This week Boom! Studios introduces Specter Inspectors, a new comic series full of ghosts, spooky fun, and good queer representation.
The Specter Inspectors live that Scooby Doo life chasin’ ghosts! True believer Noa, her cynical little sibling Gus, credulous camera man Ko, and skeptical Astrid head to one of the most haunted towns in America to prove that ghosts exist, for all the social media likes! The investigations of hauntings uncover something more devilish than just a couple of ghosts, something that will put Noa and Astrid’s relationship to the test… and reveal the centuries-old sinister secrets of the town itself.
Check out our spoiler-free review of issue #1 below.
Specter Inspectors #1 Review
I’m only one issue in to Specter Inspectors, and I’m already obsessed.
I’ve always loved both the supernatural and comedy, and most of my favorite media combine the two. Specter Inspectors is right to reference Scooby-Doo in the series description – that’s very much the vibe of these comics. It’s a whole new gang of meddling kids, dropped into the modern world where there are ghost hunting shows galore and social media scams abound. Things might get a little scary, but everything is also approached with a great sense of humor.
Along with the technology update to the Scooby-premise, Specter Inspectors also modernizes its characters. Gus uses they/them pronouns. Noa and Astrid are… not quite girlfriends, probably, but certainly on their way there. (What’s a group dynamic without a will-they-won’t-they pairing, right?) It’s always good to see more casual queer representation in media.
I don’t want to dive too deep into the plot here, because I want to keep this one spoiler-free. But I like that issues of Specter Inspectors run a little longer. The story definitely makes good use of the extra space and sets up a conflict I’m invested in. When I got to the end, I was looking forward to more.
Overall, I love everything about Specter Inspectors. This first issue manages to set up likeable characters, while excellently kicking off a twisty, spooky story. And it’s all done with just the right amount of humor. I don’t want to get ahead of myself here, but this could easily become one of my favorite comic series.
You can grab the premiere issue of Specter Inspectors from Boom! Studios now.