Bah Humbug 

Despite the individual components originating elsewhere, with one having more in common with another holiday, this phrase has become somewhat synonymous with well wishes we give during the winter solstice.  This is due in no small part to its inclusion in Charles Dickens iconic work – A Christmas Carol.  Amazing isn’t it, that the miser’s snarky remark has gone on to become a separate entity; an unexpected protocol.  Especially since Scrooge’s statement, which you will probably hear at some point during this holiday season, is in direct conflict to Dickens’ initial intention.  It’s enough to make you wonder whether Ebenezer’s words fall into the category of being a feature instead of merely a bug.   

Now typically the ghost in the machine isn’t one you commonly associate with Charles’ classic or Christmas.  Usually it is the more familiar ones, like past and present.  However, in the film I, Robot, Dr. Lanning delivers a speech in which he mentions the possibility of a machine – specifically one containing an artificial intelligence – to demonstrate habits consistent with a free thinker or radical; of free will.  Based on an Isaac Assimov adaptation, Lanning’s query centers on the positronic brain; the ghost in the machine actually has its beginnings elsewhere.  

By now, given how much our modern society revolves around likes (and likeness) which intersects with the world of content and trademarks, you’d think we would have a better handle on the subject matter.  However, in just the past year, the Hollywood actor and writer strikes have revealed, the issue is still light years away from being settled.   Instead it seems some studios and shareholders are sending out invites for A.I. to join the conference call.  With this,  content creation and creator credit will undoubtedly enter a whole new era.  It already has as we have long left the days where you would never dare miss a show when it initially aired.  That time ended, first with syndication and now streaming.  Remember how the Special Release of Star Wars divided the fan base in 1997 like never before.  Imagine a day when a creator is capable of consistently making changes, creating countless Mandela effects, all because it is following an algorithm.  When added to the conversation concerning rights and royalties, there is quite a lot of data to consider.  A story about creators and creations, mind, body, spirit and flesh.  Of whether you can ever actually separate the two.  

Like Ebenezer, there appears to be a friendly ghost who’s arrived to assist us at the advent of A.I. 

Nightmare (Weekend) Before Christmas 

Of all the specters that visit Scrooge, the most foreboding to him – and quite possibly some of us, given the outfit often associated with the third ghost – is the final one.  However, the ghost of Yet-To-Come, also has one weakness the other two do not.  What it shows is avoidable, what Scrooge saw could be rewritten.  Or would that mean it never occurred at all?  Either way, Ebenezer had an option to harken to the spirit’s suggestion and keep “history” from repeating itself.  

It was during the Halloween season, 2023 when Ghost Machine Comics made its full presence known to the world.  A press release on October, 12, 2023, from Image Comics, announced the new independent publisher, and also gave hints at its initial series lineup.  The characters and stories, varying from historical to horrific, it said would span four (4) separate universes.  However, even in just this first year observers may have noticed ways in which each series is starting to coalesce.  Much like the separate realities came together to save Scrooge.  

Similarly, Charles can’t take all of the credit for raising the Christmas spirit in England in the 19h century.  Even if the other creations receive a Bah Humbug each year.  Long before we had memes or emails to express our XMas affections, there was simply the mail.  And it would be another creator Sir Henry Cole, an illustrator, who would introduce Britain to another holiday tradition – the Christmas card.  Still it’s safe to say that both Dickens and Cole merely contributed to what came before them.  However, this savior would be a queen, as the (re)introduction of Christmas in England occurred during the reign of Queen Victoria and husband Prince Albert and.  Prior to 1837, the appearance of the season was less obvious and restricted to the upper class.  Between the festive pageantry the monarchy promoted, the rise of industrial revolution factories capable of mass production of products like toys plus wages provided from work, the middle class began to experience a little Christmas time.  

Traveling the shell of what once was called The Greatest Country in the World, Geiger is a warning of what could – or will – go wrong.  Not only because the uranium rods he wields as weapons serve as a cautionary reminder of what was once a normal way of life.  From GE to Geez.  With a bounty on his head from the various factions now in power, Tariq Geiger roams the wasteland with only a two headed dog Barney and a bumbling foe turned friend by his side.  Neither dead nor alive, due to radioactive exposure and the loss of his family, Geiger may as well be a ghost.  However, Tariq knows of a way to escape this purgatory, even if only temporarily: books.  In spite of the savagery of the world he roams, Geiger fascination is so great that he goes out of his way to get his hands on as many as he can.  The Glowing Man is a reminder that, in spite of your current surroundings, fictional and nonfictional works alike have often been used as a means of virtual transportation and of downloading inspiration; taking humanity to new heights.  

Much like it would seem with the announcement that Ghost Machine would publish as part of Image Comics.  Certainly some must have wondered whether this was a case of the Ghost of Creators Past?  For anyone unaware of the Image’s own genesis, the manifesto involved allowing creators to maintain creative control of their creations.  This came about after years of what the founders of Image Comics felt like they weren’t getting a fair share of the funds – not to mention future stake – of their own funnies.  

