Written by Matheus
Filmmaker by day, Wishlistmaker by night. Kamala Khan’s unofficial PR team since 2014.
The 90s are calling cause’ Image Comics imprints are the frenzy once again!
What Is a Ghost Machine?
Think of them as a creative media studio that produces comics, much like James Tynion IV’s Tiny Onion. Ghost Machine was founded by some of the biggest names in the industry, particularly artists primarily known for their DC work.
You have Geoff Johns as the spearhead, known for Modern Age, character-defining runs on The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, JSA, Justice League, and many more. Joining him are Brad Meltzer, known for Identity Crisis; Gary Frank, Johns’s collaborator on Doomsday Clock; Bryan Hitch, whose cinematic work in The Ultimates and The Authority changed superhero comics forever; Jason Fabok, who you may know from Batman: Three Jokers; Francis Manapul, the other half behind that addictive Flash run with Johns; Peter J. Tomasi, whose Superman and Super Sons runs will catch your heart and never give it back; and TV veterans Lamont Magee and Maytal Zchut.
I like to call them the GJSA - Geoff Johns’s (Friends) Society of America.
Ok. Thank you for the classroom roll call, dude - what’s this actually about?
I’d describe the studio as DC Comics without borders. A lot of cool ideas from veterans known for two things: character work and worldbuilding. That’s exactly what this is. You’ll feel like you’re reading Big Two comics but without the overbearing editorial fear hanging behind them. I mentioned the ’90s because it’s easy to associate this with the origins of Image Comics - creators realizing their value and deciding to work for themselves.
They have multiple universes of continuity, each with its own feel and vibe. Inside those universes, you’ll find several titles that showcase each creator’s style. So if you want the connected-universe feel DC and Marvel give you, but you’re tired of the same old IPs, here’s your menu of fresh options. Good news - it’s all still in its early phases, so you can jump right in. The titles are also, for the most part, very readable on their own - set up so you gain more the further you read, but you won’t lose anything by picking only what speaks to you.
It all starts with the one-shot Ghost Machine #1. It basically establishes two former Geoff Johns properties as part of this universe and gives you glimpses of all the others.
Let’s lay it all out for you.
The Unnamed Universe
By Geoff Johns, Gary Frank and Brad Anderson
This is the house selling card - the most straightforward interconnected universe, a mix of action superhero books with historical fantasy, adding in touches of sci-fi goodness. It takes place across different time eras, going from a magic reimagining of America’s Revolutionary War to a post-apocalyptic chaotic western.
This is the author’s take on American history and its future - a well-developed discourse on the country’s forever war with itself and others, with a simple and effective focus on the ordinary man turned superhero figure.
It’s very fresh in how it’s not a deconstruction of cape comics (something we’ve been addicted to for the last - what? - forty years?) but instead functions as a powerful use of the genre’s best qualities, acquired through years of experience.
Readable is the word here - not in a sarcastic “tolerable” tone but in the “addictive” camp.
The Titles:
Geiger
The plot: A nuclear bomb from an unnamed war destroys America, devastating not only what we know as life but also the heart of Tariq Geiger, a man who faced a battle with cancer - now he’s the only one protecting the bunker his family barely escaped into. But Tariq became something else when the bomb hit, of course - he glows green and holds indescribable power. In this new world, an apocalyptic, Mad Max-infused desert, he stands guard so nothing can reach his loved ones. The only problem is, neither can he.
Our take: It’s clever in its simplicities - the inner battle of a man the world only sees as a monster just screams “good comic starting point” - but it’s also incredibly wise in how it surprises you. I kept repeating the “repertoire” word in this article not because I want to sound like a smart-ass, but because experience really helps you understand how good this book is. Geiger’s strength as a character comes from how familiar he feels and how easy it is to relate to him. Outside of that, the worldbuilding is fascinating, using bits and pieces of everything to form a whole. We kinda expect Mad Max, but we don’t expect criminal organizations inspired by classic genres - Camelot knights, gangster casinos, Hollywood’s Golden Age, horror Frankenstein castles, and many other delightful touches. If you love Geoff Johns’s work, this is a bit of a dream come true. But even if you just enjoy superheroes in general, chances are you’ll find exactly what you like in this title.
