Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Shawn Reviews Goth Ghost Girl #1 & 2


As a Darkly Inclined guy I’m a big fan of anything Goth. And I’m a big fan of comics. So when I heard about the Goth Ghost Girl: Bloodbath Kickstarter I eagerly put in my pledge the first day it was announced so I could pick up both Goth Ghost Girl #1 and Goth Ghost Girl #2: Bloodbath. And these books are modern CLASSICS. I highly recommend you get both these books because they are MASTERPIECES!  

Goth Ghost Girl is Lily O’Siris former lead singer of the Punk Goth band Imminent Hour. After being murdered by a deranged fanatic she wanders to and fro trying to help those in need as a vengeance seeking ghost who metes out rough justice on those who deserve it.

Each issue of Goth Ghost Girl has two to three stories. One about Lily as Goth Ghost Girl, and another flashback tale about Lilly’s days among the living. Both stories in each issue interconnect and give us hints to how Lily’s actions in the past had an relate to today. The first story of the first issue An Die Freude is a MASTERPICE. It brilliantly introduces us to Lily and shows us how great a heroine she is. As she reflects on her past life she meets Erin a deeply troubled girl who is being abused by her stepfather. This story is a powerful one and it’ll get you in the feels.  

The second story of the first Issue Rodeo Rage features Lily and her Imminent Hour bandmates helping some farmers save their land from a rich developer. This one is a more lighthearted tale, but has many of the dark undertones of An Die Freude. From Rodeo Rage we get an insight into what drove lily when she was alive and how it motivated her to do what was right. Dead or Alive Lily’s a hero readers will want to root for and anticipate getting her next issue.

-->
The first story of the second issue Bloodbath is a CLASSIC. It takes a moment to take a playful shot many of the tropes at modern so-called SJW comics before introducing us to Diablo the cat, who may be a familiar to Lily. As the story goes on we find out what happened to Lily’s bandmates in Imminent Hour after she was murdered and what happened to her late boyfriend Skunk ain’t pretty. In the aftermath, we get a hint to why Lily is stranded on earth and that mystery has me anticipating putting in a pledge for the next issue.

The second story gives us another look into Lily’s past with Ultimate Super Music Stars. This one reminded me a lot of 1980s Jem and the Battle of the Bands.  This was a fun lighthearted story that showed Lily’s love for her boyfriend Skunk in the past and her love for Goth music. 


I LOVED both issues of Goth Ghost Girl. John Schillim Jr, and Sergio Quijada capture the spirit of the Goth Subculture in every page of the comic and while they celebrate everything dark they also understand the core foundation of the subculture is the music. Each story in Goth Ghost Girl weaves a tapestry of past and present that has the reader anticipating the next issue so they can find out more about Lily’s past and how it relates to the future. I love the way John Schillim Jr. crafts the stories in Goth Ghost Girl giving these supernatural characters like Lily humanity and heart and I love the way he uses subtlety nuance, Irony and foreshadowing to tell a tale that is haunting and moving. And Sergio Qujiada’s art is so dynamic in An Die Freude and Bloodbath reminds me of the best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series Like Heart of Ice. I can’t wait for John and Sergio to announce the next Kickstarter, because I definitely want to read the next issue!

Goth Ghost Girl is one of the best comics in the medium today and I highly recommend you pick this one up on Comixology. This comic could be a collector’s item in the future, from what I’ve read in the comics I could easily see Lily’s story as an Adult Swim Animated series, or action figures in the future. So you definitely want to pick this one up today!

No comments:

Post a Comment