October’s appearance at the New York Comic Con was definitely planned to make an impression. A good number of Ghost Machine’s team made a personal appearance at the convention to launch the project and make it clear the venture was a serious start. It was both about appearance and making a point to industry watchers – something serious is about to start, so pay attention. The panel included well-known names as well: Brad Meltzer, Peter Tomasi, Jason Fabok, Bryan Hitch, Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul among others on the team. It literally represented a who’s who of artists, project managers and story writers in the comic book world today.
Sneak Peek Turns Into Anticipation
The presentation was a sneak peak to what is now being released with Ghost Nation #1. The artwork, characters, storylines, integration and over-arcing plots are now all coming together a few months later to the glee of fans who have been waiting. More importantly, the project is a culmination of a big goal all of the teammembers want to see with Ghost Nation – creative freedom.
The industry has for decades been one where artists trade their skill and the company gets the benefit of the product’s popularity. While comic book artists are never short of ideas and new concepts, the companies have repeatedly stuck with mainstream topics, view, perspectives and story lines mainly because they are predictable. And in business, predictable work in the arts that makes money is not something companies want to foul up. For a field where one would think creativity fosters taking risks, comic book companies have historically been conservative instead. That kind of dynamic, among other reasons, has driven the members of Ghost Nation to launch their own project instead.
Pushing Out January
With the launching of Ghost Machine #1 the project has moved forward with a big milestone that was talked about in October and sneak-peeked to the audience at that time. Now, it’s becoming a reality, showcasing the work of a creator-owned project that is professionally run. So, despite the typical reputation that such projects flare and die quickly as marketing stunts, Ghost Machine has instead been hitting all the right markets with a bona fide real project launch for a new line of comics.
There is still a lot of wiggle room, and time will tell about how Ghost Machine will be accepted by the audience. So far, however, the project is running on a lot of good steam.