24 pages, priced at $2.50, from Dark Horse Comics. Written by Mike Mignola, art by Scott Benefiel. Sold in comics shops and by mail.
"A hundred years of mob war over gambling, prostitution, drugs, whatever. A century of thugs killing each other in the street with way too many innocent people getting caught in the middle. Where does all that blood go?"
It goes into the premise of the Ghost/Hellboy Special, and this comic kicks. Violently.
It kicks the city of Arcadia to its knees. Ghost is slain and raining death on the thugs of Arcadia. Hellboy is hunting Ghost for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, and for the added sales from two popular characters in one title.
The result is a dark, violent tale of shadows.
Undeniably, some will find its violence excessive, either ignoring or overlooking its proper purpose in a story, forgetting that even the Bible is violent. The Bible correctly paints violence as ugly sin, and its only justified use as defense.
Unquestionably, some will find the writing exceptional. Ugly, hard, cold, it sets the tone both for the decadence of Arcadia and its citizens. Tight, fast and pointed, it turns the second rate character of Ghost into a first rate player by making her The Shadow (another famous vigilante), in a dress.
Unequivocally, the art is outstanding. Its balance of action and a claustrophobic fatalism is intriguing. It knows when to visually talk and when to say nothing in background detail. It implies more violence than is actually shown.
Undisputable, this violence is acceptable, and the Ghost/Hellboy Special is highly recommended for unabashed comics fans.
Reviewed by Michael Vance
