On Sale Date: September 2005
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Clayton Crain
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Colorist: Clayton Crain
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Clayton Crain
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Colorist: Clayton Crain
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Cover Artist: Clayton Crain
In the depths of Hell, the Ghost Rider rides through the flames, chased by all manner of demons in a desperate bid for freedom. Every night he makes the same ride, and this night - same as every night - just as he nears his destination...the demons take him down, destroying him utterly. When the dawn comes, the Ghost Rider will be whole again, the vicious cycle starting all over again.
On Earth, two angels - Daniel and Malachai - meet atop a skyscraper in New York City. Daniel asks his brother how he could have allowed the demon Kazaan to come to Earth, then says that there are hunters from both Heaven (the archangel Ruth) and Hell (the demon Hoss) after him. Kazaan has fed Malachai information over the centuries, allowing the angel to get promoted to higher classes - a debt to which Malachai feels he owes Kazaan. Malachai then notices that a woman in a neighboring building can see them, a rarity, and the angel causes her to pass out - and also to miscarry her pregnancy, to which Malachai responds "one less mouth to feed".
Meanwhile, in Texas, the demon Hoss drives down the road in his Cadillac. He soon picks up a motorcycle gang that starts harassing him. Hoss kills the gang instantly and causes the leader of the bikers to wreck his bike. The demon stops his car and approaches the dying biker, telling him that he could either lay there and bleed to death or sign up to help him. Taking the biker's choked response as a "yes", Hoss alters the man's body - by shoving his head up his ass and exposing his spine. Proud of his new creation, Hoss christens him "Buttview".
Back on the skyscraper, Daniel asks Malachai if he's ever heard of the Ghost Rider. When his brother claims ignorance, Daniel begins to tell the story of Johnny Blaze - a biker who found out his stepfather was dying of a disease and for a cure sold his soul to the Devil. The deal stated that at some unspecified point in the future Johnny would arrive in Hell for eternal torment while Crash Simpson would be spared from the cancer. Obviously, the Devil tricked Johnny and Crash died in a motorcycle wreck instead - a trick Malachai points out that humanity falls for every single time. Daniel then points out that Johnny was the exception. When they came for his soul, something went wrong and Johnny doesn't go to Hell. Instead, he becomes bonded with a super-powerful hellspawn - and from then on, Johnny Blaze is the Ghost Rider. Malachai moans that Blaze must not be very smart, but Daniel tells him that he's missing the point: Blaze is incredibly powerful and incredibly gullible. Malachai becomes convinced that Blaze would be the perfect agent, not attached to either Heaven or Hell - and with the angel's aid, he could have a head start to find Kazaan. But Daniel cuts him off, saying that there's a catch.
Elsewhere, in a diner bus-stop in Texas, the archangel Ruth finishes her meal - while a young boy across the restaurant tells his mother that the woman at the bar has wings. The mother can't see, and the boy's persistence goads Ruth to draw a sigil of fire in the air. The boy picks up his pencil and says to his mom that "the lady says I'm a sinner" - and he shoves the pencil into his eye. While the mother screams for her son, Ruth boards the bus.
Daniel continues the story of the Ghost Rider by telling Malachai that, a couple of years ago, the demons finally caught up with Blaze and carried him back to Hell. The Ghost Rider is now in Hell, and every night he tries to race the pack to the gates - and every night, he loses. Daniel finishes by telling Malachai that, unless he wants to wind up there himself, he's got to get the Ghost Rider out of Hell.
In the depths of Hell, the Ghost Rider rides through the flames, chased by all manner of demons in a desperate bid for freedom. Every night he makes the same ride, and this night - same as every night - just as he nears his destination...the demons take him down, destroying him utterly. When the dawn comes, the Ghost Rider will be whole again, the vicious cycle starting all over again.
On Earth, two angels - Daniel and Malachai - meet atop a skyscraper in New York City. Daniel asks his brother how he could have allowed the demon Kazaan to come to Earth, then says that there are hunters from both Heaven (the archangel Ruth) and Hell (the demon Hoss) after him. Kazaan has fed Malachai information over the centuries, allowing the angel to get promoted to higher classes - a debt to which Malachai feels he owes Kazaan. Malachai then notices that a woman in a neighboring building can see them, a rarity, and the angel causes her to pass out - and also to miscarry her pregnancy, to which Malachai responds "one less mouth to feed".