Geiger Volume 1 TP
Geiger Volume 2 TP
Geiger Volume 3 TP
Geiger Volume 4 TP
Junkyard Joe
The plot: Muddy Davies is a comic-book author known for his character Junkyard Joe, a funny little robot-soldier that has been entertaining generations in Sunday strips all across the world. Little-known fact, though: Joe is actually a real robot Davies met when he was in the trenches in the Vietnam War. A secretive, retired government experiment, the now-confused Joe has gone back online and is on the lookout for Muddy, whom he thinks is his real father. But his real creator, a much more evil figure, is coming to get him. That’s a problem for the Munn family—a recently moved-in dad with his three kids who just lost their mother—who will soon find that living next door to a recluse writer is way more adventurous than they thought.
Our take: If you ever wished John had kept writing JSA forever, this is for you—particularly the Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E.S. ones that inspired the criminally underrated TV show. John knows how to write families and has been using comics as a way to deal with feelings like grief and fatherhood for a while. His Shazam also rings similar bells here. He nails the voice of middle-America kids who feel like outsiders, and Joe—this Iron Giant–inspired, adorable, and dangerous figure—gives this book its heart. And heart is something these pages have to spare. Adorable and concise, it can very much be read like a YA graphic novel, or also expanded when Joe comes into the above Geiger-lore eventually.
Redcoat
The plot: The founding fathers are actually a magic cabal, and Simon Pure, a British redcoat, is accidentally turned immortal after a series of misfortunes in 1776. He now goes on with his life dying and coming back to life, drinking, meeting a series of historical figures (whose stories are not what you think), and getting into all sorts of adventures while fighting all sorts of evil. And probably dying again in the end—just for the hell of it.
Our take: I’m bringing up the good ol’ JSA reference again because Simon is very much a character who could be a (reluctant) part of that team. It reminds me of Starman by James Robinson in a sense (also known as one of the best DC books ever made). He’s funny in that very bad-boy, Constantine-style British lad way, full of oys and whatnots, with a heart of gold, who cannot seem to stay out of trouble. The first arc has Kid Einstein reinvented as his sidekick, and boy, do I enjoy the reluctant-father figure dynamic cliché here. I would argue that the cliché in the Ghost Machine wording should be read as the same sensation popcorn butter gives you at the cinema—you could eat something else, sure, but it sounds absurd not to choose popcorn. It even enhances the flavor when the authors hide a sweet popcorn underneath to surprise you. Redcoat is very much the sweet popcorn of the line. Going back to the Starman inspirations, there are sparkles of that annual-reunion gimmick from that book here, which I’m sure must be a direct reference (and I hope it continues to develop to anywhere near the quality of the original). Simon is very much the Wolverine of Ghost Machine—born to be a fan-favorite obsession. We do love our good bad boys.
Redcoat TP Vol 01
Redcoat TP Vol 02
Also in this universe is Tales of the Unnamed: The Blizzard, a one-shot stand-alone story about a group of prisoners that are stranded in a blizzard and guilt catching up to them at the same pace the monsters do.
Rook: Exodus (The sci-fi universe)
By Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson
Well, this is not yet a proper universe as it is one standalone book that is constructing it;s own mythology. For now it's just Rook: Exodus and it's all you will need
The plot: Earth is doomed, and the upper classes decide to leave for a new planet, Exodus—a bioengineered world controlled by a single corporation. The only way to go there if you don’t have the means (and so many do not) is to pledge your life as a Warden, where you are trained to control the planet’s fauna using proprietary technological helmets. This is the case for our lead, Rook, a former farmer who lost everything and everyone. But when this new planet descends into chaos and malfunctions, mass evacuations happen once again—for the rich, of course—with the company vowing to return for their employees, something they never did. Now, Exodus is an apocalyptic-nightmare: a hunt for either spare parts to build a rocket and escape, or to gain control of the entire planet through the helmets. Rook has the bird’s helmet, and he is about to discover a new purpose on this planet full of mutations and corporate secrets.
