How to Draw Ghost Rider

Cover Artist: Bob McLeod

Published: Jan. 1996

Original Price: $14.95

 

Writer: Steve Behling
Artist: Bob McLeod
Colorist: Bongotone

 

SYNOPSIS

This was an over-sized book published by Walter Foster Publishing as part of the Marvel "How to Draw" series.

 

From the back cover: "Ready to create your own imaginary world with your favorite Marvel Comics superheroes and villains? HOW TO DRAW GHOST RIDER shows you how, with easy-to-follow steps and tips from real Marvel artists. Before you know it, you'll be drawing Ghost Rider, his allies and archenemies, and their equipment and vehicles in many exciting, action-filled Marvel scenes. So grab a pencil and get going - ol' Skullhead is waiting for you!"

 

The characters included are: Ghost Rider, John Blaze, Vengeance, Zarathos, Centurious, Doctor Strange, and Morbius. It also has lessons on drawing the motorcycles for Ghost Rider, Blaze, and Vengeance, and how to draw street scenes with two-point perspective.

 

ANNOTATIONS 

The characters and storylines referenced in this book are from the "Siege of Darkness" era, which ran from Ghost Rider (1990) # 41 to Ghost Rider (1990) # 46.

 

REVIEW

Back in the mid-1990s, Marvel was riding high on a string of successful adaptations of their characters to animated cartoon shows for Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. The next character that Marvel slotted for an animated series was Ghost Rider; and while the cartoon never happened (due to producers finding the demonic aspects of the character too much for children) there was nevertheless an onslaught of merchandise produced to tie-in with the show. I've spoken before about the toy line, but another interesting product was the "How to Draw Ghost Rider" book.

 

I have to admit, this is a nice looking book. I wouldn't have thought that artist Bob McLeod, most well-known for being the co-creator of the New Mutants, would have been an appropriate fit for Ghost Rider. His work, after all, was more suited to brightly colored superheroes than it was the supernatural. I found it to be a genuine surprise that the character work McLeod produced for this book was great! Beyond how good the art looks, the way he breaks down how to draw each character was really cool and informative. Most impressive to me is how he breaks down the illustrations of the various motorcycles, which I always imagined to be the hardest part of the series for artists to draw. The only complaint I really have is how some artists during this period, including McLeod, drew Ghost Rider with his muscles showing like he was wearing spandex. He wears a leather jacket and jeans, people! Muscles should not be shown, especially on the arms, and the only artists that ever really got this correct was Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira.

 

Interestingly enough is the period in which this book was produced. Despite the line having ended by 1996, the "How to Draw" book (and the toy line for that matter) drew heavily from the "Midnight Sons" and "Siege of Darkness" period of the Ghost Rider series. While that era of the character's history wasn't the most popular with the readers, you can't deny that the character designs for guys like Centurious and Morbius were great (and hey, at least they didn't go for Blaze's awful cyborg look). The writer isn't much, but that's okay since the artwork is the main selling point of the book (though I thought it hilarious that they referred to hellfire as "spirit-fire" because of the kiddies).

 

So, all in all this is an interesting example of Ghost Rider's merchandising blitz back in the 1990s. It's certainly not essential for any collection, but I don't think you'd be disappointed if you picked it up - I might even have fun drawing some of the Ghost Rider poses!

 

Grade: B

Ghost Rider: The Visual Guide

Cover Artist: Unknown

Published: Jan. 2007

Original Price: $19.99

 

Writer: Andrew Darling

 

SYNOPSIS

The Ghost Rider Visual Guide was an oversized hardcover book published by DK Publishing in 2007, a month before the release of the Ghost Rider feature film. Loaded with tons of artwork, the book featured a comprehensive look at the Ghost Rider comic series from 1972 to 2006 and offered an advance behind-the-scenes look at the Ghost Rider movie.

 

From the Inside Cover: Based on the long-running comic book series, this comprehensive, fully illustrated guide brings to life the world of the flaming-skulled motorcycle rider, including his greatest allies and most diabolical foes. Packed with more than 400 spectacular color images and featuring shots from the explosive motion picture from Colombia Pictures, this guide contains new interviews with the artists and writers who have made Ghost Rider one of the most spectacular and enduring comic-book creations of the past few decades.

 

ANNOTATIONS 

A miniature version of this book was included with some special editions of the Ghost Rider DVD released through Best Buy.

 

REVIEW

Released in conjunction with the motion picture, DK Publishing gives us the latest in their line of Marvel encyclopedias. I've yet to look at their previous books (focusing on Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers), but if the quality of this book is the standard then I'd recommend them all to any comic book fan.

 

I opened this book with a bit of trepidation, wondering if writer Andrew Darling would gloss over the character's convoluted and contradictory origin stories in favor of the more widely recognized "deal with the devil" Blaze origin. After all, Marvel itself has been working hard to erase the memory of the 90's incarnation of Ghost Rider in favor of Johnny Blaze, who was also the star character of the movie. I was wrong to worry, because Darling obviously did his homework before sitting down to write. Everything from Mephisto to the Blood to the Medallion of Power is included here, and Darling ties all of the disparate elements of the Ghost Rider mythos into one coherent linear timeline that actually makes things seem simpler than they really were. Every era and nearly every creator of the series is included here, with nods to such forgotten Ghost Rider creators as Don Perlin, Michael Fleisher, Bret Blevins, and Ivan Velez.

