Reviewer: Andy Campbell
Story Title: Reprisals
Written by: Joe Kelly
Art by: Ariel Olivetti
Lettered by: Richard Starkings
Cover by: Alex Ross
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Publisher: DC Comics
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Space Ghost. I initially picked it up because I loved Space Ghost Coast to Coast…the Alex Ross covers didn’t hurt either. What I’ve gotten, though, is a story that’s decent enough, with some tremendous art to go along.
The story is sort of a typical story of a person who lost everything taking revenge on those who took everything away. It’s basically The Punisher in space. :-) That said, it’s still a pretty cool look at Space Ghost, pre-goofy talk show. Plus, at the end, we get another character very familiar to the Space Ghost mythos…
The art is where this book really shines. As I said, the Alex Ross covers are really cool. However, this book wouldn’t be nearly as good without the extraordinary interior art by Ariel Olivetti. Each page is absolutely breathtaking to behold, and that’s not something I say often. Pick this book up, leaf through it, and you’ll see what I mean. The art is well worth the price of admission by itself.
Not many people ever comment on this, but I think it bears mentioning here: the lettering in this book is remarkable too. You can tell that it’s done by Richard Starkings, a true professional, because there is that extra…je ne sais quoi…about the book. Each character’s dialogue looks like it belongs to him. That’s an extra little bonus for comic book fans.
