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Ghost I (Single issues) #1-12
Ghost Omnibus 1
Ghost Omnibus Volume 1 features over 300 story pages of one of Dark Horse's signature and most compelling characters. A complex tangle of mystery, vengeance, eroticism, and absolution, Ghost pushes the definition of "hero" to the farthest crumbling edge and includes a roster of top creative talents, including screenwriter Eric Luke and comics superstar artists Adam Hughes and Terry Dodson. If you're already dead, you might as well make the best of it. Someone brutally murdered reporter Elisa Cameron, but back from the grave as the spectral avenger Ghost, Elisa intends to find out who killed her and why . . . and grab a double dose of .45-caliber payback. But Ghost's journey to the truth follows a dark, twisted path, and the revelations she unearths may lead not to redemption, but damnation.
352 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2004
14 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
May 18, 2020
Ghost is a woman who died and can no longer remember her old life. She's a blank slate with anger issues. Now she takes out her vengeance on men who treat women as pieces of meat. She encounters an abnormally large amount of men who are determined to keep women submissive and in their place. Eric Luke keeps the stories pretty simple and that's fine.
I think she has one of the best costume designs in comics. It's similar to a bleached out version of the shadow with the cloak and scarf trailing along giving her an ephemeral, spectral look. Then you add in those twin guns blazing in her hands wreaking vengeance. It's a stunning look.
I think she has one of the best costume designs in comics. It's similar to a bleached out version of the shadow with the cloak and scarf trailing along giving her an ephemeral, spectral look. Then you add in those twin guns blazing in her hands wreaking vengeance. It's a stunning look.
June 28, 2018
2.5. An oxymoronic book.
World: The art is good, there is Hughes (as yucky as he sometimes is) which you know you are going to get gorgeous looking women. That being said I found that art to be a bit much at times in terms of the sexualization. I know this was a ‘Bad Girl’ book born from that era and it’s the sign of the times but I kinda feel yucky reading it sometimes (women can look as sexy as they want, it’s the intent behind the art that makes me slightly uncomfortable). The world building is solid, it’s basic and character centered. There is little info dumping other than the huge amount of narration we get, we mostly see the world through Ghosts eyes. It’s a typical superhero city and it’s well done.
Story: Here is where the oxymoron starts or the diverging messages of the book. I love feminist books, I love me some Bitch Planet and some strong female characters in modern comics like Kamala and Babs and Giant Days so when this book started off with a large dose of feminism I was taken aback and quite surprised. I was expecting a female superhero book with over the top sexist art (I will say the flowing white robes is quite beautiful when done right, kinda like Batman’s cape), and instead I get a very strong feminist point of view. It’s not just feminist but it borders on man hating which is also a side of feminism I am not a big fan of (but I digress and I don’t want to open that can of worms here), and it is paired with cleavage and panty and lingerie art which for me makes no sense. The message is lost when it’s a male creative team also using the visuals like that it is oxymoronic. That aside, the story is solid, the revenge tale is a classic trope and a good one to have a lot of emotions and violence and this book has that, it’s a good revenge tale. The characters suffer a bit from the choppy writing though. I like this first book, it had enough to keep me interested and the world itself is quite fun, but the art and the message of the book is still irking me a bit.
Characters: I don’t like it when male writers justify barely there clothes on a female character by saying “it gives the character an advantage cause guys are looking at her cleavage” can’t they just own up to it instead of rationalizing. I don’t mind female characters dressed like that but make them real characters and to be fair this creative team does try. Ghost is written pretty well, she’s layered and her discovery of the world around her gives a strong personal voice. Add to that there are huge chunks of inner monologuing found here. The rest of the cast are all clichés to the genre and also clichés for the feminist message that this book is trying to bring out. The males are all terrible people and the females are all reacting and trying to break their bonds, I don’t mind the message but I want real women characters not just clichés and tropes.
It was okay, I enjoyed it I may continue so I finally reach DeConnick’s run but the art and the message of the book don’t really work well together and in the end feels fake.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art is good, there is Hughes (as yucky as he sometimes is) which you know you are going to get gorgeous looking women. That being said I found that art to be a bit much at times in terms of the sexualization. I know this was a ‘Bad Girl’ book born from that era and it’s the sign of the times but I kinda feel yucky reading it sometimes (women can look as sexy as they want, it’s the intent behind the art that makes me slightly uncomfortable). The world building is solid, it’s basic and character centered. There is little info dumping other than the huge amount of narration we get, we mostly see the world through Ghosts eyes. It’s a typical superhero city and it’s well done.
Story: Here is where the oxymoron starts or the diverging messages of the book. I love feminist books, I love me some Bitch Planet and some strong female characters in modern comics like Kamala and Babs and Giant Days so when this book started off with a large dose of feminism I was taken aback and quite surprised. I was expecting a female superhero book with over the top sexist art (I will say the flowing white robes is quite beautiful when done right, kinda like Batman’s cape), and instead I get a very strong feminist point of view. It’s not just feminist but it borders on man hating which is also a side of feminism I am not a big fan of (but I digress and I don’t want to open that can of worms here), and it is paired with cleavage and panty and lingerie art which for me makes no sense. The message is lost when it’s a male creative team also using the visuals like that it is oxymoronic. That aside, the story is solid, the revenge tale is a classic trope and a good one to have a lot of emotions and violence and this book has that, it’s a good revenge tale. The characters suffer a bit from the choppy writing though. I like this first book, it had enough to keep me interested and the world itself is quite fun, but the art and the message of the book is still irking me a bit.
