On Sale Date: February 1991
Writers: Roy & Dann Thomas
Artist: Chris Marrinan
Inker: Mark McKenna
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Colorist: George Roussos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-In-Chief: Tom DeFalco
Cover Artist: Michael Golden
Strange and Ghost Rider appear in another dimension, one that's home to a race of demons called the Dykkors. The demons attack and eventually overwhelm the two heroes, holding them captive. When Ghost Rider mentions them serving Zodiak the demons laugh and explain that Zodiak works for them. Back on Earth, Zodiak watches as the children are taken inside a police station. The villain is spotted by a cop, whom he kills with his lions claws. In the Dykkors dimension, the demons suddenly multiply like amoebas, explaining that they double in number with every person Zodiak murders. Ghost Rider and Strange take this opportunity to break free.
On Earth, Zodiak watches Rintrah and Topaz – each disguised by a cloaking spell – exit the police station. When they turn down an alley they drop the cloaking spell and go their separate ways, allowing Zodiak to follow and attack the defenseless Topaz. When he hits her with his Scorpio sting, however, she bellows like an animal. Her appearance changes to Rintrah, the two having switched their appearances to fool anyone following them. Topaz approaches to check on Rintrah, but runs when she sees Zodiak, who chases her with his horns of Taurus. Before he can kill her, Strange and Ghost Rider appear through a gateway from the Dykkors' dimension. While Strange sees to the gravely injured Rintrah, Ghost Rider viciously attacks Zodiak, pummeling him with the assumption that he is yet another robotic duplicate of the villain. Strange realizes that they're facing the real Zodiak, just as the villain uses his Libra bolo to escape them. Strange and the Rider search the area, but find no traces of Zodiak. Ghost Rider departs with Strange telling him that if Rintrah dies he will find Zodiak himself. Strange then shows Topaz a flame of hellfire he had captured from one of the Dykkors, and the three make their way back toward Strange's Sanctum.
In order to complete a spell designed to help his companion Topaz, Dr. Strange attempts a spell that will allow him to collect a sample of hellfire from the Ghost Rider. When Strange calls the Rider a "demon", however, the spell backfires and causes the Rider pain. They surmise that Ghost Rider must not be a true demon, which the Rider had already told them before. When Topaz attempts to heal Ghost Rider's pain, the demon that's possessing her – a demon named Ullikummis – appears above her and threatens the heroes before disappearing. Strange commands Topaz and his apprentice Rintrah to take the children rescued from Zodiak's coven to the police while he and Ghost Rider search for the villain. Strange's Eye of Agamotto reveals a slime-trail ascending into a hole in the sky. The two follow the trail and are transported away, unaware that Zodiak is following Rintrah and Topaz from the rooftops above.
Strange and Ghost Rider appear in another dimension, one that's home to a race of demons called the Dykkors. The demons attack and eventually overwhelm the two heroes, holding them captive. When Ghost Rider mentions them serving Zodiak the demons laugh and explain that Zodiak works for them. Back on Earth, Zodiak watches as the children are taken inside a police station. The villain is spotted by a cop, whom he kills with his lions claws. In the Dykkors dimension, the demons suddenly multiply like amoebas, explaining that they double in number with every person Zodiak murders. Ghost Rider and Strange take this opportunity to break free.
On Earth, Zodiak watches Rintrah and Topaz – each disguised by a cloaking spell – exit the police station. When they turn down an alley they drop the cloaking spell and go their separate ways, allowing Zodiak to follow and attack the defenseless Topaz. When he hits her with his Scorpio sting, however, she bellows like an animal. Her appearance changes to Rintrah, the two having switched their appearances to fool anyone following them. Topaz approaches to check on Rintrah, but runs when she sees Zodiak, who chases her with his horns of Taurus. Before he can kill her, Strange and Ghost Rider appear through a gateway from the Dykkors' dimension. While Strange sees to the gravely injured Rintrah, Ghost Rider viciously attacks Zodiak, pummeling him with the assumption that he is yet another robotic duplicate of the villain. Strange realizes that they're facing the real Zodiak, just as the villain uses his Libra bolo to escape them. Strange and the Rider search the area, but find no traces of Zodiak. Ghost Rider departs with Strange telling him that if Rintrah dies he will find Zodiak himself. Strange then shows Topaz a flame of hellfire he had captured from one of the Dykkors, and the three make their way back toward Strange's Sanctum.
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| "Stop calling me Zarathos!" |
THE ROADMAP
This story is the second part of a crossover with Ghost Rider (1990) # 12. Ghost Rider makes his next appearance in Marc Spector: Moon Knight # 25.
Doctor Strange reappears during the "Rise of the Midnight Sons" crossover, starting in Ghost Rider (1990) # 28.
The origin of Zodiak is told in Ghost Rider (1990) # 20.
Because this series was not sold on newsstands it was also released as Doctor Strange/Ghost Rider Special # 1.
CHAIN REACTION
This is the concluding chapter of the crossover between Ghost Rider and Doctor Strange, a first for the new Ghost Rider series. Despite a strong start in the first chapter the crossover fizzles out when it changes books.
I admit to never being much of a Dr. Strange fan.
Sure, I enjoyed him well enough when he guest-appeared in titles I did
read, but by himself I could never really get into the character
(outside of the issues written by David Quinn following "Siege of
Darkness", a run I did really enjoy). But out of all the
characters and titles running at the time, it really was the most
logical choice for Ghost Rider to have a crossover with. Unfortunately,
this series just wasn't creatively up to par with what the Ghost Rider team were producing.
Roy Thomas was a gloriously old-school style
Marvel writer, having been with the company since the 1960s. Logically,
his stories tended to have a "classic" feel to them, not so much the
"grim n' gritty" of newer writers, and that usually gave his stories a
lot of charm. But when its forced to do a story with one of those
"gritty" characters, the differences are blindingly apparent. The story
bounces along merrily, taking a few tangent detours along the way, and
things get a little cluttered with all of the references to old Dr.
Strange and X-Men (yes, X-Men) stories.
It struck me as odd at the time that Zodiak's
origin, or part of it at least, was told here instead of in the series
where he regularly appeared. Tying him to an obscure race of demons like
the Dykkors seemed completely arbitrary, and considering they weren't
brought up again I think Howard Mackie felt so as well. Thomas also
states that the Dykkors were the demons responsible for the "Inferno"
crossover, which is blatantly untrue; that story went to great lengths
to show that the demons were from the Limbo dimension. It's an
unnecessary retcon that was rightfully ignored.
The artwork is by Chris Marrinan, who I am unfamiliar with but I believe was the regular artist on Dr. Strange
at the time. Simply put, I think his work is far too simplistic and
bright for this story, especially in comparison to the work by Saltares
and Texeira in the first chapter of the crossover. Things actually
looked scary in the Ghost Rider chapter while here
they just come off as silly. I could see Marrinan doing well on a
character like Spider-Man or Iron Man, but he's absolutely unsuited for
this type of story.
It's unfortunate that Ghost Rider's first crossover was such a let-down, but that's hardly the fault of the regular Ghost Rider creative team. They held up their end of the bargain, too bad Dr. Strange dropped the ball.
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| "Justice enraged"? |
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