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Five Ghosts, Volume One: The Haunting of Fabian Gray by Christopher Mooneyham, Frank J. Barbiere
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
Five Ghosts is a definite nod to the pulps of the 1930s and 1940s. Adventurer Fabian Gray has an accident that causes the ghosts of five literary adventurers to seal themselves to him (one is Sherlock Holmes, one is Merlin, one is Dracula). He can draw on their power as needed, but the ghosts can try to overwhelm him. As a result of the accident, his sister lies in a comatose state and Fabian is determined to right the wrong.
Fabian finds out that someone is after him, and he enlists unusual help. Along the way, he has to confront each of the five ghosts in a test in order to get them to help him. Fabian's sidekick is brainy, bespectacled Sebastian, who is there to guide him and look out for him.
The story by Frank J. Barbiere is very retro with cults and spiders and lost cities. The art by Chris Mooneyham is straight from the Joe Kubert School or Cartoon and Graphic Art where he graduated from. The art has strong lines and is great to look at.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Image Comics and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.
Fabian finds out that someone is after him, and he enlists unusual help. Along the way, he has to confront each of the five ghosts in a test in order to get them to help him. Fabian's sidekick is brainy, bespectacled Sebastian, who is there to guide him and look out for him.
The story by Frank J. Barbiere is very retro with cults and spiders and lost cities. The art by Chris Mooneyham is straight from the Joe Kubert School or Cartoon and Graphic Art where he graduated from. The art has strong lines and is great to look at.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Image Comics and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
3.0
I thought the artwork in Five Ghosts was excellent but the first volume didn’t really do it for my story and character wise. The series was recommended to me on the London Bookshop Crawl so I imagine it’s one that improves if you persevere. This felt too much like an introduction, where as other Image Comics first volumes have read have plunged me right into the story and wanting to read more.
Fabian Gray is an Indiana Jones type figure, an adventurer and treasure hunter. When he and his sister try to steal the Dreamstone, things go wrong leaving his sister in a coma and him haunted by five literary ghosts. There’s some Nazis too and each ghost gives him a test…I’m not entirely sure why. The tests are all over very quickly and I didn’t really get the point of it all. There’s probably a lot of mileage in literary ghosts but, to me, the ghosts could have been anyone.
Other than Sherlock Holmes, I wasn’t sure who the ghosts were meant to be either. A quick look at Wikipedia tells me: “Ghosts” referred to as "The Wizard", "The Archer", "The Detective", "The Samurai" and "The Vampire". It has been suggested these correspond to Merlin, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Miyamoto Musashi, and Count Dracula.
Anyway, I did really like the style of Chris Mooneyham's artwork, there’s some interesting use of colour palettes and a range of styles. Each episode has a vintage style comic cover (by Ben Templesmith) and there’s plenty of full page drawings, as always with Image, which stand up well on their own.
Fabian Gray is an Indiana Jones type figure, an adventurer and treasure hunter. When he and his sister try to steal the Dreamstone, things go wrong leaving his sister in a coma and him haunted by five literary ghosts. There’s some Nazis too and each ghost gives him a test…I’m not entirely sure why. The tests are all over very quickly and I didn’t really get the point of it all. There’s probably a lot of mileage in literary ghosts but, to me, the ghosts could have been anyone.
Other than Sherlock Holmes, I wasn’t sure who the ghosts were meant to be either. A quick look at Wikipedia tells me: “Ghosts” referred to as "The Wizard", "The Archer", "The Detective", "The Samurai" and "The Vampire". It has been suggested these correspond to Merlin, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Miyamoto Musashi, and Count Dracula.
Anyway, I did really like the style of Chris Mooneyham's artwork, there’s some interesting use of colour palettes and a range of styles. Each episode has a vintage style comic cover (by Ben Templesmith) and there’s plenty of full page drawings, as always with Image, which stand up well on their own.
mehitabels's review against another edition
3.0
Rando pickup from used bookstore, fast-moving (mebbe a little too much). But looking forward to more. So picturing Henry Cavill and Tom Hiddleston as main characters . . .
cenedrawood's review against another edition
2.0
Just not a style I like as much as others. I may pick up the second trade to see if it gets better.
farmieeeee's review against another edition
4.0
good pulpy fun actually really enjoyed the art in this and look forward to the next volume
angeliki6's review
3.0
Listen, is Barbiere reinventing the wheel in Five Ghosts? Yeah kinda but it's a wheel I'm very fond of so I'm not holding it against him.
aashkevr's review against another edition
2.0
I received an electronic copy of this graphic novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I thought that the concept of this comic was awesome. Haunted by the ghosts of literary characters? what's not to love? I was pretty sure this was going to be absolutely wonderful.