Characters: I don’t like it when male writers justify barely there clothes on a female character by saying “it gives the character an advantage cause guys are looking at her cleavage” can’t they just own up to it instead of rationalizing. I don’t mind female characters dressed like that but make them real characters and to be fair this creative team does try. Ghost is written pretty well, she’s layered and her discovery of the world around her gives a strong personal voice. Add to that there are huge chunks of inner monologuing found here. The rest of the cast are all clichés to the genre and also clichés for the feminist message that this book is trying to bring out. The males are all terrible people and the females are all reacting and trying to break their bonds, I don’t mind the message but I want real women characters not just clichés and tropes.
It was okay, I enjoyed it I may continue so I finally reach DeConnick’s run but the art and the message of the book don’t really work well together and in the end feels fake.
Onward to the next book!
May 27, 2020
This is a highly problematic book. It glorifies sexual violence by portraying it with cheesecake art. It's filled with statements about gender stereotypes that wouldn't feel out of place in an incel chat room. All of the male characters are basically sexual predators and all of the female characters are man haters or manipulate men with their sexuality. This is a dark delve into the worst tropes of 90s comics that is best left in the past.
August 28, 2015
This is such a mixed comic book, and it is not as good as I remember. In the superhero wars between Vertigo, early Image, and Dark Horse, Dark Horse was often the odd man out. Launching its Heroes (originally, with a tinge of hubris, World's Greatest Comics), Dark Horse moved away purely from indie titles (The Mask, Grendel) and franchise comics (Predator, Terminator, etc) and into competition with super hero comics. This created Barbed Wire, X, and Ghost. Ghost was one of the more original: a take on objectifying women that seemed to be aware that it was guilty of what it is critiquing. A superhero who was primarily dead, and villains who were primarily misogynistic. Yet it for its meta-quality, and its original premise, it was hampered by lack of world developed and seeming random overlaps with other titles in the Dark Horse Heroes line.
Ghost's premise has sparks of brilliance and the art is sometimes quite good, but the actual plotting gets convoluted. Outside of Elisa Cameron--and perhaps a lesser degree her sister Margo--character motivations are completely lacking, especially for the villains. The backstory has hints of the profundity of an after-school-special from the time period. The cross-overs with X and Barbed Wire often don't make sense, and many of the plotlines end in dues ex machinas or a lack of coherent rules for the character.
It also feels very dated (too much early and mid-90s tropes), and while its exploration of female objectification seems sincere, the character also doesn't really feel like a (formerly) living woman. It other words, you can tell it is was written by a male writer. Overall, it was ambitious and different: it's relaunch does much more with the premise in a mature matter. It is, however, in main, enjoyable like a B-movie that has ambition beyond its execution. If you enjoyed when you read it as a kid, read it again with adult eyes. You will probably find parts of it laughably bad, but there are a few flashes in it that make it enjoyable by the end.
Ghost's premise has sparks of brilliance and the art is sometimes quite good, but the actual plotting gets convoluted. Outside of Elisa Cameron--and perhaps a lesser degree her sister Margo--character motivations are completely lacking, especially for the villains. The backstory has hints of the profundity of an after-school-special from the time period. The cross-overs with X and Barbed Wire often don't make sense, and many of the plotlines end in dues ex machinas or a lack of coherent rules for the character.
It also feels very dated (too much early and mid-90s tropes), and while its exploration of female objectification seems sincere, the character also doesn't really feel like a (formerly) living woman. It other words, you can tell it is was written by a male writer. Overall, it was ambitious and different: it's relaunch does much more with the premise in a mature matter. It is, however, in main, enjoyable like a B-movie that has ambition beyond its execution. If you enjoyed when you read it as a kid, read it again with adult eyes. You will probably find parts of it laughably bad, but there are a few flashes in it that make it enjoyable by the end.
June 12, 2020
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS GRAPHIC DISCUSSION REGARDING SEX AND VIOLENCE AS WELL AS OFFENSIVE HUMOR, STRONG LANGUAGE AND POLITICS! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!
Wonder Woman: I fight for justice and promote equality!
Captain Marvel: I just saved a planet and inspired young women to do great things.
Vampirella: Well I’m off to go fight some monsters who are trapping and raping women in evil rituals.
Ghost: I found a man. He is clearly evil. He watched porn, laughed at a feminism joke and has a penis. This motherfucker’s dead!
What’s it about?
So basically this woman who hates men dies and starts killing people that she doesn’t like. Usually misogynistic criminals or supernatural threats though occasionally just random guys that she thinks are evil for some fucking reason.
Pros:
The art is really good, suits the story very well and is just really cool looking in general.
The action scenes are frequent and exciting. Ghost is a pretty vicious anti-hero and deals with some crazy enemies.
The horror elements are done pretty well. It is light horror so would probably satisfy horror fans but also work for some who aren’t as into things that are too creepy or gory.
Cons:
The story is terribly written. Shit just kinda happens, it’s mostly this: people act like assholes, Ghost talks about some “grr I hate men” shit, some lame obstacle shows up, Ghost escapes obstacle with ease and kills somebody... oh and some bullshit family drama happens. The end. Repeat next issue. There’s occasionally something that could be cool that happens but then the execution is awful (example: at one point the Predator... like from the movies shows up but for no real reason and it only lasts about 5 pages that go nowhere).
The characters... I hate these fucking characters. So it’s like all the women are assholes and/or weak while all the men are assholes and/or rapey. Save for maybe 2 characters everyone here seemed fucking annoying and poorly written.
(The 5 sane people in this book’s world probably)
The dialogue is pretty bad.
This book occasionally tries comic relief, mostly weak.
This comic is mostly predictable. There’s a few surprises but for the most part... yeah easy to see coming.
