Sean Gordon Murphy

After rather serious vol 1 (weird outfits a la Clockwork Orange aside) this volume starts as weird as nightmare caused by overeating at night - Led Dent, now back as Constable high on Juice as always, engages the terrorists from Humpty Dumpty and Alice [from Wonderland, although Cinderella seems to be there too :)] and, while showing Flak's determination not to negotiate with terrorists, basically kills off all the hostages together with terrorists in an epic conflagration.

Flak, with d**k show more swinging right and left decides to leave for Tokyo, where he built the safe haven for rich with clean water and food, and he brings with him murderous maniac Davey and Led in case muscle and firepower is required [and of course all the rich selected by IQ meter at the entry into the ship - this made me laugh I almost choke myself :)]. But what he did not expect is return of Debbie, new protector of Tokyo - she is on the warpath seeking revenge for destruction caused to Tokyo at the end of vol 1 (and if you wondered - she is the ghost from the title).

Art as always is great, panoramas - Flak's residence but also sea beaches of Tokyo - are just wonderful. As I said lots of d**ks and boobs swinging around and we see in general nudity and complete debauchery of the ruling elite (hentai octopus was weeeeeiiiiiiirrrrddd) , but I guess idea is to show how consumerism basically eats and consumes itself. That aside action scenes are just great.

For me this book went a little bit sideways toward cuckoo land, half of it is happening in minds of lunatics like Davey. But the end is good, balances a lot of things (epilogue was buhahahaha moment), we leave Debbie with a loss she needs to come to terms with, and she decides to cope with it through helping others after the events of this book.

Very good SF dystopian book, with accent on how technology is a good slave but terrible master.

Highly recommended. show less

Holy wow! I could NOT put this book down. I had to force myself to be a responsible adult for a bit, but once I picked it back up again, I did not stop reading until I finished. This was such an incredible imagining of the Batman/Joker relationship and all the little ways their tango has affected the people closest to them and the city around them. I loved how I was kept at the edge of my seat, constantly guessing if Jack/Joker was really reformed, and if Batman had really gone off the deep show more end. I loved seeing my favorite vigilante hero as an anti-hero and how people were finally holding him responsible for it. And I loved every gut punch the hidden truths brought the characters, especially Batman. An absolute MUST read for fans of Batman and his darker side! show less

I don't know why some people say this book is boring. I read it in a blink of an eye because the characters and plot are so interesting! It's controversial and may be offensive for some, but who cares? It's just a comic book. Yes, Chris looks like a very angry I-know-it-all punk rocker atheist teenager . But that's exactly who the character is, with his strengths and flaws. And believe me, this book is so much much more than that. Nevertheless, this book raises some important questions, it show more invites you to reflect on religion, society, dogmas, science, moral values. It is also very emotional in some areas, it may leave you with a tear in your eye. It has very nice action scenes, good background stories and good dialogues as well. And the art is simply amazing - Sean Murphy rocks! I really really enjoyed this book, despite agreeing or not with the main character's message. show less

Holy wow! I could NOT put this book down. I had to force myself to be a responsible adult for a bit, but once I picked it back up again, I did not stop reading until I finished. This was such an incredible imagining of the Batman/Joker relationship and all the little ways their tango has affected the people closest to them and the city around them. I loved how I was kept at the edge of my seat, constantly guessing if Jack/Joker was really reformed, and if Batman had really gone off the deep show more end. I loved seeing my favorite vigilante hero as an anti-hero and how people were finally holding him responsible for it. And I loved every gut punch the hidden truths brought the characters, especially Batman. An absolute MUST read for fans of Batman and his darker side! show less