 

The book is also loaded with a huge sampling of beautiful artwork from Ghost Rider's past and present, all the way from Ploog through Crain. The lettering on the panels reproduced had been re-done for the book, unfortunately resulting in a few glaring errors, but that can be forgiven considering how incredible the book's design looks.

 

This book is essential for any Ghost Rider fan, new or old, and it was an absolute pleasure to read through. Highly recommended.

 

Grade: N/A

Ghost Rider: Official Index to the Marvel Universe

Cover Artist: Various

Published: March 2012

Original Price: $19.99

Head Writers/ Coordinators: Daron Jensen, Stuart Vandal, & Jeph York
Writers: Paul Bourcier, Chris Buchner, Russ Chappell, Chris McCarver, Sean McQuaid, Jacob Rougemont, Al Sjoerdsma, Robert J. Sodaro, & Kevin Wasser
Book Design: Spring Hoteling
Editor: Jeff Youngquist
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS

From the back cover: The complete history of the Spirit of Vengeance from his earliest appearances to the present day! This fact-packed volume chronicles every character, team, place and piece of equipment - and provides vital information about all things Ghost Rider!

The Marvel Index series breaks down every issue of a particular character's comic history and provides the following items for each issue: Credits, Feature Character, Supporting Cast, Villains, Other Characters, Locations/Items, Flashbacks, Synopsis, and Notes. It also provides a chronological list of appearances for all characters between issues of their own comics and provides reference points for suggested read orders.

The following comics were covered in this Index collection, reprinted from the individual six issues:

Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 5-11
Ghost Rider (1973) # 1-81
Ghost Rider (1990) # 1-93
Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: Hearts of Darkness
Ghost Rider/Captain America: Fear
Ghost Rider Annual (1993) # 1-2
Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: The Dark Design
Ghost Riders: Crossroads # 1
Ghost Rider # -1
Ghost Rider Finale
Ghost Rider (2001) # 1-6
Ghost Rider # 1/2
Ghost Rider (2005) # 1-6
Ghost Rider (2006) # 1-35
Ghost Rider Annual (2008) # 1-2
Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch # 1-5
Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire # 1-6
Shadowland: Ghost Rider # 1
Ghost Rider # 0.1
Ghost Rider (2011) # 1-4

The following comics were printed in this collection for the first time, having not appeared in the individual issues:

The Champions (1975) # 1-17
X-Force/Champions Annual '98
Gambit and the Champions: From the Marvel Vault # 1
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance # 1-23
Blaze: Legacy of Blood # 1-4
Blaze (1994) # 1-12
Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears # 1-6
The Ghost Rider (1967) # 1-7
Night Rider # 1-6
The Original Ghost Rider Rides Again # 1-7
The Original Ghost Rider # 1-20

ANNOTATIONS 

This book is a collection of the Ghost Rider material in Wolverine, Punisher, & Ghost Rider: Official Index to the Marvel Universe # 1-6. The book was published as a tie-in to the Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance film that was released in theaters in February 2012.

From the credits: Special thanks to Salvador Larroca, Mike Hansen, Chris Munn, Andy Nystrom, Sidney Osinga, JLH, George Olshevsky for starting it all and setting the standard so high, the folks at the Marvel Chronology Project for appreciating what we get right and pointing out what we get wrong, Spider-Fan.org, the Marvel Appendix, Jeff Christiansen, and the rest of the Handbook team. (My name was included as thanks for my contribution to the book: assisting the writers with correcting errors in their appearance/continuity sections that appeared in the individual issues and were fixed for this collection.)

REVIEW

I debated on whether I should review this or not, since its not technically a comic book - instead, it's a book about comics. Also, I didn't want people to think I was only writing about the Index because I helped out on it and got thanked in the credits, I am in no way that narcissistic I swear. But in the end, I decided that the guys who put this together deserved some additional credit for all of the hard work they put into this book (and all the other Indexes).

Like the Marvel Handbooks, the writers for the Indexes are given a pretty daunting and, at times I'm sure, thankless task. They take comic characters that have been around for years - 40 in fact for Ghost Rider - and attempt to put all of the different stories and titles together into a linear timeline of sorts. I've attempted writing a "Ghost Rider Chronology List" a few different times, and each time I eventually gave up because its a lot of work. Now imagine doing that while also making sure everything fits with the continuity of every other Marvel comic and character. That, wow, I can't even fathom how much time and patience that must take even with a whole team of dedicated writers/researchers. I was happy to assist Stuart Vandal with corrections when he contacted me, but I totally understood how and why those mistakes were made.

Mistakes or not, this book is awesome and I love reading through it. However, this is not something for the casual reader who just likes comics as disposable stories. No, this is for the fans who are hardcore scholars of all the minutia built up around their favorite characters. That is, of course, the category I fall under (as if you hadn't guessed that by now), and seeing books like this - and the Handbooks and the Visual Guides, etc... - really gets the geek in me going. Given the nature of the book the text reads very dry; its fact-based, like reading an encyclopedia.

There are few things about the book that I'm not so keen on, namely the book size and the price. The size is really bizarre, it's not the size of a normal trade paperback, instead its been shrunk. But the individual issues that this book collects were at normal comic book size, so I'm not sure the reason for the change. Its definitely a style choice, since all of the Index collections have been printed in this small scale. The price will hit you right in the wallet, too: 20 bucks for a book this size is almost criminal! I assume that Marvel didn't expect to sell very many of these given its low crossover appeal to casual readers, so they jacked up the price to offset the low sales. However, if you do throw down the $20 and pick this up, you'll have hours of material to read through.

