Eric Luke (1) (1962–)

He knew now that the world was a nightmare that could burst open at any moment, that the life he had known was the illusion, that there were other things behind it that were much more real. Things waiting to come through.

I downloaded this audiobook as a podcast series, in 25 episodes. I would class the story as a crossover between horror and science fiction, as it is a Lovecraftian tale of cosmic horror whose plot is triggered by Orson Welles' radio production of the War of the Worlds. I enjoyed listening to it. I don't want to spoil the story, so I won't say any more about it except that "Interference" was innocuous compared to the books that the main characters were downloading.… (more)

Ghost has been given the key to the heart of the city of Arcadia and has sworn to defend it, but she is distracted by her pain over the loss of her sister. On one of her nightly patrols she saves a young woman and becomes her mentor. Things start looking up for her new friend until she kills herself and becomes a ghost. This leads Ghost to discover a mad scientist named Dr. Trouvaille who is experimenting on the spirits of the recently departed. He calls Ghost “the failed one”. On another nightly patrol she encounters a shadowy woman who resembles the dark side of Ghost. She is another spirit who has comeback with the same hatred of men that Ghost had when she first returned. Ghost wonders why the woman named Silhouette seems familiar, then she realizes it is her sister Margo.

This volume sets up the revelations in [Ghost Omnibus Volume 4]. The stories are important, but don’t have the impact of the other volumes. They are very tame by comparison. I felt like Ghost made some progress in overcoming her hatred of men and finding out who Elisa Cameron was. She fell flat when she tried to be the guardian of the city. She is too wrapped up in her own issues to help save Arcadia from the many evil gangsters and cut throats. Frankly, I don’t know who would actually want to live in Arcadia. It’s a real dump with bad guys out numbering the average populous. Read this volume to get some clues to the major developments in omnibus 4.… (more)

When we first meet Ghost she doesn’t remember who she was or why she died. All she knows is that she hates men. It’s an all-consuming hate that threatens her mind and soul. She becomes a vigilante who targets men who are cruel to women. As she destroys the lives of these men she starts to discover her past. Ghost was Elisa Cameron, a reporter. Her family is a wreck, alcoholic parents and rebellious younger sister. Elisa begins to care for these people and tries to protect them. Her actions against the evil men in Arcadia draw the attention of the major criminals who use and abuse women in the city she haunts. These men put a bounty out on her, but how do you kill someone who it already dead?

What first drew me to this book was the cover. It reminded me of an Alphonse Mucha poster. The artwork is great and consistent throughout the book. The city of Arcadia is a mixture of retro cars, dirigibles, men in fedora hats, women in modern skimpy out fits, bad guys dressed like punks, and superheroes in spandex.

The plot point that intrigued me the most was that Elisa’s hell is of her own making. Her uncontrollable hatred of men actually creates a hell like niche in her own mind. This horrible place becomes so real that it starts to leak into reality. When she releases her hate this world becomes pleasant, but circumstances can bring her hatred and her hell back.

The combination of artwork and a very likeable character made this an enjoyable read. I recommend this comic omnibus to those who are open to reading a story with a strong female character and feminist leanings.… (more)

Well, I must admit that I didn't have very high hopes for this omnibus. I was really let down by the X Omnibus put out by Dark Horse, and when I discovered that he appears in the first issue that this omnibus collects, I was afraid that I wouldn't like this one, either. It didn't help that the reviews were mixed.

So imagine my surprise when I was sucked into the story just a few pages into the first issue, and I stayed sucked in until I finished the entire omnibus.

The story's not for everyone. Elisa is bitter and full of rage towards men, although she doesn't know why since she can't remember anything about her past. And yeah, there are some cheesy moments. Elisa spends a lot of her time in a skin-tight outfit that leaves little to the imagination (she explains her reasoning later on), and a disturbing amount of time either chained up or being mind-controlled and manipulated.

Still, there was just something about the character that I enjoyed. Maybe it was her determination, or her struggles with her rage, or the way she tries so hard to save the sister she doesn't even remember. It didn't hurt that I loved the art - several different artists worked on these issues, and yet they all tried to keep the story in the 1930s-esque style. And it's definitely a good deal; I'm mostly a Marvel zombie, and Marvel charges just as much for half the pages. There's a lot of reading to be had here.

I'll definitely be picking up the second omnibus.… (more)