Cover Date: December 2008
On Sale Date: October 2008
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Javier Saltares
Inker: Tom Palmer
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Dan Brown
Editor: Daniel Ketchum
Executive Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
On Sale Date: October 2008
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Javier Saltares
Inker: Tom Palmer
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Dan Brown
Editor: Daniel Ketchum
Executive Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
Cover Artist: Clint Langly
Later, a young English woman named Mary LeBow gets a phone call from a drunken and distraught Daniel. Mary is a technomage who, several years ago, successfully exorcized the Spirit of Vengeance that was possessing Ketch. Now, though, he is once again begging her to reverse what she did. Hearing the pain in his voice, Mary tells Dan to stay put while she comes to find him, but he leaves the phone hanging and drives off on his bike, followed by the crow.
The crow flies ahead and causes a van filled with bank robbers to crash in the street, which also causes Danny to crash his cycle. The crow lands next to Ketch and begins to talk, telling Dan that he hasn't got much time, so he shouldn't waste it. Dan is then transformed back into the Ghost Rider, though instead his skull is surrounded by black smoke instead of flames. The crow tells Dan that “the first ride's for free, take it or leave it”. The men from the van approach, thinking Dan caused them to wreck. Dan attacks the gun-toting men, reveling in the Ghost Rider power being his once again. As he fights the men, he notices he no longer has his Penance Stare - so Dan decides to take his time beating on his assailants. However, with only one criminal left standing, the Ghost Rider power disappears, leaving Ketch as human again. The crow tells him that the dose was limited to a minute by orders of his “boss”, for Daniel's own good. The last criminal then comes up behind and points his shotgun at Danny's back, ready to kill him.
Daniel Ketch was last seen in Peter Parker: Spider-Man (1990) # 93, where he merged with his ancestor Noble Kale to once again become the Ghost Rider. Dan's brother Johnny Blaze subsequently became the Spirit of Vengeance's host in Ghost Rider (2001) # 1 and Danny had seemingly disappeared.
Daniel finally reappeared as an agent of Zadkiel in Ghost Rider (2006) # 22. Though that issue was published several months before, it actually takes place after the Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch mini-series.
The black crow that acts as Daniel's guide is Mister Eleven, who first appeared in Ghost Rider (2006) Annual # 1.
A fact that tends to be overlooked these days is just how insanely popular the Dan Ketch Ghost Rider was back in the day, a popularity that a great number of fans still hold strong to. The series sold more copies in the 1990s than during any other period in the character's history, and for a large number of fans Dan Ketch was THE Ghost Rider of their generation. Through the work of Howard Mackie and other creators, Danny became just as viable a Ghost Rider as his predecessor Johnny Blaze, and many felt that having Blaze return as the Rider's host was a giant step backward when the Marvel Universe already had Ketch roaming around in limbo. Its no secret that I've always preferred Blaze to Ketch, but that doesn't mean I was happy when Marvel seemed determined to exorcize Danny and his history as Ghost Rider from the character's backstory. I mean, Danny was Ghost Rider for nearly a decade, and that's something that needed to be addressed by the current stable of creators. Thankfully, along came Jason Aaron, who finally answered the fans' prayers and brought Ketch back in from the cold, though in a way no one expected. With Blaze established as the one, true Ghost Rider again, what could possible be done with Danny? Easy answer: make him the bad guy.
So with Aaron reintroducing Ketch as a major villain in the regular Ghost Rider series, it falls on writer Simon Spurrier and artist Javier Saltares to take us back in time and tell the story of how Danny got to where he is today. What readers are given in this mini-series is a Dan Ketch that has hit rock bottom since the Ghost Rider was exorcised from his soul, portrayed as a junkie desperate for his next hit of vengeance power. Its certainly an interesting direction to take the character, and I certainly like the drug addict parallels brought up, but I can certainly understand why so many Ketch fans have their reservations about the character's return. Danny's not just a junkie and a whiner now, he's WEAK in every sense of the word, both physically and spiritually, reducing what had once been a hero into a pathetic shell of a man. It's a case of readers getting what they want with Dan's return, but expecting him to be the same as he was in 1990 and being disappointed when they see that's not the case. I've read opinions from fellow fans that Dan is being cut down in order to make Blaze look better, angry that Ketch is being written as someone undeserving of being a hero, a pale replacement for his older brother. My counter argument to that is this: Blaze is Ghost Rider now and most likely will be for the rest of the character's publication history, and for Danny to be used at all it cannot be in such a capacity that it overshadows Blaze in the role. It's just that simple.
