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| Cover Artist: Unknown |
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
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