Unfortunately, it wasn't really what I was hoping for/expected.
The incorporation of the 'ghosts' of the literary characters was a lot less interesting than I expected. I thought there would be strong connections and interesting allusions, but, although they had their roles, the literary aspect of the ghosts didn't seem to make a big difference.
So, while the premise was an instant hook, I found that the aspects I was most interested in were not a significant part of the product.
The "pulpy" art style isn't my favorite, but I have no complaints regarding execution.
The character development I found lacking. It was difficult for me to feel for the characters. Also, like many comics, the portrayal of women was very one-dimensional and stock.
I went into the comic expecting something with a deep, literary value. It wasn't what I look for in comics, but I think my disappointment was largely due to a misconception. I was expecting a literary romp that would cater to bibliophiles and favor the educated.
With different expectations, and a better appreciation for the style the illustrator employed, I think this could be an enjoyable read.
I thought that the concept of this comic was awesome. Haunted by the ghosts of literary characters? what's not to love? I was pretty sure this was going to be absolutely wonderful.
Unfortunately, it wasn't really what I was hoping for/expected.
The incorporation of the 'ghosts' of the literary characters was a lot less interesting than I expected. I thought there would be strong connections and interesting allusions, but, although they had their roles, the literary aspect of the ghosts didn't seem to make a big difference.
So, while the premise was an instant hook, I found that the aspects I was most interested in were not a significant part of the product.
The "pulpy" art style isn't my favorite, but I have no complaints regarding execution.
The character development I found lacking. It was difficult for me to feel for the characters. Also, like many comics, the portrayal of women was very one-dimensional and stock.
I went into the comic expecting something with a deep, literary value. It wasn't what I look for in comics, but I think my disappointment was largely due to a misconception. I was expecting a literary romp that would cater to bibliophiles and favor the educated.
With different expectations, and a better appreciation for the style the illustrator employed, I think this could be an enjoyable read.
kellylynnthomas's review against another edition
2.0
The idea behind this is cool, but I found the execution lacking. I like the idea enough that I'll read volume 2, but volume 1 suffers from some serious lady problems, mainly that there really aren't any ladies.
Lady problem #1: Fabian Gray is haunted by 5 literary ghosts and NOT A SINGLE ONE IS A LADY. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Like, there are no women in literature who can do cool things? Seriously?
Lady problem #2: Fabian Gray is all about saving his sister, who seems to have been a scrappy street urchin at some point, but now is wasting away in a bed because her spirit got stolen by the dream stone thing they stole and got implanted in his chest (thereby making him haunted by said male literary ghosts). Ultimately lame.
There was one other lady in this book, at the beginning. She roughed some dudes up, so there's some hope for her. She is the only reason I am going to read volume 2, really.
Lady problem #1: Fabian Gray is haunted by 5 literary ghosts and NOT A SINGLE ONE IS A LADY. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Like, there are no women in literature who can do cool things? Seriously?
Lady problem #2: Fabian Gray is all about saving his sister, who seems to have been a scrappy street urchin at some point, but now is wasting away in a bed because her spirit got stolen by the dream stone thing they stole and got implanted in his chest (thereby making him haunted by said male literary ghosts). Ultimately lame.
There was one other lady in this book, at the beginning. She roughed some dudes up, so there's some hope for her. She is the only reason I am going to read volume 2, really.
jobinsonlis's review against another edition
2.0
I found the basic concept of this interesting (thief can call on the abilities of famous literary figures through a magical artifact) but man was this sloppy in its execution. Sloppy artwork, sloppy writing, and a sloppy plot. I felt like I was missing a whole earlier volume, one where I would have learned more about Fabian and his sister, but the author just decided to start this up in a super-confusing way and to keep going with no time for character development. Also I may be at my limit for magical Nazis. I know that sounds crazy but I might be there. I'm definitely over wise magical Asian helpers who show up to explain things to the hero and then fuck off or die because why would they use their superior knowledge and skill for anything useful when the hero can just bumble his way into the solution?