"Doorway to Darkness, Part 3: Pain"
Cover Date: April 1992; On Sale Date: February 1992
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
Meanwhile, Dr. Strange attempts to transport Ghost Rider and Kevin across the city via levitation. Kevin's fear of Ghost Rider's flames causes him to fall, but his fall is broken by Strange. They run into a cemetery, where Kevin finds himself overwhelmed by all of the mausoleum doors around him. Gorn's two minions arrive and attempt to talk him into going through their doorway portal. When Ghost Rider and Dr. Strange catch up to them, they release Eugene from the portal, having transformed him into a creature called Pain. During the fight, Kevin falls backwards into the doorway, sending him to Gorn's realm. The minions follow, but Ghost Rider is able to snag Pain with his chain, and both he and Dr. Strange are dragged through the portal behind him.
CHAIN REACTION
I really like this story, but man was it slow to start. Now that the balls are finally rolling, my interest level is building and I'm genuinely interested in Gorn and his plans for Kevin. The minions and their new partner, Pain, are entertaining, especially since one of them is currently headless and pulling a Silent Bob to the other minion's Jay. Ghost Rider is naturally written well, but the heroes take a back seat to the side characters in this chapter, and that's okay. Dr. Strange still hasn't done much of interest, he's just sort of there while Ghost Rider does the heavy lifting, but with the action moving to another dimension next issue perhaps Strange will get his chance to shine.
Unfortunately, and possibly because Mackie was working under such a truncated page count, the themes of the story are hammered over our heads with the narration and dialogue. Eugene's in pain, so naturally he's a character named "Pain" after his transformation and repeats the word "pain" over and over again. Kevin is afraid of doors and reminds of this every panel he's in, and we get the point. Again, perhaps its because he had a small amount of space to tell the story and wanted to make sure he got the themes in there, but some subtlety would have been appreciated.
Rick Leonardi and Jimmy Palmiotti continue to be a dynamite art team for this story. I've always associated Leonardi with either his early work on Uncanny X-Men or his run on Spider-Man 2099, neither of which would make me think he'd be suitable for a dark and gritty Ghost Rider story. I was very wrong, because these pages are just dripping with atmosphere. His characters all tend to have lanky, fluid builds to their bodies, and it works well for Ghost Rider and his thick leather jacket draped over an actual skeleton instead of a body builder.
This has easily been the best of the Ghost Rider team-up stories in MCP so far, here's hoping it doesn't fall apart in the back half.
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
Serial killer Eugene Stone had just received Ghost Rider's Penance Stare, causing him to relive all of the pain he had caused his victims. He attempts to kill himself by jumping off the roof of a building, but doesn't die when he lands. He's found by Gorn's two servants, who drag the broken killer back to their home dimension.
Meanwhile, Dr. Strange attempts to transport Ghost Rider and Kevin across the city via levitation. Kevin's fear of Ghost Rider's flames causes him to fall, but his fall is broken by Strange. They run into a cemetery, where Kevin finds himself overwhelmed by all of the mausoleum doors around him. Gorn's two minions arrive and attempt to talk him into going through their doorway portal. When Ghost Rider and Dr. Strange catch up to them, they release Eugene from the portal, having transformed him into a creature called Pain. During the fight, Kevin falls backwards into the doorway, sending him to Gorn's realm. The minions follow, but Ghost Rider is able to snag Pain with his chain, and both he and Dr. Strange are dragged through the portal behind him.
This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring Wolverine/Nightcrawler, Rintrah, and the Young Gods.
CHAIN REACTION
"Doorway to Darkness" is starting to gain momentum now that the lead characters have been introduced.
I really like this story, but man was it slow to start. Now that the balls are finally rolling, my interest level is building and I'm genuinely interested in Gorn and his plans for Kevin. The minions and their new partner, Pain, are entertaining, especially since one of them is currently headless and pulling a Silent Bob to the other minion's Jay. Ghost Rider is naturally written well, but the heroes take a back seat to the side characters in this chapter, and that's okay. Dr. Strange still hasn't done much of interest, he's just sort of there while Ghost Rider does the heavy lifting, but with the action moving to another dimension next issue perhaps Strange will get his chance to shine.
Unfortunately, and possibly because Mackie was working under such a truncated page count, the themes of the story are hammered over our heads with the narration and dialogue. Eugene's in pain, so naturally he's a character named "Pain" after his transformation and repeats the word "pain" over and over again. Kevin is afraid of doors and reminds of this every panel he's in, and we get the point. Again, perhaps its because he had a small amount of space to tell the story and wanted to make sure he got the themes in there, but some subtlety would have been appreciated.
Rick Leonardi and Jimmy Palmiotti continue to be a dynamite art team for this story. I've always associated Leonardi with either his early work on Uncanny X-Men or his run on Spider-Man 2099, neither of which would make me think he'd be suitable for a dark and gritty Ghost Rider story. I was very wrong, because these pages are just dripping with atmosphere. His characters all tend to have lanky, fluid builds to their bodies, and it works well for Ghost Rider and his thick leather jacket draped over an actual skeleton instead of a body builder.
This has easily been the best of the Ghost Rider team-up stories in MCP so far, here's hoping it doesn't fall apart in the back half.
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| Those darn squirmy kids! |
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