Marvel Mangaverse: Ghostlocke #1 Review
When the Marvel Mangaverse revival was announced, I was largely uninterested. The approach was interesting enough, bringing in more recent characters into the universe, but even with seeing some of my favourite characters brought in, there was only one book that grabbed me, Ghostlocke. A mash-up of Psylocke and Ghost Rider is a fun enough pitch, but it was bringing back the incredible Alyssa Wong after their far too short Psylocke run that got me interested.
Ghostlocke is a lot more standalone than the other Mangaverse books, there’s some connective tissue but it’s fable to be completely read on its own as long as you read the brief catch up on the credits page and get the general gist of “it’s Marvel but more magical”. While a lot of this series has been 50% backstory, Ghostlocke throws you right in with its simple enough premise, it’s Psylocke, but she’s a Ghost Rider, and her bike is a talking Shinigami (A Japanese Death God). The moniker is a great fit for Kwannon, a character often defined by a search for vengeance, and the comedic partnership with the bike is a great way to break the tension.
And I can’t praise the Ghostlocke name without the incredible design by Michael Yg, swapping the standard ninja aesthetic for biker gear, while still maintaining a lot of the elements of her various looks, like the red sash swapped for a red studded belt and the jacket of her recent Stegman costume now with a neat logo on the back. Instead of the classic flaming skull, Ghostlocke has the classic Psylocke butterfly motif covering half her face, and fully consuming her later on. The telekinetic design is a little more fiery than usual which keeps the butterfly design while still looking badass. And to top it all off, Ghostlocke swaps out the usual Katana for an insanely cool ghost scythe in that pink flame style.
While it’s great to have Wong writing a version of Kwannon again, it’s hard to not see Michael Yg and Raul Angulo work as the best part of the issue. Ghostlocke is far from the only great design in this issue, from the intimidating King Enma, to the great body horror of a reimagined Carnage where the line between flesh and symbiote is a lot more blurred and covering him in so many eyes he looks like he’s infected with the T-Virus. The fluidity of Yg’s linework is incredible for both Ghostlocke’s flames and the goopiness of Carnage, especially as he grows more and more monstrous as the issue goes on. The fight between them is the bulk of the issue, and it’s stunning work, made even better by the vibrant purple of the Ghost Riders flames and the glowing reds giving a supernatural tinge to Carnage design. Letterer Ariana Maher blends some great effects into the action too that really brings it to life.
Despite being a very action driven issue, Alyssa Wong still weaves some great character work for Kwannon into the issue, showcasing how her affection towards lost things drives her to defeat Carnage and rescue some lost, childlike Yokai, drawing a clear parallel between her 616-self and the loss of her child. Her righteous anger and compassion, her singular determination and need for a purpose, all of it is blended perfectly into this short story that just reminds me how great Wong’s brief run on the character was, and I’d love to see more of them writing either version of the character again.
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