Its a handy resource for any fan to pull out for a reference guide, and its become absolutely integral for the operation of Vengeance Unbound. So, if you're a hardcore Flamehead like myself and have the available income, I would highly recommend this book.

EDIT: Since I first posted this review, I've had time to go read back through the entire book in depth and found something that changes my opinions on the quality. When the Index was being released in serial form, a lot of chronology mistakes were made and I was asked to help do corrections for the upcoming collected edition. Stuart Vandal, the writer that contacted me, was extremely professional and grateful for the help (and I made sure to express my own gratitude for allowing me to assist with the corrections and how much I enjoyed the work he and his writing team had done). He and I concurred on the many mistakes I corrected, many of which were just oversights. However, I've gone back through and looked up the items I corrected, and in MANY cases no changes were made from the text in the original single issues. So there are numerous instances in this book where the character appearance chronology is hugely incorrect, despite the changes Stuart and I worked on. I am 100% sure this was not the fault of Stuart Vandal or the writing team, those guys put in lots of time and work on these Indexes and they are committed to them having the correct information. No, I believe this must have been done by the editorial or production staff, who either disregarded the numerous errors or simply made a mistake when it came to selecting the text for the collection. Nonetheless, a lot of the information in this book is inaccurate, so let that factor into your buying decision. Again, this is not a reflection on the work of the writers, those guys are awesome.

Grade: N/A

Ghost Rider Chronology: 1980-1986

This section of the chronology takes us through Johnny Blaze's arrival at the Quentin Carnival and the end of his solo series, which saw him freed from the (newly-named) demon Zarathos.  Outside of a few random appearances in the mid-80s, Ghost Rider will remain a dormant character until the series' relaunch in 1990.


Cover Artist: Michael Golden

1980
Ghost Rider (1973) # 40
Marvel Team-Up # 91
Ghost Rider (1973) # 41
Ghost Rider (1973) # 42
Ghost Rider (1973) # 43
Ghost Rider (1973) # 44
Ghost Rider (1973) # 45
Ghost Rider (1973) # 46
Ghost Rider (1973) # 47
Ghost Rider (1973) # 48
Ghost Rider (1973) # 49
Ghost Rider (1973) # 50
Ghost Rider (1973) # 51

1981
Ghost Rider (1973) # 52
Ghost Rider (1973) # 53
Ghost Rider (1973) # 54
Ghost Rider (1973) # 55
Ghost Rider (1973) # 56
Ghost Rider (1973) # 57
The Defenders (1972) # 96
Ghost Rider (1973) # 58
Ghost Rider (1973) # 59
Ghost Rider (1973) # 60
Marvel Two-In-One # 80
Midnight Sons Unlimited # 6 (published 1994)
Ghost Rider (1973) # 61
Ghost Rider (1973) # 62
Marvel Graphic Novel # 1: The Death of Captain Marvel (cameo appearance)
Avengers (1963) # 214
Ghost Rider (1973) # 63

1982
Ghost Rider (1973) # 64
Ghost Rider (1973) # 65
Ghost Rider (1973) # 66
Ghost Rider (1973) # 67
Ghost Rider (1973) # 68
Ghost Rider (1973) # 69
Ghost Rider (1973) # 70
Ghost Rider (1973) # 71
Ghost Rider (1973) # 72
Ghost Rider (1973) # 73
Ghost Rider (1973) # 74
Marvel Super-Heroes # 11 (published 1992)
Team America # 11
Ghost Rider (1973) # 75

1983
Ghost Rider (1973) # 76
Ghost Rider (1973) # 77
Ghost Rider (1973) # 78
Ghost Rider (1973) # 79
Ghost Rider (1973) # 80
Ghost Rider (1973) # 81

1985
The New Defenders (1972) # 145 (Johnny Blaze appearance)
The New Defenders (1972) # 146 (Johnny Blaze appearance)

1986
Amazing Spider-Man (1963) # 274 (Zarathos appearance)

Greetings, Readers!

To say I spent hours figuring out the best post heading is not an exaggeration. Chris invited me to contribute to the site years ago (after I sent him a pages-long missive on GR history), and I finally found the stones to step up. So, this week we begin 2 things: 1) recording Skulls on Fire, the official podcast of Vengeance Unbound, and 2) my reviews of Ghost Rider appearances beginning in 1976. I should warn you all: I've never written an official review before, and this era (GR issues 16-24 and associated appearances) is among my least-favorite eras of the character. But, to paraphrase William Miller's promise to the members of Stillwater in Almost Famous, I will review these issues warmly and accurately. And I hope you enjoy what's to come. We are, after all, only doing this for you readers. Should you want to reach out for any reason, you can catch me on yostrider2099@gmail.com. Chris has set the bar high, and I'm gonna do my level best to reach it.  -Jim Yost

Felipe Smith's Spirits of Radness

Artwork: Felipe Smith

So, Marvel's Editor-in-Chief, Axel Alonso, has stated that Robbie Reyes would be coming back in a new series sometime in the coming months.  I assume the writer will still be Felipe Smith, why wouldn't it be?  The big thing I want to petition for is having Smith on art as well as writing, because his work on the last two issues of All-New Ghost Rider was amazing.  I was definitely a fan of Tradd Moore's work on the series, but had Smith started doing the art chores with issue # 6 (in place of the inappropriately-cast Damion Scott), I don't think sales on the book wouldn't have dropped quite so sharply.  Having Smith back as the main creative force, both words and pictures, would be a huge boon to the new series, whatever it may be.

