Cover Date: February 1992
On Sale Date: December 1991
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Guang Yap
Inker: Bud LaRosa
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Fernando Mendez
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Guang Yap
Inker: Bud LaRosa
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Fernando Mendez
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco
Cover Artist: Sam Keith
Since last issue gave us some bare insight into the mysterious, nameless girl that the heroes rescued, this one turns its attention toward the Grateful Undead themselves. So far, the Undead have just been shadows with little distinction, not to mention personality or much dialogue, so having their leader soliloquize for several pages is something that was absolutely necessary. Thankfully, Mackie doesn't give into the temptation to just make them one-note evil monsters. The leader is just so damn polite! His frustration with the heroes just builds and builds as the chapter progresses, with each panel leading up to him finally saying "I'm not lying I swear!" after he takes action to prove his point about the girl. There's not been much to write about concerning the villains of this story, other than the fact that they worship a tentacle god that lives under a lake of bones, which is admittedly pretty cool. This chapter goes a long way to making me like the antagonists, which I had assumed would be impossible by this point.
I did have to laugh, however, at Mackie's "reveal" that the Grateful Undead were the creators of ninjutsu and the progenitors of the ninja. Really, guys? Really?
Guang Yap also shines in this issue, with no signs of the clarity problems he had last chapter. He draws a great opening sequence with Cable and Ghost Rider ferreting out the Undead in the empty warehouse, giving both characters equal space for their actions. He's better with the action scenes this time, too, and the final reveal of the girl waking up with knives in her chest definitely sells the panic she's experiencing.
So, I'm optimistic about this story again, I just wish it hadn't taken so many filler chapters to get here.
Ghost Rider, Cable, and the girl they rescued are preparing to fight the Warriors of the Dead, who have tracked them to an abandoned warehouse. They find and kill one of the assassins, but the other Warriors use what Cable calls "ninja tricks" to evade their attack. The leader of the Warriors explain that it was they who brought the warrior arts to China centuries ago, then states that they are there to collect the girl, who was to be the bride of their god who dwells beneath the Cathedral of the Dead. Calling Ghost Rider and Cable valiant warriors, they ask only to take the girl and leave without a fight. Ghost Rider and Cable both refuse to allow the girl to be taken, and the head Warrior again states that he does not wish to kill them over a mistake as they attempt to protect one who is already dead. To prove it, the warriors throw knives into the girl, killing her, while Ghost Rider and Cable fight their way through the Warriors. The battle stops when the girl gets up with energy, not blood, leaking from the wounds in her chest, asking why she isn't dead.
THE ROADMAP
This issue is reprinted in Ghost Rider and Cable: Servants of the Dead # 1.
This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring Wolverine, Nova, and the Hulk.
CHAIN REACTION
"Servants of the Dead" picks up considerably with this chapter, giving me hope that this story will conclude on a high note after all.
Since last issue gave us some bare insight into the mysterious, nameless girl that the heroes rescued, this one turns its attention toward the Grateful Undead themselves. So far, the Undead have just been shadows with little distinction, not to mention personality or much dialogue, so having their leader soliloquize for several pages is something that was absolutely necessary. Thankfully, Mackie doesn't give into the temptation to just make them one-note evil monsters. The leader is just so damn polite! His frustration with the heroes just builds and builds as the chapter progresses, with each panel leading up to him finally saying "I'm not lying I swear!" after he takes action to prove his point about the girl. There's not been much to write about concerning the villains of this story, other than the fact that they worship a tentacle god that lives under a lake of bones, which is admittedly pretty cool. This chapter goes a long way to making me like the antagonists, which I had assumed would be impossible by this point.
I did have to laugh, however, at Mackie's "reveal" that the Grateful Undead were the creators of ninjutsu and the progenitors of the ninja. Really, guys? Really?
Guang Yap also shines in this issue, with no signs of the clarity problems he had last chapter. He draws a great opening sequence with Cable and Ghost Rider ferreting out the Undead in the empty warehouse, giving both characters equal space for their actions. He's better with the action scenes this time, too, and the final reveal of the girl waking up with knives in her chest definitely sells the panic she's experiencing.
So, I'm optimistic about this story again, I just wish it hadn't taken so many filler chapters to get here.
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| "We ain't got time to bleed!" |
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