Ghost #2 continues the story of Elisa after she makes a deal with a demon named Beleth, who claims to know her true identity and will tell her how the man she encountered last issue knew her. Part of this deal was for Elisa to find a new human body for Beleth and in turn he would reveal all he knew about the mayor’s plans including all the demons in position of power throughout Chicago. This puts her at odds with her friends who not only distrust Beleth but instead want her to investigate the killings by the murderer dubbed the White City Butcher. However she can’t shake the urge she has for answers and when Beleth promises to show her proof that he’s not wasting her time she accepts to go with him. Vaughn decides to follow some leads he has since he still doesn’t trust Beleth, and Tommy and Sloane continue to investigate the White City Butcher and plan on investigating a location where one of the murders took place. But they may be getting in over their heads as the White City Butcher is somehow able to get in and out of all the locations without forced entry and already has his next victims planned out. Is Elisa making a mistake in following Beleth and underestimating the severity of the murders by the White City Butcher?

I thoroughly enjoyed the first issue and despite not being familiar with the character or what occurred in the previous series it was still an entertaining read and the events weren’t difficult to follow.  That lack of prior familiarity didn’t play a factor in this issue either however the story didn’t flow as smoothly as it did in the first issue. It was off to a great start with the White City Butcher entering into his next victims’ home and gave a certain gravitas to a character that was only talked about before and not seen. However from this point it would go back to Elisa with her friends with Beleth and it’s not that I had an issue with them mapping out their plans or the lack of trust in Beleth but that this would be the first of many times this issue where Elisa would grab and threaten Beleth so he follows through with his part of the bargain. Even if he was being completely uncooperative this would have still been too much for one issue but considering he made a deal it felt unnecessary for that to be done more than once in this issue. And Vaughn would also investigate Beleth on his own and that felt like overkill. It would pick up some when Elisa and Beleth arrived at the party Beleth wanted to use as proof and there was plenty of action to enjoy. One battle felt anti-climactic as it was mentioned as possibly being a challenge to her and nothing was shown. However there was an interesting development at the end that could make next issue’s storyline with Elisa and Beleth more enjoyable, and there is a revelation in this issue too so there’s some satisfaction.

The storyline with Tommy and Sloane is interesting just because of what is revealed about the White City Butcher and the progress that is made with that storyline keeps it interesting and I found it slightly more interesting than the events with Elisa and Beleth but only because the White City Butcher is more interesting than Beleth and the majority of what he showed her. So I’m hoping there’s more White City Butcher and less generic demon going forward.

SUMMARY

Ghost #2 is an ok issue that has interesting elements but suffers somewhat from execution as what is most memorable is the number of times Elisa threatens Beleth to make the story progress, and then the revelation is second most memorable moment. And the setup for the next issue is very intriguing and I am very interested in how that will play out as it seems there will be some really good action but I also hope that the mayor’s plot at least seems as threatening as they say it is. And the White City Butcher becomes more interesting as a shape is given to the character as well as a pattern of behavior and Elisa’s decision to not pursue the Butcher could come back to haunt her. So I’m still on board with this series and looking forward to the next issue very much.

Release Date: 3/12/14

Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick

Artist: Phil Noto