Robbie Reyes by Felipe Smith

As far as what that series may be, I think the ending to Ghost Racers (the Secret Wars tie-in series by Smith and Juan Gedeon) gave a big clue.  A new SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE series focusing on all of the Ghost Riders as an ad-hoc ensemble book would be awesome, and I think Smith has the chops to pull it off.  I know a lot of fans complained about the way Ghost Racers handled characters like Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze, but I think those fans missed the point a bit.  The whole concept of Secret Wars was that these were alternate realities smashed together, with only one section of Battleworld being from the Marvel 616 Universe.  None of the characters were actually the established versions we know and love, they all hailed from other dimensions, even Robbie Reyes.

Alejandra Jones by Felipe Smith

I think that one image may be the best thing ever produced with Alejandra, 'cause she looks rad as all hell.  Anyway, another clue to what I think is the eventual launch of a SOV series comes from Felipe Smith's Tumblr page.  While Ghost Racers was running, Smith produced some character portraits of several of the Ghost Riders, but not in their Racers incarnations.  So I'll just leave these portraits here for everyone to admire, because they're bad-ass, and we'll see if I'm right about that Spirits of Vengeance series in a month or two.

Danny Ketch by Felipe Smith

Johnny Blaze by Felipe Smith

All artwork taken from Felipe Smith's Tumblr page, Peepo Choo.  I'm going to have to seriously try for an interview with Smith once we get the podcast up and running, consider it on my bucket list..

Giant-Size Hulk # 1

Cover Artist: Ryan Sook

Published: Aug. 2006

Original Price: $4.99

Title: "Green Pieces"
Writer: Peter David
Artist: Juan Santacruz
Inker: Raul Fernandez
Letterer: Randy Gentile
Colorists: Studio F
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada

SYNOPSIS

On the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, Secret Service Agent Spooner prepares for the arrival of the President when he's approached by Hercules. The President is on his way to give the Congressional Medal of Honor to the Champions for saving the country from Dr. Doom's mind control gas - a plot stopped by Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider, due to him not having to breathe in his supernatural form. The rest of the Champions - Black Widow, Angel, Iceman, Darkstar, and Blaze - join Hercules just in time to hear Spooner declare a "Code: Jade" after a phone call. Spooner tells the heroes that Bruce Banner, the Hulk, has just been spotted in a car on Wilshire Boulevard. Angel takes off with a radio to see if he can spot Banner, and when he finds the car he witnesses Bruce transforming into the Hulk and bursting out of the vehicle. When Angel tries to talk to him, the Hulk tosses the car's door at him - and though it misses him, Angel realizes that the metal door is heading toward a church wedding. Though he gets hit himself in the process, Angel manages to keep anyone from getting hurt.

Back on the freeway, Hulk has picked up the car just as Iceman and Ghost Rider arrive and attack. Hulk breaks free of the ice produced around him, and shrugs off Blaze's hellfire just as the other Champions arrive. Hercules attacks, hitting Hulk several times while the monster continues to hold the car in the air. With one kick, Hercules is sent flying away. The Champions continue to press their attack, forcing Hulk to set down the car and slam his fists repeatedly onto the street, knocking the heroes senseless with the shock waves. Confident that he has won, the Hulk picks the car back up and leaps away - leaving the Champions to wonder why the monster never attempted to throw the car at them.

Angel follows Hulk to a hospital, where he enters carrying a young girl that's in a considerable amount of pain. Realizing that the Hulk is trying to save her, Angel orders the doctors to help the girl. Content that the girl is safe, Hulk leaps away. Later, in the hospital, the Champions are visiting with the girl - Bruce's cousin, Jennifer Walters - whose appendix had burst while she was in the car with Banner. Hercules questions why the Hulk didn't tell them that he was trying to save her, but Walters angrily replies "Did you ask?"

Later that night, Hercules and the Black Widow sit atop the Champions building and discuss the day's events. Hercules remarks that they are no longer honorable for attacking the Hulk without first finding out what was going on. They attacked without provocation, and Hercules hopes that one day they will have the opportunity to make amends to the Hulk.

ANNOTATIONS 

This story takes place between The Champions (1975) # 16 and The Champions (1975) # 17, following Dr. Doom's nearly successful attempt to take over the United States.

Following a blood transfusion from Bruce Banner, his cousin Jennifer Walters also becomes irradiated with gamma radiation in She-Hulk # 1.

This special also contained a "Planet Hulk" story by Greg Pak and Aaron Lopresti and a reprint of Hulk: The End by Peter David and Dale Keown.

REVIEW

In a special flashback story, the Champions are reunited to fight the Hulk in a tale that ominously ties into the "World War Hulk" event.

Of all the characters to bring back, even in a flashback story, the Champions were not who I'd have expected. The series was a failure in its heyday, for many varied reasons - from a lack of a central concept to a team of horrible mismatched characters. But there is an undeniable fondness for the Los Angeles super-team of the 70's, and this special "untold tale" couldn't help but bring a smile to my face. It harkens back to a more innocent time, before Civil Wars and Houses of M, when the Marvel Universe was a brighter place. It helps considerably that this story was written by Peter David, one who does such nostalgic stories very well in his "old school Marvel" approach.

