Posted By Leo Johnson on June 26, 2013

Fabian Gray is an infamous thief with supernatural powers belonging to the five “literary ghosts” from which be borrows them. Using the powers of The Archer, The Detective, The Samurai, The Wizard, and The Vampire, Fabian pulls off impossible heists, but what he really wants, he can’t steal. He’s been searching for a way to make his sister well again, as he believes it’s his fault.

Five Ghosts #4

As Iago attacks Shangri-La, Fabian is deep below in the spring facing his five trials. As Fabian completes increasingly difficult tasks, Zhang Guo and Sebastian are defeated by Iago. As the situation becomes dire in Shangri-La, Fabian’s trials take an unexpected turn.

Five Ghosts #4

Frank Barbiere has written a fantastic story in an often overlooked genre. Pulp seems to be largely unused in comics today, but Barbiere not only wrote a fantastic pulp story, but also incorporated aspects from classic works of literature into it, making it something more entirely. Fabian is an interesting, tortured character. His presence in the series is great, as is the the presence of the ghosts that he draws his powers from. It’s this almost antagonistic dynamic between the Fabian and the ghosts that gives another interesting layer to the overall story.

Five Ghosts #4

Chris Mooneyham‘s art continues to impress. He uses the page to its fullest, often using unconventional panel structure and great details to add a lot to the art of the book. Coupled with the colors by Lauren Affe, this art makes Fabian and his world spring from the page.

As the miniseries nears its end, things are truly becoming dire for Fabian. At the same time, the reader is learning more of the ghosts and how they became bonded to Fabian. Even as the story nears its end, the reader continues to learn new things about the characters and world.

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Categories: Comics, Reviews
Tags: Chris Mooneyham, comics, Fabian Gray, Five Ghosts, Frank Barbiere, Image Comics, Lauren Affe, reviews