Ghosted in LA #1 is published by BOOM! Studios under their BOOM! Box imprint. It is written and created by Sina Grace with by Siobhan Keenan and Sina Grace, and colors by Cathy Le.
Daphne Walters has her whole college experience figured out. She might be far away from her best friend, Kristi, but it’s ok because she’ll be with her boyfriend, Ronnie. She’ll make new friends, go to parties, and enjoy a sunshiney life in Los Angeles. Too bad for Daphne, the only thing that goes according to plan is being far away from Kristi.
After she meets her grumpy roommate, gets ditched by two new “friends,” Ronnie breaks up with her. Now Daphne is alone. It’s in her lonely wandering that she happens upon Rycroft Manor, a fancy, abandoned apartment complex. Well, mostly abandoned. There are residents at Rycroft Manor, they’re just ghosts. But maybe these ghosts are just what Daphne needs to make her new life in the city and find herself.
My first impression of this series is a positive one. It already feels cute, light, and relatable, with a diverse cast of characters. At first, Daphne looks like your standard, generic female character in appearance, but she’s not. While she only mentions being Jewish once, but Daphne wears her Star of David necklace everywhere – I can’t off the top of my head think of another lead Jewish comic character. It’s a subtle touch but I really like that Sina Grace did it that way. She’s wearing her necklace in pretty much every panel, it’s right there in front of your face, but at the same time she isn’t constantly drawing attention to it.
Daphne is going to be a wonderful character to watch develop. She’s so awkward but at the same time she’s so talkative and…well, a little abrasive (I like her, but I can see why her roommate might get short with her. She’s trying to watch a show and eat her lunch and Daphne is jabbering her ear off). Daphne thinks Michelle was standoffish because of her necklace, and it could be, but as someone who doesn’t like small talk (especially with strangers), I can definitely see it being the chatter. She’s also very co-dependent, but resilient at the same time. As someone who struggled with co-dependency issues, I relate to that overwhelming feeling of not being able to make decisions or choose things on your own on many levels.
Siobhan Keenan and Sina Grace’s art are both so cute, especially with Cathy Le’s colors. I’m not 100% sure, but I think Grace did the beginning flashback scene while Keenan did the rest. Looking at the art, I’m pretty sure this is the case, but I didn’t see anything specifically saying so…regardless, their art is different but I like how it’s split that way. The flashbacks are a different color as well, it’s more overcast and neutral while in current time, everything is super colorful – even the ghosts are these beautiful shades of blue. I have a really good feeling about this series and I’m looking forward to seeing more.
OVERALL SCORE: 8.5 / 10
Make sure you check out Ghosted in LA #1 at your local comic shop!
Happy reading!
