A GHOST ARM MADE OF ANGRY GHOSTS (ONI PRESS)
Sixteen-year-old Ari Ackerman’s world is anything but normal.
Ackerman strives to fit into a punk rock scene in Washington D.C. with his best friend Maya. It’s a lofty dream except life has gotten in its’ way. There’s a string of mysterious deaths hovering around him that rained on that parade.
His next door neighbor has his own secret life that become a catalyst for a larger mystery to solve. Oh, was it mentioned Ackerman can turn into a ghost?
A GHOST ARM MADE OF ANGRY GHOSTS by Oliver Mertz, Alex Diotto & Taylor Esposito( Oni Press ) is a story that blazes its’ own path in storytelling.
Let’s take a closer look at what unfolds here.
A GHOST ARM MADE OF ANGRY GHOSTS by Oliver Mertz, Alex Diotto & Taylor Esposito( Oni Press )
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
At it’s core, Ackerman’s acceptance of life becomes the major driving force to this story. There are many personal moments he deals with in his young journey. Readers find out his mother died years prior and his father is losing his battle to cancer. Once the story begins to unfold, new characters come into play that shake things up. The dialogue is sharp in delivery as Maya comes to see Ari. Mertz keeps their friendship very grounded considering the super-powered elements around them. Their trip to a punk show becomes a welcomed break for Ari. This moment of bliss becomes brief as another secret is exposed: Ari’s invisibility.
From this point, the story dives into the balance of superpowers and normalcy. Mertz crafts highly emotional scenes between Ari and his father. Their relationship becomes an anchor to the real world while the super powered aspect starts snowballing. Readers witness some unique twists staged that ripple in aftermath of Emmitt Demo’s death. Demo is the unknown brother to Gamut, the resident superhero and next door neighbor to Ari. This is a truly game-changing moment as the pacing and direction of the story goes in many winding ways.
The timeline jumps around to stagger the reveals as Demo’s death becomes a larger domino to fall with body counts rising. It is captivating in its’ set-up as the surprises keep readers guessing. While the secrets keep unfolding, the quirkiness of this world shine when needed. Mertz stages this for a huge payoff and heartbreaking close. This allows for a more somber feel to finally take stage, offsetting the main plot’s dramatic finish. It is quite the experience and one where processing the weirdness with the human reactions mesh together in a winning fashion.
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Diotto keeps the art very tight in panel structure. By doing this, the reactions of Ari come off more notable as his world is exposed. The sequence where he catches Gamut coming home from saving someone jumps off the page. It sets a high bar to be challenged as the time jump occurs. Once here, the panel locks in on Ari and Maya’s trek to the show. There are unique nods added into panels, making the world stand out for its’ misplaced figures. The show visuals are very normal in showing the awkwardness of dealing with the crowd. This switched gears with a nine grid series leading to Ari’s first shown transformation.
Readers begin to see the heart-wrenching moments where Ari helps his father get to bed. His emotional breaks are unveiled as the smaller panels spotlight the toll on the young boy. The art pivots to the street encounter with Marlowe, a weather controlling ex-con, and Emmitt. The interaction leads to the half panel shocking turn of events. Diotto keeps a formula of five to nine panel grids on the page to illustrate the larger enigma at hand. This move very fluid in assisting in the time jumps while slow rolling the clues out.
Doing this format also gives a very retro feel to the pages. It’s reminiscent of the classic indie 90’s era, which recreated in this moment is exceptional. Using a black and white color scheme adds a great switch into presenting the guilty party of the murders. Pacing helps in locking in on the tense moments. As the story reveals its’ prime suspect, the fallout packs quite a punch. The funeral panels open up the emotional scars. This moves events into a steady landing stop to wrap on. The epilogue pages show varying looks before leaving readers with a wild scenario on the final pages. Fitting for the trippy venture they just went on.
FINAL GRADE: 9
A quirky amalgam of teenage anxiety and clever machinations results in a journey readers will become entangled with from page one. Mertz dabbles into multiple themes with a unique perspective in the script. Diotto constructs a detailed look into the soul of a young teen trying to find a way forward. This is one to stand out form the pack at the LCS for all the right reasons.
Let me know your thoughts on A GHOST ARM MADE OF ANGRY GHOSTS in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
