Ghost stories inhabit an interesting space in terms of narrative. More often than not, they’re stories told to the audience about ghosts and usually incorporate some element of faith – one has to believe in order to accept that the tale has weight and meaning, whether it is true or not. Ghostlore #1, out this week from BOOM! Studios and written by Cullen Bunn with art from Leomacs, takes that space and those elements and twists the dial just a bit. While, as readers we very much are getting “stories about ghosts”, the book is giving us those stories from the ghosts themselves, wrapped a bit in the faith (or lack thereof) of the humans at the center. The result is an issue that feels like a promising inspection of the things that we carry and what real faith means.
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In Ghostlore #1, Lucas Harmony is a preacher in a town where he finds his congregation dwindling and his children—Harmony and Chris—increasingly estranged. As they head home from services one Wednesday evening, a combination of a family disagreement and Harmony seeing something unusual leads to a catastrophic accident, which in turn leaves Lucas and Harmony the only survivors and both with the ability to see the dead. It quickly becomes apparent that the dead have something to say.
Generally speaking, Ghostlore #1 isn’t exactly an original story. The idea of people gaining the ability to see and hear the dead and the implications—both good and bad—about this development have long been the fodder of many supernatural stories. But what is different here is the difference between Lucas and Harmony. Lucas is initially positioned as a trustworthy spiritual leader, but the issue slowly seems to pull apart that idea to reveal him as perhaps a bit of a fraud in his faith while Harmony, the daughter desperate to get away from the small town and her family, is the one with surprising compassion. There’s also the undercurrent that something even spookier than simple ghosts might be part of this story. The first issue does a lovely job of setting up the required backstory and putting our players in their spots on the board and giving the reader just enough to work with so that we want more, which is especially useful since there some moments that are just a touch confusing.
In terms of art, Ghostlore #1 is quite good. The whole issue very much has a vintage horror feel, but without the darkness one might expect. Much of this is achieved by the colors, but there is some fantastic work with the actual line drawing as well – there’s an image where we see Harmony in what is clearly her quickly turning her head and the expression of that action is fantastic. The use of color is also expertly applied when shifting between the present and a brief flashback of sorts when we get the most groundwork for the nightmare that is lurking at the edges of the story. It’s well executed and elevates the story.
Ghost stories can be tricky, but Ghostlore #1 manages to set up an interesting approach to the genre. By changing the perspective of who the storytellers are and applying matters of faith in a way that doesn’t necessarily feel cliched, all while adding an undercurrent of something darker, this debut issue creates just enough interest and elevates the genre in a way that makes it clear readers should get invested in what happens next.
Published by BOOM! Studios
On May 10, 2023
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Leomacs and Brian Hurtt
Colors by Jason Wordie and Bill Crabtree
Letters by Ed Dukeshire
Cover by Leomacs and Brian Hurtt
