Straight Forward Reviews : Ghost Town volume 1

The Action Lab Danger Zone title Ghost Town now has it's first arc collected into one neat paperback. Is it worth owning and getting started with the Ghost Town series? Find out here in Straight Forward Reviews.

Writer - Rob Rudell, Dave Dwonch, Ryan K. Lindsay

Artist - Justin Greenwood (issue 1) Daniel Logan (issue 2 - 4)

Publisher - Action Lab

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

Terrorists have taken over a time machine and sent bombs to unknown points in the future. One such bomb is set for D.C but no one knows when it will appear and go off.

The first issue details how the terrorists got the time machine and the set up for why Washington D.C is the way it is in the rest of the series. Starting with the second issue you enter into the life of Nate Lawson a man who will go into the predicted blast zone to retrieve things, for the right price of course. From here on there's quite a nice thriller story featuring crime lords, a woman, and Nate's mission to retrieve that woman for someone. There's a lot of tension around the story due to how run down D.C is and the impending threat of a nuclear bomb going off at some unknown time.

There's also plot twists. Plot twists, that are so unexpected you wonder if anybody is going to stay alive in the end at all.

Characters

Characterization is strong in this series. When you get to who the real, or seemingly, the main protagonist is you get a lot of developments that flesh him out and flesh the other characters and even the city out too. What's better is that it's pretty much all done during the story. Instead of flashbacks or heavy dialog the comic just has personalities and how the city's nature is revealed through the story. This method of having the characters reveal themselves "naturally" really helps the pacing as well which makes the comic more fun and not a chore at all to read. It also really gives a hook for reading the next issue so you can see just what the heck the characters are going to do next.

Art

Both artists runs on this series were well done. The first artist on the first issue had a gritty style that really worked well with the dark story, especially with how dark the first issue. In the second issue on when it focuses on specific characters in the seemingly doomed Washington, D.C the artist uses a stylized dynamic look. Both look great and both serve the story well.

Verdict

The cons in this first arc of the series are that the story seems a tad bit confusing. The premise is not hard to follow, neither are the characters exploits but at first I have to admit I wasn't sure who the characters were exactly save for the main character. The pros are that this is a very mature story that has well written characters and a premise that's intriguing and makes for a nice thriller. If you want a good thriller with the kind of plot twists that may make you yell "why would they do that?" then this is right up your alley. I give Ghost Town volume 1 a 9 out of 10.

Straight Forward Reviews: Ghost Town # 2

Here's another edition of Straight Forward Reviews. This time I'm looking at the second issue of Action Lab Danger Zone's Ghost Town. Like with Jirni I had also read issue 1 and was ready to review it. Anyway I guess better late than never.

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

This issue goes into the lives of the people affected by the actions taken by the terrorists from the 1st issue. The writing is fantastic, especially the dialog. It goes into different characters lives and each of them act and speak like believable humans.

The messenger boy and the drug lord have different stories and are affected by the events that turned D.C into a ghost town differently. But both are totally engaging. Not only are they engaging but they're interesting since they're both very different kinds of people. One is someone who's trying to help people and of course the other being a criminal is robbing stores and the like. Seeing the two stories side by side really opens up the narrative and lets you see the world of Ghost Town for what it is, and not just as one person sees it.

Art

The art is well done.  It's a bit of a mix between cartoon like art and a more detailed painting. Considering the story where it's set in Washington D.C and everything is more or less realistic but with some science fiction elements like time travel the art style does a perfect job of reflecting the story.

Verdict

This is a great story about intriguing characters and a clever time traveling idea. No super heroes, no outlandish action sequences (there is good action still though) and no thin storytelling. It's well paced,and well written. You will get sucked into it I'm sure. This is a fine example of good storytelling. Pick this up and tell all your friends to do the same. Or rather pick the 1st issue and this up and tell your friends. You'll kick yourself for missing this story. I give Ghost Town issue 2 a 9 out of 10.