JACK'S WEBCOMIC LOVE JUNKBLOG

GHOST JUNK SICKNESS

Jun 29, 2022

Author: STUDIO CARTRIDGE
Page Count: 1000+
Start Date: February 3, 2015
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure, LGBTQ+
Style: Black & White, Manga-Esque
Language: English
Hosting: Hiveworks
Status: Ongoing

This review is reposted from Webcomic Recc Week on my tumblr blog.

This week it's time to tell you about another gorgeous webcomic. This one’s called Ghost Junk Sickness. While the Ghost is a fashionable shapeshifting menace featured heavily in this epic tale, there doesn’t appear to be any Junk Sickness. Unless... here's looking at you, Boggmouth!

Created by Studio CARTRIDGE, a team of sisters named Krispy & Space, who are based out of Ontario, Canada -this story follows a pair of interstellar bounty hunters with a troublesome relationship, while the spectre of the “Ghost” haunts them in the background. They, like many unfortunates before them, are drawn to the hefty bounty, as the elusive Ghost is worth a whopping 600,000 triens! Life changing cash for Trigger & Vahn.

Trigger is, as his name suggests, a grumbly, gun-toting hardass, and he travels across the universe in search of sweet, sweet cash with his soft-spoken friend, Vahn Gavotte. Vahn is a more upbeat, feminine sort who is trying desperately to look on the bright side. They have some crazy markings nobody understands, and their tiny frame can easily brace a colossal energy gun that they use to destroy their foes. Curious, indeed.

Mecha battles, planet apocalypses, kidnappings, big ol’ lizards, a corrupt interstellar military, leg-lobbings, murder, and more– Ghost Junk Sickness will throw you through a tonal loop, and it's so much fun. Some parts of it feel like a “monster of the week” type of format, where each chapter is a self-contained episode. This storytelling style graciously shows us a window into all aspects of CARTRIDGE's universe, peering into the lives of friend and foe, bitter and sweet. Every member of the huge cast gets their time to shine.

GJS is a black and white behemoth, spanning 7 years of updates. At the time of writing, it has 18 chapters and 1000+ pages that will keep you satisfied for weeks of binge time. At least, that’s how long it took me to read it, and I was devouring the damn thing. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous, confident, and intensely emotional.

Or, you know, just read it for the military general villainess, Fiachra. (I don't have a type, I swear.) She is mean and big and strong and powerful and oh dear I may be biased.

YOU COULD ALSO join me in my years-long turmoil while I wait for an explanation of what the hell is going on with the Ghost and Vahn! The story's hinted at a connection between them for over a thousand pages and we still don't know what it is. They have similar and that manifests as ... I am teased along by the tantalizing drip of close calls between them. My theory is they are clones but who knows. I'm sure the final chapters will blow my mind, but dang, I really want to know!

If you like Hunter X Hunter’s massive, sprawling universe, Vash the Stampede’s mysterious superpowers from Trigun, and all the space-faring adventure of Cowboy Bebop, you’ll love Ghost Junk Sickness.

Krispy also helped put together the wonderful Webcomic Resources blog, which, as the name suggests, is invaluable if you are a comic creator. It is full of useful information I reference often. She is also part of the team for the Webcomic-centric podcast SCREEN TONES.

Watch yourself...you never know where THE GHOST may be lurking!

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