The Good
Markus takes Edzia to Germany where they visit a wedding between two rival families. Obviously, when Markus is around, things aren't going to go as planned and something a bit more sinister is about to happen.
Storywise, I didn't know what to expect. Was this going to be a one-off story that was more filler than anything else or would this be something that was relevant to the upcoming arc? Seeing that Juan Jose Ryp was standing in for art duties on this issue, I figured it would be filler, and of course, I was wrong. This issue really sets the next arc into motion but completely from the perspective from Markus. We get to see what he's planning and how it all pans out.
Seeing the start of this madness, which I will not spoil for you folks, was fantastic. The action within this issue will keep readers on the edge of their seats. It's chaotic and intriguing. It's probably the biggest fight we've seen in the series thus far and it fits the tone and theme of the overall issue. The whole reasoning behind why everything is happening and why Markus and Edzia are at this wedding is the real icing on the cake though. Again, spoiler-free, but it sets up a really cool storyline. That's easily one of the strong points in Joshua Williamson's writing. Conceptually, his stories are fantastic and they're executed just as well.
Juan Jose Ryp does some amazing artwork on this issue, with colorist Miroslav Mrva. Ryp's work on the recently wrapped-up Skybound series CLONE was something to behold and he continues his stylistic tradition of over-packing each page with an insane amount of detail here. Ryp really captures the emotions of the characters he's drawing and here, we get a lot of terror. A part of me kept waiting for Luke Taylor to pop up, but alas, that's another series. Ryp does get in some great visual moments as well where you can see that Ryp really gets this book and its concept.
The Bad
The issue spends a lot of time, which borders on too much time, dealing with the potential wife and groom of this wedding. The first half is good, but it's a real slow start to the issue. While this issue didn't blow me away, it was still a good start to this new story.
The Verdict
The beginning of this new arc to GHOSTED is a tremendous start. While the overall issue started out a bit slow, the reasoning for everything happening here is pretty brilliant. Williamson knows what he is doing here and he's doing it well. The big surprise was seeing Ryp on art. The man is a maniac with detail and I loved seeing these characters in his style. This next arc is promising something really cool and I can't wait to see how it plays out.
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