Back in 2011, Robert Kirkman and Todd McFarlane teamed up to create a new horror-based superhero. Tough, edgy characters steeped in government covert operations, illegal experiments, and sex-addicted priests. Along with Ryan Ottley and Greg Capullo, they brought Venom to life. If he was white and had ghost powers. I mean, Haunt. However, I think you could also think of Firestorm as removing the physical abilities and adding ectoplasm. But definitely Haunt.
Just kidding, the first 18 issues are something else. If you’re a teenage boy, they’re probably right up your alley. I mean, just like the original Spawn, I know for sure it would have happened. (I’d also say, in a roundabout way, that Haunt feels like an influence on what Venom has been for the past decade.) Many of the story elements may be amusingly over-the-top, but the conflict between the two brothers, the Priest and the Ghost Agent, has a solid basis. And the overall design of Haunt’s costume is pretty good.
It was that base that the second team ran from No. 19.
“…The dawn of a new world of death.”
Joe Casey and Nathan Fox began their run at Haunt in car No. 19 with the FCO Placencia and Comicraft teams. Over the next nine issues, John Lucas, Robbie Rodriguez, Kyle Stram, Ivan Plasencia, and Brad Simpson joined in, with an epilogue by Todd McFarlane himself that upended the status quo, involved a bizarre religious cult, introduced a hippie Ghostbuster, ramped up the guilt, and set Daniel and Kurt Kilgore on a path they really had to learn. We work together to become something bigger.
The certain confident demeanor that was present in the original incarnation is still there, but it was taken in a different direction, as it was able to get the brothers into new trouble. This is the kind of swagger we’re used to seeing in many of Joe Casey’s stories, but there’s an interesting wrinkle here. Some of the brothers’ actions come back to haunt them, and responsibility and guilt haunt them. That’s a bit of growth.
Nathan Fox’s artwork is intuitive. His style, the scratchy shadows, exaggerated angles, and bug-like tendrils of ectoplasm that emanate from Haunt’s costume hit you in the face the moment you open the book. Great designs for the story’s monsters and villains, from fire golems to giant bugs. and a compelling approach to layout with intricate details on double-page spreads. I also really like how they use guest artists like John Lucas, Robbie Rodriguez, and Kyle Stram to play to their strengths by telling stories that flesh out their backstories and what’s happening to other characters. All with colors from FCO Plasencia, Ivan Plasencia and Brad Simpson throwing bright pops into the darkness.
To match the chaotic energy of the story and art, the team at Comiccraft is adjusting some of the characters as well. The unique speech bubbles and design of the first 18 issues are still there, but there’s a new, freer approach to the title, similar to Fox’s tendril design. And future versions will change the way the Haunt speaks.
“But this ‘trial by fire’ has been going on long enough.”
Casey, Fox, Lucas, Rodriguez, Stram, FCO & Ivan Plasencia, Simpson, and Comic Craft were building something with The Haunt and the Second Church, fully integrating both of the Kilgore brothers into the overall characters we saw at the very beginning of their run. I don’t know if it was the sales, the desire for Casey and Foxx to move on, or MacFarlane himself taking over again (as he did several times in Spawn when he wanted to take things in a different direction, which is his right, but this is not meant as a criticism) that brought about the resolution. But while it lasted, it was fun, full of over-the-top, ridiculous monsters.
However, Haunt’s story continues in the pages of Spawn, and he appears as a regular on the current series The Scorched alongside MacFarlane’s team of other heroes. For those interested in the full story, a collection containing the entire Haunt series has actually just been released on October 15, 2025.
Classic Comics Encyclopedia: Casey and Fox’s “HAUNT”
Ghost #19 – #28
Screenplay: Joe Casey and Todd McFarlane (#28)
Artist: Nathan Fox, John Lucas (#22), Robbie Rodriguez (#25), Kyle Stram (#28) & Todd McFarlane (#28)
Colorist: FCO Plasencia, Ivan Plasencia, Brad Simpson
Letterer: Comiccraft
Publisher: Image Comics
Release date: November 30, 2011 – December 19, 2012
Available in Haunt – Volumes 4 & 5 and Haunt: The Complete Collection
Read the past works of the classic manga encyclopedia!
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