Our take: My favorite book of them all. Evocative of Power Rangers, Thundercats, and other Saturday morning cartoons, but treated with an Absolute DC/Ultimate Marvel approach, bringing together the best qualities of all these elements. Action-forward and intensely fun in a captivating way, with glorious art by Fabok. This is the type of book you want to buy immediately—the action fires on all cylinders, and the cool designs alone make it irresistible. In the middle of this, there’s again a very human story of grief, and the tension between predestination and destiny—ways to explore self-fulfillment and confidence in yourself. But all of this is delivered alongside the sci-fi and worldbuilding you want from a comic.
Family Odysseys
Very Silver-Age inspired, this is an all-ages adventure universe, with stories that have a family-style comedy vibe. It’s all very fun, colorful, and bright, but that doesn’t mean the stories lack complexity or dark undertones. There is serious story progression, but it’s written with the same levity you get from reading Flash-family books or Teen Titans.
The Titles:
The Rocketfellers
By Peter J. Tomasi and Francis Manapul
The plot: A 26th-century family is dislocated to the 21st century by the Time Zone Protection Program. They hold the key to the planet’s future survival while also having to deal with family issues and our dreadfully archaic 2020s.
Our take: The Fantastic Four inspirations probably hit immediately upon reading the tagline, and I can confirm they come through while reading—but in more of a veneration-of-the-material sense than a carbon-copy indie vibe. Especially if you’re a fan of John Byrne and Mark Waid and want a weird mix of their approaches, you’ll be very happy. It’s easy to enjoy each character individually, and the book does a good job grounding their dramas in relatable aspects, while not shying away from threatening characters from the future—characters with different mentalities and expectations than ours. Walking this tightrope, the book finds a mix between sitcom and Jules Verne-style pulp, and it clearly delivers on the purpose of the line. As a kid who loved Meet the Robinsons and was angry we never got a sequel, this makes me very fulfilled.
Hornsby and Halo:
By Peter J. Tomasi and Peter Snejbjerg
The plot: Heaven and Hell strike a peace deal, and to seal it, they give angel baby Zachary Halo to be raised by a demon family, and Rose Hornsby, a demon baby, to be raised by an angel family. What a great idea—they should promote the guy who suggested it. Of course, all seems well until the kids reach puberty and start developing abilities that make them question everything they believe.
Our take: Adorable—like a Cartoon Network show that was lost to time and made its way into comics. The demon-family ways of raising a kid and Zach’s down-on-his-luck vibe are particularly funny and set the tone for the book. It’s a wonderful metaphor for middle-class America, showing how kids from different lives and belief systems can share the same space and speak the same language. The sensation the book gives is like being 12 and picking up a book at the library, full of “you’re the chosen one” moments and pointy humor that will make you remember falling in love with Percy Jackson (or your generation’s equivalent). It’s full of hijinks and enough danger to make this a perfect alternative if all the Goosebumps are already checked out. (Was it just my school? Picking up Goosebumps was harder than getting an immigration visa, I swear.)
Hyde Street
The plot: I may have used my Goosebumps name-drop card too soon, because now we have the Ghost Machine horror universe. It’s all centered around this weird street that’s everywhere and nowhere at the same time (kind of like in Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol run). If you ever find yourself there, it might be too late—the horrors you inflicted on others are about to catch up to you. Hyde Street has come for your soul. If you’re lucky, you might receive an offer: do the dirty work of collecting other putrid souls like yours, and if you reach a certain goal number, you can leave. That’s the situation for some of the residents, like Mr. X-Ray and the title all-star, Pranky, the boy scout.
Our take: A great premise for an anthology book, giving enough of a connected line to make you invest in the stories while also keeping each issue focused on delivering a full story. It’s the kind of book that makes buying single issues worth it—like Image Comics’ monstrous hit Ice Cream Man. Pranky is truly the star: a sick and perverted demon in the form of a lonely boy scout. It’s a very well-thought-out box of possibilities that could be infinite. Of course, the quality will vary, but that’s what makes anthologies fun—like never knowing if the next Twilight Zone episode will make you laugh, sleep with the lights on, or completely change your perspective on life. Roll the dice, take the drive—just be careful which street you turn down.
The main book is by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Brad Anderson, but we already have a It Happened on Hyde Street-series with independent one-shots like Devour and the mini-series Sisterhood by Maytal Zchut and Leila Leiz, that introduces us to other Hyde Street residents.
