Adventureman may have a crony! The Crossdraw Kid can dispatch Ghosts, but why are there so darned many Ghosts around in the first place? Find out in Adventureman #8 from Image Comics!

ADVENTUREMAN #8

Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson
Colorist: Terry Dodson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Turner Lobey
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 2, 2022

Previously in Adventureman: We meet the Crossdraw Kid, a legacy hero from a family of Black Brooklyn cowboys. The mantle passes down to Chris, a hansom cab driver in Manhattan. Claire’s sister Ursula is analyzing the Adventureman serum and trying to duplicate it. Claire finds out about an abandoned subway station near where she and Tommy saw the Ghosts, so she goes to check it out and sees a ghost of a train arrive and the station becomes populated with Ghosts. At home, she tells her family about the ghosts. A strange wind blows up and a couple of Ghosts appear in their house, seemingly after the vials of serum. And then the Crossdraw Kid arrives and helps Claire fight the Ghosts.

PAST, PRESENT, AND GHOSTS

Adventureman #8 winds through time a bit, which makes sense with a ghost story, but be patient with it, because the past seems to be interrelated with the present. The Crossdraw Kid of the 1930s and the Adventureman of that time are not Chris and Claire. The story opens apparently in the past with a man called Caspar Spettero who is very lucky. He operates a speakeasy that is protected by his luck, and which is home to heroes and villains and, we soon see, Ghosts. The Crossdraw Kid arrives with Slugger, and they look for the Summoner. Spettero has a gang of Ghosts, and that requires a living Summoner who calls them toward the living plane. They manage to silence the Summoner; now they have to find the Conjuror, and then they can put a stop to the Ghosts.

We jump back to the present and the nursing home where the current Crossdraw Kid’s grandfather lives. He calls the nurse for another resident, saying he looks agitated and could use some help sleeping. They give him some medication, which interrupts the summoning of a ghost. It sure looks like this is Spettero, and he still has some abilities, unless he is put to sleep.

The Ghosts are gone from Claire’s family’s house and the clean-up begins. Claire’s father reminisces about her mother, and muses more on whether or not to sell her bookstore. Chris and Claire get a chance to talk a little, or at least to awkwardly set up a meeting for the following day. They’re both heroes who are new to the business, so this is uncharted territory, besides seeming like going for a date, which amuses Claire’s sisters no end. I also loved when he was trying to figure out what to call her and landed on “Adventurema’am.”

Chris returns to his grandfather, who assumes that the appearance of the Ghosts in town coincided with when he noticed Spettero doing his Summoning. He also cautions Chris about not getting too close to Adventureman. Once there was an Adventureman with all the power, and no one to help keep him in check, and he went bad. Chris recalls all of Claire’s family and doubts that will be her fate.

At Adventureman HQ Claire and Ursula find the gym filled with classic equipment. Ursula has the latest test version of the serum, and both of them drink some. Ursula recalls how reckless Claire, the baby of the family, was and how protective her sisters tried to be. Now Claire is strong enough to protect them. Meanwhile, her other sisters talk about Claire and whether or not they should let her keep on with being Adventureman. She seems a lot happier but is this really what is best for her? Claire interrupts them. After finding it sweet that they are planning an intervention, she takes them to see Ursula, for whom the serum seems to be working.

A VIVID AND HEARTFELT WORLD

I love how clear the art of Adventureman #8 is even when scenes are complicated. Not only do we get a solid sense of the location we’re in, but the characters are dynamic and expressive. I really like the opening scene. We immediately get the sense that we are in a 1930’s speakeasy. In fact, it looks like a nightclub as envisioned by the Hollywood of the time with men in tuxedos and women in fancy dresses. But when the Crossdraw Kid makes his entrance, we suddenly notice that many of the people here are Ghosts. Instantly we are reminded of the earlier issues and it made me wonder even more just what is going on with all of them. This does not feel like a typical ghost story.

As always, I was charmed by the scene of Claire with her family and Chris. Claire lugs heavy objects around without thinking about them while Tommy seems determined to make himself into everyone’s helpful sidekick. The art does a wonderful job of portraying Chris and Claire as people who are incredibly aware of their superpowers and who are trying to seem professional while they know full well that doesn’t really know what they’re doing yet. The family’s reaction is delightful.

BOTTOM LINE: FUN FOR ALL AGES

Adventureman #8 has a lot of heart, and it is so fun to read. The world-building is terrific, and I enjoy that while the story evolves, the world expands around it. It fits so well with the premise that all the heroes were forgotten and the memories of them are starting to drift back into the city’s consciousness.

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Adventureman #8

90%

90%

So Fun To Read

Claire may no longer be alone in the heroing business, and it’s a good thing with Ghosts on the loose in the city!

• Writing

  8
• Art

  10
• Coloring

  9
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