11.03.2010
Secret Identity - Reviews Jay Piscopo's "Sea Ghost #1"
Matman Rating – 5 out of 5 “wish Aquaman was this cool!”
COMICS
11-4-10: The Sea Ghost # 1 (Nemo Publishing)
One of our favorite segments on Secret Identity is the Saturday Morning Special! For us, some of our favorite memories of childhood is watching cool, action oriented cartoons that seemed to be so much bigger than life or our imagination! So the fine tradition of Jack Kirby and those great cartoons of old I present to you (big echo effect), ‘The Sea Ghost’!!!
From the incredible mind and pencil of Jay Piscopo comes ‘The Sea Ghost # 1’! In the same tone and style of Jay’s other work like ‘Capt’n Eli’ and ‘Commander X’ (both who make appearances here), comes another all ages adventure full of fun and nonstop action!
‘Sea Ghost in the Machine’ introduces us to The Sea Ghost and his undersea world featuring his command center the Ghosts Grotto! Living in the ruins of Atlantis, The Ghost and his children Triton and Coral, he keeps the sea safe from evil. When Commander X alerts the Ghost of some oddities in the Arctic, he makes his way to investigate. But when he gets there he finds a small vehicle that transports him to another world! But of course when he arrives he is treated as an enemy and hunted by everyone on the planet; land, sea and air. Can The Sea Ghost save himself and help restore peace to the planet of Eris?
Sea Ghost is an incredible character and not just because he looks wicked awesome and does even cool stuff! He is a father and sadly a widower who speaks to his wife in visions. Not only does he bust stuff up (which we all demand), but he can use his brain to reason before the fisticuffs. There is a lot of depth to this character as well as his support staff that I can’t wait to explore in future issues.
As far as Jay’s writing and art … brilliant! He creates such an inviting and warm feeling you can hear the ocean swishing and the cheesy music playing in the background. His visuals are very much in the tradition of Alex Toth and the King, Jack Kirby! If Mr. Kirby were still with us, he would be very pleased by the world Jay has created!
‘The Sea Ghost’ One Shot is a pleasant and rewarding read that satisfies on all levels. It can sometimes hurt a book when it is billed as ‘all ages’, and that is a shame. My greatest comic reading experiences involve reading comics with my daughters, like I did with my father and grandfather. Anyone who loves comics, great art and the ability to share will certainly enjoy this first issue!
Sea Ghost # 1 (along with the first two highly recommended Capt’n Eli Adventures) is available now at www.captneli.com.