The commentary is ridiculous. So basically imagine r/PornIsMisogyny in a comic full of fan service. So to clarify I don’t have a problem with feminism (well the reasonable kind) and most of the sexy stuff I’m into are things I hear more women say are empowering rather than sexist (giantess and BDSM especially) so maybe it’s just hard for me to see, nonetheless I have a big problem with a lot of more modern radical feminism because it’s usually complaining about stupid shit and being hypocritically sexist. Of course I also found it stupid how it’s in a comic made by men and involves a bunch of sexy outfits and fan service like... either this is some sorta meta-humor that’s falling flat or just stupid. Now I know some will probably say “But L., you’re a huge fan of characters like Zatanna and Vampirella that include both feminist messages and fan service” well here’s the thing, they aren’t sexist assholes they’re true equality supporting feminists and they’re sex positive... this person is super against sex (even when it’s consensual) or even having sexual feelings. Humorously the book’s main character here despite being a radical feminist also likes to shame sex workers and be an asshole to other women over how they dress or trying to have a sex life.
(Top: what radical feminists think they look like. Bottom: what they really look like.)
The ending was stupid.
Why Ghost makes a terrible hero character:
So I really should emphasize GHOST IS A TERRIBLE SUPERHERO! I know she’s meant to be a more violent anti-hero but think about it. She stalks people, is completely fueled by hate, kills innocent people at times (mostly if they’re males who dare find women attractive)... what part of this is heroic?
In all honesty with her hateful desire to kill, stalking skills Michael Myers would envy, a habit of killing people when they’re too caught up in being turned on that is slightly reminiscent of Jason Voorhees, a Ghostface like love for taunting victims even when they can’t see her and ability to frequently seduce her prey she’d make a fantastic slasher killer (hell if Ice Nine Kills does a comic based on horror comics I could see Ghost having a song inspired by her) but is a terrible superhero.
Overall:
While many great feminist stories, especially within horror stories and superhero comics, are out there this is not one of them. It’s too serious to be satire but too ridiculous to be taken seriously.
Sure the art and action are outstanding and because of those I wouldn’t necessarily say I hated this comic but it was far from a pleasant experience. Unfortunately the story is terribly executed, the characters are awful and there’s just a lot more bad than good found here.
I think my main problem is this: it’s marketed as a superhero comic when it’s really far from it.
As a fan of both feminist superheroes dealing with horror like threats and vicious antiheroes I can’t even consider Ghost an antihero. The modern, not as villainous but not a good person Harley Quinn’s actions are more justified than Ghost’s and they don’t typically push awful stereotypes. Also keep in mind that it’s not just harmful stereotypes to men here but also towards women as they’re all depicted as weak and are often shamed for things such as what they wear or who they choose to have sexual relations with by the “heroic” main character. Wonder Woman would be disgusted.
For better feminist horror stories with similar themes I would recommend some Vampirella comics, some Zatanna and 2020’s film reboot of The Invisible Man. The first 2 are sex-positive, feminist superheroes who absolutely kick-ass when dealing with supernatural threats. The last one uses the horror genre to make a compelling story approaching the real and terrifying horrors that are misogyny and abuse. Much better than this.
2/5
PS- I am seeing a lot of reviews talk about how a more recent reboot seems to be thought of as better by many so might try that but am in no big hurry.
Wonder Woman: I fight for justice and promote equality!
Captain Marvel: I just saved a planet and inspired young women to do great things.
Vampirella: Well I’m off to go fight some monsters who are trapping and raping women in evil rituals.
Ghost: I found a man. He is clearly evil. He watched porn, laughed at a feminism joke and has a penis. This motherfucker’s dead!
What’s it about?
So basically this woman who hates men dies and starts killing people that she doesn’t like. Usually misogynistic criminals or supernatural threats though occasionally just random guys that she thinks are evil for some fucking reason.
Pros:
The art is really good, suits the story very well and is just really cool looking in general.
The action scenes are frequent and exciting. Ghost is a pretty vicious anti-hero and deals with some crazy enemies.
The horror elements are done pretty well. It is light horror so would probably satisfy horror fans but also work for some who aren’t as into things that are too creepy or gory.
Cons:
The story is terribly written. Shit just kinda happens, it’s mostly this: people act like assholes, Ghost talks about some “grr I hate men” shit, some lame obstacle shows up, Ghost escapes obstacle with ease and kills somebody... oh and some bullshit family drama happens. The end. Repeat next issue. There’s occasionally something that could be cool that happens but then the execution is awful (example: at one point the Predator... like from the movies shows up but for no real reason and it only lasts about 5 pages that go nowhere).
The characters... I hate these fucking characters. So it’s like all the women are assholes and/or weak while all the men are assholes and/or rapey. Save for maybe 2 characters everyone here seemed fucking annoying and poorly written.
(The 5 sane people in this book’s world probably)
The dialogue is pretty bad.
This book occasionally tries comic relief, mostly weak.
This comic is mostly predictable. There’s a few surprises but for the most part... yeah easy to see coming.
The commentary is ridiculous. So basically imagine r/PornIsMisogyny in a comic full of fan service. So to clarify I don’t have a problem with feminism (well the reasonable kind) and most of the sexy stuff I’m into are things I hear more women say are empowering rather than sexist (giantess and BDSM especially) so maybe it’s just hard for me to see, nonetheless I have a big problem with a lot of more modern radical feminism because it’s usually complaining about stupid shit and being hypocritically sexist. Of course I also found it stupid how it’s in a comic made by men and involves a bunch of sexy outfits and fan service like... either this is some sorta meta-humor that’s falling flat or just stupid. Now I know some will probably say “But L., you’re a huge fan of characters like Zatanna and Vampirella that include both feminist messages and fan service” well here’s the thing, they aren’t sexist assholes they’re true equality supporting feminists and they’re sex positive... this person is super against sex (even when it’s consensual) or even having sexual feelings. Humorously the book’s main character here despite being a radical feminist also likes to shame sex workers and be an asshole to other women over how they dress or trying to have a sex life.
