The Vampire King? The Vampire King? Well, it’s not Dracula, but he is menacing on an intergalactic level. Could you imagine vampires out there in space? Horrifying thought indeed.
Those horrors come to life in the sixth issue in Season 2 of Space Ghost. The issue begins with Team Ghost on the Run, unfortunately for our hero, he falls prey to a cosmic entity while his companions are able to make their escape.
There is a similarity to the DC Elseworlds story, Batman: Red Rain.
Jan and Jace, along with Blip are on the run, with hordes of vampiric-possessed beings from various worlds in pursuit. It appears the same rules apply on Earth and in space, where if you are bitten, you become part of the hive. The youths determine through trial by fire that a heaping dose of sunlight will defeat them. However, does this mean they will have to confront their adopted father?
This repeats a trend of removing Space Ghost as the main protagonist, allowing Jace and Jan to continue developing as strong-willed characters. At this stage it is clear they are no longer the naive sidekicks, but worthy of holding their own after enduring a number of near-death confrontations.
What is noteworthy is not only is Space Ghost not in the heroic role, but transferred into a scenario of what would happen should he go rogue or become co-opted by nefarious forces?
The issue fills a Villain of the Month role, however as we have seen, not all standalone tales have a conclusion.
This may be one where we are led to believe there is a finality in the last page, but perhaps this story holds more than meets the eye.
