COMIIC CREATOR
Clarkston native forms new comic book company
“We’re not typical capes-and-tights
... we wanted to break free from that and do something different. As much as we love superheroes.”
Geoff Johns
Clarkston native Geoff Johns loves superheroes. In his career, he’s revamped DC Comics’ “Green Lantern,” “The Flash” and “Aquaman.” His work on the “Superman” and “Batman” family of titles has earned critical acclaim. He created Stargirl, who is based on his late sister, Courtney. He’s written and produced numerous episodes for TV shows “The Flash,” “Titans,” “Smallville,” “Doom Patrol,” “Arrow,” and “Superman & Lois,” among others.
Yet Ghost Machine — the new comic book company he’s founded with 11 other creators (including New York Times best-selling novelist/University of Michigan alumnus Brad Meltzer) — does not have superheroes.
“We love superheroes obviously; we’ve been working on them for decades,” said Johns, of Los Angeles, a Clarkston High School and Michigan State University alumnus. “We’re not typical capes-and-tights like Marvel and DC; we wanted to break free from that and do something different. As much as we love superheroes … we didn’t want to go the route of superheroes and supervillains battling each other over and over.”
Ghost Machine was officially announced at the New York Comic-Con last fall. In January, “Ghost Machine” No. 1 was released, serving as a preview of what the company will offer in the months ahead. On April 3, the first three titles from Ghost Machine were released — all written by Johns — “Geiger,” “Redcoat” and “Rook: Exodus.”
“Geiger” was originally released in 2021 through Image Comics, written by Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank, Johns’s collaborator on “Avengers” and “Superman: Secret Origin.” They’re reuniting on the new “Geiger”