(Top: what radical feminists think they look like. Bottom: what they really look like.)
The ending was stupid.
Why Ghost makes a terrible hero character:
So I really should emphasize GHOST IS A TERRIBLE SUPERHERO! I know she’s meant to be a more violent anti-hero but think about it. She stalks people, is completely fueled by hate, kills innocent people at times (mostly if they’re males who dare find women attractive)... what part of this is heroic?
In all honesty with her hateful desire to kill, stalking skills Michael Myers would envy, a habit of killing people when they’re too caught up in being turned on that is slightly reminiscent of Jason Voorhees, a Ghostface like love for taunting victims even when they can’t see her and ability to frequently seduce her prey she’d make a fantastic slasher killer (hell if Ice Nine Kills does a comic based on horror comics I could see Ghost having a song inspired by her) but is a terrible superhero.
Overall:
While many great feminist stories, especially within horror stories and superhero comics, are out there this is not one of them. It’s too serious to be satire but too ridiculous to be taken seriously.
Sure the art and action are outstanding and because of those I wouldn’t necessarily say I hated this comic but it was far from a pleasant experience. Unfortunately the story is terribly executed, the characters are awful and there’s just a lot more bad than good found here.
I think my main problem is this: it’s marketed as a superhero comic when it’s really far from it.
As a fan of both feminist superheroes dealing with horror like threats and vicious antiheroes I can’t even consider Ghost an antihero. The modern, not as villainous but not a good person Harley Quinn’s actions are more justified than Ghost’s and they don’t typically push awful stereotypes. Also keep in mind that it’s not just harmful stereotypes to men here but also towards women as they’re all depicted as weak and are often shamed for things such as what they wear or who they choose to have sexual relations with by the “heroic” main character. Wonder Woman would be disgusted.
For better feminist horror stories with similar themes I would recommend some Vampirella comics, some Zatanna and 2020’s film reboot of The Invisible Man. The first 2 are sex-positive, feminist superheroes who absolutely kick-ass when dealing with supernatural threats. The last one uses the horror genre to make a compelling story approaching the real and terrifying horrors that are misogyny and abuse. Much better than this.
2/5
PS- I am seeing a lot of reviews talk about how a more recent reboot seems to be thought of as better by many so might try that but am in no big hurry.
April 29, 2014
I'm actually surprised this has such a collective high rating. I found it in some parts laughably stereotypical. The story would be fine (women wakes dead, inexplicably angry and wants to find her killer - great premise), but they have pulled in every dorked-up misogynistic stereotype possible to fill the pages. The main character's anger at the woman-haters may be a part of the mystery, but her overdone, noir mental dialogue is sadly lacking in intellect and most of the time she (and her sister) are weak weak weak. Written by men for men. Maybe that's why the rating is high. Guess I answered my own question. Graphically, it was OK.
May 20, 2016
There's a lot of lip service to feminist ideals here, but they seem to be cover for a pretty typical male revenge fantasy where we have to see women subjugated before they return the favor amid much violence. The whole "I'm wearing a skimpy outfit to distract men for a second longer so I can shoot them" business is pure BS. I don't know a self-actualized woman alive who would think that way. And GOOD GRIEF there is a lot of narration. I picked up a few issues of the reboot of the character a few years ago and was intrigued and wanted to start at the beginning. But unless someone can refer me to a period where the series gets better than this, I think I've had enough. There are at least two more ominbuses! I wouldn't have thought it would have lasted so long if what I read is indicative of the whole. Then again, it was the nineties--a decade in comics I keep being reminded that I don't need to revisit.
December 14, 2014
I enjoyed Kelly Sue DeConnick's recent reboot of this character, so I thought I'd try reading the original series. What a horrible comic! It made my brain hurt and my soul feel icky. This tries to be a discourse on male sexual abuse of women but it turns out to be not just anti-male but anti-human. The T & A style artwork just makes things worse. All the characters here, including our heroine, are completely unlikable and act like morons. Also the story gets lost in seemingly endless and pointless crossovers with other Dark Horse characters like X, Barb Wire & Predator. I gave up half way through. Awful.
August 28, 2016
The pencil, inking, coloring, and lettering are all incredibly lovely. A+ artwork. But the story is relentlessly man-hating to the point where it made me roll my eyes more than once. I appreciate the effort here to outline women's oppression, but this was just tiresome.
June 12, 2013
I was drawn in by the art nouveau style of the cover artwork. The story is fast-paced and well written because otherwise I wouldn't have read all of it.
I appreciate that the writers tried to make a complex female character, and I enjoyed that aspect of the book, but I thought its approach to sexuality and rape were really quite ham-fisted and depressing. Having big tits isn't a super-power to be used against men, her lack of autonomy made me quite fed up.
I just couldn't get past the fact that it felt like I was reading somebody's well-illustrated masturbation fodder. Empowering.
Also the title font is kinda ugly.
I appreciate that the writers tried to make a complex female character, and I enjoyed that aspect of the book, but I thought its approach to sexuality and rape were really quite ham-fisted and depressing. Having big tits isn't a super-power to be used against men, her lack of autonomy made me quite fed up.
I just couldn't get past the fact that it felt like I was reading somebody's well-illustrated masturbation fodder. Empowering.
Also the title font is kinda ugly.