It also deals with the "Hulk as a misunderstood monster" cliché in a way that's not overly-dramatic or filled with modern sullenness. The Champions were heroes who very nearly made a grave mistake by attacking first and questioning later, simply because the Hulk was a monster. But who can blame them? The Hulk IS a monster responsible for massive amounts of property damage. But regardless, the Champions' plight at the end of the story is handled well, and sets up their probable reunion and allegiance with the Hulk when he returns for the "World War Hulk" storyline. Of course, Hercules remorse and decision to not attack the Hulk without reason in the future isn't very plausible considering how many times the Hulk fought him and the Avengers in later storylines - but hell, let's just go with it for now.

Something else to comment on is the sliding timescale of Marvel's universe and the way it's addressed in this story. Even though The Champions story that this follows up on was published back in 1977, when the President was Jimmy Carter, the time frame given here is in the mid 1990s with President Bill Clinton. The rule is that there has been roughly 15 years passed since the Fantastic Four's debut to now has resulted in most dates in older storylines being completely topical. Tony Stark, for instance, became Iron Man during the late 80's instead of the Vietnam War. It's an unfortunate by-product of Marvel's understandable desire to keep their characters from aging too much, considering Spider-Man debuted in the early 1960s, making Peter Parker in his 50s or 60s were he aging in real time. Peter David approaches this with his tongue firmly in cheek when he has Hercules state that he thought the President they had just rescued was "Carter" and not "Clinton" and blames it on his immortal existence making his memories blur together. It's a nice touch that made me chuckle.

The artwork on the story is by Juan Santacruz, a name that's unfamiliar to me. Santacruz does a great job with making it feel like a classic Marvel tale, with the art appropriately clean and streamlined (aided by the bright colors provided by Studio F). There's nothing too flashy or stylistic about Juan's work, but it's effective and pretty to look at - and for a story such as this, that's all we should really ask for.

I'd like to raise my voice for a reunion of the classic characters. C'mon Marvel, give me my reunion of Black Widow, Hercules, Iceman, Angel, and Ghost Rider - even if it doesn't sell well, it'll still be fun.

Especially if it's by the creative team responsible for this story.

Grade: B+

Thunderbolts (2013) # 26

Cover Artist: Paco Diaz

Published: July 2014

Original Price: $2.99

Title: untitled
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Paco Diaz
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Isreal Silva
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS

Ghost Rider, Elektra, and the Punisher are all dead following the Red Leader's secret betrayal of the team. While he sits outside the Honduran temple, the Thunderbolts' former guide Cordoba rallies his men to kill the Leader and the rest. They are attacked and slaughtered by Deadpool, who causes Cordoba to flee right to the spot that Samuel Sterns is sitting. Before Cordoba can kill Sterns, Deadpool finds him and kills him with the same poisonous frog he'd attempted to kill Deadpool with before. Deadpool returns to the Red Leader, and the two of them enter the temple through a side entrance that should bypass the booby traps.

Inside the temple, General Ross and Helen continue looking for the last team sent to find the power source inside. Ross tells Helen that one of the soldiers, Mancuso, appeared to Ross like a vision and told him he would end the world if Ross didn't come find him. They discover a huge chamber that contains the severed head of a Celestial, which is leaking streams of cosmic fluid into the temple. Elsewhere inside, Red Leader warns Deadpool not to step on a stone that will trigger a booby trap. Deadpool comments that Sterns talks in his sleep and that while the other members of the team all treat the Leader like a joke he knows he isn't helpless or friendly. Deadpool says he's not dumb and steps on the stone that Sterns said was booby trapped, then stabs him through with his sword. Leader then triggers the actual booby trap, sending Deadpool into a pit of lava, killing him.

Inside the Celestial chamber, Helen explains that she's been searching for the place for hundreds of years before transforming into a monster. Ross turns into the Red Hulk, thwarting "Helen's" attempt to kill them. She tells him that she is a member of the Deviant race that killed the child of a Celestial and severed its head, letting its blood seep into the world so they could use the power to make them its rulers. The Deviant is incinerated by a blast of energy from the awakened Mancuso, who has been mutated by the Celestial's energy. Mancuso murdered the rest of his team and led Ross to the temple to talk. A badly wounded Red Leader enters the chamber unseen and drinks the Celestial fluid, which causes his brain to expand so quickly that his head explodes. Mancuso shows Ross a vision of his team of killers: one of which he drove away, another he sent to Hell, and the rest all dead on this latest mission. Mancuso explains that Ross is now an unkillable monster since he became a Hulk, and that the Thunderbolts are another failed attempt to ease his guilt in sending men off to die in his name. Mancuso offers Ross a choice: he could die there in the temple or he could use his power to make a difference in the world. Ross makes his choice and is enveloped by white light...

And the once-again alive Thunderbolts are back in their headquarters, ready for Ross to tell them about their next mission. He holds the map to the Honduran temple in his hands, but changes his mind, saying "let's try something different."

ANNOTATIONS 

The member of the team that "fled because he feared what he was turning into" was Venom, who left in Thunderbolts (2013) # 23, and the one that the Red Hulk "rewarded by sending her to Hell" was Mercy, who was trapped in Hell at the end of Thunderbolts (2013) # 22.

REVIEW

Charles Soule wraps up his run on the series by killing off all but one of the team and then hits a cosmic reset button, providing a strange but hopeful end to the series' status-quo.

