Writer: Howard Mackie; Artist: Rick Leonardi; Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti; Letterer: Janice Chiang; Colorist: Freddy Mendez
Editor: Terry Kavanagh; Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco; Cover Artist: Sam Keith
The demon Gorn chastises his two followers for allowing the boy Kevin to escape his realm, telling them that he has to enter of his own free will in order for Gorn to escape. He sends them back out to find Kevin, who has been rescued by Dr. Strange. The two sit on the steps of the Sanctum Sanctorum, and Kevin tells Strange that he was running from a demon with a fiery skull. Assuming it to be Ghost Rider, Strange and Kevin go out in search of him. Ghost Rider, meanwhile, has tracked down a gang leader that has kidnapped a young girl. When he finds the young girl dead, Ghost Rider drags the criminal to the roof and gives him the Penance Stare just as the police are arriving. Dr. Strange and Kevin arrive and spirit Ghost Rider away, while the criminal that received the Penance Stare finds himself unable to withstand the torment and jumps off the roof.
"Stunt Show"
Writer: Gary Barnum; Artist: Dave Hoover; Letterer: Michael Higgins; Colorist: Pat Garrahy; Editor: Terry Kavanagh; Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco
Phantom Rider last appeared in West Coast Avengers (1986) # 41. Hamilton Slade next appears as the Phantom Rider in Avengers: The Initiative (2007) # 2. Based on the character's personality in this story, it can be assumed that Carter Slade's spirit had already left Hamilton's body and gone to the afterlife, where he is next seen in X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl (2006) # 2.
This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring Wolverine/Nightcrawler, and the Young Gods.
While the Ghost Rider/Dr. Strange serial still doesn't give us much in the way of answers, it at least gives us some insight into the villain Gorn's motivation (and gives him a name). Somehow Kevin is the key to releasing Gorn from his prison dimension, and he needs the boy to change places with him of his own free will. Fair enough motivation, I suppose. Dr. Strange gets involved in a logical way, and the similarities between Gorn and Ghost Rider allow the latter to be pulled into the story believably. There's a nice span of pages to introduce Ghost Rider as a proper protagonist, instead of one viewed solely through Kevin's eyes like in chapter one, and it's nice that the two heroes connect in a way that doesn't involve fighting first. The one bit I didn't like was the abruptness of the ending, with the story just stopping on a non-cliffhanger of a criminal jumping off a roof while Ghost Rider floats away.
The artwork, though, is what makes this serial worth it. Mackie of course writes an engaging Ghost Rider, but Rick Leonardi and Jimmy Palmiotti are selling the hell out of the visuals. Gorn has a fantastic character design, with the flaming goat's head, and he just exudes menace. The art team also does a good job of selling both Dr. Strange and Ghost Rider in the same world, despite the two characters having designs that could easily clash terribly.
The Phantom Rider story, on the other hand, is nothing to write home about. The plot is simple, which is a necessity for an 8-page short story, but it's the dialogue that's absolutely cringe worthy. The writer treats the Phantom Rider as just another hackneyed superhero, spouting lines to the villain like "eat phantom force!". Everything interesting about the character is jettisoned in favor of, I don't know, cliché after cliché. The artwork is nothing special either, though Dave Hoover was usually a reliable artist for Marvel Comics Presents around this time. It's all just too nice and bright and not fitting the tone of the character at all.
So while the Ghost Rider story gets high marks, the Phantom Rider story pulls the grade for this issue down considerably.
Archaeologist Hamilton Slade is doing research on UCLA's campus when he is visited by a young woman giving a tour to a group of children. The children go outside to see the bones of ancient mammoths unearthed from the La Brea Tar Pits, while Slade notices a strange man that sends his "phantom sense" reeling. Suddenly, the tar from the pit covers the bones and reanimates the mammoths, sending them on a rampage through the campus. Slade transforms into the Phantom Rider and jumps out the window to stop the monster, but finds his "phantom force" fired from his guns to be useless. The strange man transforms into D'Spayre and gloats that he is feeding off the fear and despair of the children. Phantom Rider goes up to the children and tells them to enjoy the show and illusions, then performs some fancy tricks with his horse. The kids stop being afraid and D'Spayre loses his power, leaving him vulnerable to the Phantom Rider's guns. The mammoths return to being harmless skeletons when D'Spayre flees, but the woman in charge of the kids hints to the Phantom Rider that she knows it was real and not a show after all.
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| Not much meat to be had here, man. |
THE ROADMAP
Ghost Rider and Dr. Strange last met in Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (1988) # 28.
Phantom Rider last appeared in West Coast Avengers (1986) # 41. Hamilton Slade next appears as the Phantom Rider in Avengers: The Initiative (2007) # 2. Based on the character's personality in this story, it can be assumed that Carter Slade's spirit had already left Hamilton's body and gone to the afterlife, where he is next seen in X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl (2006) # 2.
This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring Wolverine/Nightcrawler, and the Young Gods.
CHAIN REACTION
This is a rare issue of Marvel Comics Presents that has two features to review: the second chapter of the Ghost Rider/Dr. Strange team-up and a one-shot Phantom Rider story!
While the Ghost Rider/Dr. Strange serial still doesn't give us much in the way of answers, it at least gives us some insight into the villain Gorn's motivation (and gives him a name). Somehow Kevin is the key to releasing Gorn from his prison dimension, and he needs the boy to change places with him of his own free will. Fair enough motivation, I suppose. Dr. Strange gets involved in a logical way, and the similarities between Gorn and Ghost Rider allow the latter to be pulled into the story believably. There's a nice span of pages to introduce Ghost Rider as a proper protagonist, instead of one viewed solely through Kevin's eyes like in chapter one, and it's nice that the two heroes connect in a way that doesn't involve fighting first. The one bit I didn't like was the abruptness of the ending, with the story just stopping on a non-cliffhanger of a criminal jumping off a roof while Ghost Rider floats away.
The artwork, though, is what makes this serial worth it. Mackie of course writes an engaging Ghost Rider, but Rick Leonardi and Jimmy Palmiotti are selling the hell out of the visuals. Gorn has a fantastic character design, with the flaming goat's head, and he just exudes menace. The art team also does a good job of selling both Dr. Strange and Ghost Rider in the same world, despite the two characters having designs that could easily clash terribly.
The Phantom Rider story, on the other hand, is nothing to write home about. The plot is simple, which is a necessity for an 8-page short story, but it's the dialogue that's absolutely cringe worthy. The writer treats the Phantom Rider as just another hackneyed superhero, spouting lines to the villain like "eat phantom force!". Everything interesting about the character is jettisoned in favor of, I don't know, cliché after cliché. The artwork is nothing special either, though Dave Hoover was usually a reliable artist for Marvel Comics Presents around this time. It's all just too nice and bright and not fitting the tone of the character at all.
So while the Ghost Rider story gets high marks, the Phantom Rider story pulls the grade for this issue down considerably.
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| Gnarly! Tubular! Cowabunga! |
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