OneMetal.com book REVIEW:
Ghost Projekt #1

Need to brush up on your Russian? A little rusty on your ghost legends? Next Wednesday, Oni Press generates a propitious wave of paranormal and nationalistic storytelling that targets our modern sensibilities and evokes a few, well, ghosts of the past.

Stepping onto foreign soil can daunt the best of us, and when remembrance of the Cold War era looms overhead like an apocalyptic cloud, nationalistic pride can make the most rational people turn restless. Ghost Projekt (written by Joe Harris) exploits such unease, soaking its bright pages (drawn by Steve Rolston and colored by Dean Trippe) in paranoia long past its expiration date. U.S. weapons inspector Will Haley—teamed with his Mulder-esque, oddball partner, Kip—travel to western Siberia and investigate an abandoned weapons operation facility ripe with unethical, experimental activity dating back to the Cold War. As members of the Cooperative Threat Reductive Initiative, the two mean to catalog and secure any harmful chemical or biological material they discover, but the Russian government with whom they’re collaborating skimp on any top secret details they’re protecting concerning the strange Projekt Dosvidanya. Anya Romanova, the pair’s connection to Russia, quickly shuts them out of the mission and leaves them even more in the dark.

Joe Harris crimps his smartly written comic’s edges with personality and intrigue. Ghost Projekt #1 strays from the typical, linear path, ducking into other characters’ territories—namely those involved with Dosvidanya—as well. The story evades any single definition: Political agendas litter the wintry exploration, unnatural phenomena and “Frankencats” trail around unsuspecting corners, whispers of murder hasten the comic’s pace, and deadly biological warfare with a curious imprint wastes little time in threatening our heroes. Harris took daring strides to mold such a unique book that readers will want to race him to the finish.

Rolston’s and Trippe’s efforts are certainly worth applauding, too. The artists carefully gauge each scene’s bearings and tweak the panels appropriately. The final pages showing thieves Mikhail and Dmitri, for example, convey the latter’s dizzying medical decline and the wariness emanating from his onlooker. Trippe then finishes Rolston’s work with a smooth, variegated coat. The visual action balances perfectly alongside Harris’ script, which fearlessly develops both story and character knowing that future, more crucial issues await.

Ghost Projekt #1 debuts March 10 from Oni Press.

Bottom Line

The first installment of Joe Harris' Russian conspiracy flows easily and offers readers a generous taste with a hint of paranormal, marking a stellar beginning for Ghost Projekt.