Why I Read: Guardian Ghost

Hi, everybody!  It’s Delta-v, coming to you with the latest webcomic I think you will find interesting.  This one is an exploration of ghosts, the spirit realm, more-or-less mortals, and the zany possibilities therein.  Artist and author MannyKat8x, A.K.A. “Manny” or “Sarah”, was intrigued by the idea, so let’s go do some ghosthunting in the fairly eerie realm of Guardian Ghost.

Synopsis:

Dave is a ghost.  He doesn’t seem too bright, and he’s kind of a jerk, but mostly, he’s a ghost.  Dave drifts along seeing, but not being seen, hearing but not  being heard,  being bored and frustrated.  He finds himself  being drawn to a small, skinny Highschooler named Max, who misses being the typical 98 pound weakling by not being burly enough for the part.  Max lives in a constant state of incipient panic attack.  Since Dave seems to be attached to Max, he decides to make contact.  It does not go well.

Dave persists, and it is revealed that a lot of Max’s timidity stems from being hit by a car and  barely surviving.  Dave reveals that Max, in fact did not survive, and that he, Dave, had brought Max back to life.  Further conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a nasty little monster who attacks them.

They defeat the monster, and the next day we learn that they can’t be separated any great distnce.  We also learn that Dave’s hero status is somewhat iffier than he led us to believe.  They meet some mysterious and possibly shady characters (one of which is another ghost).  Later that day, yet another ghost makes contact with Max.

Max finds the experience–impactful.  When Dave learns of the meeting, he’s his normal obnoxious, mocking self, laughing at Max, until he too has a meeting of the …….. minds.

And so Clara and Clarence join the little group.  Clara is bubbly and irrepressible, and Clarence is morose and quiet.  He turns out to be quite a help to Max, because whereas Dave thinks it’s funny when people pick on Max, Dave protects him.  Clara and Clarence have been paired and dealing with all this strangeness for a while, and provide much needed information to Dave and Max, including the fact that the little monster–called an enforcer– that attacked is only the foremost of  many, many larger ones who will attack in increasing numbers every night.

This proves all too true, and Max becomes more and more sleep-deprived as they spend more and more time killing enforcers every night.  This problem is compounded by Dave wasting time making a game of it, and Max’s unfortunate addiction to Minecraft.  Things would be  bleak if not for Max’s unusual ability to kill the little creeps.

This would be bad enough, but there are far nastier things to worry about in the spirit realm, and Clara and Clarence are approaching their one year mark, which all too often ends  badly.  Things in the mundane aren’t doing very well either, as Max’s schoolwork is suffering, and his mom is becoming suspicious…..

How I Found It:

Charlie Wise recommended one of Sarah’s other webcomics on his Groovy, Kinda webcomic’s, “Other Groovy Comics” list.  I checked out her Profile Page on SmackJeeves, and found Guardian Ghost there.  She’s also on tumblr, deviantART,  Tapastic,  and has an art tumblr.

Why I Like It;

The story is by turns hilarious and creepy, and quite engrossing either way.  The characters are nicely multidimensional, and–given the outlandish premise–quite realistic.

Sarah has a good eye for expression and body language, and a good ear for dialog, which helps sell the story and engage the reader.  I found Max’s panicky reaction to nearly everything believable, especially considering his physique and experiences which color even his successes with a certain desperation.  His remarkable fighting powers give him no confidence in other situations, and barely carry him in battle as panic continually threatens to overwhelm him.  He’s the angsty main character archetype, and holds the position well.

Although Dave is not a particularly sympathetic character, his antics provide a good measure of comedy relief even when he’s being exasperating, and I found myself warming to him as I thought about his horrible existence before he found Max.  I don’t know much about what he was like before he died, but two years of emotional deprivation is bound to leave it’s mark on anyone.  Like many a practical joker, he doesn’t think much beyond how funny his tricks are to him (and a few others), and has little empathy for the victim.

Clara is energetic, enthusiastic, kind, outgoing, and carefree even when she should be more thoughtful.  She has, however, more depth than that. and is very annoyed with her brother’s secretiveness.  She’s very good at handling tension, which is good, because the tension in Guardian Ghost winds tighter with each passing chapter.

Clarence is brooding, reserved, and stand-offish.  He keeps too many secrets, and is quick to anger.  He can be very intimidating at times, and is Mr. Thundercloud to Clara’s Silver Lining.

The villains are horrific (although one of them is pretty conflicted), and provide an interesting foil for the heroes.  Sarah mixes and balances all these very well, and keeps the story moving at  good pace.

The deceptively simple line art and coloring fit the story very well, and I was very impressed with the way Sarah draws the ghosts and their effects.  I’m not artist enough to guess how she does it, I just like the result.  Once again I’m no expert, but I think I see some elements of manga in the artwork, but I can’t give the exact classification of the style.

I always enjoy watching a comic creator grow and improve as time and practice add their magic, and I’m very pleased at what I see in Sarah’s work, artistically and story-wise.  I like the way she sets the mood with her color choices, and uses them to enhance the story.  I also like the way Sarah is not afraid to try new techniques, and to be adventurous in her quest for perfection.

Things I Think Could Be Better:

Other than one blank page at the end of Chapter 6.1, I didn’t find anything to complain about.  Sarah is diligently working on her art and storytelling, so that’s fine, the links and navigation work well, and the Archive is a dream for anyone who wants to search for something.

Final Thoughts:

I highly recommend this comic to anyone who wants their funnybone tickled as they read  a really good story.  I frequently laughed,chuckled, snorted, and gasped for breath as I read, and I think you will too.

As an FYI to anyone looking online for Guardian Ghost, some band in California also uses the name, and they clutter up the search considerably.

Guardian Ghost doesn’t have a Top Web Comics voting button, so I can’t use my usual signoff, so I’ll leave you with this little extra.  Besides her other webcomics, Sara also does a little personal comic/diary/blog about her experiences that I also recommend.  It’s called  A Catmaniac’s Life.  Enjoy.