So, yeah, Johnny's totally not dead after all. I can't say I didn't see that revelation coming a mile away, but the way Soule resolved things certainly DID surprise me. I had assumed one of two things: that Blaze somehow survived the Red Leader's betrayal and would come back in the last act of the issue or that the Red Leader didn't really betray the team and had planned things out with Blaze. But no, Johnny (and Elektra and the Punisher) all really died last issue, followed quickly this issue by both Deadpool and the Leader himself. It was brilliant if a bit cliched to pull the "reset button" ending out of thin air, but I'm giving Soule the benefit of the doubt for one really big reason.

The Thunderbolts are a team of murderers (Blaze arguably as an outlier) that has cycled out one unrepentant psychopath (Mercy) and one hero turning away from their dark path (Venom). Red Hulk isn't really to blame for these characters being killers, he simply gathered them up in one place and pointed them like a gun at his enemies, but when you have a group like this you can't really write a story where their motivations or personalities change. Elektra and the Punisher will ALWAYS be murderers regardless of their justifications, so having Mancuso prompt Ross to be a "leader of men" instead of an assassin dealer is the one way to inject a little bit of hope into what is a necessarily bleak premise for a series.

Soule adds some really nice touches to this issue, particularly with Red Leader (who is definitely the stand-out character of this arc) and Deadpool. I've never been much of a Deadpool fan, but the sequence at the beginning of this issue was fantastic. It was also nice to see Soule acknowledge Deadpool as being more than an insane serial killer by having him be the one character to figure out the Leader's deception. That scene was not only the best of the issue but of the entire series so far. With Ghost Rider unfairly sidelined so early and both Punisher and Elektra taken out at the end of the last issue, Deadpool gets his chance to shine.

Paco Diaz turns out another very strong showing on the book's artistic front, providing what I still believe is the best art the series has seen so far. His depiction of Deadpool eliminating the mercenaries was great, finally making the character look scarily competent instead of silly, and the gatefold splash of the baby Celestial head was appropriately momentous. The colors are much better in this arc as well, perhaps that's due to Israel Silva being more complimentary to Diaz's work than the artists before him.

I think Soule's run on the title should be viewed as a success, even though it had its fair share of problems (Ghost Rider not being utilized well after the fanfare surrounding his addition to the cast, the use of an entire arc to tie-up plot threads from other writers, etc...). He took what was a seriously flawed series under original writer Daniel Way and turned it into an interesting look at how seven damaged vigilantes could feasibly work together. Here's hoping the incoming writing team takes the cues from this issue and does something a bit different from "team kills bad guys".

Grade: A

All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 8

Cover Artist: Damion Scott

Published: Dec. 2014
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Legend", Part 3
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Damion Scott
Inker: Cory Hamscher
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Val Staples & Esther Sanz
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso 

SYNOPSIS
 Robbie Reyes is confronted by Johnny Blaze, the original Ghost Rider, who wants answers about who Robbie is and what he's been doing.  Eli Morrow takes control and transforms into his version of the Ghost Rider, but is quickly overpowered by Blaze, who uses his Penance Stare to discern Morrow's identity.  Blaze claims that Morrow is an evil Satanist who needs to suffer for the murders he committed, but Morrow escapes by teleporting into his car.  Morrow speeds off with Blaze attached to the car by a chain, dragging him down the road until Blaze's motorcycle catches up to them for Johnny to jump onto.  Robbie speaks telepathically to Eli, asking him what Blaze meant by "murderous Satanist", but Morrow dodges the question.  Blaze jumps on top of the car, but when confronted on the roof by Morrow Johnny is stunned by what he sees.  Morrow kicks Johnny off, leaving the biker to question why there are two human souls inhabiting this new Ghost Rider instead of just one.  As they escape, Robbie says to Eli that something is wrong and he feels weak.

Elsewhere in East Los Angeles, Guero and his friends are hijacking medical supplies from an ambulance when the police arrive.  Using the strength from Zabo's blue pills, the gang easily overpower the cops, telling them not to mess with the Blue Krue.  At school the next day, Robbie and Guero are both playing basketball during gym class, and while Guero displays enhanced strength and agility Reyes is becoming weaker by the second.  Robbie collapses and wakes up in the school infirmary, his body now under Eli's control.

That night, Eli goes to Robbie's house and finds Gabe waiting for him.  Robbie goes into Gabe's room, flips over the bed, and uses a hammer and screwdriver to pull up the floorboards.  Under the floor is a box with money and a name and address for a man named Yegor Ivanov, who Eli wants revenge against.  Eli leaves to find Ivanov, leaving the handicapped Gabe lying on the floor alone.  Meanwhile, in Santa Monica, Blaze searches for information about Morrow, learning that he was an enforcer for the Russian mob who was shot dead in a police shootout.  Morrow was also a Satanist who dismembered his victims and used the bodies in his rituals, ultimately responsible for the deaths of 37 people and suspected of killing 15 more. 

At the Century Bar, Eli goes inside to find Ivanov, but finds one of his associates instead.  Ivanov receives a call telling him that Morrow is alive, and the Russian sends out his men to kill Eli again.  Back at the Reyes house, Gabe is forced to eat what food he can find by crawling to the refrigerator, still hoping that Robbie will return to help him.  While the Blue Krue tear up the neighborhood, Morrow is attacking Ivanov's forces and Blaze is riding to find him.

ANNOTATIONS 
Johnny Blaze has been tracking Robbie down since All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 6, and made his last appearance before that issue in Thunderbolts (2013) # 32.

Eli Morrow's connection to Robbie and his family will be revealed in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 11.