Peanuts Christmas

Between Biblical scripture recounting how Adam was formed from the earth’s clay to Mary Shelly’s monster coming to life by lightning, there have always been tales that allude to the ability of apparitions to inhabit the inanimate.  Which would make Joe, the star of the comic series from writer Geoff Johns and illustrator, simply another golem.  However what Joe, and hopefully anyone reading, comes to understand is there is more to a creation than code.  Life itself already offers endless possibilities, plus we each possess an internal – almost innate – ability to exceed one’s initial purpose.  A way to combat small minded thinking.  

Here, the hilarious tale of Junkyard Joe could keep the memory of the hero alive.  Only able to follow his directives, Joe’s superiors deem the robot the perfect soldier, allowing Muddy to address what the military really wants from its personnel.  As a frame story Junkyard Joe allows its creators a means to address concerns surrounding the treatment of veterans.  What is due to those who have given so much. A plot that gets deeper once, decades later, Joe shows up at Muddy’s door.  

Muses and methods seldom get the monetary compensation they deserve, but maybe like Richard Martin in Bicentennial Man, Muddy will make sure Joe gets a cut as the inspiration for the comic.  Consider that as a little meta within the series to highlight the importance of retaining the rights to any of your creations.  Your own self identity included, even while acknowledging Psalm 100 that we did not make ourselves.  But even that coincides with the season and story behind the Christ child.  Which is another reason to not let the acronym NIL fool you.  In this case it doesn’t just mean nothing.   

A classic example, even if you don’t believe in his existence, is Santa Claus.  His true origin is a lost, obscured reminder to an Old World, meanwhile, his familiar likeness is under copyright protection of Coca Cola.  Then of course there’s Rudolph, which would be a whole different case of animal rights.  Could it be a case where both St. Nick and the Red-Nosed Reindeer are subtle warnings of what can happen when we don’t protect history – creation – from powerful entities?   

Little Drummer

In order to change Scrooge the spirits showed him the circular, and cynical, nature of his life. One of the fundamental elements of learning, or logic and even simply life is the simple loop.  A certain pattern of actions, questions or events are performed, sometimes repeated, until you come across something else, at which point a new action, question or event begins.  Ironically, or not, this also sounds a bit like Newton’s first Law of Motion or basic mechanics and machines.  And according to “his” creators, the initial purpose of Beta Unit aka Junkyard Joe.  To “learn from the mistakes we couldn’t afford to make” is how Dr. Stephen Falken describes it in the 1983 film War Games.  A way to overcome the one thing that is always, and also never ending.  

Even though the answer isn’t war, which is typically the case, admittedly it was a logical solution – at least in this situation.  In the Ghost  Machine universe(s), both Joe and Tariq aren’t the only Unnamed we’ve met so far.  Together, in some capacity, this collective will ultimately engage in The Unknown War.  Now what kind of name is that?  Throughout our collective (collected) history we’ve made certain to provide memorable names for humanity’s conflicts.  There was the Trojan War, The Battle of Jericho, the Civil War plus two, that’s right two world wars.  Each of these either gives credit to the city or civilization responsible or context to the circumstances surrounding the conflict.  The only reason to name something unknown is to keep certain portions of it that way.  Which would begin with when it began: time.

His name is Simon Pure, and he willingly admits he is anything but.  A Redcoat, turned turn coat, Simon is the opposite of Joe.  However, when he stumbles into a pagan ceremony being conducted in a church, Simon gets a chance at redemption.  And then because the ritual made him immortal, he gets another…and another.  Already a scoundrel, you have to sympathize with Simon since his ability didn’t come with anything else uncanny. Or even a steady paycheck.  Living in America, the redcoat turned turncoat has spent the better part of a century being loyal to no one but himself.  He sees everyone else as fish swimming by his ankles in a river.  Which is humbling as he reveals during an adventure with Albert Einstein his knowledge of American history; the truth and tall tales.  Of course, this is all the account of Simon, is he telling the truth, are his intentions pure.  That is after all one way to win a war.    

But what if you realize you can’t win the war, what do you do then?  Faced with a threat our bodies are designed to trigger an automatic response that starts an internal war, one of fight or flight.  Amidst an onslaught of chemicals our minds calculate all our options as our senses become heightened and our muscles tense up in anticipation of taking action.  This is how it must have felt for RooK as he abandoned his family farm and planet Earth on a rocket.  It’s also an accurate account of what he says he experiences while wearing a warden helmet in Ghost Machine’s Rook: Exodus.  In an undetermined future, humans begin to face the fact that extinction on Earth, due to centuries of warring with the world, is imminent.  At this point mankind manages to make a new home on Exodus.  This new planet is powered by the Earth Engine, a network that allows Weathermen to manage and maintain the climate and Wardens to act as animal control.  For a while humanity had a second chance, though maybe they should have considered the source. 

