SPACE GHOST GETS A FRESH LOOK FROM DC

[MattBrady]

DC Comics has confirmed for Newsarama that Joe Kelly and Ariel Olivetti are currently working on a six-part Space Ghost miniseries that will fully tell the origin of the hero and update him for a more realistic a modern sensibility. Yep – he’s coming out from behind the desk.

“It’s Space Ghost played straight,” Kelly said. “And I’m handling Year One.”

Initially, Kelly explained, DC was reluctant to explore the possibilities of Space Ghost as an action character in comics, but – to his continued surprise, winds shifted. “I can’t believe they actually went for it,” Kelly said. “It’s really a hardcore, pulp-feel story, with him being betrayed by the police force and taking his revenge. It’s really dark, and it’s going to be a blueprint for them to revamp the character and keep it going.”

Checking in with a bit of history, Space Ghost was created by Alex Toth for a Hanna-Barbera animated series which ran from 1966 through 1968. Neither Space Ghost’s origin nor identity were ever revealed, nor was the reason why he partnered with two teens, Jace and Jana (fraternal twins), and their pet monkey (not related), Blip.

While the character remained popular thanks to syndication since 1968, the character gained a cult following once again thanks to Space Ghost Coast to Coast, which returned him to an animated series, albeit this time, a talk show on Cartoon Network. On the series, Space Ghost interviews live celebrities, while villains from the original animated series, Zorak, Brak, and Moltar play supporting, if not outlandish roles.

Obviously, there will be no celebrity interviews in this outing.

“I haven’t gotten to Blip yet, but I know how Jace and Jana fit in,” Kelly said. “Essentially, the first arc is his betrayal, and his path of revenge, how he climbs out of it, and becomes a more righteous kind of guy. By the end of the first six issues, he’s not yet the guy from the original Hanna-Barbera cartoons - he’s not that good yet. That is, if he was ever really that good. In doing a redefinition of him, you can play him a little more mysterious and a little darker. It’s a really fun story – Zorak is in it in a Starship Troopers sort of way, and shows up with all these bugs.”

On the art side, in an interview with the Zonacomics website, Olivetti recently said that he has been working on the miniseries for the past few months, and is currently working on the second issue. Covers for the miniseries will be produced by Alex Ross.

“Ariel’s been doing this computer-painted style – he’s done a couple of covers that kind of look like what he’s doing in Space Ghost, and it looks really cool,” Kelly said. “It’s got a real slick feel to it, as well as this odd blend of new tech and pulpy art – it’s a really weird mix, but it’s going to work really great.

The miniseries is currently unscheduled.

[Daredevil_blind]

Bad to the bone. That sounds very cool.

[tralfaz]

oh my god



whaaaaaa whoooooooo

[Jack Burton]

This is so sweet!!!

[joeker_1]

Cool. Now where is the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Comic.

[mpg]

this is insanity

completely unexpected

i love it

[Longshot]

Word. this is cool.

I don't remember the orginal too well, but i do remember that he coud turn invisible (hence the "ghost" perhaps?) and that he had some relationshp to those humanoids who lived on the planet with all the wierd monsters (gloop & gleep, that triceratops-looking thing that shot rock out its "spike," etc.)

I hope this is as good as it looks.

[tralfaz]

uh, was i hallucinating when i clicked on that site for the interview?

did those pages say Superman/Batman vs Alien/Predator ?

oh man... cant contain excitement. ANd to think, I clicked because I wanted to know what Ariel Olivetti was up to

[Cayman]

Wow, this comes out of left-field and it looks really cool actually. I've admired Ariel Olivetti's work for some time now and the preview image looks excellent. I may just give this a try.

Cay

[Truthseeker]

WOOOOHOOOOOOO!! Man I can't wait for this! I love Space Ghost in all his forms. I can not wait for this.

[Simon DelMonte]

Well, if the right Joe Kelly - the one who wrote Superboy - shows up, this could be really good.

