Ghost: Omnibus Vol. 1 & The Helm - Manga Review

Two iterations of the possibility of courage tread two very different paths with two recent manga/comic releases from Dark Horse. One is an underground masterpiece of visionary art, mythology, internal viciousness and subconscious power struggles within the mind of a dead woman resurrected in ghostly form. The other follows an unlikely hero whose life is changed or even resurrected because of a terror he must now face that he almost seems oblivious to.Ghost: Omnibus Vol. 1 The anti-hero of a woman in white, dead but non remembering of her past, can sound like the aspect of Catwoman reversed but the incessant mind games that surround this character as she tries to battle her own personal hell is one of the only recent original visions that has such a style all its own. Cinematically, the story carries problems because everything in terms of how Angel sees the world and how she functions in it is internalized but for this medium, it is beautiful. At the beginning it is about her realizing where her life before death ended. Her relationship with her promiscuous sister Margo is one of her only links from being dragged into her own personal hell where either she creates a prison of her own mind or an altered perception of time, past or present. The villains are also very multi-pronged although mostly vicious in their effective nature. Between a devil-like character pursuing Angel as a construct of her mind or the man who caused her death with his psionic control of women, the narrative floats in perpetuity with some grand artwork and teetering mind paradoxes. Unlike something like "Orange" where the textures are purely the primary, the genuine lurid and decadent world here that the conflicted characters inhabit is balanced by rich colors and shadows that pop off the page with energy. Each building chapter shows a lie uncovered but an emotion unveiled. This Omnibus is rich and virulent despite its vicious content that is both energetic and repulsive at the same time.The Helm The aspect of a superhero who is a complete loser plays against the normal personification of comic books since people usually like to read on the aspect of what they cannot be. Here a helmet meant for a warrior is mistakenly placed with a  wretched, lazy video store clerk who is a misguided soul in every way. The saracastic buzz between the two characters make sense but in a low structured journey. Add in a girl who is almost as desperate as our would be hero and the ideal becomes an exercise in futility. Now as a tongue-in-cheek exercise, the comic has its merits especially when the louse beats a demon in sword play by sheer luck and then realizes he's won. The allusion is that someone like this (as Clark Griswold showed) could have his day. The 4 issue arc brings the elements in a circle as the Helm wipes the slate clean so the lurch can fight another day...and eat grapes.