From the beginning, Space Ghost has been a man of mystery. The Phantom of the Spaceways has defended the galaxy from various threats, though his history and motivations have remained unknown. Now, the latest issue of his monthly comic will reveal the truth behind the legend.
Written by David Pepose, with art by Jonathan Lau, Space Ghost #8 opens with a flashback to the hero’s past. It is here we learn the origin of the amazing technology and weapons he employs. We also learn that he was a family man before the genocide that destroyed the planet and made him a vigilante.
The first five pages of Space Ghost #8 may be viewed below.
Space Ghost defined by lack of origin story
Originally designed by Alex Toth, Space Ghost was created for a 1966 Hanna-Barbera animated series. Despite only numbering 20 episodes, the show proved popular enough to be continually rerun in syndication for decades. However, none of these episodes gave the masked mystery man an origin story. Neither did the 22 Space Ghost cartoons produced for the 1981 Space Stars show.
The only attempt at a Space Ghost origin story came in 2005. DC Comics published a 6 part comic miniseries by writer Joe Kelly and artist Ariel Olivetti. It presented him as an honest cop named Thaddeus, whose pregnant wife was murdered after he uncovered the corruption of his superiors. Left for dead on a “ghost planet,” Thaddeus was discovered by another exile who gave him the weapons he needed to avenge his wife and bring justice to the galaxy.
While well-received at the time, this miniseries was far darker than its source material. Despite this, teases in earlier issues of the Dynamite Entertainment series hinted at a similar tragedy in this Space Ghost reality. However, this origin is less graphic in its depiction of the death of the hero’s family. It also adds emotional resonance to his arsenal by making them the invention of his wife.
Space Ghost #8 arrives in comic shops everywhere on December 11, 2024.
