Geek Syndicate Issue 8

Geek Syndicate FIVE GHOSTS - Issue #006 Image © Image Comics, 2013 COMIC REVIEW Writers: Frank J. Barbiere Art: Garry Brown Publisher: Image Comics Fabian travels to Japan to aid an old ally in the search for a mythical weapon: the legendary sword known as MASAMUNE! A special stand-alone tale featuring artist GARRY BROWN (The Massive, Mass Effect) Five Ghosts tells the story of Fabian Gray, infamous thief and treasure hunter. As part of an incident with an item known as the “Dreamstone”, Fabian is now “haunted” by five literary ghosts: The Archer, The Detective, The Vampire, The Wizard and The Samurai. Borrowing their powers, he steals the unstealable but he still can’t get back the thing he wants most. For issue six of the (now ongoing) series, creator and writer Frank Barbiere teams up with artist Garry Brown. The issue takes Fabian on a one-shot 116 adventure to Japan in search of a famed sword. Fabian Gray journeys to Japan after receiving a letter from childhood friend and love interest, Hisano. Upon arriving, Fabian learns that the legendary blade Masamune may be more than legend and that it’s resting on land that Hisano’s family owns – land that is being stolen by an unnatural rival clan. When Fabian finally gets to the bottom of things, it’s apparent that all is not as it seems and that there are many more Dreamstones than the one that he has possession of. Frank Barbiere writes a perfect one-shot. The story is self-contained and requires no previous knowledge of the book – it delivered an entire story in its own pages. It’s nice to see more of Fabian’s past revealed, and it’s also interesting to see Barbiere expand upon the in-world mythos and further build the world of Five Ghosts. It seems like this issue was written with Garry Brown in mind, rather than being a typical “fillin artist” issue. Even while putting his own mark on Fabian Gray and his world, Brown manages to keep the same general aesthetic as regular se- ries artist Chris Mooneyham. The colours, provided by Lauren Affe, really help to take the quality of the art and the entire book to the next level. This is how one-shots should be. Five Ghosts Issue Six is a self-contained story that is well executed. It has fantastic writing, art and colours. For those that haven’t read any previous issues, this is a great way to jump into Five Ghosts, and for those that are already fans, this is an issue you don’t want to miss. Leo Johnson Rating GGGGG

Geek Syndicate Issue 8 | Page 116