this year I'll be taking a look back at a random comic, prestige format issue, graphic novel or collection of reprints from amongst my 3,000 or so comics that date from 1962 to 2003 - I figured anything in the last ten years would be too recent to hark back to.

The comics are chosen completely at random and apart from a four week lead-in period, even I don't know what I'll be looking at in the weeks to come!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #218

Not your dad's Captain K'rot

Perusing Previews - March 2013

Sure, he may not have been on our screens for years now, but Jeremy Brett is still the go-to reference for Sherlock Holmes.

Monday Memories #7 - Ghost #18

Each Monday this year I'll be taking a look back at a random comic, prestige format issue, graphic novel or collection of reprints from amongst my 3,000 or so comics that date from 1962 to 2003 - I figured anything in the last ten years would be too recent to hark back to.

The comics are chosen completely at random and apart from a four week lead-in period, even I don't know what I'll be looking at in the weeks to come!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #211

You have to admit, he's got a point - the clue was in the name.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #206

Break it to him gently, Jen

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #201

You'd think the daughter of an archaeologist would read something better, wouldn't you?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #188

Jaime, trust me: Booster Gold is not a good measure of recognition.

Perusing Previews - July 2012

Will someone please buy these Dark Shadows action figures and use them to create a more entertaining film that the recent Tim Burton / Johnny Depp piece of rubbish?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #184

Seriously, John? A tikka masala? I thought you more as a dupiaza man.

Sometimes They Come Back

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Ghost returns to the pages of Dark Horse Presents fairly soon, initially for a three-issue run in that book.

Now there's a bit more good news for us Ghost fans: there's going to be a mini-series to follow as well according to Newsarama.

Here's hoping it'll be good enough to get another on-going series sometime in the future.

Ghost's Back

Ghost makes her return to the pages of Dark Horse Presents in #13 according to Dark Horse's June solicitations:

"Dark Horse's woman in white returns with a whole new twist as Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Noto reboot Ghost—a new incarnation of Elisa Cameron revived in the pages of Dark Horse Presents!"

and I for one will be picking it up.

Time Flies By - 1996

Last time I did this, I looked back at what I was buying twenty years ago. I figured there'd be little point doing the same time frame again as it would just be the same titles but moved on a month or two so I chose the completely arbitrary date of 1996, fifteen years ago, to have a look at what I was picking up back then.

Extreme Justice #17

Oh man - anybody else remember this title? It was pretty much a mess from the get-go and here it is, wrapping up in its penultimate issue a year and a half after its launch. Did it do anything except confuse the Captain Atom/Monarch relationship?

Ghost / Hellboy Special #2

A two parter team up between Dark Horse's big supernatural characters which, while nothing brilliant, was good fun as I remember.

Ghost #15

Despite the cheesecake covers, Ghost was a good read although it could have done with a stable art team. Eric Luke was writer throughout the first series and did a fine job of working out who Ghost was, particularly after a whole host of cross overs and guest stars were forced on him in the early issues.

Green Arrow #109

Conner Hawke - a damn fine character with a huge amount of potential who carried his own title for three years and joined the Justice League for goodness sake! And where is he now? In limbo after being turned into an amnesiac, indestructible victim by Mr Winick. Grrrr . . .

Green Lantern #74

Kyle and the Darkstars go up against Grayven, son of Darkseid and it's not pretty. I really enjoyed Ron Marz's run on Green Lantern which was straightforward superheroics at its best.

Hitman #2

One of my all time favourite series, Hitman was an irreverent, violent and above all fun look at the dirtier side of the DCU. Much missed.

Inherit The Earth trade paperback

One of several comics companies that Jim Shooter dabbled in, Broadway's Fatale series traded on the buxom title character but actually managed to overcome the T'n'A aspect and provide a story which, while never going to win a Nobel prize, was a good mix of espionage and superheroics. Sadly the company folded before we ever got to learn what happened to Fatale. Oh, wait - she turned up in the DCU under a different name.

Justice League America #111

Another Justice League title that was winding down. For some reason, while Gerard Jones produced several years worth of cracking Green Lantern stories, his Justice League stuff (when writing solo) never really gelled and when it was bad (Power Girl's son, anybody?) it was really bad. It was probably best that this title was put to rest in a few issue's time.

Justice League Task Force #35

And the other JL title in the stable at the time was also heading for cancellation. Never brilliant but never that dreadful either, JLTF was supposed to be the Mission Impossible side of the League, able to recruit any hero to go on a mission. I remember reading an interview with writer Christopher Priest where he said that as no-one ever gave him a mission to go on, he went ahead and did his own thing.

Preacher #14

Everybody remember when Cassidy was still the loveable rogue instead of what he became? Preacher was an undeniably good book and still bears re-reading every once in a while.

The Spectre #42

On the whole, The Spectre was a bloody good series but its low point, for me at least, was the storyline around this issue - The Haunting of America. It just didn't work for me and seemed to drag on way too long but I stuck with it none the less.

Perusing Previews - April 2011

Pleasantly surprised to see this little item on sale in the recent issue of Previews:

That's Ghost from the Dark Horse series of the same name who last appeared way back in 2000. Odd that the character doesn't have a series but she still gets a new action figure.

What else caught my eye in this month's Previews?

Monday Covers #9

Ghost #7

When I started thinking about doing this clutch of favourite covers, this was one that instantly sprang to mind, and no, not because it has cleavage on the front.

It's the stark black and white, the big guns and that splash of red of Ghost's lips that work for me - a classy, understated image that simply works.

Friday Night Fights - Ghostly Goings On!

Back in the mid-90's, Dark Horse Comics weren't solely producing top-notch movie tie-in comics, oh no. They had their own universe going, including Ghost, a title featuring . . . a ghost, actually. Elisa Cameron, undead avenger and protector of the innocent, or in the case of her sister Margo, the not quite so innocent.

Elisa tracks Margo down to the dingy set of a homemade . . . discerning gentleman's movie, the sort of thing that nowadays gets put on the internet.
Unfortunately, Margo is due to be the psionically induced star of this production, a fact which doesn't sit well with Ghost.
One of the handy things about being a ghost is being able to move through things; one of the handy things about being Ghost is being able to move porno actors through things and leave them there.
And Ghost proves she's willing to go through her own personal hell and back to rescue her sister from the scum holding her hostage.
And what thanks does she get . . .

In the following issue, Ghost enlists Bahlactus to teach her whining sister a lesson!