[OM]

...Actually, there *has* been sort of a hint of Space Ghost's origin. In the Gold Key one-shot from when the show first premiered, there's this one panel scene where SG is receiving the "knowledge and the laws" of the Universe from some higher power shooting the info directly into his brain via some sort of contraption while SG is reading a big thick tome.

Of course, the only reason I remember this is because Dan Spiegle did the art...:-) :-)

Cool!

Birdman should be next, followed by Blue Falcon.

[OM]

Originally posted by ManofTheAtom
Birdman should be next, followed by Blue Falcon.

...Without Dyno-Mutt, natch. Although I'd rather see Frankenstein Jr, with my luck it'll turn out to be nothing but recycled Sentinel stories :-P

...One other thing that should be addressed - Space Ghost's ancestor being Mightor. That *did* get brought up in the original series, IIRC.

[Taylor Porter]

I guess I'm the only one that thinks this is pointless.

The series might be good, and I do like those sort of pulp/sci-fi action stories. I think Kelly and Olivetti are talented guys, too.

But why Space Ghost? What's the point in using this character if you're going to play him straight?

I'd be a lot more interested in this if it was a new character.

Originally posted by OM
...Without Dyno-Mutt, natch. Although I'd rather see Frankenstein Jr, with my luck it'll turn out to be nothing but recycled Sentinel stories :-P

...One other thing that should be addressed - Space Ghost's ancestor being Mightor. That *did* get brought up in the original series, IIRC.

I didn't know that.

How about the Impossibles?

The Galaxy Trio would make a great serious comic.

[tralfaz]

Originally posted by Taylor Porter
I guess I'm the only one that thinks this is pointless.

But why Space Ghost? What's the point in using this character if you're going to play him straight?

why you gotta be such a hata?

[Ionicavenger]

As much as I hate the retro craze sweeping through the industry (GI, tf, BotP, Thundercraps, etc) I think this is going to rock hardcore!

[Fazhoul]

Space Ghost played straight? Written by Joe Kelly, one of the two reasons I dropped the JLA? And they changed SG's costume! They fucked with an Alex Toth design? I'm not liking it.

[CaptainTemerity]

I am so in on this one! I just e-mailed my comic shop and requested it be put on my pull list.

I love my comic shop.

[Fazhoul]

Nevermind. I was trying to post an image but all that shows up is the little red "x".

[boyfriend]

Originally posted by tralfaz
uh, was i hallucinating when i clicked on that site for the interview?

did those pages say Superman/Batman vs Alien/Predator ?

oh man... cant contain excitement. ANd to think, I clicked because I wanted to know what Ariel Olivetti was up to

NO FREAKIN' JOKE!

Where's the story on THIS?!

[xdemon]

If they start reviving the Hanna-Barbera's World of Super Adventure characters, do you think there is a chance of someone doing a book about the Fantastic Four? I know that H-B did a series with them and I think they would make a great series.

Hey, why not do FOUR series with each appealing to a different demographic?

Any takers?

[Dave Accampo]

Originally posted by Taylor Porter
I guess I'm the only one that thinks this is pointless.

The series might be good, and I do like those sort of pulp/sci-fi action stories. I think Kelly and Olivetti are talented guys, too.

But why Space Ghost? What's the point in using this character if you're going to play him straight?

I'd be a lot more interested in this if it was a new character.

I see where you're coming from. It all comes back to name recognition, I guess. With so many properties vying for a limited amount of spending cash, you do anything you can to make yours stand out. Using a familiar name is a common trick.

It also makes sense to me in a fashion trend sort of way. Space Ghost has gone so far down the comedy route, the only refreshing change of pace would be to play it completely straight.

I don't really care if it's new or old. On its own merit, the approach seems pretty cool. The only thing causing me to hesitate here is Joe Kelly. Man, if this was, say, (pre-screenwriter) James Robinson, I'd be all over it. Kelly...hmmm...a cautious wait-and-see attitude, I think.

[ManWolf]

I don't know, you're messing with a cartoon icon here.