Cover Date: February 1993; On Sale Date: December 1992
Writer: Howard Mackie; Artist: Adam Kubert; Inker: Bill Reinhold; Letterer: Michael Heisler; Colorist: Gregory Wright; Editor: Bobbie Chase; Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco; Cover Artist: Adam Kubert
Outside Dover, New Jersey, Ghost Rider and John Blaze ride through a vicious snowstorm on their way to the Quentin Carnival. Blaze thinks something is wrong at the Carnival and is upset that they wasted so much time looking for Dr. Strange while dragging Hag, Troll, and Deathwatch behind them. When they arrive at the Carnival, Blaze finds his close friends in Clara the psychic's trailer, caring for her as she's overwhelmed by visions of death. She tries to warn Blaze about the danger, but it's too late, "they" are here. Outside, Ghost Rider stands in the blizzard and is taken out with an explosive. Blaze and his friends head outside, where they find Steel Vengeance and her sister, Steel Wind, in command of an army of demons. As an act of revenge, the sisters send their "Stygian Horde" to destroy the Carnival while the women attack Blaze. Ghost Rider emerges from the snow to rejoin Blaze, but the battle is interrupted by Mephisto, who appears as a giant and sets the Carnival on fire. He transports Blaze and Ghost Rider away to test them, while Steel Wind and Steel Vengeance gather up Deathwatch, Hag, and Troll to take back to their master.
"The Great Hunt, Part 1"
Writer: Howard Mackie; Artist: Joe Kubert; Letterer: Bill Oakley; Colorist: Gregory Wright; Editor: Bobbie Chase; Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco
During a snowstorm in Manhattan, a group of monsters emerge called the Feeders. They are starting "the Great Hunt", which involves them kidnapping people off the street and dragging them away. Dan Ketch and his friend Donna are attacked, and Dan transforms into Ghost Rider to fight the Feeder. He learns that the Feeders are taking the people away to eat them, and when the monster escapes Ghost Rider follows him to the Natural History Museum. There, he is confronted by four more Feeders, who welcome him to their great feast.
THE ROADMAP
Ghost Rider and Blaze last appeared in Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 1.
Steel Vengeance last appeared in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 2, and her sister Steel Wind last appeared in Ghost Rider (1973) # 75.
The fate of Deathwatch is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 42. What happens to Hag and Troll is never revealed, and they are last seen as prisoners of Centurious in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 9.
The Stygian Demons are connected to the former Ghost Rider villain, Reverend Styge. The eye used to control the demons was ripped from Styge in Ghost Rider (1990) # 18, and the cannibalistic priest later died at the hands of the Punisher in Darkhold: Pages From the Book of Sins (1992) # 5.
Mephisto last appeared in connection to Ghost Rider and Blaze in Ghost Rider (1990) # 20.
The back-up story in this issue and the next takes place weeks before the events in the main story, specifically between Shadow Riders # 2 and Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 4.
CHAIN REACTION
Now that the crossovers are out of the way, Spirits of Vengeance can return to the larger story-arc that has been slow-building in the background the last few months.
So, apparently the story behind this issue and the next is that Adam Kubert was falling behind on his deadlines and was struggling to keep up. In order to give himself some breathing room, Howard Mackie decided to set this issue in a blizzard and the next in a desert, so there wouldn't be as much of a need to draw backgrounds or lots of detailed surroundings. Kubert, though, is an excellent artist that packed as much detail as possible into the snow and sand, so it didn't really help. Yes, the issues were released on time, but only due to the inclusion of a back-up story.
Despite the circumstances regarding publication and story direction, this issue continues the quality of the last six issues. As much as I enjoyed "Spirits of Venom" (and I really, really enjoyed that story), it's nice to see this series get back to the larger plot that started way back in issue # 2. While Steel Vengeance wasn't the most interesting character, it led to the return of a character I was thrilled to see again, namely Steel Wind. She didn't get much in the way of characterization here, Steel Vengeance acts as the mouthpiece for the duo (which, wow, contrast that to how they operated during Rob Williams' run decades later), but Steel Wind's presence itself speaks volumes. With Blaze now in a starring role again, seeing villains from the final days of his time with Zarathos really made you think things were building to something truly epic. Mephisto's appearance at the end of the issue was also incredibly effective, more players and more pieces to the puzzle that Mackie was building. While we know now that what this was all building to was quite a disappointment, it doesn't mean that this wasn't seriously exciting while it was happening. It's part of why Spirits was the superior title over the main Ghost Rider series during this time, because while that title felt like it was spinning its wheels Spirits was where the real world-building was happening.
The back-up story, though, reads like something that was written as a last-minute fill-in, an afterthought that's just there to fill up pages. In all likelihood, considering Adam Kubert's deadline problems, that's exactly what "The Great Hunt" was, something Mackie came up with as quickly as possible. It reads like a mediocre Marvel Comics Presents story that doesn't have much to say, even with the twist that comes at the end of next issue. Monsters come out to take people and eat them, Ghost Rider doesn't like that, cue monster fight. Not much to write home about, honestly.
What "The Great Hunt" does have going for it, though, is the artwork by Joe Kubert. I assume that Joe came in as a favor for his son, Adam, to help out with the book's deadline problems. There was this great period, however brief, where the entire Kubert family had their hands in the Ghost Rider titles, and seeing Joe's solo work on the character is great (and rare, he only drew this one 2-part story for the series). I'm not so big a fan of the other Kubert son, Andy, but having a comic with both Adam and Joe on artwork is a huge selling point for me. For his part, even with his deadline issues, Adam turns in his usual spectacular job on the main story. The way he draws the snowstorm billowing around the characters is literally chilling, and not a lot of artists could convey the feeling of a blizzard at night.
This issue was the start of a rough arc that easily ups the excitement level for the series, with each issue adding something new to the mysteries. If only the back-up story was as high a quality as the main story, this would be a great comic. Still, at least the artwork makes it pretty to look at!
No comments:
Post a Comment