The New York Times released a bombshell that has the potential to change the comic book industry with the announcement of a new creator owned publisher, Ghost Machine, which will publish their books through Image Comics. Some of the names making up the initial founder of Ghost Machine should be very familiar to Green Lantern fans in particular. Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi, Jason Fabok, Francis Manapul, Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch, Brad Meltzer, Lamont Magee and Maytal Zchut are the first names associated with Ghost Machine, with more to be named later.
All the creators will be exclusive to Ghost Machine, which has implications for some books currently being published by DC Comics that connect to the Green Lantern universe, namely JSA and the new Sinson backup feature in Green Lantern. No word from DC about either of them at this early stage of things, however one thing that has the potential to have a larger impact on DC’s line is that there are other creators on board with Ghost Machine that have not been announced. Those individuals are currently under contract with other companies and are obliged to remain silent while those contracts in place. They will be announced in the coming months as those creators are able to publicly announce their intentions.
Ghost Machine will launch with a two-issue prequel series, Geiger: Ground Zero, by Geoff John and Gary Frank, in November.
A 64-page special titled Ghost Machine #1 will release in January 2024. The special will introduce readers to the four shared universes of Ghost Machine’s characters:
- The Unnamed, a mysterious group of heroes featuring some of the already published characters like Geiger, Junkyard Joe, Redcoat, and First Ghost that were created by Johns and Frank.
- Rook: Exodus, a futuristic sci-fi epic from Jason Fabok where humanity has harnessed the laws of nature.
- Family Odysseys, a Tomasi and Manapul creation which features the Rocketfellers, a time displaced family, and their friends.
- A horror universe co-created and illustrated by a creator who is a part of Ghost Machine, but whose name has been withheld due to their current under exclusive contract with another publisher.
The Ghost Machine multiverse looks to be hitting the ground running in April of 2024. Several of the creators from Ghost Machine are currently at the New York Comic Con promoting the new imprint.