The Grim Ghost is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

created by writer

Michael Fleisher Michael Lawrence Fleisher (November 1, 1942 — February 2, 2018) was an American writer known for his DC Comics of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly for the characters Spectre and Jonah Hex. Biography Early life and career Fleisher was raise ...

and artist

Ernie Colón Ernesto Colón SierraColón in English translation of Via (July 13, 1931 – August 8, 2019) was a stateside Puerto Rican comics artist, known for his wide-ranging career illustrating children's, superhero, and horror comics, as well as main ...

that debuted in ''The Grim Ghost'' #1 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d Jan. 1975) from

Atlas/Seaboard Comics Atlas/Seaboard Comics is a line of comic books published by the American company Seaboard Periodicals in the 1970s. Though the line was published under the brand Atlas Comics, comic book historians and collectors refer to it as Atlas/Seaboard Com ...

. The series lasted three issues before the company went out of business in January 1976. A new ongoing series published by a revival of Atlas Comics in association with Ardden Entertainment, debuted in 2010.

Publication history

' ''The Grim Ghost'' ran three issues (cover-dated Jan.-July 1975. Writer co-creator

scripted the first two issues, and

Tony Isabella Jenny Blake Isabella (born December 22, 1951), who writes under the names Tony Isabella and Jenny Blake, is an Americans, American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic. She is the creator of Marvel Comics superhero Bill Foster (com ...

the third. Artist co-creator

drew all three. A new ongoing series, published by a revival of Atlas Comics in association with Ardden Entertainment, debuted with a #0 preview (Oct. 2010) before issue #1 (March 2011). The new series'

trademarked A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a product or service from a particular source and distinguishes it from ot ...

cover logo is ''The Grim Ghost'' while its

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

ed title given in the postal indicia is simply ''Grim Ghost''.''Grim Ghost'' (Ardden Entertainment, 2010 series)
at the Grand Comics Database.

Fictional character biography

Colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the period of European colonization of North America from the late 15th century until the unifying of the Thirteen British Colonies and creation of the United States in 1776, during the Re ...

, Irish immigrant

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

Matthew Dunsinane was secretly the masked

highwayman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foo ...

known as the Grim Ghost and was quite successful at his criminal trade until the dashing rogue was finally betrayed by a woman and captured in 1743. After he was hanged, his soul went to Hell where the Devil gave him a choice: either suffer for his crimes forever or become an agent of Satan's on Earth to bring evil souls to Hell. Returning to Earth in the 20th century (where longer lifespans were keeping the wicked from going to Hell long past when they were due), he became the Grim Ghost in form as well as name, now riding a flying black horse and firing spectral pistols whose "bullets" transported still-living murderers and thieves down to the flames of perdition while posing as a living descendant of himself who resided in the house he had owned over two centuries before. His greatest mission was to capture the demon Brimstone who wanted to overthrow the Devil and rule Hell in his place. In order to do this, the Devil forced Matthew to work with Lady Sarah Braddock, the woman who originally set him up to get caught and hanged.

2010–11 revival

The Grim Ghost and his arch nemesis, Braddock, a man turned dark spirit, struggle in the Fringe, a realm between life and death. A recent arrival, Michael Colavito, is caught between the two. Ardden Entertainment published seven issues (''The Grim Ghost'' #0-6).

Other characters with this name

An earlier character called the Gay Ghost has since been named the Grim Ghost due to the modern

connotations A connotation is a commonly understood culture, cultural or emotional association that any given word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or Literal and figurative language, literal meaning (philosophy of language), meaning, which is it ...

of the word "

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Profile: Grim Ghost (internationalhero.co.uk)
Atlas/Seaboard Comics titles Characters created by Michael Fleisher Comics superheroes Comics characters introduced in 1975 Irish superheroes