Meanwhile, in Texas, the demon Hoss drives down the road in his Cadillac. He soon picks up a motorcycle gang that starts harassing him. Hoss kills the gang instantly and causes the leader of the bikers to wreck his bike. The demon stops his car and approaches the dying biker, telling him that he could either lay there and bleed to death or sign up to help him. Taking the biker's choked response as a "yes", Hoss alters the man's body - by shoving his head up his ass and exposing his spine. Proud of his new creation, Hoss christens him "Buttview".
Back on the skyscraper, Daniel asks Malachai if he's ever heard of the Ghost Rider. When his brother claims ignorance, Daniel begins to tell the story of Johnny Blaze - a biker who found out his stepfather was dying of a disease and for a cure sold his soul to the Devil. The deal stated that at some unspecified point in the future Johnny would arrive in Hell for eternal torment while Crash Simpson would be spared from the cancer. Obviously, the Devil tricked Johnny and Crash died in a motorcycle wreck instead - a trick Malachai points out that humanity falls for every single time. Daniel then points out that Johnny was the exception. When they came for his soul, something went wrong and Johnny doesn't go to Hell. Instead, he becomes bonded with a super-powerful hellspawn - and from then on, Johnny Blaze is the Ghost Rider. Malachai moans that Blaze must not be very smart, but Daniel tells him that he's missing the point: Blaze is incredibly powerful and incredibly gullible. Malachai becomes convinced that Blaze would be the perfect agent, not attached to either Heaven or Hell - and with the angel's aid, he could have a head start to find Kazaan. But Daniel cuts him off, saying that there's a catch.
Elsewhere, in a diner bus-stop in Texas, the archangel Ruth finishes her meal - while a young boy across the restaurant tells his mother that the woman at the bar has wings. The mother can't see, and the boy's persistence goads Ruth to draw a sigil of fire in the air. The boy picks up his pencil and says to his mom that "the lady says I'm a sinner" - and he shoves the pencil into his eye. While the mother screams for her son, Ruth boards the bus.
Daniel continues the story of the Ghost Rider by telling Malachai that, a couple of years ago, the demons finally caught up with Blaze and carried him back to Hell. The Ghost Rider is now in Hell, and every night he tries to race the pack to the gates - and every night, he loses. Daniel finishes by telling Malachai that, unless he wants to wind up there himself, he's got to get the Ghost Rider out of Hell.
 |
| There's the tone of this series in a nutshell. |
THE ROADMAP
This issue picks up "a couple of years" after Ghost Rider (2001) # 1/2.
This issue recounts the Ghost Rider's origin, which was first told in Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 5.
The events that led to John being dragged down to Hell were revealed in Ghost Rider (2006) # 7. Lucifer's plans for Johnny Blaze are revealed in Ghost Rider (2006) # 4 and Ghost Rider (2006) # 18.
Unbeknownst to Daniel and Malachi, the Ghost Rider comes not from Hell but from Heaven, as revealed in Ghost Rider (2006) # 18. Their ignorance is not contradictory; despite being angels, it was explained that their fellow angel Zadkiel kept all knowledge of the Spirits of Vengeance and its origin a secret from all but his followers and God.
This issue was produced with two variant covers: one by Essad Ribic and one by Clayton Crain. Marvel also released a Ghost Rider (2005) Director's Cut # 1 of this issue which featured the full script and series proposal by Garth Ennis and a look at the art production by Clayton Crain.
So, with expectations fairly high, I opened the first issue of "Road to Damnation" with equal amounts of enthusiasm and trepidation. And right away I was hit with a stunning realization: this would be a great debut issue were it not for one big faux-pas. Other than the opening four pages, the Ghost Rider doesn't really make an appearance. And even in those four pages, he doesn't speak a word. I have to wonder about the effectiveness of a debut issue for a character who hadn't been seen in several years that doesn't actually feature said character. Sure, time is spent talking ABOUT Johnny Blaze and the Ghost Rider, helpfully recapping his history, but judging by this issue alone it almost seems that Blaze is being sidelined as a supporting device in his own series. The main characters of this issue are obviously Malachai and Daniel, the two angles, who spend their time setting up the plot through some witty exposition bits of dialogue.
