Upcoming Space Ghost reboot to "reclaim" the franchise "for a brand-new generation of fans"

Warner Bros. has thousands of heroes, but there's one that stands on his own, removed from the others, and in some cases... a ghost. We're talking about Space Ghost.

And now, the nostalgic sci-fi superhero returns for a dynamic new reboot of the franchise that aims to hone in on what everyone liked best about the original cartoon, but mixed with modern storytelling. David Pepose, who recently led Marvel's revamp of the Punisher, is partnering with artist Jonathan Lau on what is essentially an Ultimate version of Space Ghost.

And it's just what we needed.

Ahead of the Space Ghost comic's May 1 debut, I spoke with Pepose about this 'new meets nostalgia' style take on the hero and his sidekicks to get the full story - including what fans of the '90s Space Ghost: Coast to Coast will have to love in this new book.

Popverse: David, what makes Space Ghost interesting in 2024?

David Pepose: In a genre that’s been mined in comics as thoroughly as superheroes, Space Ghost is the rare caped crusader who still feels like unexplored territory. A character that’s equal parts Batman and Flash Gordon, Space Ghost has all the ingredients of an A-lister — his brilliant design by Alex Toth; his vast abilities drawn from his Power Bands and Inviso-Belt; his engaging trio of sidekicks Jan, Jace and Blip; and his deep bench of iconic villains like Zorak, Brak, and the Council of Doom — and yet, there’s a generation of fans who don’t know who Space Ghost is as an actual character. And that felt like an incredible opportunity to me: to introduce readers to one of the most compelling superheroes in the genre, to explore who he is as both a hero and a human being as we follow him across a sci-fi universe filled with Alex Toth’s limitless creativity.

From what I've seen, your Space Ghost story with Jonathan Lau is pure superheroics - not revisionist, not post-modern - just earnestly taking the foundation of what Space Ghost was in the 1960s and re-imagining it today with modern storytelling and art. How was it to develop this concept and not be pulled away from pure superheroics?

It’s honestly been an incredible experience. When I was growing up, my first introduction to Space Ghost was as a talk show host in Space Ghost: Coast to Coast — it wasn’t until I got my first internship in the comics industry that I learned who Alex Toth was, and discovered Space Ghost’s superhero roots. Rewatching the original Hanna-Barbera cartoon, the core components of Space Ghost felt so pure and timeless and universal to me, but because the episodes were only five minutes each, there was little room for any continuity or backstory or even character development. It felt like the superhero equivalent of a perfect storm to me — everything about