Grammaton Punch Review
Writer: Miles Gunter
Artist: Brian Andan
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Issue One Cover Color: Dee Cunniffe
Logo/Design: Ed Dukeshire
Ebook Publisher: Comixology
Kindle Release Date: Available now
Kindle Price: $6.99 (free to read with an Amazon Prime membership)
Paperback Publisher: Ablaze Comics
Paperback Release Date: March 17, 2026
Paperback Price: $19.99
As an infant, Van Nguyen glimpses ghosts. When one touches the boy, she feeds off her energy. With the dead spirit sucking on his life force, Van frequently gets sick. His mother takes him to the doctor, and Van spends days in the hospital. After running a battery of tests, the doctors notice an irregularity with his eyes. Still, they can’t prevent the ghost from draining him of energy. Can Van elude the ghost lady? And how will she influence his journey to adulthood? Let’s leap into Grammaton Punch and see!
Story
Like anyone stuck in a dysfunctional relationship, Van’s early life falls into a familiar pattern. On his good days, he goes outside and plays. But like any abuser, the ghost always returns to drain the boy's health and happiness. Then, one day, Van realizes he can touch her, too. After that, the boy begins to fight back. As he learns how to fend off the ghost, Van can enjoy life again. Yet when he reaches school age, his life takes another turn.
In Grammaton Punch, Van rarely notices ghosts attacking other students in Kindergarten and Elementary School. But when their parents arrive to take their children home, Van sees ghosts preying on them. Yearning to protect the unwary adults, Van fights off the ghosts around the mothers and fathers. As they can’t see what he’s attacking, Van garners a reputation for his playfighting.
Unlike his teachers, his mother's colleagues smile when the boy punches the air around them. Van’s mother is a powerlifter in the World Weightlifting Federation. Her fellow competitors praise his fighting spirit, which enhances their regard for Susie Nguyen.
Trouble arises when Van encounters a ghost that injures him. Van thought he had the feeders under control. He had forgotten what it was like to feel defenseless. But when Van reaches his lowest ebb, he meets a kindred spirit. Their abilities differ from Van’s. Still, they recognize what the boy is going through.
Van’s eyes may be different from most people’s. His struggles will continue. Still, Van feels grateful to meet a kindred spirit in Grammaton Punch.
Art
Susie Nguyen smiles as she pushes her stroller through the park. When a one-eyed ghost extends a finger toward Van’s forehead, the baby’s wonder at life transforms into a scream. The cyclops spirit hovers around Susie, never touching her as it feeds on the child. As the doctors study X-rays, an image of an optic nerve attached to an eye evokes the circumstances of Van's birth.
As Brian Andan fills Grammaton Punch with edgy, endearing characters, Lee Loughridge lavishes a loaded palette on the energy-fueled manga-style art. White hair and rose-tinted glasses signal Van’s uniqueness. When he sees a boarded-up house radiating a yellow glow, a stranger approaches. Along with the way she meets him, the man’s height and muscularity suggest another reason for how Susie Nguyen treats him.
Taylor Esposito fills dialogue balloons with uppercase black text that grows bold for intonation. Van’s thoughts fill blue narrative boxes, while a dangerous ghost speaks into white hexagons radiating halos. Enlarged letters deform balloons as laughter, exclamation marks, and hearts fill the air. Sound effects heighten Van’s increasingly dangerous battles with the supernatural. Thanks to Comixology and Superfan Promotions for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
Most people pass on to the afterlife when they die. Yet some spirits linger. While they work out unresolved issues, they drain the living to sustain themselves. Van may start protecting others at an early age. Other people may not realize the dangers they face. They mark him out as strange and different, leaving the boy isolated and alone. Still, Van fights to prevent the ghosts from draining their strength and vitality so they can achieve their potential in Grammaton Punch.
Rating 9.4/10
To purchase a trade paperback or read for free with Prime, visit Grammaton Punch at Amazon.
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