Another problem was one that became evident early on after Ennis was announced as the writer. While it doesn't come out and say it in the series, it's obvious that Marvel would be happy to just claim that the Dan Ketch era never happened - which is ludicrous, since that period is what made the Ghost Rider a top seller. But regardless, Ennis admitted that he had only read the Blaze run from the 70's, and that's fine. At least the series didn't pretend that the second Ghost Rider didn't exist, but it's still glossed over fairly haphazardly. Ennis was already stuck with Blaze as the Ghost Rider again after the misfire that was "The Hammer Lane", but the writer takes it a big step in a different direction. Sometime after "Hammer Lane" ended, the Ghost Rider was dragged down to Hell to finally pay for that soul he sold in the origin story. It's certainly an interesting idea that hadn't been touched upon since the character's early days, and it also gives a logical explanation for why the Ghost Rider hasn't been seen in the Marvel Universe over the past few years.
As I mentioned above, Ennis can be an excellent writer when he skips over the bits of comedy that he attempts to put into his books. The Punisher became a much better series under his pen when he discarded the comedic tone and went at it with a deadly serious approach. Ennis managed to keep a serious tone for the majority of this issue, but finds himself slipping into bad habits with the character of Buttview...something that brings us to the biggest problem this book has. Anyone that's read Ennis' most fondly-recognized works - Preacher and Hellblazer - knows that he likes to write about Heaven and Hell. The same applies here for Ghost Rider, but fans of the previous two Ennis books will immediately get a sense of "been here, done that" deja vu in the conversation between the angels or the glimpses we're given of Hell.
Regardless of all of that, though, this is a good set-up for the story. The origin of Blaze is recanted with a modern sensibility, shining light on the slightly dodgy mechanics behind Johnny's deal with the Devil and the reasons behind it. But the absence of both the main character AND the villain does nothing to help the belief that this is an entire issue based around a conversation, hurting the momentum that a debut issue should have.
When it comes to the visuals for the series, we're given the digital artwork of Clayton Crain. Needless to say, the art here is absolutely stunning. Crain brings a heavy amount of darkness and atmosphere to the series, giving it a dream-like unreal quality that's appropriate for a book dealing with Heaven and Hell. Crain's design for the Ghost Rider is a sight to behold, and the scenes in Hell give the underworld a visceral appearance that I've never seen in the realm's prior representations in comics. There are drawbacks to Crain's work, though, due mainly to the fact that his action-oriented style is given nothing to work with in an issue that consists mainly of talking heads. Crain tries valiantly to liven up the many conversation scenes, helped by the fact that he handles the book's color processing as well, but still seems out of his element. Another criticism, one that will become more of a problem in later issues, is the overwhelming darkness that comes close to making some panels and sequences hard to follow.
Overall, this is a decent start for a series despite the many things working against it. This merely seems like a prelude to the real story that's starting in the second issue, but it's a necessary evil to get the plot established as quickly as possible. Still, it's hard to fight disappointment when the Ghost Rider barely takes a role in his own # 1 issue.
This issue recounts the Ghost Rider's origin, which was first told in Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 5.
The events that led to John being dragged down to Hell were revealed in Ghost Rider (2006) # 7. Lucifer's plans for Johnny Blaze are revealed in Ghost Rider (2006) # 4 and Ghost Rider (2006) # 18.
Unbeknownst to Daniel and Malachi, the Ghost Rider comes not from Hell but from Heaven, as revealed in Ghost Rider (2006) # 18. Their ignorance is not contradictory; despite being angels, it was explained that their fellow angel Zadkiel kept all knowledge of the Spirits of Vengeance and its origin a secret from all but his followers and God.
This issue was produced with two variant covers: one by Essad Ribic and one by Clayton Crain. Marvel also released a Ghost Rider (2005) Director's Cut # 1 of this issue which featured the full script and series proposal by Garth Ennis and a look at the art production by Clayton Crain.