October 3, 2012
Fantastic. An impulse buy I'll never regret, this series reminded me why I love comics. Well written stories that build to a satisfying conclusion with some dangling plot threads left for volume 2, which I will track down ASAP. Some great artwork too, which never goes too far with Ghost's sex appeal or too far into the realm of 90s madness.
October 8, 2019
Ghost by Eric Luke was my favorite character from the Arcadia series from Dark Horse that featured X and Barb Wire as well. A murdered reporter who now in her spiritual form is seeking revenge on those that killed her and who hurt all women. Elisha Cameron is not quite a hero and yet, the evils she battles are far greater that her own.
"...You think that was cold? You think that was a little heartless? Let me tell you about hearts. Let me tell you about men and women. Let me tell you about how men treat women, men treat women like meat. Meat that gets slammed around. Hey...that phrase: meat that gets slammed around. Does that get you a little excited to think of a woman like that? Sure it does. Gets you twitching just a little, hmm? Well, you want to know the truth? I'm going to slam you around. A lot. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt so much it won't even be a little exciting. And then I'll think about letting you live..."
Ghost is a spirit avenging women against powerful men who the law won't touch. Dressed all in white with a double helping of .45 Caliber guns. The bullets of which, go solid as soon as they are shot. Ghost is a violent and seedy erotic comic of action and revenge.
At its inception, in 1993, Ghost was as her title implies. But as the character grew in popularity so did her origin story until she became a woman infused with nanites that allowed her the powers of a ghost. Invisibility and phasing and teleportation as well as flying But Elisha Cameron always believed herself to be a ghost and played the character as one. The Arcadia series from Dark Horse was popular for a short time in the mid 1990s but the characters did lose steam later in the decade. Barb Wire did become a rather forgettable movie starring Pamela Anderson and Ghost herself a cult favorite.
In re-reading the comic two decades later I am struck by how much the character of Elisha Cameron is not quite so much a feminist as a bitter angry killer. Men, in her mind it seems, all men need to die. Even her father, whose crime to the world was being an alcoholic needed to pay for what he did to the women in his world. While unsettling in her mindset, Ghost fits in well with the dark world of Arcadia, a Gotham of sorts that is missing its Batman.
Still, Ghost will stand the test of time for its darkness and its fine storytelling.
Look for the graphic volumes and catch up with an old fan favorite.
"...You think that was cold? You think that was a little heartless? Let me tell you about hearts. Let me tell you about men and women. Let me tell you about how men treat women, men treat women like meat. Meat that gets slammed around. Hey...that phrase: meat that gets slammed around. Does that get you a little excited to think of a woman like that? Sure it does. Gets you twitching just a little, hmm? Well, you want to know the truth? I'm going to slam you around. A lot. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt so much it won't even be a little exciting. And then I'll think about letting you live..."
Ghost is a spirit avenging women against powerful men who the law won't touch. Dressed all in white with a double helping of .45 Caliber guns. The bullets of which, go solid as soon as they are shot. Ghost is a violent and seedy erotic comic of action and revenge.
At its inception, in 1993, Ghost was as her title implies. But as the character grew in popularity so did her origin story until she became a woman infused with nanites that allowed her the powers of a ghost. Invisibility and phasing and teleportation as well as flying But Elisha Cameron always believed herself to be a ghost and played the character as one. The Arcadia series from Dark Horse was popular for a short time in the mid 1990s but the characters did lose steam later in the decade. Barb Wire did become a rather forgettable movie starring Pamela Anderson and Ghost herself a cult favorite.
In re-reading the comic two decades later I am struck by how much the character of Elisha Cameron is not quite so much a feminist as a bitter angry killer. Men, in her mind it seems, all men need to die. Even her father, whose crime to the world was being an alcoholic needed to pay for what he did to the women in his world. While unsettling in her mindset, Ghost fits in well with the dark world of Arcadia, a Gotham of sorts that is missing its Batman.
Still, Ghost will stand the test of time for its darkness and its fine storytelling.
Look for the graphic volumes and catch up with an old fan favorite.
January 9, 2015
So I'm very torn on this book (and this review applies to all of the Omnibuses, 1-5). I remember picking up the very first issues of this back in the early 90s and this was the one character book that really jumped out at me, and not just for the obvious aesthetic reasons. She was the most compelling and felt the most original, particularly when placed alongside those released around her: Barb Wire and X.
The book itself has a laudable goal (or so it seems without actually knowing Luke's intentions): to open the eyes of its readers to the treatment of women in the real world as well as on the page, tackling their objectification, the violence perpetrated against them, the way men don't see it and often end up contributing to it without realizing that they are. All while also being a superhero book.
For many readers, though, these stories could be betrayed by the fact that the main character is herself objectified by the writer and artist, though I got the distinct impression that was on purpose, as part of the message. And it worked. You could look past the message if you wanted and just enjoy the stories if you wanted, but there were broader, deeper messages there if you decided to pay attention (arguably some couldn't be missed). It could be a bit preachy, ham-fisted, and at times it seemed to betray its own message. I don't think that detracts from what I see as the ambitious goal of the series, however.
Most of it is very much early to mid 90s art, and it's not quite up to modern standards (to the point where a lot of what is intended to be sexy is laughably stupid-looking or just plain uncomfortable), but for a young comic company branching out into superheroes, it was a good start, even if upstaged by Image at the time.
Ghost is adventurous and fun, but seems like it remains a love-or-hate proposition for most readers. There is no guarantee how you'll react either as a feminist or an MRA or anything in between. But make no mistake, this book is trying to be more than just a superhero book laced with no small amounts of T&A: it's trying to say something important. Whether it succeeds probably depends largely on the reader.