This issue was also released with a Deadpool Photobomb Variant cover by Mike Del Mundo that homages the cover of Ghost Rider (1990) # 1.

Cover Artist: Mike Del Mundo

REVIEW
Felipe Smith starts revealing some of the mysteries he's established, but every answer just leads to more questions for both the readers and the characters.

We finally get the anticipated showdown between Ghost Riders, with Old School Johnny Blaze looking for answers from All-New Robbie Reyes, and I definitely like and appreciate how it was handled.  Blaze has been the Ghost Rider for a long damn time now, and it was so nice to see him written appropriately as a character you just don't fuck with, especially if you're a neophyte like Reyes/Morrow.  It would have been very easy to let Reyes just run straight through Blaze, given that he's the star of the series, but to do so would have been a cheat of Mary Sue proportions.  Smith also sidesteps another old trope of "two heroes beating the shit out of each other for no reason" by putting Eli in control of the ANGR (an acronym is so much easier than typing out "All-New Ghost Rider" every time, especially since I have to clarify which Ghost Rider I'm talking about).  Robbie's a good kid and a sympathetic character that we're meant to like as the ANGR, so seeing him beaten down by Blaze wouldn't really work.  Conversely, Blaze is a hero with justification for his actions, and seeing him beat down Robbie wouldn't work either.  So, we meet in the middle for a happy compromise.

Outside of the Ghost Riders meeting and fighting, the big event of the issue is the "outing" of Eli Morrow as something far different than the vengeance spirit with good intentions we had been accustomed to so far.  He's not a capital-letter Spirit of Vengeance after all, he's a Satanic serial killer than worked for the mob before being killed, which is...different, to say the least.  It's surprising and confusing, but at least those descriptions apply just as much to the characters in the story as they do to the readers.  I'm not sure how much I like the Morrow reveal, because I think it divorces ANGR too much from the standard Ghost Rider mythos, but I'll talk more about that when I get to the end of the arc.

Smith is bombarding us with subplots this issue, and they're starting to feel really excessive.  The Blue Krue storyline isn't that interesting, since it's just a redux of what we had in the first arc, and the introduction of the Ivanov plot makes a packed issue feel really cluttered.  What does work fantastically well are the scenes with Gabe and the emotional gutpunch Smith lays on us as a consequence of Robbie losing control of his body to Eli.  The Robbie/Gabe relationship has been the heart of this series, and to see Gabe left helpless on the floor in the dark, forced to eat a raw cabbage because it's all he can reach in the fridge, is goddamned heartbreaking. 

What drags this issue down the most is, once again, the artwork from Damion Scott.  The fight and chase sequence between Blaze and Reyes should have been epic, but instead it's nearly incomprehensible.  Panels barrel over top one another with seemingly no thought to structure or story progression, and there were multiple instances where I had to really study the pages to discern just what the hell was going on.  If only Tradd Moore had stuck around past the first arc, this issue would have really been something to behold. 

I wanted to love this comic SO MUCH, but came out of it feeling let down.  There is a lot of great stuff still happening in this series, but the artwork and breakneck progression of subplots are dragging things down considerably.

Grade: C

Thunderbolts (2013) # 25

Cover Artist: Paco Diaz

Published: June 2014

Original Price: $2.99

Title: untitled
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Paco Diaz
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Colorist: Isreal Silva
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS

Floating down the Rio Patuca River in Honduras, the Thunderbolts have just saved the life of a woman named Helen that is now holding a gun to Ross' head. When she realizes she's outgunned by the team, she gives up and goes into the boat's cabin to speak with the General. She's angry because she's the person who told Ross about the artifact and she never heard from him again; he responds by saying he's there to find his missing men, not the artifact. The boat is attacked by the tentacle monster living in the river, which starts breaking the ship to pieces. Ghost Rider snags a nearby tree on the shore with his chain and holds the boat in place through the attack while the other Thunderbolts escape to shore. Before Ghost Rider can flee the boat himself, the Red Leader whispers an incantation that transforms the Rider back into mortal Johnny Blaze. The creature grabs Blaze with its tentacles and rips him to pieces, seemingly killing him. While the Punisher is unimpressed with Blaze's sacrifice, Ross orders the rest of the team into the jungle toward the artifact.

They come to the remnants of a village, which their criminal guide Cordoba says was once a peaceful place until Ross' first team of men came. The skeletal remains of the villagers are disfigured, turned into monsters. The team bunk down for the night, with most of them pairing off: Ross and Helen, Castle and Elektra, and Cordoba and the Leader, leaving Deadpool on sentry duty. Cordoba tells the Leader that he saw what he did to Blaze, and the Leader knows that Cordoba's men have been shadowing them ever since they left the river. Sterns tells Cordoba that they should partner up and will tell him how best to kill the Thunderbolts, starting with Deadpool. Cordoba tricks Deadpool into eating a poison frog that knocks him unconscious, but when the mercenaries advance to kill the other heroes the Leader yells out a warning. Cordoba escapes, though the Thunderbolts kill most of his men.

The Thunderbolts come across an ancient temple, the artifact waiting inside. Ross, Helen, Castle, and Elektra enter the temple, with the Leader left behind as their radio guide and Deadpool as his bodyguard. Deadpool runs off into the jungle, while within the temple the team splits up to cover two possible pathways. Outside, the Leader destroys his radio, cutting the team off from his directions. Elektra and the Punisher stumble into a trap, where Elektra saves Castle from a barrage of poisonous darts. One of the darts hits Elektra in the leg, paralyzing her, while the floor opens up to drop them into another trap. The walls of the room begin to close in on them, with the helpless Elektra tells Castle that this is the best way she's ever died, in his arms.

