Ya know, I really hate it when my recently deceased uncle leaves me a dilapidated, off the grid house that’s packed to the gills with a hoard of useless junk and a haunted music box that causes me to be targeted by nefarious, murderous henchmen. I mean, what a jerkoff, right? Anyway, that’s the basic premise of GHOSTBOX: BLACK AND WHITE #1 from Comixology Originals. GHOSTBOX was originally released in full color, digitally, from Comixology Originals and physically through Mad Cave Studios. Now, on 2/17/2026, Comixology is re-releasing the series but this time, in black and white with the complete first draft of the script as bonus material.
I’m a sucker for black and white comics. I say that as BLACK HOLE by Charles Burns stares a… well, a hole through me from across the room. So, the idea of stripping the color away in favor of the brooding beauty of black and white really appeals to me. I think it was the original Walking Dead series that sold me on it many many years ago. So, move over magenta. Get gone, green grass. Black and white supremacy is here and we’re takin’ over!
Sorry. Got carried away. Back to GHOSTBOX. It was a fun read! Watching Chloe Peace, the flaky, perpetually behind the eight ball, low level scientist navigate her unexpected inheritance with her reliable, dependable, wiser sister, Jan, felt very organic. There were hints of tension there, undoubtedly caused by Jan dealing with Chloe’s unreliability and Chloe’s resentment of being looked down upon by Jan. But it’s very clear that these sisters have much love for each other. I was very happy to see that the leads of this story are black women. That’s not something you see often in comics and I feel, as usual, their stories are under-represented in the medium. As a black man, this was nice to see. Their race is never mentioned in the story. They’re just presented as normal people, living normal lives–as are we all–until being thrust into a world of supernatural horror.
I read both the colored and the black and white versions and, surprise surprise, I preferred the black and white. It wasn’t until I saw it without color that I realised how much artist Pablo Raimonditi’s (Sacred Creatures) work reminded me of Charlie Adlard of THE WALKING DEAD fame. I’d say his linework is a bit more standard with less grit than Adlard’s, leaning in a more realism oriented direction. But for this story, I think that was the right call. There was a double page spread in the book that showcased a different side of Raimonditi. It was very psychedelic, dreamscape-esque. Hopefully, as the story progresses, we’ll get to see more of that. If you’ve already read the colorized version, you’d know better about that than I would. But please, no spoilers. I definitely want to see where this goes.
Writer Mike Carey (The Girl With All the Gifts, Lucifer, The Lycan) does quite a fine job from the start bringing you into Chloe’s world. Sometimes, stories that take place in the present-day seem to do a bit too much to try and force the world of the story to feel contemporary. Too many current technological references. Too many fleetingly fashionable slang terms being thrown around. Sometimes it just feels forced. But Mike Carey doesn’t do that here. He presents you with a world that is very clearly of the moment but yet it feels as profoundly mundane as the real world in spite of all of our fantastic achievements. I know that sounded like a bad thing, but it’s not. I’m saying it feels true. It feels believable. So, when things go sideways, you’ve already identified with these characters enough for their unfortunate turn of luck to have an impact on you.
There was an intense moment late in the issue where I felt what could have been a more visceral, tense scene was undercut by humor. The nature of the confrontation I’m speaking of could have gone a bit harder in the paint as well, I feel. But, it’s the first issue. I’m sure we’re just getting a taste of what’s to come. I think GHOSTBOX: BLACK AND WHITE #1 will appeal to readers of SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN by James Tynion IV and NITA HAWES: NIGHTMARE BLOG by Rodney Barnes, especially for the latter’s strong, black, female lead character and more ghostly elements.
So, be sure to thank your estranged, dead uncle Max for the ramshacked shit-hole of a house and the cursed music box he left you. Now I see why the rest of the family never mentioned him.