The book itself has a laudable goal (or so it seems without actually knowing Luke's intentions): to open the eyes of its readers to the treatment of women in the real world as well as on the page, tackling their objectification, the violence perpetrated against them, the way men don't see it and often end up contributing to it without realizing that they are. All while also being a superhero book.
For many readers, though, these stories could be betrayed by the fact that the main character is herself objectified by the writer and artist, though I got the distinct impression that was on purpose, as part of the message. And it worked. You could look past the message if you wanted and just enjoy the stories if you wanted, but there were broader, deeper messages there if you decided to pay attention (arguably some couldn't be missed). It could be a bit preachy, ham-fisted, and at times it seemed to betray its own message. I don't think that detracts from what I see as the ambitious goal of the series, however.
Most of it is very much early to mid 90s art, and it's not quite up to modern standards (to the point where a lot of what is intended to be sexy is laughably stupid-looking or just plain uncomfortable), but for a young comic company branching out into superheroes, it was a good start, even if upstaged by Image at the time.
Ghost is adventurous and fun, but seems like it remains a love-or-hate proposition for most readers. There is no guarantee how you'll react either as a feminist or an MRA or anything in between. But make no mistake, this book is trying to be more than just a superhero book laced with no small amounts of T&A: it's trying to say something important. Whether it succeeds probably depends largely on the reader.
May 17, 2020
I picked this up when Dark Horse offered it for free during the lockdown. So thank you Dark Horse.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this, but to my surprise, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story is told from the viewpoint of Elsa who does not know how she can do the things she can do; she does know that she is dead, but she does not remember how or even who she was in great detail. Part of the story. In this volume is her discovery of her past.
The other part is her taking revenge on men for how they treat women. I suppose it would be too easy to dismiss this as a typical female revenge storyline, but the book is a little deeper. Even the costume that Ghost wears ties into this idea of what men see woman as contrasting with what women see themselves as.
In fact, this book features several strong women, and while Ghost and Margo are with sexualized or sexual, it is displayed and shown as a choice. Either as something they chose because it is what they wanted or something they chose to trick men. Importantly there is a section where the choice of how they dress and they sexuality is controlled against their way, and the illustration and feeling is far, far different. And the view isn’t the POV of the attacker, but of the women.
There is a more recent relaunch of this series and I read issue #0 and part of issue #1 of that. I prefer this one because it is a story about a woman, told by the woman’ where the redo, at least in the issues I read, is a story about mysterious woman that centers the story more on the men who found her. I prefer this one.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this, but to my surprise, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story is told from the viewpoint of Elsa who does not know how she can do the things she can do; she does know that she is dead, but she does not remember how or even who she was in great detail. Part of the story. In this volume is her discovery of her past.
The other part is her taking revenge on men for how they treat women. I suppose it would be too easy to dismiss this as a typical female revenge storyline, but the book is a little deeper. Even the costume that Ghost wears ties into this idea of what men see woman as contrasting with what women see themselves as.
In fact, this book features several strong women, and while Ghost and Margo are with sexualized or sexual, it is displayed and shown as a choice. Either as something they chose because it is what they wanted or something they chose to trick men. Importantly there is a section where the choice of how they dress and they sexuality is controlled against their way, and the illustration and feeling is far, far different. And the view isn’t the POV of the attacker, but of the women.
There is a more recent relaunch of this series and I read issue #0 and part of issue #1 of that. I prefer this one because it is a story about a woman, told by the woman’ where the redo, at least in the issues I read, is a story about mysterious woman that centers the story more on the men who found her. I prefer this one.
May 26, 2016
This tries to say something about feminism, but like most female empowerment books written by dudes, it looses itself almost immediately in some sort of fetishistic dominatrix fantasy stuff that undermines the whole thing. I gave it three stars because the story is interesting and the art is good.
May 3, 2015
Ghost is a weird book for me. I am having trouble deciding even what I think about it. Parts of it were visually lovely and as a character, I really like Elisa. But at times it felt awkward to read, and some of that wasn't alleviated, if it was, until the very end.
Ghost is about a woman who wakes up dead. She doesn't know who she is or what happened, but she dedicates herself to vengeance not only on whoever did it, but just on asshole men in general. Her internal dialogue reads at times like an MRA's idea of a feminist, full of weird ideas about the cruelty and worthlessness of men in general. And the answers she seeks, when she finds them, aren't as kind and comforting as one might hope.
I was a little torn on this. On the one hand, I understand why Elisa sounds like she does. Her hatred has some incredibly serious roots, and a lot of the men she deals with are assholes who deserve almost everything she levels at them. But at the same time, it's so unrelenting that at times, it works against the character.
Not sure I'll dig into more of this version, but I like the concept and I think I'll definitely look into the reboot.
Ghost is about a woman who wakes up dead. She doesn't know who she is or what happened, but she dedicates herself to vengeance not only on whoever did it, but just on asshole men in general. Her internal dialogue reads at times like an MRA's idea of a feminist, full of weird ideas about the cruelty and worthlessness of men in general. And the answers she seeks, when she finds them, aren't as kind and comforting as one might hope.
I was a little torn on this. On the one hand, I understand why Elisa sounds like she does. Her hatred has some incredibly serious roots, and a lot of the men she deals with are assholes who deserve almost everything she levels at them. But at the same time, it's so unrelenting that at times, it works against the character.
Not sure I'll dig into more of this version, but I like the concept and I think I'll definitely look into the reboot.
November 12, 2018
This was one of the few Dark Horse heroes to get a more lengthy solo series. I think Ghost probably had more issues published than any of the other Dark Horse Heroes for that matter. So while it's easy to dismiss this as another book in the "Bad Girl" craze, and it does have elements of that, it's really much different. A woman is murdered and her Ghost returns to hunt down her killers. The problem being she remembers nothing of her past life and has to start from scratch. There's sexy art, but it's rarely over the top. In general this is solid but considering there are 5 omnibus volumes in the series this is just the beginning.
