Barbiere's Five Ghosts A Haunting New Adventure

Item Code: JAN130472

Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray is an upcoming five-issue miniseries from Image Comics and one of our Gems of the Month for January. Gray is a treasure hunter possessed by five literary ghosts, who is able to use each their unique abilities.

Writer Frank J. Barbiere and artist Chris Mooneyham create a tale of of action, black magic, exotic locales, and literary allusion! PREVIEWSworld talked with Barbiere about the series which hits stores on March 20th.

PREVIEWSworld: Tell us more about treasure hunter Fabian Gray and what he's trying to find?

Frank J. Barbiere: Fabian is an infamous treasure hunter who has spent his adult life seeking out rare and unique artifacts for the highest bidder.  He has a complex past (which will slowly be revealed) and commands the powers of five different literary characters.  As we reveal in the first issue, he is searching for a “cure” to save his twin sister, Silvia, whom is stuck in a strange catatonic limbo.

PREVIEWSworld: Talk about the five literary ghosts and how Gray is able to draw on their unique abilities?

Frank J. Barbiere: Though we won’t reveal the actual event until later in the series, Fabian suffered a “tragic encounter” with an extremely rare artifact called “The Dreamstone” that resulted in his unique condition.  You can catch a glance in our first issue, but he actually has five pieces of this stone embedded in his chest.  The ghosts are representations of various characters from literature and each have unique abilities that Fabian can draw on.  As for where they came from and why they took these specific forms--you’ll have to keep reading to find out.

PREVIEWSworld: This comic has adventure, fantasy and horror elements in it. How are you able to weave so many genres together?

Frank J. Barbiere: When Chris and I started on this project we really wanted to go for something different.  We’re both fans of many different genres and wanted a decidedly “pulp” feel for the book from the onset.  Once we started getting into some of the settings and the idea of our character being “haunted,” a lot of the more gothic elements took shape.  The overall tone of the story is “adventure” which allows us to have a pretty epic scope, a lot of locations, and great action set pieces, so I think that aids us in blending many elements--a story with a lot of flexibility.

PREVIEWSworld: Describe Chris Mooneyham's art and what it's like to work with him?

Frank J. Barbiere: Chris is an amazing storyteller who has a very unique style that is informed by a lot of classic comics.  I really enjoy the fact he is able to take this classic influence and update it with a lot of modern sensibilities, and when we get some of the more “pulp” elements into the mix, I think something special ends up on the page.  Chris and I have been working together for over four years at this point and he is a true collaborator and co-creator.  He definitely brings a lot of his own ideas to the art and I couldn’t be happier to be working with him.

PREVIEWSworld: Finally, talk about the path you took to get this creator-owned comic published by Image?

Frank J. Barbiere: We originally used Kickstarter to self-publish the first issue of Five Ghosts.  We were very happy to see such a positive response to our campaign, and then debuted the book at NYCC ’12 to an even better response.  It’s very difficult to get new ideas out there, even more so without a publisher backing you, but we managed to make some small waves and get some great reviews.  I’m still very thankful for all the fans and journalists who took a chance giving press and their hard earned dollars to unknown creators!  After the show we managed to get in touch with Image and here we are, releasing our book to retail this March.

Pre-order Five Ghosts: The Haunting of Fabian Gray #1 (JAN130472) from Image Comics now at your local comic shop!

Go to http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-COMIC-BOOK to find a shop near you!