Another point of contention comes with the use of continuity in this first issue, particularly in the insinuation that through the 1990s series it was Danny in control of the Ghost Rider all along instead of it being the separate entity, Noble Kale (though I'm not sure that's even what Spurrier was alluding to, as it looked to me that Noble Kale was the "ancestor's ghost/unfriendly spirit" that Mary was shown exorcising from Danny). Frankly, I was surprised that such elements as the Medallion of Power were addressed at all, even if only in a passing mention, because its obvious that those aspects of the Ghost Rider origins are now being called on as lies and misdirection. Until another creator comes along in a few years with his own take on the character's origins, we just have to accept the fact that the "Ghost Rider as Angel" origin is the officially canon backstory. Despite what some readers may think, though, this isn't at all contradictory to the various origin stories that have come before (I'll be doing a feature article on the various origin stories and how they all fit together real soon, to back up my claim). But the honest truth of it is that the Ghost Rider origins have been a complicated mess since the early 1990s and the creators are doing their best to move the characters forward without confusing the shit out of new readers. I'm impressed that they had the stones to tackle the origin story at all, to be quite frank.
I was certainly happy to see Javier Saltares doing the artwork on this series, considering he was the co-creator of the Ketch Ghost Rider way back in 1990 and had just wrapped up another stint on the book last year. While his layouts are strong as always, the problem lies in the inking department. Tom Palmer, who also inked the last few issues of Saltares' run with Daniel Way, just doesn't mesh with the pencil work as well as Saltares' frequent collaborator Mark Texeira. Those two produce their best work as a pair, and to be honest its a bit jarring to see Javier's artwork sans Texeira's finishes. Saltares still turns in a pretty fantastic job here, though, and colorist Dan Brown continues his phenomenal work that's been seen in the regular ongoing series.
All in all, I'm happy to have ol' Danny back in whatever capacity, and this issue is a strong start to the character's return.
In Brooklyn, New York, a sinister black crow lands on a motorcycle and observes the people in the Rune Stone Pub through its window. The crow narrates about the life of Daniel Ketch, who once upon a time had been a Ghost Rider. There had been a Medallion of Power and a hellfire shotgun, a family curse and a long-lost brother, an ancestor's ghost and a demonic marriage, and other complicated and strange events in the boy's life. What matters is that Danny Ketch hated the power he had but always kept it under control Now, a drunken Ketch is involved a brutal bar fight, which he wins through luck and cowardice. A Hindu woman at the bar rebukes Daniel's drunken advancements and insults him, though also comments that she can tell he is a nice man with too much damage behind his eyes. She leaves and when Dan tries to follow he is interrupted by the black crow, who allows the woman to disappear.
Later, a young English woman named Mary LeBow gets a phone call from a drunken and distraught Daniel. Mary is a technomage who, several years ago, successfully exorcized the Spirit of Vengeance that was possessing Ketch. Now, though, he is once again begging her to reverse what she did. Hearing the pain in his voice, Mary tells Dan to stay put while she comes to find him, but he leaves the phone hanging and drives off on his bike, followed by the crow.
The crow flies ahead and causes a van filled with bank robbers to crash in the street, which also causes Danny to crash his cycle. The crow lands next to Ketch and begins to talk, telling Dan that he hasn't got much time, so he shouldn't waste it. Dan is then transformed back into the Ghost Rider, though instead his skull is surrounded by black smoke instead of flames. The crow tells Dan that “the first ride's for free, take it or leave it”. The men from the van approach, thinking Dan caused them to wreck. Dan attacks the gun-toting men, reveling in the Ghost Rider power being his once again. As he fights the men, he notices he no longer has his Penance Stare - so Dan decides to take his time beating on his assailants. However, with only one criminal left standing, the Ghost Rider power disappears, leaving Ketch as human again. The crow tells him that the dose was limited to a minute by orders of his “boss”, for Daniel's own good. The last criminal then comes up behind and points his shotgun at Danny's back, ready to kill him.
 |
| That's an understatement and a half. |
THE ROADMAP
This mini-series takes place between Ghost Rider (2006) Annual # 1 and Ghost Rider (2006) # 20.
Daniel Ketch was last seen in Peter Parker: Spider-Man (1990) # 93, where he merged with his ancestor Noble Kale to once again become the Ghost Rider. Dan's brother Johnny Blaze subsequently became the Spirit of Vengeance's host in Ghost Rider (2001) # 1 and Danny had seemingly disappeared.
Daniel finally reappeared as an agent of Zadkiel in Ghost Rider (2006) # 22. Though that issue was published several months before, it actually takes place after the Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch mini-series.
