GHOSTED IN LA #8 – Possessions and Rituals

GHOSTED IN LA #8 – Possessions and Rituals

Ghosted in LA Moving On?

Beginning by showing part of Shirley’s life when she was alive working as a nurse and taking care of her elderly mother and then back to the present and starting off from where the last issue ended with Shirley wanting to pass on, Ghosted in L.A. #8 has a lot of surprises and revelations.

Shirley’s flashback, set in 1990s Culver City, has her deal with late payments, Shirley’s kids not contacting them, and her mother’s ill health. In the present, Shirley wants to pass on after being in Rycroft for so long.

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To do so, Agi must perform the ritual with certain ingredients and has to posses Daphne as a live human is the only one that can perform it. Daphne is unsure of of the possession, despite wanting to help Shirley, while Zola objects as she’s afraid of how it could affect her.

The Ritual

Soon after, Bernard visits Ronnie at his dorm, telling him they shouldn’t see each other due to their different circumstances. All the while, Michelle is with her bible studies group and asks them if they believe in ghosts. Relating the question to Daphne, they laugh it off and ignore it, though Michelle still thinks about it.

Later on, Daphne lets Agi posses her, buys the ingredients, and performs the ritual. It doesn’t work as Shirley is still in Rycroft with no change to her. Having been in Daphne for as long as she could, Agi exits her body.

Daphne is exhausted, shocked, and broken by the experience. Upon seeing Zola, she explains that when possessed Daphne’s spirit was in a black void. This made Daphne realize how empty she is as everything she has done was to please others, like her mother and Kristi. Zola comforts her, and the next day Daphne plans to find herself, even if it’s hard.

At the same time, Shirley and Bernard discuss what went wrong. Despite not moving on, Shirley sensed that something did work but that there was an unknown energy. The last panel of the issue is of the basement door opening up, with ghostly energy surrounding it.

Daphne’s Arc

There is a lot to take in with this issue, more than the last seven. While you don’t want to say goodbye to Shirley, as getting to know her and the other ghosts is what drew many people in to the series, Sina Grace’s writing makes it understandable. You feel bad when she wants to leave, and then worse when she can’t.

But the most surprising and shocking moment came with Daphne’s revelation about herself. You feel her pain as she talks about her emptiness, especially if one has felt the same way in their lives. Daphne was always a well written and relatable character, but this has given her a new and interesting arc that will no doubt be fascinating. Add to that the mystery of the door and Shirley unable to move on, Grace masters both drama and mystery.

If there’s one flaw is that Zola’s initial reaction to how the ritual will be performed happens too strongly. Sure, it shows how much she cares for Daphne but the way it’s written feels a bit wrong.

Possession Changes

While the artwork is pretty much the same, Siobhan Keenan truly shows how talented she is by how different she makes Daphne when possessed by Agi. Not only does she wear much older clothing, but the way Daphne moves and walks is also more akin to how Agi moves.

With Ghosted in L.A. #8, you get both the continuation to a wonderful series and the start of a powerful arc.

You can read Ghosted in L.A. #8 through Amazon or your local comic book store.