Space Ghost #10 - Dynamite Entertainment

SPACE GHOST No. 10, February 2025

Seemingly setting up the titular character to have a nail-biting battle against a deeply disturbed, mirror image of himself from the future, David Pepose’s penmanship for Issue Ten of “Space Ghost” arguably demonstrates just why “Dynamite Entertainment” refer to him as an “award-winning scribe” in the solicitation synopsis for this comic. Sure, Dax’s plan to use his dark doppelganger’s intimate knowledge of his crime-fighting tactics against him doesn’t actually work out too well in the end. But this decision just confirms in the reader’s mind that they know precisely who is wearing Space Spectre’s costume – and resultantly will be completely blindsided by the American author’s sense-shattering conclusion.

In addition to so stunning a climax, this twenty-two page periodical also delivers an intriguing insight into the cosmic vigilante’s relationship with Robo Corp, and in particular Doctor Xander Ibal. The goatee-bearded boffin is clearly as cold-hearted as his multi-billion business is rich, and yet the super-hero is shown willingly helping him launch the scientist’s suspiciously named Ultima Satellite rather than let his time-travelling enemy destroy it before it can launch. So dubious a decision genuinely adds some depth to the “Hanna-Barbera Productions” cartoon creation, and helps establish things within this publication’s universe aren’t as black and white as some onlookers might think; “If you don’t want to die of radiation poisoning, you’ll do exactly as I tell you…”

Perhaps this comic’s most notable asset though is surprisingly what the writer’s plot doesn’t say. Just as soon as Space Spectre arrives in his past he mercilessly incinerates Doctor Alan Zorket before the debt-ridden “Merrill Prize-winning Geophysicist and Roboticist” has even begun “creating your legion of Rock Robots.” This murder must surely have already changed the future for the better, so just what cataclysmic event is on the horizon which could cause the deluded, former champion of Justice to still try to destroy an entire city with Lucidium Crystals.?

Also living up to this book’s hype is “superstar artist” Jonathan Lau, whose pencils do a fantastic job of depicting all the adrenalin-fuelled action required by Pepose’s script. Of particular note has to be the way the illustrator makes Space Ghost and his identically costumed opponent appear different in their mannerisms, despite the pair obviously looking very similar to one another. These disparities are especially noticeable during Space Spectre’s attack on Robo Corp Tower where the deranged villain is perfectly willing to relentlessly bash Ibal’s bonce against the computer panel until he gives up the rocket’s schematics.

The regular cover art of "SPACE GHOST" #10 by Francesco Mattina