Space Ghost #9: Epilogue Meets Prologue

New villain Sorceress traps the trio of heroes in their own minds in Space Ghost #9, putting each one in a different scenario capable of ending their lives in the real world. Space Ghost’s is fairly ordinary–the hero envisions himself being tortured to the point of death. Jace and Jan’s, on the other hand, are more introspective and continue the series’ recent trend of heavily developing the younger sidekicks.

Jace imagines himself as a logical, almost emotionless hero–the sole survivor of his family and home colony. Jan is reunited with the siblings’ recently deceased grandfather, Doctor Contra. While Jan’s experience in Space Ghost #9 is a more explicit form of loss, both of these imagined scenarios serve as an effective farewell to Jace and Jan’s last family member. The Contra that Jan envisions is somewhat twisted relative to the real one, but it still allows Jan to give voice to the emotions she’s feeling in the wake of Space Ghost #8’s events. In a way, Space Ghost #9 serves as the end of a long arc begun in the series’ most recent first issue when Doctor Contra first entered Jace and Jan’s life in a significant way.

Blip makes a major contribution to Space Ghost #9’s plot. The monkey is seldom front and center in stories, but it’s nice to be reminded that he is a full fledged character in the series even if he is very rarely in the spotlight.

This Space Ghost run’s primary villain makes another appearance here. Pepose has been slow rolling the Time Master since Space Ghost #1, only dropping hints about him here and there. It’s possible that that storytelling choice will be coming to an end soon based on the events of this issue. In that way Space Ghost #9 also serves as a transition issue. Saying goodbye to Doctor Contra and tidying up the arcs involving Jace and Jan clear the way for a new direction in the series. Whether the Time Master will make his first grand appearance in the next issue or the one after or so on, Pepose successfully creates the feeling that one chapter has ended in the current Space Ghost run and another is about to begin.

Lau’s work on Jace and Jan here is outstanding. Lau’s balance of slight detail and restraint from heavy shading has resulted in the youngest characters being very expressive throughout this run. Indeed, his work on Jace and Jan may be the best aspect of what is overall high quality work. Most of Space Ghost #9’s emotional depth results from Lau as he delivers outstanding close-ups on Jace and Jan as they process their grandfather’s death. A scene where Space Ghost presents Jace and Jan with a framed picture of the two of them with Contra is especially effective. Subtle shading develops rich facial expressions while heavier fields of black on their bodies emphasizes a slumped posture. Pepose writes a great scene, but it’s Lau’s art that truly sells it.

Likewise, Lau is largely responsible for the Blip sequences working. He manages to deliver an expressive monkey without ever drifting toward anthropomorphization. Additionally, the poses he draws Blip in are dynamic, and there is the real sense of him moving as fast as the script implies.

Space Ghost #9’s coloring is subdued relative to most issues. This is largely the result of the assorted characters using their powers and weapons considerably less. A typical Space Ghost issue sees a significant amount of action with bursts of color that jump off the page. The restraint here plays very well into Jan’s sequence with her imagined Doctor Contra. Dalhouse casts the scene between the two characters in shadow, surrounding the characters with a twilight blue backdrop while also implying heavier shadows. This contrasts heavily with Jan’s push back on the fake Contra which takes the form of columns and waves of bright shades of pink. It’s a literal banishment of the darkness in her mind.

Esposito’s choice to use a bright yellow fill for the sound effect of this mental blast from Jan keeps the sound effect from stealing any focus in this sequence. Frequently in Space Ghost Esposito’s choices for sound effect font and color make them stand out even against Dalhouse’s vivid coloring. They don’t steal the show, but they definitely make their presence felt. Here the color choices work very well together, letting the colorful banishment of the fake Doctor Contra stand out not just in this moment but relative to the rest of the issue.