The black crow that acts as Daniel's guide is Mister Eleven, who first appeared in Ghost Rider (2006) Annual # 1.
CHAIN REACTION
By popular demand, readers are being treated to a return of the 1990s Ghost Rider, Daniel Ketch, in his own mini-series following his return appearance in Jason Aaron's ongoing Ghost Rider series. However, this may very well be a case of "be careful what you wish for", as poor Danny is not the character his fans remember him to be.
A fact that tends to be overlooked these days is just how insanely popular the Dan Ketch Ghost Rider was back in the day, a popularity that a great number of fans still hold strong to. The series sold more copies in the 1990s than during any other period in the character's history, and for a large number of fans Dan Ketch was THE Ghost Rider of their generation. Through the work of Howard Mackie and other creators, Danny became just as viable a Ghost Rider as his predecessor Johnny Blaze, and many felt that having Blaze return as the Rider's host was a giant step backward when the Marvel Universe already had Ketch roaming around in limbo. Its no secret that I've always preferred Blaze to Ketch, but that doesn't mean I was happy when Marvel seemed determined to exorcize Danny and his history as Ghost Rider from the character's backstory. I mean, Danny was Ghost Rider for nearly a decade, and that's something that needed to be addressed by the current stable of creators. Thankfully, along came Jason Aaron, who finally answered the fans' prayers and brought Ketch back in from the cold, though in a way no one expected. With Blaze established as the one, true Ghost Rider again, what could possible be done with Danny? Easy answer: make him the bad guy.
So with Aaron reintroducing Ketch as a major villain in the regular Ghost Rider series, it falls on writer Simon Spurrier and artist Javier Saltares to take us back in time and tell the story of how Danny got to where he is today. What readers are given in this mini-series is a Dan Ketch that has hit rock bottom since the Ghost Rider was exorcised from his soul, portrayed as a junkie desperate for his next hit of vengeance power. Its certainly an interesting direction to take the character, and I certainly like the drug addict parallels brought up, but I can certainly understand why so many Ketch fans have their reservations about the character's return. Danny's not just a junkie and a whiner now, he's WEAK in every sense of the word, both physically and spiritually, reducing what had once been a hero into a pathetic shell of a man. It's a case of readers getting what they want with Dan's return, but expecting him to be the same as he was in 1990 and being disappointed when they see that's not the case. I've read opinions from fellow fans that Dan is being cut down in order to make Blaze look better, angry that Ketch is being written as someone undeserving of being a hero, a pale replacement for his older brother. My counter argument to that is this: Blaze is Ghost Rider now and most likely will be for the rest of the character's publication history, and for Danny to be used at all it cannot be in such a capacity that it overshadows Blaze in the role. It's just that simple.
Another point of contention comes with the use of continuity in this first issue, particularly in the insinuation that through the 1990s series it was Danny in control of the Ghost Rider all along instead of it being the separate entity, Noble Kale (though I'm not sure that's even what Spurrier was alluding to, as it looked to me that Noble Kale was the "ancestor's ghost/unfriendly spirit" that Mary was shown exorcising from Danny). Frankly, I was surprised that such elements as the Medallion of Power were addressed at all, even if only in a passing mention, because its obvious that those aspects of the Ghost Rider origins are now being called on as lies and misdirection. Until another creator comes along in a few years with his own take on the character's origins, we just have to accept the fact that the "Ghost Rider as Angel" origin is the officially canon backstory. Despite what some readers may think, though, this isn't at all contradictory to the various origin stories that have come before (I'll be doing a feature article on the various origin stories and how they all fit together real soon, to back up my claim). But the honest truth of it is that the Ghost Rider origins have been a complicated mess since the early 1990s and the creators are doing their best to move the characters forward without confusing the shit out of new readers. I'm impressed that they had the stones to tackle the origin story at all, to be quite frank.
I was certainly happy to see Javier Saltares doing the artwork on this series, considering he was the co-creator of the Ketch Ghost Rider way back in 1990 and had just wrapped up another stint on the book last year. While his layouts are strong as always, the problem lies in the inking department. Tom Palmer, who also inked the last few issues of Saltares' run with Daniel Way, just doesn't mesh with the pencil work as well as Saltares' frequent collaborator Mark Texeira. Those two produce their best work as a pair, and to be honest its a bit jarring to see Javier's artwork sans Texeira's finishes. Saltares still turns in a pretty fantastic job here, though, and colorist Dan Brown continues his phenomenal work that's been seen in the regular ongoing series.
All in all, I'm happy to have ol' Danny back in whatever capacity, and this issue is a strong start to the character's return.
 |
| That's a man who's happy in his work! |
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