I'll be honest, I didn't give this book a second look because I thought it fell right into the "goth" category, which I generally have little interest in. Sad looking young character who may or may not be dead on the cover? Check. Reference to the undead, murder or Poe in the title? Check. Creator with a weird (or one word) name? Check. Published by Slave Labor? Check. Goth comic. No doubt. And The Ghouly Boys does stand alongside books like Lenore and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac in some respects, and will probably find favor with those who have enjoyed this book and others in the genre. However, there's also a childhood fable tone to the book that I found quite endearing, some surprising comic-book references sprinkled in amongst the gothy trappings and some truly terrific artwork, making this an enjoyable read even for those of us who don't go any closer to Goth than the occasional Scary Godmother book.
Christopher, the singularly-named creator of The Ghouly Boys, tells his first issue tale in four separate stories, all of which come together to tell the origin of Zombie Boy and Fat Bat. Even if the book disappears forever and never sees another issue, The Ghouly Boys will stand as an enjoyable standalone, with a couple of tragic origin stories and a happy ending. Christopher's story sets up his main characters and their role in this somewhat odd world and then, through coincidence and a reinforcement of the karmic realities set up early in the story, gives them payback for being nice, good people (or bats, or zombies, as the case may be.)
I must confess that my favorite story was probably the opening story, told in a sing-song rhyme and spelling out the birth of "Zombie Boy" as a normal boy whose accidental death was headed off by his mother, resulting in unforeseen consequences. Christopher's take on this law of averages is pretty dark, but there's something kind in even the darker moments, as Christopher shows the extent of a mother's love even as events force the boy into a lonely existence. My second favorite tale was the other origin story, that of "Fat Bat," which features some very funny superhero references including Daredevil and Batman (both in the narration and visually) and adds to the surreal quality of the book, which is saying something when the book already featured witchcraft, orphans and zombies.
One of the big surprises that The Ghouly Boys brought was that the gothic tone mixed with a somewhat brighter, more optimistic joy as well as some classic superhero references. Another was the art, which is truly a joy to behold. Christopher does exceptionally detailed backgrounds and beautiful layouts, but he also has a cartoonish, humorous style at work that reminds me of everyone from Steve Rolston to Ted Naifeh. His character designs are especially good, particularly the cruel Miss Sneery, although Christopher also excels in showing kindness, whether it's Zombie Boy's mother or the couple at the end of the book.
The Ghouly Boys is definitely a "goth" book in the tradition of Johnny and Lenore, but it's a more optimistic take on the concept, owing as much to fairy tales and comic books as it does the work of Tim Burton and Jhonen Vasquez. The promise of the future issues seems to indicate that Zombie Boy and Fat Bat will become supernatural troubleshooters of sorts, a notion that intrigues me, and if Christopher can marry the strength of craft from Ghouly Boys #1 to an ongoing structure, he'll really have something here.