April 6, 2021
Elisa died, maybe, but now she's back as an avenger in white, living in a graveyard and using her Phantom Girl powers to violent effect. A curious book: genuinely, righteously and admirably angry about the ways in which women are exploited and hurt by men, but also very keen on showing us cheesecake shots both of the victims (even after they are dead) and the heroine (and the décolletage which reaches her navel). The predicaments in which she finds herself frequently involve fetishistic tropes such as bondage and mind control. Can't complain too much about a book that was given away free during lockdown, but I don't think I would read further volumes unless they were available very cheaply.
October 18, 2012
I picked this up because started reading the Ghost series reboot that recently came out. The story line appealed to me and I wanted to see what had already been done.
The main character, Elisa, has a strong internal struggle as well as external ones. I think that may be one of the aspects that drew me to the series.
The art is well drawn and while the villains are somewhat typical of comic books, with a quick introduction and right into violence, they were a match in some way for Elisa.
I will continue to read the series.
The main character, Elisa, has a strong internal struggle as well as external ones. I think that may be one of the aspects that drew me to the series.
The art is well drawn and while the villains are somewhat typical of comic books, with a quick introduction and right into violence, they were a match in some way for Elisa.
I will continue to read the series.
June 15, 2020
I will be shocked if this is not the worst book I read all year. This book is sleazy in the same way that 80s horror movies that used rape scenes to add nudity were. It is somehow both misogynistic and and misandrist. Every man in the book is some kind of sexual sadist. It’s much worse than I am making it sound.
April 8, 2025
A product of its time? I bet I would have rated it higher when I was 14. The art is nice, and the story concept has potential. Much of it is just... ick. There is so much anger and exploitation that there isn't much room for anything else. Except for cash grab crossovers. It's definitely a 90s comic.
January 18, 2015
Started out mediocre, ended up spiraling downward into weirdness.
December 8, 2024
Mixed bag, some good stories and some confusing ones.
December 24, 2016
This book was v "wow we are feminist!!" But also it was written by dudes and v sketchy so, what is the truth
December 6, 2020
What a weirdly confusing mix of feminism and misogyny.
May 20, 2021
Solid opening and closing. The middle was meh.
March 22, 2023
honestly, this really should rate a 2.25 or a 2.5, but I'll be generous and round up to three as I normally do.
I'm unsure how exactly I feel about this. There are several different artists that contributed to it, some of the art is decent, some of it is fantastic. So I'll give it that, the art never dips into bad territory. Some of the fashions and hair are not great, but it's a product of the time it was made.
By the end of it, they do explain where the rage and hate for men comes from. But I'm not so sure it really, totally makes up for everything, because honestly, this thing is a complete mess. Don't get me wrong, I didn't totally hate it, but it would be a lie to say it's good. The writing is pretty bad. It's almost like a horney 13 year old boy wrote it. But he is ashamed of the fact he is a horney boy, so tries to make up for it by making it as feminist as he possibly can, whatever it means to be a feminist to a horney 13 year old boy.
All the women are angry or stupid or stupid and angry. They ones that are not, are weak and simple and just window dressing. All the men are morons, and most of them are rapists. If not in deed, then in mindset and desire. The few men that are not total morons or rapists, are weak and/or doofuses. There are several cameos, most of them pointless. Such as Predator. Literally just there for no reason. Never even meets Elisa. Has no bearing on the plot whatsoever. I'm not sure if Dark Horse threw him in to help this book get over with the audience, of if they just wanted to remind the audience that was also one of their properties at the time.
The original makes the De Connick version look like an MRA. The raging feminist man hate is palpable. The guy that wrote this, must have been a prototype for the modern male feminists. And it's not just aimed at the characters, it's aimed at you, the reader. At first I thought she was talking about a specific character. Then I was like well, maybe that's just her character, but it might still be good (and it still could be, I've not totally given up on it yet). But then she is explaining things to you the reader like and I quote...
"I'm concentrating to support this costume. Gee (with Monroe like little-girl shocked surprise), what if I lost all my concentration? You'd LIKE that, wouldn't you?"
That's just a bit, and some tamer stuff that she says to and about the reader. In that one trade I read, Painful Music, she brings up the sexy costume to another character. I don't remember exactly what she says, something about it making her feel powerful and yada yada, and she finishes with, "if men want to stare and debase themselves drooling, that's their problem and my advantage". Or something very similar to that. (as an example to work in that kind of feminism without being obnoxious)
I'm more than little annoyed that they sold this thing on sex appeal. They advertised her all over the place in poses where she was almost spilling out back in the day. And when people bought it, they shamed you for doing so. I'm starting to see now why the original run was only 32 issues.
Just annoys me because you've got outfits like Zenescope doing much the same thing, marketing on sex appeal, but when you buy one of their books they don't shame you for it. Sure, there really isn't much if any cheese cake in it, but at least they don't shame you for seeing the cheesecake then buying it. Ghost also doesn't have as much cheesecake as people say it does. But more than most Zenescope books I've read, by a lot actually. But still not as much as some would have you believe.
I came back to this as an adult, because I remember being intrigued by the idea of it as a kid, but I never got my hands on it to read it. I'm not sure how I would have taken it back then. I don't know if the sex and violence would have sold me on it, or if the emptiness of it all would have had me being like this is crap. I read the Kelley Sue De Connick reboot before I read this. And the other guy that finished and ended it. I'm not going to lie, that was actually better. Now that I've read this, I can see how they were trying to be respectful of the source material, while cleaning it up to make sense and not be all sex and violence and man hate. I have the other five omnibus volumes, so I'm go read them. See if it gets any better. And don't get me wrong, it's not like the worst thing I've ever read. I would not even say I hate it. But it's so far as this volume, it's not good.