Especially since there has been a chorus about the ruin to come due to our ever increasing technological dependency for decades. So when the Earth Engine finally fails, with a few fortunate enough – and with fortunes – already fleeing, many others are left waiting for the world to go dark.  The crow-man is faced with the same question, if not consequences as Simon Pure. Fight or flight. Like Pure, Rook will end up going down in history, even if his name is not included in the Unknown War?

Hellish Future, Paradise Lost, ever stop to recognize that these descriptive timelines contain one commonality.  The introduction of  the paranormal; something unknown.  Like Lanning’s free radical, or spirits that as Jacob Marley told Scrooge “try to interfere for human good”, it is often an unexpected arrival that initiates change.  This is true over at Ghost Machine Comics as the holidays have brought a few new kids to the block with Rocketfellers and Hornsby and Halo.  These titles along with Hyde Street highlight how individual events can significantly impact the grand design.  Focusing on the fundamental materials that tie together the very fabric of our lives.  But you have to wonder, to what end?

Stuffed Animals  

Judea-Christian religions have facilitated the fantasy of the toy-maker as well as the distinction it introduces between physical and mental/spiritual matter.  Today, with how much those values are still impacting our lives ,the ghost in the machine is getting a bit scary. After all, the New Testament of the Word made flesh was a patch to the glitch with the initial ghost in the Garden.  As for the initial use of the phrase ghost in the machine, that came from philosopher Gilbert Ryle in 1949.  Although it deconstructed Descartes’ “dualism” theory of the day, the research in Ryle’s Concept of Mind is interesting enough like the Good Book.  While Ryle attempts to explain how the body and mind are the same, his work also reinforces one spiritual testament.  That our thoughts as well as words and deeds are viewed as one in the same when it comes to breaking with God’s will.  

After breaking ground with Geiger and Joe in Fall 2023, in January 2024 the 64 page special Ghost Machine #1 that included Redcoat, Rook and other characters from the comic universe.  Or in this case universes, because according to last year’s press release Ghost Machine Comics consists of four (4) separate universes.  Though much like the ghost in the machine, can you separate one universe from another when the very definition of the word encompasses all that exists; all matter. The past, present and even the future.  The crossroads.  Which brings us to our final destination, as in the latest titles and their respective “universes”.    

In spite of being actually incorrect, there incidentally is a “main” street in every town in America, even if it goes by another name.  It all comes down to a matter of interpretation.  How you read – make that meet – things, like street signs or other members of our species says as much about you as it does about them.  And on one street in the Ghost Machine Universe it isn’t just the guy named Mr. X-Ray that can see a soul’s worth.  And since it’s the Scorekeeper, and not Santa keeping the list, you better be good for your own sake.  Otherwise you may encounter Pranky as he welcomes you to Hyde Street. It’s not about how you ended up here, but which road you take out of town afterwards that is important.

Naughty or Nice aren’t the only concerns at Ghost Machine Comics.  Although they do come to mind when you consider how they are impacted by the concepts of Nature versus Nurture.  With there being no place like home, especially for the holidays, 2024 ends with the introduction of two Ghost Machine comics that offer confirmation.  First meet the Rocketfellers who, like the Jetsons, are from tomorrow.  But when confronted with concerns of what’s to come, that’s when dad Roland makes a choice that will send him back to the past.  Joining him on this family vacation are his wife Rachel, his parents and his children Richie and Rae.  Already dysfunctional in their own time, this family will have to get past their differences and fit into the present.  

But The Rockefeller children aren’t the only two kids trying to adjust to change.  As ethereal entities, one from Heaven the other Hell, Rose Hornsby and Zachary Halo’s existence was never going to be normal.  But after being switched at birth, their every action is monitored.  Given how essential each is to maintaining the balance of the cosmos, After being switched at birth to sustain a truce between the two kingdoms, not only does Hornsby and Halo sound like a law firm, these two may be all that stands between humanity and Judgment Day.       

Undoubtedly when those first factories helped everyone enjoy the holidays in England someone must have had a haunting suspicion of what was to come.  Still, despite the advancements, each attempt to completely replace human labor in an industry has not  only failed but also managed to create another job for humans – machines require repair, computers need(ed) outside code.  Nothing exists in a vacuum and until this point humanity filled in the blank.  What comes next is a story we had the rights to, but what now?   

If the present is referred to as self prophecy fulfilled, then how do we take into account Ultron’s words that we create what we dread. A genie won’t grant your wish to put it back into the bottle.

Fear of the unknown is the ultimate human haunt.  Whether it be Ebenezer inquiring whose name is on the grave or to what we should get someone else – or what we are getting ourselves – this Christmas.  

We’re like Woody spying, wondering what’s inside Andy’s next gift.  

Look around, the sky is a hazy shade of winter.