Space Ghost is a cartoon from way before my time, and that’s taking into account that “my time” is a statement that doesn’t necessarily mean the mid 2000s to the early 2010s. I grew up on the cartoons of that era, as well as those of the 90s more than anything – so think Thundercats, SWAT Kats, Batman: The Animated Series, 90s Spider-Man, etc. Space Ghost premiered in 1966, so that’s quite a ways before even my parents were born, essentially a concept that’s alien to me.
To go even further than that, I barely know Space Ghost. I’d heard of him in passing, maybe seen the costume here and there, but that’s as far as it goes. This is a character that’s just new to me. However, I do know David Pepose – writer of books like Savage Avengers (which is awesome), Fantastic Four: The Taking Of Baxter 1-2-3-4 (one of my favourite Fantastic Four stories), Moon Knight: City of the Dead (so awesome) and Punisher (which I need to finish, but I really liked issue 1). Needless to say, the fact that he’s writing made me want to check it out.
SPACE GHOST #1 is awesome as a first time reader who knows nothing about this franchise. So much of it has to do with the tone and the characterization of Space Ghost himself, so let me start there.
Recently, someone brought up how the difference between sci-fi and fantasy is that the former goes into describing everything, while the latter lets your imagination run wild to understand the concepts of what goes on. Space Ghost #1 operates on a tightrope between the two, almost like something right out of a 90s cartoon. There’s emotional beats, cool stuff happens, but also, you can see it in the dialogue and the way people talk. In fact, it’s not just 90s cartoons, but also older comics too. Very dramatic, very bombastic, and I’m super into it.
Space Ghost himself too! You’ve seen him described as Batman in space! In fact – in the e-mail I got, it was described as “Drawing equal inspiration from Batman: The Long Halloween and The Mandalorian,” and I’m glad to say that wasn’t just fluff. As described in the credits page:
“Yet there is a cosmic vigilante who metes out justice across the spaceways, bringing vengeance to those who prey upon the defenseless. They call him the… SPACE GHOST.”
The original Alex Toth design obviously sells the Batman comparison, but it goes further inward with how he is in the story too. Dramatic, relentless, but also very heroic, a man who knows how to get the job done, and it got me invested in him already.
On an artistic level, while I do wish it was more in Toth’s style, that’s not a detriment to the book at all. I love what Jonathan Lau and Andrew Dalhouse bring to the table here. It really sells the tone the book is going for, while looking gorgeous throughout all of it. And then there’s Taylor Esposito’s letters on top of that, that uses various effects to make every sound, every piece of dialogue look the way they should be sounding in my head, and allows for a very immersive experience.
Pick up Space Ghost #1 if you were still somewhat unsure! It’s a very fun book that I highly recommend you to check out.