I'm unsure how exactly I feel about this. There are several different artists that contributed to it, some of the art is decent, some of it is fantastic. So I'll give it that, the art never dips into bad territory. Some of the fashions and hair are not great, but it's a product of the time it was made.
By the end of it, they do explain where the rage and hate for men comes from. But I'm not so sure it really, totally makes up for everything, because honestly, this thing is a complete mess. Don't get me wrong, I didn't totally hate it, but it would be a lie to say it's good. The writing is pretty bad. It's almost like a horney 13 year old boy wrote it. But he is ashamed of the fact he is a horney boy, so tries to make up for it by making it as feminist as he possibly can, whatever it means to be a feminist to a horney 13 year old boy.
All the women are angry or stupid or stupid and angry. They ones that are not, are weak and simple and just window dressing. All the men are morons, and most of them are rapists. If not in deed, then in mindset and desire. The few men that are not total morons or rapists, are weak and/or doofuses. There are several cameos, most of them pointless. Such as Predator. Literally just there for no reason. Never even meets Elisa. Has no bearing on the plot whatsoever. I'm not sure if Dark Horse threw him in to help this book get over with the audience, of if they just wanted to remind the audience that was also one of their properties at the time.
The original makes the De Connick version look like an MRA. The raging feminist man hate is palpable. The guy that wrote this, must have been a prototype for the modern male feminists. And it's not just aimed at the characters, it's aimed at you, the reader. At first I thought she was talking about a specific character. Then I was like well, maybe that's just her character, but it might still be good (and it still could be, I've not totally given up on it yet). But then she is explaining things to you the reader like and I quote...
"I'm concentrating to support this costume. Gee (with Monroe like little-girl shocked surprise), what if I lost all my concentration? You'd LIKE that, wouldn't you?"
That's just a bit, and some tamer stuff that she says to and about the reader. In that one trade I read, Painful Music, she brings up the sexy costume to another character. I don't remember exactly what she says, something about it making her feel powerful and yada yada, and she finishes with, "if men want to stare and debase themselves drooling, that's their problem and my advantage". Or something very similar to that. (as an example to work in that kind of feminism without being obnoxious)
I'm more than little annoyed that they sold this thing on sex appeal. They advertised her all over the place in poses where she was almost spilling out back in the day. And when people bought it, they shamed you for doing so. I'm starting to see now why the original run was only 32 issues.
Just annoys me because you've got outfits like Zenescope doing much the same thing, marketing on sex appeal, but when you buy one of their books they don't shame you for it. Sure, there really isn't much if any cheese cake in it, but at least they don't shame you for seeing the cheesecake then buying it. Ghost also doesn't have as much cheesecake as people say it does. But more than most Zenescope books I've read, by a lot actually. But still not as much as some would have you believe.
I came back to this as an adult, because I remember being intrigued by the idea of it as a kid, but I never got my hands on it to read it. I'm not sure how I would have taken it back then. I don't know if the sex and violence would have sold me on it, or if the emptiness of it all would have had me being like this is crap. I read the Kelley Sue De Connick reboot before I read this. And the other guy that finished and ended it. I'm not going to lie, that was actually better. Now that I've read this, I can see how they were trying to be respectful of the source material, while cleaning it up to make sense and not be all sex and violence and man hate. I have the other five omnibus volumes, so I'm go read them. See if it gets any better. And don't get me wrong, it's not like the worst thing I've ever read. I would not even say I hate it. But it's so far as this volume, it's not good.
February 5, 2019
Ghost was always one of my favorite comic book series as a kid, though I only had a couple of issues. I loved the dark subject matter and that instead of a stereotypical male superhero, we were presented with a strong, if conflicted, female hero. Why I was allowed to read these at such a a young age, I don't know, but finally reading this omnibus as an adult, the story holds up to my fond memories of it. At last, I see the whole arc, and it makes so much more sense. Elisa is definitely more man-hating than I recall, but as the story unfolds she becomes softer and sees the error of her ways. The artworks was really good and I particularly loved the grit it portrayed. My main criticism is that there was such a build up to the whole Dr. October character and her true identity, and in this omnibus, that wasn't dealt with. She was introduced and killed off rather quickly. I'm hoping that she will reappear again further down the line, otherwise it would be a waste of what could potentially be an excellent character. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my copy of Vol 2 so that I can delve even deeper into this complex, engaging series.
June 20, 2020
Francamente horrible. La idea es interesante, pero la historia está llena llenísima de clichés viejunos. Me imagino la gran idea del autor: "Si pongo a una mujer de protagonista y ella está todo el rato diciendo 'buff, qué malos son los hombres' seguro que quedo de tope feminista y ni se fijan en todas las fantasías de baboso que hay en este cómic". Un plan sin fisuras. 😒
February 8, 2022
In a world of Parahumans, Ghost has an innate drive to punish the patriarchal brutality of women. Along the way, she struggles to remember her past, find who killed her, and save her family.
This Omnibus was a bit of a slog to get through. The story was a bit confusing. I also find the portrayal of this mostly "man hating/killing" protagonist written by an all male team conflicting at times. I believe this character has been rewritten and I'd love to check that out.
This Omnibus was a bit of a slog to get through. The story was a bit confusing. I also find the portrayal of this mostly "man hating/killing" protagonist written by an all male team conflicting at times. I believe this character has been rewritten and I'd love to check that out.
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