The month of scares may be over, but ghosts are always in season in my book. A steady stream of terrible ghost hunter shows is always a favored pick on my cold nights. If you too like the spooks all year ‘round, Spirit Hunters, published by Zenescope, might be a worth your time as well.
Spirit Hunters tells the story of a rag tag group of paranormal investigators as they go on their first mission. It seems that there have been a few unexplained deaths in a Texas hospital and an angry ghosty might be responsible. It’s up to our plucky young protagonists to document the the goings-on, figure out the why and, if possible, put the malicious menace to rest.
What follows is largely a character piece. We have quite a collection of characters taking part in this investigation. You have the young skeptic working the camera, positive that there is nothing extranormal going on here. There’s the punky techie, being flirtatious and rebellious. Two old guys find their way onto the team, both professional and intelligent, something tells me that we might lose one. Finally, we have our central character, a young college student who is probably some kind of psychic, on the tail end of a bad relationship.
The interplay between these characters is usually enjoyable. They give off a sort of Scooby-Doo meets Ghostbusters feeling, though the overall tone is less comedic. Some of the interactions seem a little bit weak, but it’s nothing that threatens to breaks immersion. The story itself is mostly formulaic and predictable, with a twist or two thrown in for good measure, but it feels like a great place to start and get to meet these people.
Julius Abrera’s art shines through on every page, managing to shock its darker tone into life. With the cell phones, fires, and one spooky ghost, the whole comic feels like it glows, cementing the feeling that this world is alive, ghost or not, and reflects our current culture nicely.
I don’t have much more to say about Spirit Hunters, and that’s what I’m afraid of. When I look at a book like this and don’t carry much away from it, it makes be think that this is doomed to be forgotten. There is so much competition out there, not just from other comics but from stellar television, some decent movies, and even games. I’m afraid that this little band of ghost punchers might get lost in the shuffle, especially as we go into the holiday season.
Spirit Hunters is slated for a limited run of 12 issues, and that’s probably my favorite thing about it. Nothing ruins a good story like bloat and I think 12 is a great number for a fast-paced story with limited downtime. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too terribly long for issue two to make its appearance.
The story might be a little easy in this first issue and the characters could use some fine tuning, but it leaves them plenty of space to play with. Despite the few problems, I thoroughly enjoyed Spirit Hunters, from cover to cover. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride because the spooks are going to just keep coming.
