Ghosted in L.A. #9: The Curse of Being a Ghost

Ghosted in L.A. is taking various plots ahead and, even if the revelations and mysteries multiply, still relies a lot on character work and personal drama. The religious classmate of Daphne, Michelle, is becoming aware of ghosts, and she, even within a more comprehensive faith environment, reacts extremely against them. We get a little bit of her past, and I think it’s brilliant how Sina shows it’s her need of being perfect to the eyes of God, and her rejection of her own defects and needs, what makes her focus so much on Daphne. The story keeps on with the ghosts as queer people metaphor, and this person, who thought Daphne was a “nymphomaniac”, is clearly prone to hate them.

The other plot evolving involves how the ritual made on Shirley has actually unfolded something or someone different. This very Scooby Doo-like part of the story drives us throught some great character interactions, specially when Daphne shows her art to Zola and the ghosts. I can’t help but feel recognized in the way everybody admires Daphne’s art, which she believed to be just a past time. The “craft is art” love message to little artists in these panels is beautiful. Plus, showing home cooking as part of recovering for Daphne (and Shirley)’s mental health process really feels like a believable and beautiful aftermath to last issue’s big cries.

We also move forward with Bernard’s story. While he goes to spy on Ronnie (yes, after “rejecting” him cause of his own insecurities), he thinks of himself as a bad person cause of his jealousy. It’s very empathetic that we’ve shown jealousy here as a way of internalizing negative messages. Since Bernard is a ghost, he doesn’t feel he’s worthy of being desired, like tons of oppressed or traumatized people feel about ourselves, not deserving of love cause of “what” we are. I definitively adore how negative emotions are shown with compassion.

The art really fits the narrative, getting darker when we are shown the more mystery and drama driven scenes (special mention to Cathy and Jeremy’s wide range of colouring). It’s a gift in Siobhan and Sina’s art that the expressions of the characters really can make you feel their emotions, and they’re not afraid of drawing in “naive” and cartoonish ways, like when all the food stains, or like the child-like paintings of the new uncanny character. Those cute and familiar details serve to contrast the less upbeat tone of this particular issue. The cover (by Siobhan too), dark and ghost-y, fits this shift perfectly. We’re finally left at a couple of cliffhangers, and definitively wanting to know what will be of Rycroft’s ghosts.