Review by Frank Plowright

Ghosting is set during the second season of DC Super Hero Girls, and Amanda Deibert shows Wonder Woman excelling at everything. It’s only the prelude to a crisis of confidence, though, and extra training to the point of wearing out her friends doesn’t seem to make any difference. That’s allied to the mysterious disappearance of all sorts of friends and enemies, with seemingly not a clue as to where they may be. At first the girls just think they’re being ghosted, hence the title, but eventually more sinister reasons emerge.

Yancey Labat may be DC’s best kept artistic secret. Restricting his accomplished, character-rich digital pages to a series intended for young girls means that a lot of people who’d be really impressed will never see his art. The vibrant colours provided by Carrie Strachan are an integral part of the appeal.

Earlier Super Hero Girls outings have always looked first class, but the writing has frequently lagged a fair way behind. This, though is case of the story matching the art. Deibert keeps the mysteries bubbling nicely, and switches the spotlight around. It’s not often that Katana has a leading role in a graphic novel, but Deibert makes good use of her personality and the capabilities of Soultaker, her sword. Something that happens right at the start is actually very important, yet it’s disguised as just a scene-setting way into the story, and also good is the way the story’s extended after the battle seems won. It’s not artificial and it’s also a case of prolonging the mystery.

All too often the Super Hero Girls graphic novels come off second best when compared to their animated outings. Not this time.