Latest example of nostalgia selling? Dynamite Entertainment bringing back Space Ghost!
THE GHOST WITH THE MOST!
Yes, the mysterious hero of the 1960s cartoon has returned to comic books thanks to Dynamite Entertainment! Yes, Space Ghost is back in pop culture yet again! This time, he’s going back to his roots as a mysterious, powerful do-gooder—no more late night talk show hosting for this guy! (Thank goodness!)
Here are a couple of important parts of that original news release:
“Evil cannot hide from the gaze of Space Ghost!
“His true origins and motivations are unknown to many. Some claim he is a policeman who abandoned the rigidity of the law. Others contend he must be the sole survivor of a war-torn planet. Or a phantom with no story. Those who have survived his wrath live to tell he is a force of nature, able to bend the very elements of creation to deal with his foes.”
There is one more significant paragraph regarding this new comic:
“A surprise attack on Space Colony Omicron, home of brilliant scientist Dr. Jerrod Keplar, his young children Jan and Jace, as well as their monkey Blip. Only the wild card of Space Ghost will be able to save them from the ruthless pirates!”
SO, JUST WHO IS SPACE GHOST?
Those of us old enough to remember when Batman ’66 actually arrived on ABC and became a huge hit understand that the Caped Crusader had quite a big influence on television at that time.
Comics and television networks were scrambling to jump on the Bat-bandwagon, and that meant heroic and somewhat shadowy good guys were in demand. It seemed like every comics company had their own Bat-character (or at least, one that closely resembled one). This trend also spilled over into Saturday morning cartoons at the time, with CBS and NBC running a LOT of heroic animation. That time of the week was must-see TV for those of us interested in seeing the good guys whomp on the baddies!
I mention CBS because they had quite the line-up on Saturday morning, and that included The Herculoids, Shazzan, and Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor, just to name a few. But the one that really stood out to many of us was indeed Space Ghost. Let’s face it… the big guy had all kinds of things working in his favor, including Gary Owens providing his voice… yes, he was the announcer on NBC’s comedy show Laugh-In. But he was the perfect guy to bring Space Ghost’s voice to life. Space Ghost also had the required teen-age sidekicks and even animal comedy relief to help make him more appealing to the Mom’s and Dad’s who might think the hero was just too spooky or scary for the young’uns to watch.
It felt like years (in a good way) to those of us who were riveted to the TV screens each weekend, but it really only lasted two seasons. Space Ghost had one full season followed by a shorter one that had something unusual for that time… a multi-part crossover with the other CBS Saturday morning shows.
I loved every second of it! I was so sorry when Saturday morning became a much less engaging time when it was filled with Care Bears and the like. Bleh!
Space Ghost did a lot of work after this show left CBS. He ended up in an NBC cartoon called Space Stars that had new adventures as well as a new ship. They didn’t quite live up to the previous show’s quality, many of us felt, but it was new material, anyway.
That lasted only about a season, but Space Ghost remained in our memories. Yes, in desperate times, he hosted a talk show on Cartoon Network, but I’d prefer to forget those awful experiences. They even ran old episodes with a new laugh track to show how much those early days were now disrespected. Again, bleh!
Several years back, DC ran a mini-series with Space Ghost and many of the other Hanna Barbera cartoon heroes in it. There were individual team-ups (like Space Ghost and Green Lantern, one of my favorites), but there was also a series called Future Quest that had them working together again. I really enjoyed those books!
However, I guess there weren’t enough of us to keep that going! It wasn’t long before they quietly left the comics shelves of our local shops. Sigh.
So, what’s a space hero to do?
Luckily, Dynamite has been picking up and revisiting a LOT of animated characters, including the lead (and villains) from the afternoon Disney cartoons. They sure seem to be selling well, including Gargoyles, another personal favorite of mine.
THE NEW GIG
Back in February of this year, word came out that Dynamite was going to create a new Space Ghost comic! I remember the first time I came across that page here at MajorSpoilers! I was transported back to sitting in front of my TV as a young boy, and I’ve been excited about it ever since!
One of the best things about this book is that David Pepose, one of my all-time favorite writers, is scripting the series. He’s working with Jonathan Lau, another of my personal all-stars. I first encountered David through his Spencer and Locke Indie comics series, and I continue to be impressed by his ability to be true to the roots of the characters while also taking them “where no character has gone before,” if I may be so bold. He’s been doing a lot of work at Marvel, including Savage Avengers and Moon Knight, among others. If David is writing it, I’m buying it! So, naturally I told my LCS to be sure and order me Space Ghost!
From the look of things, I think they are going to start off with Space Ghost’s origin. I’ve always wondered where he got his Power Bands and his sidekicks (okay, Blip I can live without).
Sadly, final order cutoff (FOC) for the initial Space Ghost issue took place this past weekend, but if your LCS is good at ordering, they will hopefully have a few ready to meet those fans who didn’t get the chance to tell them they also wanted this book!
I’m particularly encouraged by the numbers I’m hearing from Dynamite Entertainment, that they received Thundercats-like numbers and possibly beyond for this title. Yes, please! Might I suggest making a Herculoids comic next?
If you like science-fiction adventure with a heroic bend to it, Space Ghost might just be for you! The third issue is already out! I hope to hear Spaaaaace Ghoooost! For a long time to come! (I hear Mr. Owens saying that every time I look at the art!)
About Author
