By Dustin Cabeal

Much of what I am going to say about Ghost Cage is going to be unpopular. Artist/Co-Writer Nick Dragotta is very beloved from his successful Johnathan Hickman comics also from Image Comics. There will be a lot of people rooting for his success as he strikes out as a writer/artist, very few will offer criticism for him and Caleb Goellner to grow as creators. Such is fandom in its current form.

Ghost Cage is a high concept story void of any characters. There are several personas, but we spend so little quality time with them that the end results are an outline of a character. Check boxes of personality traits, without the personality. And each character is to the extreme.

The high concept comes in the form of energy consumption. Something that continues to be on the minds and mouths of the world especially as we watch the events in Ukraine unfolding and the world reacting with sanctions towards Russia. Yes, there has never been a more poignant time for a comic about energy to hit than right now. Sam is introduced to us via a holographic man with a pompadour. He tells Sam that they are the future of energy and launches them into an energy reactor. There Sam fights their sibling, Coal. It is a visual representation of Coal as an energy source, followed by a battle with Hydro. Accompanying Sam is Doyle… from tech support. Doyle has an unwavering sense of optimism and loyalty to the company she works. Tagging along with Doyle and Sam is a Ghost mascot, Hologram papi on a backpack and a corporate espionage assassin.

It is a genius idea to have a new energy source fight against old energy sources. It is a literal fight of what Green Energy developers are faced with as they must sell their new energy to the consumer. It’s just that it is a comic book instead of a pamphlet that you are not going to read, and I am sure there is more comic shenanigans to come. Again, it is high concept and that is what makes it interesting.

Hologram papi is by far the most well-rounded character, but his schtick gets old instantly. His dialogue feels endless and several of his gags are well-worn. He calls Doyle anything but Doyle, from “boil” to “toil” until Doyle corrects Hologram papi showing moxie. What little of this world we are shown seems crazy and uncaring, but even still Doyle’s character does not make sense. Doyle’s blind loyalty to the company and willingness to just go along with the assignment in the hope of climbing the corporate ladder while helping Sam fight physical embodiments of the energy industry a massive suspense of disbelief. At least with “Battery Boy” Sam we are seeing a new energy creature with one eyeball shot from the sky to take on their elders. It sounds silly and is a little, but that is the hero of the story. Doyle on the other hand is our human connection, our grounding element and if it does not feel believable that they did not turn tail and run when they were put on a giant elevator with a gun and told to be a babysitter, then it makes the high concept feel more silly than serious.

Perhaps that is the goal. To just have dumb comic book fun, in which this first issue is fairly successful at, but with a serious subject matter like energy and Dragotta’s detailed and realistic art style the message gets jumbled. Is there even a message at all or was this just a cool concept that spun into a tower climbing adventure?

The one absolute positive thing I will say about this first issue is the black and white art from Dragotta. It is strange to me that we still so rarely see black and white comics in this current era. Millions of readers are digging into manga routinely and absorbing black and white artwork and yet it is a rarity to find something like Ghost Cage monthly in comics. Dragotta’s artwork shines brightly in all black and white. There is something more dynamic about it and a greater sense of flow to the artwork. If for some reason, I find out that this review copy was a fluke and that the book is colored I would drop it in an instant. I would write a correction and lower the score. I do not think that is the case at all because Dragotta clearly has a brilliant understanding of how to create a black and white page, using the negative space and creating a detailed and rich scene. There are no hollow outlines wishing to be filled, but instead powerful designs highlighting technic and skills. The only gripe with the art is that the battles are short and underwhelming with their conclusions. Coal should have been the only battle of the issue, instead it is finished within a mere few pages with Hydro waiting for the same.

Ghost Cage has a lot of potential, but I do not review potential. This first issue is not without its problems and its pretty apparent that Dragotta is finding his voice as a writer with Goellner either along for the ride or for guidance. It is not all there yet. The story’s tone is not fully established, and our possible main character is just an eyeball with a body. It is comic fun for sure, but the high concept needs more thought, and the art steals the show with every page. Hopefully, the creators will continue to grow and improve with each issue. As I am more curious to see issue thirteen of Ghost Cage than I am of issue two, but the ride will at least be entertaining until we get there.

Art/Co-writer: Nick Dragotta
Co-writer: Caleb Goellner
Lettering & Design: Rus Wooton
Cover Colors: Frank Martin Jr.
Editor: David Brothers