Ghost Machine: The Official Guidebook #3 // Review
First there was The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Then there was Who's Who in the DC Universe. There have been a host of other encyclopedic comics over the years that have looked to find definition for all of the weird continuity that tends to wrap itself around a group of different comics. It’s a chance to makes some sense of the larger picture of a bi, sprawling world. It can work as promotion. With Ghost Machine: The Official Guidebook #3, the studio actually uses what feels like the bulk of the issue to promote a new title that’s coming-out later this month, which is an interesting approach.
The third issue in the series is a one-issue look at Ghost Machine’s Unbelievables universe. Given the fact that that universe is currently comprised of only roughly 30 issues in total, there's only so much to cover. However, there is another series that's going to be starting up later this month. Due out June 17th, The Trillion Dollar Kid tells a modernized version of the Richie Rich. 13-yar-old Thomas Noble Townsend III was born into wealth...but his family lost that wealth. Thankfully, Tommy is a genius with a knack for making things. So he makes that fortune right back and goes on adventures. Ghost Machine previews that series with a number of entries from Tommy and his world and some of the many weird and wonderful characters that inhabit it.
As there haven't really been a whole lot of crossovers yet, it's kind of weird to see an encyclopedia covering a universe that essentially consists of three titles, one of which hasn’t even started yet. It's kind of fun to get a full look at some characters who haven't even really been introduced yet. Some of the characters in Tommy's world are only briefly introduced in the first issue of his series. So there's a huge amount of information on characters that won't even become prominent for presumably several months. It offers readers and opportunity to familiarize themselves with something before the story even really starts. It would be interesting to see if this works as far as being promotion for what could otherwise be construed by some as a rip off of Richie Rich. It's an opportunity for.writers Geoff Joens and Peter J. Tomasi to make the case for the originality and potential appeal of this character. And he does seem like he might be kind of interesting.
The overall layout continues to be appealing. The rounded white boxes on a yellow background feel very Who’s Who-inspired. Basic information is presented in a way that feels exceedingly easy to glide through. The images drawn for each entry feel very straightforward in their presentation. The art team has done a remarkably good job of putting together another solidly, respectable visual presentation that could serve as a perfectly valid reference point for anyone trying to make sense of. The Unbelievables who wants things really get started for its universe.
There are two issues left to go in the series. Each one is a standalone. It will be interesting to get a more comprehensive and encyclopedic. Look at both the world of Rook and Hyde Street. Johns has been working extensively with a very complex narrative, structure, and ensemble foryde Street i n particular. It would be interesting to get a look at the latest information from.The Scorekeeper’s leaderboard...
