stilldirty's review
3.0
Really, I give this ★★★½, but don't want to round it up and just give it 4. This was enjoyable and entertaining, but, for me, the "ghostly" aspects of it were a little ineffectual; they just never came off as very spooky, and seemed employ probably the wrong kind of ambiguity that's appropriate for spooky storytelling. Regardless, it's pretty well-tailored, and had a good mood and overall feel to the visual narration and cultural details. Last "but": the art didn't lend itself to the story. It seemed a bit too light, or clean, or something that basically made the spookiness seem watered-down, or juvenile, despite the mature dialogue, which makes me feel it's almost aimed at youth-ish age groups, but cuts itself off from the younger groups simply because there's an... "odd"... moment when the lead female is "acceptably" nude (read: carefully covered, but basically necked). I don't regret this book at all—I do like it—it just made me feel like giving a more honest review instead of the "hands-down, too-awesome-to-give-it-less-than-★★★★★ because it's a new favorite" type of review. This book is simply "good," and I would read "Volume 2," (at a very discounted rate to be worth my time and money) even though I don't believe this will ever make a series. Last thing, the glow-in-the-dark cover was a very nice touch.
mistled's review
3.0
More of SPCtYPDKED!*
Small press comics have some things going for them. They aren't bound to decades of title history. They don't have exact schedules that they absolutely have to keep. And they can attempt storylines that won't make it into Spider-Man any time ever. Most importantly in my view, if they have a small story to tell, they can just tell it and be done. There are lots of 4-comic series out there because that's what the story was, so they told it and stopped. That's when things go well.
Other times a series just dies without being completed due to those same freedoms. The reason they can do much of the above is because they don't have a zillion people expecting the next issue of Iron Man from them. So my latest foray into the world of small press comics is, as always, fraught with uncertainty. If you see an interesting work from ten years ago, you can't just start reading it. You either need to go lookup if this run actually finished or just prep yourself for a story stopping in the middle.
Anyway, Ghost Projekt falls into the first camp, where the writer had a five-issue story to tell and told it. Done.
This story follows an American chemical weapons inspector working with some Russians to track down something stolen from the long defunct Dosvedanya Project. Of course, that was decades ago and no one actually knows what they were creating, so no one knows what they're looking for. The art is fine, not great. The writing is pretty good, though the random sprinkling in Russian words was odd, and the overall story was interesting. Anything earth-shattering here? No. But it's a good time. Unlike a lot of small press comics, it actually wraps up well. And there is at least one ghost. Perhaps not something you should specifically hunt down, but if you see it at your library (I'd be stunned, first of all), give it a read.
3.5 stars
*edit* - Here on GR, this says "Vol. 1". As far as I can tell, there is no Vol 2. There were five issues, one story arc, and they are all in this HC. Just FYI.
* Small Press Comics that You Probably Didn't Know Existed Day
Small press comics have some things going for them. They aren't bound to decades of title history. They don't have exact schedules that they absolutely have to keep. And they can attempt storylines that won't make it into Spider-Man any time ever. Most importantly in my view, if they have a small story to tell, they can just tell it and be done. There are lots of 4-comic series out there because that's what the story was, so they told it and stopped. That's when things go well.
Other times a series just dies without being completed due to those same freedoms. The reason they can do much of the above is because they don't have a zillion people expecting the next issue of Iron Man from them. So my latest foray into the world of small press comics is, as always, fraught with uncertainty. If you see an interesting work from ten years ago, you can't just start reading it. You either need to go lookup if this run actually finished or just prep yourself for a story stopping in the middle.
Anyway, Ghost Projekt falls into the first camp, where the writer had a five-issue story to tell and told it. Done.
This story follows an American chemical weapons inspector working with some Russians to track down something stolen from the long defunct Dosvedanya Project. Of course, that was decades ago and no one actually knows what they were creating, so no one knows what they're looking for. The art is fine, not great. The writing is pretty good, though the random sprinkling in Russian words was odd, and the overall story was interesting. Anything earth-shattering here? No. But it's a good time. Unlike a lot of small press comics, it actually wraps up well. And there is at least one ghost. Perhaps not something you should specifically hunt down, but if you see it at your library (I'd be stunned, first of all), give it a read.
3.5 stars
*edit* - Here on GR, this says "Vol. 1". As far as I can tell, there is no Vol 2. There were five issues, one story arc, and they are all in this HC. Just FYI.
* Small Press Comics that You Probably Didn't Know Existed Day
markandcover's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
noysh's review
3.0
Rolston's art was great. The binding and the glow-in-the-dark cover were clever. The story itself was a great idea, but plotted in a manner that proved to be entirely lacking in suspense.
squidbag's review
4.0
Interesting and well illustrated drama about Cold War consequences and personal betrayal. Good characters, nice moral ambiguity. I liked this. And the covers glow in the dark.
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