Cover Date: February 1993; Publication Date: December 1992
Writer: Gary Friedrich; Artist: Tom Sutton; Inker: Syd Shores; Letterer: John Costanza; Colorist: George Roussos; Editor: Roy Thomas; Cover Artist: Mike Ploog
Following his encounter with Linda Littletrees, the Witch Woman, Blaze races back toward the hospital where he left Roxanne. He encounters a police barricade, which he breaks through easily. Immediately afterwards, however, one of the officers shoots him in the shoulder, causing him to wipe out on his bike.
Meanwhile, Linda has fallen into a strange coma. Her fiancé, Sam Silvercloud, and father, the man once called Snake Dance, are unable to wake her up, realizing that her soul has been stolen by Satan. Sam, unwilling to let his loved one die, dials a number out of a newspaper. The number is for an occult exorcist named Daimon Hellstrom, who agrees to fly to Arizona immediately to help Linda.
Back at the hospital, Johnny's road manager, Bart Slade, tells Roxanne that he plans to make the jump over the canyon in Blaze's stead. Elsewhere, Linda is approached by Satan, who takes possession of her body and flees toward the city in search of Blaze.
Night falls, prompting the hospitalized Johnny to transform into the Ghost Rider. With his injuries surprisingly healed in his demon form, Blaze escapes from the hospital and heads for the canyon. He arrives just in time to see Slade attempt the jump, unable to do nothing but watch as his friend crashes into the canyon wall. Blaze hurriedly scoops up the fainted Roxanne, and the two escape in a pickup truck. Back at the reservation, Hellstrom arrives to help Linda.
"Who is the Phantom Rider?, Part 1"
Writer: Dan Slott; Artist: Dick Ayers; Letterer: Dave Sharpe; Colorist: Mike Worley; Editor: Evan Skolnick
Phantom Rider uses his cloak to vanish and escape. Sheriff Brown examines Angus O'Donnel's corpse and finds evidence that Phantom Rider is a man and not an actual specter. Phantom Rider goes to the church and tells Father Fulton that he accidentally killed a man and can no longer be the Phantom Rider.
THE ROADMAP
This issue is a reprint of Ghost Rider (1973) # 1.
This issue also included an all-new back-up story featuring the old western Ghost Rider, Carter Slade, now re-named the Phantom Rider as of West Coast Avengers # 19.
The synopsis for the Phantom Rider story comes from Ghost Rider: The Official Index to the Marvel Universe.
CHAIN REACTION
There's no much to say about this 4-page chapter of the Phantom Rider serial. Slott and Ayers pack what they can into their very limited page count, taking into account all of the subplots they've introduced so far with Sheriff Brown and Father Fulton. The Phantom Rider has a crisis of conscience after killing Angus O'Donnel, which is appropriate given that the Rider hadn't by this point resorted to murder when it came to his foes and the criminals he went after.
Is it too much of a stretch to think that a gunfighter in the old west would really doubt himself that much after killing a man? Keep in mind that the Phantom Rider is really a school teacher, the usually peaceful Carter Slade, not a lawman or a trigger happy pistolero. While the death of O'Donnel in the previous issue certainly seemed premeditated, I can see why Slade was struggling with the implications of it. It's broad strokes characterization, for sure, but it also works.
Ayers turns in yet another good job on the artwork, showing that Silver Age artists could still produce top notch stuff even up into the 1990s. I loved the shot of the Phantom Rider disappearing in the rain on the opening page, it's a cool display of his gimmicks. There's nothing particularly flashy about the art, but it suits the tone of the story and the setting to a tee.
While it looks like this is heading toward an inevitable "hero quits but soon has to return" story, I'm interested in how Slott and Ayers get there.
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