Spectre Inspectors #2

Spectre Inspectors #2

BOOM! Box 2021

Created & Written by Bown McCurdy & Kaitlyn Musto

Illustrated by Bowen McCurdy

Lettered by Jim Campbell

After encountering a real (after) life demon while looking for ghosts in the most haunted town in America, Noa, Ko, Gus, and Astrid are on the hunt for this particular devil's true name, to try and free Astrid from its demonic influence. But they might just uncover more about the dark truth about idyllic Cape Grace, and the secrets surrounding its famous founding Mayor while they're at it…

Oh my stars and garters if this isn’t just cutest little series there is then i’m a monkey’s uncle. Last issue ended with the team trying to leave town hoping that would be enough to free Astrid, which wasn’t successful in the slightest to no one’s surprise. So now the team has to regroup and figure out what it is they are going to do to free Astrid and quite possibly record ghosts and make an episode for their show. OH yeah and they’ve plenty of obstacles to overcome along the way but where Astrid is concerned the team isn’t about to leave her behind. Besides Noa would never abandon her girlfriend.

I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. So as they have decided to stay their first stop is the library, after all if you are going to research and try to find out how to separate Astrid from the demon this is a great place to start. The character development remains incredibly strong as well. How we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter speak volumes to their character as people. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages showcases the deeper parts of the story we’re given new directions to take.

I am enjoying the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow and weave themselves throughout the original premise or arc. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow is absolutely delightful. The way that this is being told all around is incredible to witness and take something like a ghost hunting team, youtube style, and give them the opportunity of a lifetime well it’s fantastic!

The interiors here are so good. The all-ages style of art is what makes this what it is and introduces younger audiences to the fact that it’s okay to be who you are. The linework we see is fantastic and as the varying weights are utilised to create the detail work that we see is sensational. The creativity and imagination on display is superb, Agatha and her transformation is the perfect example. How backgrounds are utilised and the splash pages we see with the town or that initial shot of the library and how they work within the composition of the panels is marvellous. The depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is well rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels showcase a strong eye for storytelling. The colour work is fabulous! I like how we see the various hues and tones being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work.

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This is a phenomenal example of the power that all-ages storytelling has nowadays, or at least how more publishing houses are making them available. Love, family and friendship aren’t always found within the family you’re born into it’s whom you choose to surround yourself with and these four young individuals are family to one another. At least they are in my eyes and I think that alone is with its weight in gold.