While demons, interdimensional beings, and gods are more prevalent in comic books, ghosts appear frequently enough to warrant their own subgenre. Some are for kids, and some are much more adult-oriented.
15. Ghosts
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What's with the different expressions?
Sisters Catarina and Maya’s family make a move from Southern California to Northern California to help with Maya’s cystic fibrosis. The journey brings them more in touch with their Mexican heritage as Dia de Los Muertos approaches. This is a quality middle-grade graphic novel. It was clearly not written for adults, but it was an Eisner Award winner. It’s a wholesome story, worth a read for the kids.
14. Casper
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Cheesing up ghost stories since your great-grandparents were kids.
I’m pretty sure we all know Casper the Friendly Ghost, which is why he needs to make this list. If not, Casper is a ghost who would rather befriend people than scare them like all of the other ghosts. Casper’s first appeared in comics way back in 1949. Since then, there have been many comics, television shows, movies, and video games about the cheerful apparition.
13. Secrets of Haunted House
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Comics in the 70s were strange.
An anthology series from the late 70s that told a variety of stories. Despite the title, not all of the issues focused on ghost stories. The series put out 46 issues in a sort of precursor to Tales of the Crypt. None of the various “hosts” made it to the level of the Crypt Keeper, or maybe, this one would have lasted longer.
12. Doctor Mirage
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When I'm a ghost, I hope this is who investigates me.
There have been a couple of versions of Doctor Mirage from Valiant. It's either a husband (Dr. Mirage) and a wife who are paranormal investigators who can use magic and talk to the dead, respectively. Or, it is a woman who can talk to the dead, including her husband who she used to do paranormal investigations. The characters are a little different in the multiple iterations of this book, but the stories are crisp with beautiful artwork. The volume written by Magdalene Visaggio is a great read.
11. Ghostbusters
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I guess they left Ray home for this one.
The Ghostbusters comics were originally based on the animated series The Real Ghostbusters, which was based on the the1984 Ghostbusters movie. Since that release, the IP has gone through a few different publishers with different versions of the classic movie characters. As a child of the 80s, I love the Ghostbusters in almost every version that has been done (except a notable trash movie that we won’t mention). These comics make me nostalgic for the mornings before middle school when I watched the show in the morning on the USA network’s Cartoon Express.
10. Deadman
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Destro and Daredevils love child.
Boston Brand performed as a trapeze artist in a circus when he is murdered. His ghost comes back to solve his own murder. For over 50 years, Deadman keeps making returns with his own books. While he has never cracked into the mainstream, his stories spark an interest in writers. It is a simple revenge story with many complex layers to the mythology, which always makes for a good time.
9. BPRD
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This should totally be a real government agency.
This spin-off of the Hellboy series focuses on the government-backed paranormal research organization that Hellboy was part of. The stories not only focus on protecting mankind from all paranormal activity, from ghosts to Satan himself. The expansion of the Hellboy universe is always great. The characters involved in the BPRD are imaginatively designed with human personalities to make it easy to care about them. These stories are among the best told in comics.
8. Ghost Rider
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We couldn't the movies be as cool as this picture.
Many people have carried the name Ghost Rider throughout history. The most notable name is Johnny Blaze, a stuntman who sold his soul to save his father. While this series of books might not be entirely about ghosts, he is called Ghost Rider, and there is a bunch of soul-selling. It is definitely ghost adjacent at the very least. Plus, Ghost Rider is one of the few characters that come to mind when I think of badass comic characters.
7. Justice League Dark
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A motley crew of lesser-known heroes created one of the best series.
A group of paranormal heroes come together to battle supernatural entities in the DC Universe. The team was formed to take on Enchantress after she went crazy and took out the Justice League proper. The return of a darker edge to the DC Universe was a breath of fresh air after about a decade since they purged most of the titles to subsidiaries. Jeff Lemire wrote the bulk of Volume 1, which is an amazing series.
6. The Spectre
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Didn't they turn him gray because he is a ghost or is it from that cement-barrel incident?
The Spectre is another vengeance-fueled spirit that gives a wronged human the chance for payback from beyond the grave. The best-known and most used person in the comics is murdered, detective Jim Corrigan. The Spectre has haunted the DC Universe since 1940. His debut in More Fun Comics is strikingly darker than most of the stories from the era as a cop is murdered, put into a cement-filled barrel, and chucked into the water. It’s been a while since his last solo book. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a return soon.
5. Hellboy
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Why is the gargoyle drooling?
Hellboy is the world’s greatest paranormal investigator. The half-demon has protected Earth for decades from the forces of evil. He searches for secrets from his past and his place in the human world. The all-encompassing universe that Hellboy creates is profoundly better than most titles. Tying historical events and people into a supernatural landscape creates intrigue and uniqueness. Hellboy has created some of the best stories in comics for nearly 30 years.
4. The Suicide Forest
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Digesting a tree isn't my first choice for suicide methods.
Alan dumps his girlfriend of a year. She doesn’t take it well (to say the least). She heads to the Aokigahara forest and kills herself. Now, she is a vengeful spirit who kills all in her wake. While this title isn’t as well known as others on the list, it fits the prompt perfectly and is pretty great. The dark artwork sets the tone for this horrific story of a woman scorned.
3. RIPD
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Can ghost report excessive force against the RIPD?
A cop who is killed by a demon is recruited to work for a new law enforcement agency of sorts. Now, he gets to dole out justice against ghosts who escaped their final judgment. This book can be a little juvenile; however, it adds to the fun of gun-toting Ghostbusters. The dark humor keeps it a little lighter as we explore the dark world that is hidden around us.
2. Infidel
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Even the afterlife is racist.
An American Muslim woman moves into an apartment building only to find that it is haunted. These aren’t your typical ghosts, though. They are fueled by racism and xenophobia. Linking horror and social issues together isn’t anything new. The trick is to do it the right way, and Infidel nails it. The ideas are brought through without sacrificing the lot or characters in unrealistic ways.
1. Hellblazer
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Let Keanu star in a sequel!
John Constantine is a self-interested, manipulative occultist who fights against the forces of Hell. His morally ambiguous actions often put others in danger to achieve the greater good. This is the anti-hero of all anti-heroes. Most of the time, an anti-hero is an emotionally detached human weapon that plows through the enemy (Wolverine, Punisher, Stone Cold Steve Austin, etc.). Constantine is not this at all. He is fully aware of his selfishness and his questionable choices. The ghosts of friends and allies that he has essentially sacrificed literally haunt him, but he continues to make the same decisions.
Currently in the ever tumultuous lands of Teyvat, Jason has spent more hours on games than most of you have been alive. From Atari 2600 to today, he lays waste to NPC everywhere he goes.
