Spotlight: The Ghost System #1 & #2
From Broken Face Comics
Ghost System is from Broken Face Comics and follows Plainer Jane's successful killer story. Issue one is fully funded on Kickstarter, and issue two is available.
Below are links to upcoming Kickstarter campaigns for the series (with the chance to catch up), as well as the Broken Face Comics website and Etsy store.
The book follows the story of Soro, an isolated young man hiding from his broken past, and the dangerous international hacker collective The Ghost System as both sides are brought together in a battle for survival and dominance.
Pushed to the edges of his own sanity and forced to fight on two fronts, Soro wages war on a gang of robbers who attack him in his home; And against a bigger, more sinister, and much more personal enemy.
In issue one we met Soro, a grieving young hacker hunting down the home invaders who destroyed his fragile peace and took the life of his beloved cat, Baxter. Unaware that his actions are being monitored by a dangerous collective, The Ghost System.
In this issue, Soro’s quest for revenge is complicated by his newfound powers, a dangerous group, and a divided city.
By David Wilburn (Writer, creator), Clark Bint (Covers, character design), Tim West (Logos, lettering, print layout), Rafael Romeo Magat (Sequential art), Linda Scott Campbell (Colours) and Samir Simão (Variant cover)
Worldbuilding—I love it! The Ghost System throws you right in and gives you all the necessary information. It's a great initial introduction, and the story has some excellent aspects.
The story has a gratifying hacker aspect, and so many elements are coming in in our ‘real’ world, giving us a different slant on it.
There are embedded chips in people’s heads1 and self-driving cars. The reactions to these are well played out, and I must admit I had a wry smile on my face reading some of the responses to the technology and its use.
There are some problems in this new world. The gangs are still there, and they are causing some issues. The actions of one of these gangs kick off the story.
Soro is an interesting character, and her story framing—chatting to a therapist after an event—is well done. Soro is carrying some trauma, and it shows in her reaction to the initial attack and some of the conversations. This is a stronger issue than the loss of the cat2, and there is a deeper issue to understand there. There are some excellent hints throughout, and I like how slowly this is burning.
Soro is also a fantastic hacker, and his skills are brilliantly used in the revenge matter and an attack on Soro himself!
The attack on Soro is an exciting story and links Soro with the Ghost System. We don’t know much about this and the links, however, broken, with the Ghost System and where this part will lead.
The story's framing is excellent, with some great artwork and colouring combining the darker aspects with the bright lights and neon. The lettering and panelling are well played out, and the story has some brilliant, bold choices.
This is a cyber story to check out and catch up on!
Especially who is doing this…
Understandable