Review: Spirit Hunters #5 (of 12)
The story opens in Missoula, MT. Ellen is seated with her wrists slashed and twin spirits arrive to accuse her. Then we go to Westchester PA, where the “experts” are discussing her condition. This issue tries to solve the mystery of who the ghosts are that are haunting the Spirit Hunters colleague. This issue is compelling because we want to find out why Ellen, who had been relatively stable, decided to cut herself. I love a good mystery and this one definitely delivers.
The Creative Team:
Shand and Tedesco have always brought us compelling horror stories for the Zenescope brand and this one is in top form with the rest of their horror titles. Spirit Hunters seems to be this companies answer to Ghostbusters, but without the comedic element. Intriguing characters help flesh out the story. This issue is spent trying to convince the skeptics that what’s bothering Ellen is not a mental illness but actual ghosts in the machine. Then Vera starts to act strange as she orders food from a pizza parlor, but only gets cinnamon sticks, while the rest of the gang were expecting pizza. Little touches like this help keep the proceedings in a realistic fashion. They keep the suspense rolling in this issue with creepy happenings around every corner. Great stuff for any horror fan.
Julius Abrera helps to build the suspense with his angles and dark corners. From the opening page when we see Ellen, helpless, cut up and unconscious, Abrera delivers a feeling of helplessness that permeates this issue. When the ghost appears to one of our doubting Thomas’s, Curtis, near the end of this issue, it is a true creep fest which will startle any horror comics fan.
In Conclusion:
I loved the twists we got in this issue. From one of our protagonists behaving like they’re possessed, and, indeed, might very well be. To our heroes’ guessing the motivation of the spirits in this issue. The surprises are many and lead us in a direction that we weren’t expecting. Will Curtis weird behavior be explained? Will he come to his senses before it’s to late? It’s a horror/noir blending of genres that works so well with this issue. I loved it and can’t wait for the next one.
Spirit Hunters #5
Writer – Pat Shand, Ralph Tedesco
Art – Julius Abrera
letters – Taylor Esposito
Color – Jorge Cortes, Slamet Mujiono
Publisher – Zenescope
Publication date – May 2017
About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
Related Posts
Ready for Swimsuit Season? Cheeky Comics Beach Party – NSFW Swimsuit Special →
Zenescope expands its new Monster Hunter Universe with All Guts, No Glory →
Pat Shand Smokes weed and sees the future →
