Ghost Omnibus, Volume 1

I really like this series. The artwork is sometimes amateurish and ugly, especially on some of the male characters, but since Elisa hates men, maybe that is fitting? I wasn't quite sure if the issues in this omnibus were issues 1,2,3, etc in the series. They seemed mostly disconnected, and secondary characters don't get much of a chance to develop. I did enjoy the appearance of Barb Wire, though. What could've improved this omnibus: issue numbers next to the titles on the table of contents, and a cover art gallery at the back of the book. Some of the covers really were stunningly beautiful. The artwork on this cover was taken from the 1995 tpb "Ghost Stories", and is still gorgeous. I'm hoping volume 2 will be better and tie up the loose ends (for both Elisa and us, the readers).

In the mid-90s Dark Horse launched a superhero line called Comics Greatest World (later Dark Horse Heroes) with Ghost as one of their breakout stars. This series omits her first appearance (the Dark Horse Heroes Ominbus has it) but takes on the first several issues of her series. Ghost is a literal ghost, a young woman killed and returned from the dead with no memories of who she was but a burning hatred of men who hurt women. Throughout this book she takes on a series of creepy superpowered misogynists in her quest to find her killer. Early art by Adam Hughes is very good and a tough act to follow but the artists do a good job of keeping up the high standards. The design is worth mentioning too, everything has a sheen of 30s art deco, cars, buildings and even the fonts give this a classy look. The series has its problems though. Ghost bounces from superpowered threat to threat and her personality remains trapped in the same rut. The villains are interesting but all of them seem to be cut from the same cloth, evil misogynists with no origin and no motivation other than being evil. Because Ghost was part of a larger comic universe characters from other books enter and leave with barely any explanation. The writer just assumes we're picking up their books as well. Her supporting cast never gets much time and by the end of the book are mostly out of the picture. The final battle is resolved by a deus ex machina that is never explained. Even Ghost herself is left frustrated and wanting answers. Ghost's origin is never explained and the writer cannot seem to decide if she is a ghost or flesh and blood. Early on he says she must concentrate to become solid however she soon spends days as an ordinary human and is even affected by drugs and gases. But on balance it has some good ideas, good action, vile villains, an interesting heroine and maybe there will be some answers in Volume 2.