Space Ghost #8: Old Enemies

How a hero faces defeat can be a defining quality for a character. It’s a situation Space Ghost hasn’t truly found himself in in the course of the series. Space Ghost #8 seeks to examine the character in just that situation.

General Metallus killed Space Ghost’s family once upon a time. Now, in present day Space Ghost #8, Space Ghost answers a distress call from a Galactic Federation ship only to confront the self-styled Iron General once again. In a pitched battle, Space Ghost is separated from Jan and Jace and forced to confront this enemy from his past on his own. But does Space Ghost actually have any hope of beating him?

Space Ghost’s victories aren’t generally overwhelming. Indeed, there have been multiple times when Jace and Jan have made his job much easier. But Space Ghost #8 puts him in a situation where not only has he possibly met his match, but his potential failure comes at the hands of a very personal enemy. Pepose finally sets up the possibility that Space Ghost can and will lose, and it makes for a compelling read.

Jace and Jan work particularly well in Space Ghost #8 because of how helpless they are in the conflict. This child duo has proven almost critical in every mission they’ve gone on with Space Ghost. Sidelining them simultaneously conveys how much they contribute as well as how powerless they can be without Space Ghost.

Pepose drops more backstory hints in Space Ghost #8 and this time they prove truly motivational. The situation Space Ghost finds himself in is entirely the result of his emotional reaction to General Metallus. The most uneven aspect of Space Ghost so far is how much the character started as a kind of gruff superhero blank slate with most of his humanizing coming from an external source via Jace and Jan. This issue provides the best true leap forward in character development so far, and it’s quite welcome.

Lau’s Space Ghost is indomitable. Even in moments of duress and danger, Lau draws a character who simply won’t let himself be defeated. He does the same thing with the titular character in Space Ghost #8. But with the issue putting Space Ghost in a position where he might truly fail, that must eventually be expressed visually. Lau waits until the last possible panel before he subtly changes Space Ghost’s indomitable rage to futile desperation.

Jace and Jan look appropriately shocked throughout the issue. Lau uses a lot of short lines, they might almost be described as scratchy, to create shadows that define his characters. It’s a style he doesn’t use on backgrounds. The result is that characters have greater heft compared to their surroundings, always standing out. Lau is much more conservative with this kind of shading on Jace and Jan. In a general sense it plays up their youth. But here it also reinforces their relative weakness and isolation from the fight between Space Ghost and General Metallus, two much bigger and more powerful characters.

Dalhouse’s most noteworthy work in the issue is the stark contrast between Space Ghost and his powers versus Metallus and his. From costume to energy blasts, Space Ghost is almost warmth personified when set against the cold and dusty blues and grays that define Metallus and his robot servants. Their conflict is one of the darkness versus the light. It’s a bit on the nose given the kind of character Metallus is but it makes for rich and energetic panels during their fight.

Esposito’s use of small dialogue set against the white of disproportionately large dialogue bubbles as an indicator of characters whispering is particularly effective in this issue because of how often Space Ghost talks to himself. This lettering choice is one of the most successful in the series, and the consistency with which it’s used makes several moments in Space Ghost #8 more powerful from a character development point of view.