CHAIN REACTION
And here's the book every Ghost Rider fan was waiting for - the return of the Spirit of Vengeance for the first time in three years. Fans were understandably upset and underwhelmed at Marvel's last attempt to revive the Ghost Rider in 2001's "The Hammer Lane" mini-series by Devin Grayson and Trent Kaniuga, but hopes were high for this series. I mean, it's Garth fucking Ennis doing the writing, and while the man certainly has people that both love and hate him, none can argue that the guy can write a great story when he sets his mind to it and doesn't go overboard with the jokes. And regardless of the individual reader's opinion of his work, Ennis is a big name writer - and if anyone could bring Ghost Rider back to his glory days, it'd be someone like him.
So, with expectations fairly high, I opened the first issue of "Road to Damnation" with equal amounts of enthusiasm and trepidation. And right away I was hit with a stunning realization: this would be a great debut issue were it not for one big faux-pas. Other than the opening four pages, the Ghost Rider doesn't really make an appearance. And even in those four pages, he doesn't speak a word. I have to wonder about the effectiveness of a debut issue for a character who hadn't been seen in several years that doesn't actually feature said character. Sure, time is spent talking ABOUT Johnny Blaze and the Ghost Rider, helpfully recapping his history, but judging by this issue alone it almost seems that Blaze is being sidelined as a supporting device in his own series. The main characters of this issue are obviously Malachai and Daniel, the two angles, who spend their time setting up the plot through some witty exposition bits of dialogue.
Another problem was one that became evident early on after Ennis was announced as the writer. While it doesn't come out and say it in the series, it's obvious that Marvel would be happy to just claim that the Dan Ketch era never happened - which is ludicrous, since that period is what made the Ghost Rider a top seller. But regardless, Ennis admitted that he had only read the Blaze run from the 70's, and that's fine. At least the series didn't pretend that the second Ghost Rider didn't exist, but it's still glossed over fairly haphazardly. Ennis was already stuck with Blaze as the Ghost Rider again after the misfire that was "The Hammer Lane", but the writer takes it a big step in a different direction. Sometime after "Hammer Lane" ended, the Ghost Rider was dragged down to Hell to finally pay for that soul he sold in the origin story. It's certainly an interesting idea that hadn't been touched upon since the character's early days, and it also gives a logical explanation for why the Ghost Rider hasn't been seen in the Marvel Universe over the past few years.
As I mentioned above, Ennis can be an excellent writer when he skips over the bits of comedy that he attempts to put into his books. The Punisher became a much better series under his pen when he discarded the comedic tone and went at it with a deadly serious approach. Ennis managed to keep a serious tone for the majority of this issue, but finds himself slipping into bad habits with the character of Buttview...something that brings us to the biggest problem this book has. Anyone that's read Ennis' most fondly-recognized works - Preacher and Hellblazer - knows that he likes to write about Heaven and Hell. The same applies here for Ghost Rider, but fans of the previous two Ennis books will immediately get a sense of "been here, done that" deja vu in the conversation between the angels or the glimpses we're given of Hell.
Regardless of all of that, though, this is a good set-up for the story. The origin of Blaze is recanted with a modern sensibility, shining light on the slightly dodgy mechanics behind Johnny's deal with the Devil and the reasons behind it. But the absence of both the main character AND the villain does nothing to help the belief that this is an entire issue based around a conversation, hurting the momentum that a debut issue should have.
When it comes to the visuals for the series, we're given the digital artwork of Clayton Crain. Needless to say, the art here is absolutely stunning. Crain brings a heavy amount of darkness and atmosphere to the series, giving it a dream-like unreal quality that's appropriate for a book dealing with Heaven and Hell. Crain's design for the Ghost Rider is a sight to behold, and the scenes in Hell give the underworld a visceral appearance that I've never seen in the realm's prior representations in comics. There are drawbacks to Crain's work, though, due mainly to the fact that his action-oriented style is given nothing to work with in an issue that consists mainly of talking heads. Crain tries valiantly to liven up the many conversation scenes, helped by the fact that he handles the book's color processing as well, but still seems out of his element. Another criticism, one that will become more of a problem in later issues, is the overwhelming darkness that comes close to making some panels and sequences hard to follow.
Overall, this is a decent start for a series despite the many things working against it. This merely seems like a prelude to the real story that's starting in the second issue, but it's a necessary evil to get the plot established as quickly as possible. Still, it's hard to fight disappointment when the Ghost Rider barely takes a role in his own # 1 issue.
 |
| "I think I can wing it." |
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