ANNOTATIONS 

The Red Leader most likely learned the spell that incapacitates Ghost Rider during his dealings with Mephisto in Thunderbolts (2013) # 21.

REVIEW

One Thunderbolt falls in the line of duty while another betrays the team in this second chapter of Charles Soule's final story-arc!

"Well. I don't think any of us were expecting that to happen." You said it, Deadpool, you said it. Johnny Blaze meets his rather gruesome end six pages into this issue, and while it certainly looks convincing, it obviously isn't. For one thing, Ghost Rider s still on the covers for upcoming issues, and Soule wouldn't dare add him to the team just to kill him off in such an inglorious manner (would he?). Of course not, there's a twist coming next issue, that much is plain as day. The important part here is that the team believes Blaze is really dead. The Thunderbolts, particularly Ross and Castle, have some interesting reactions to their teammate's death. Ross is saddened, treating Johnny as a fallen soldier, while Castle just calls Blaze "stupid" and is totally ungrateful for his life being saved. That does, of course, fit the Punisher to a tee; in fact, I can't see any of these characters beyond Ross caring if any of them took a dirt nap (well, yeah, Castle and Elektra care about each other, can't forget that).

That's a relationship I have never bought into, Castle and Elektra are both honestly too damaged to form any kind of bond outside of "fellow soldier/warrior". This issue, though, helps to sell me on their connection, though. The ending cliffhanger, particularly, is a great scene. Elektra is as much of a monster as Deadpool or the Punisher, but Soule actually makes her act like a human being in love. Naturally, the next creative team plans to have the Punisher turn on his teammates, right when I'm starting to like his partnership with Elektra. I'm still waiting to see Matt Murdock's reaction to the Castle/Elektra dynamic, though.

Not surprisingly, the Red Leader makes his bid to betray the team while also selling out Cordoba. Samuel Sterns is one of those hyper-intelligent characters that are very difficult to write well, because he has to be several steps ahead of everyone else while still making a case for why the Punisher just doesn't put a bullet in his head. He's the freaking Leader, of course he's going to turn on you, and it goes back to Ross' arrogance and belief that he's a hero (which Venom put a spotlight on in his farewell issue). I think Sterns has become a great character under Soule's watch, but I still want to see Ghost Rider come back next issue and send his ass straight to Hell.

Paco Diaz, who also turns in a great cover for this issue in place of Julian Totino Tedesco, continues to be a much better fit for the series than previous artists. He has a great handle on each character and his action scenes are well-choreographed and exciting to read. He does a kick-ass rendition of Ghost Rider, and I love that he's combined the outfits of the 70's Blaze jumpsuit with the 90's Ghost Rider chain and spikes. Jesus, though, Johnny's death looks brutal, and it definitely sells the idea that Blaze is now demon squid food.

I am highly enjoying this arc; Blaze's "death" was genuinely surprising, the characterization for every member of the team is done exceptionally well, and the artwork looks fantastic. Just don't fret, Ghost Rider fans, things can't be how they seem...

Grade: A+

Ghost Rider Chronology: 1976-1979

When we last left Johnny Blaze at the end of 1975, he had joined up with two very different sets of characters: the Stuntmaster television show in Hollywood and the newly-formed superhero team called the Champions!  Both of these affiliations will prove to be short-lived as we work our way into the latter half of the 1970s...


Cover Artist: Nick Cardy

1976
The Champions (1975) # 3
Ghost Rider (1973) # 16
Marvel Premiere # 28
The Champions (1975) # 4
Ghost Rider (1973) # 17
Ghost Rider (1973) # 18
Ghost Rider (1973) # 19
Daredevil (1964) # 138
Ghost Rider (1973) # 20
The Champions (1975) # 7
Gambit and the Champions: From the Marvel Vault # 1 (published 2011)
The Champions (1975) # 8
The Champions (1975) # 9
The Champions (1975) # 10
Marvel Treasury Edition # 13 (cameo appearance only)
Ghost Rider (1973) # 21

1977
The Champions (1975) # 11
The Champions (1975) # 12
The Champions (1975) # 13
Ghost Rider (1973) # 22
The Champions (1975) # 14
The Champions (1975) # 15
Ghost Rider (1973) # 23
Ghost Rider (1973) # 24
Marvel Team-Up # 58
Ghost Rider (1973) # 25
The Human Fly # 2
Iron Man Annual # 4
Super-Villain Team-Up # 14 (cameo appearance, last page only)
The Champions (1975) # 16
Giant-Size Hulk # 1 (published 2006)
The Champions (1975) # 17
Peter Parker: the Spectacular Spider-Man # 17 (flashback cameo appearance)
Ghost Rider (1973) # 26
Ghost Rider (1973) # 27 

1978
Ghost Rider (1973) # 28
Ghost Rider (1973) # 29
Ghost Rider (1973) # 30
Ghost Rider (1973) # 31
Ghost Rider (1973) # 32
Ghost Rider (1973) # 33

1979
Ghost Rider (1973) # 34
Ghost Rider (1973) # 35 (1st page only)
Ghost Rider (1973) # 36
Ghost Rider (1973) # 37
Ghost Rider (1973) # 38
Ghost Rider (1973) # 39