Written by Nick Dragotta
Art by Caleb Goellner, Frank Martin Jr.
Published by Image Comics
While it was not one of my favorite iterations of Star Trek, there was this episode of Enterprise where the crew found themselves trapped in the early part of the 21st Century.
Captain Archer makes an off-handed remark that that was a decade that fossil fuels were running out, but the world’s governments were scared to let the population know the truth. I remember that line and saying to myself, “hot damn, what if that is the actual truth?”
Boys and girls, if you have been following along the history of the world until now, you should realize that our planet will shortly be in the death grip of great energy and ecological crisis.
All of the significant conflicts of history have always been about the need for resources.
The two main forces that have created the most important battles are a lack of resources and conflicting ideologies. Ghost Cage explores the nature of both.
When his megacorp power plant falls under the attack of terrorists, Dr. Karloff, the super-scientist who revolutionized and controlled all of the energy on Earth, sends his ultimate creation Sam to save the day.
By Sam’s side is Doyle, a number-crunching, frank, loyal employee. Their mission is to stop the terrorists and destroy Karloff’s greatest secrets before the world discovers the cost of operating the power plant on the planet and their eternal souls.
Ghost Cage is exceptionally relevant to the world in which we reside today. Like the fictional Earth visited by the crew of Archer’s Enterprise, energy and resources are at a premium. In an interview, Goellner discussed his motivation to create the world of Ghost Cage and stated, “In an era of algorithmized apathy and ‘doomscroll’ driven depression, we wrote Ghost Cage to re-energize you, heart and soul. Ghost Cage will pit personifications of humankind’s unquenchable thirst for power against one another. We also address the human need for entertainment at all costs. Ghost Cage will make fun of your boss’s boss. Ghost Cage will remind you to care.”
By the end of the book, I was thoroughly entertained by and in love with each of the three main protagonists of this book.
One of the main issues I have with Ghost Cage is that the book begins with no introduction, thus depositing the reader in the middle of the action without a roadmap or a great understanding of the rules in this energy-deprived alternative Earth. Because of that, I found the first part of chapter one complex to follow as I did not understand what was going on until the middle of chapter two.
Once I understood the rules of Ghost Cage, it was a delightful ride.
Final Score: 4.25 out of 5
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