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| Cover Artist: Dick Ayers |
Original Price: $.12
Title: "...And Men Shall Call Him Sting-Ray!"
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Dick Ayers
Inker: Vince Colletta
Letterer: Al Kurzrok
Colorist: None Credited
Editor: Stan Lee
SYNOPSIS
At a barn dance benefit to raise money for text books, the people of Bison Bend are robbed by a costumed villain named Sting-Ray. While Carter Slade escapes to get his Ghost Rider outfit, the Sting-Ray uses his "paralysis bullets" to freeze Sheriff Brooks and Clay Rider in their tracks when they try to stop the robbery. Sting-Ray escapes, but when Ghost Rider arrives to purse him he is instead chased by a posse led by Sheriff Brooks. Using his ghost tricks, the Ghost Rider is able to escape the men and return to the barn as Carter Slade, just as Natalie Brooks is leaving with her fiancé Clay. Meanwhile, the Sting-Ray has returned to his identity as the operator of the town drugstore, where he concocted his "stun bullets". He thinks back to his previous criminal identity as the Scorpion, and after he escaped prison he began his string of robberies as the Sting-Ray. Now, in Bison Bend, he is ready to enact his plan to become "emperor of the West".
The next day, Ben Brooks talks with his men about catching the Ghost Rider, unaware that one of the men is secretly the Sting-Ray. That night, while the men ride off to set a trap at an incoming gold shipment, the Sting-Ray kidnaps Natalie to hold hostage in exchange for power. He takes her to the drugstore, but before he can hurt her he is confronted by the Ghost Rider, who followed the villain to the hideout. The two men fight and Ghost Rider unmasks Sting-Ray just as the Sheriff and his posse arrive. They attempt to arrest Ghost Rider, who barely manages to escape using his tricks. When Brooks attempts to fire his gun at the fleeing Ghost Rider he is suddenly disarmed by the Tarantula, who claims friendship with the Ghost Rider. The Tarantula rides away, but Brooks is now convinced that the Ghost Rider has to be a criminal despite Natalie's disbelief.
The next day, Ben Brooks talks with his men about catching the Ghost Rider, unaware that one of the men is secretly the Sting-Ray. That night, while the men ride off to set a trap at an incoming gold shipment, the Sting-Ray kidnaps Natalie to hold hostage in exchange for power. He takes her to the drugstore, but before he can hurt her he is confronted by the Ghost Rider, who followed the villain to the hideout. The two men fight and Ghost Rider unmasks Sting-Ray just as the Sheriff and his posse arrive. They attempt to arrest Ghost Rider, who barely manages to escape using his tricks. When Brooks attempts to fire his gun at the fleeing Ghost Rider he is suddenly disarmed by the Tarantula, who claims friendship with the Ghost Rider. The Tarantula rides away, but Brooks is now convinced that the Ghost Rider has to be a criminal despite Natalie's disbelief.
ANNOTATIONS
Carter Slade made his last chronological appearance in the back-up story in Ghost Rider (1973) # 51.
The Sting-Ray made his first appearance as the Scorpion in Rawhide Kid # 57.
The Tarantula last appeared chronologically in Ghost Rider (1973) # 50, and will appear next in The Ghost Rider (1967) # 5.
The Sting-Ray made his first appearance as the Scorpion in Rawhide Kid # 57.
The Tarantula last appeared chronologically in Ghost Rider (1973) # 50, and will appear next in The Ghost Rider (1967) # 5.
This issue was reprinted in Night Rider # 4, where all instances of Ghost Rider's name were changed to "Night Rider" following the debut of Johnny Blaze.
REVIEW
The Western Ghost Rider series goes all-in with an appropriation of the superhero genre trappings, so much so that you might as well re-name this series "Wild West Spider-Ghost Rider-Man".
While this series had dabbled with the superhero comic conventions that Marvel had popularized, what with the creation of the Tarantula as the book's first super-villain type in issue # 2. There was also the ongoing "unrequited love" angle between milquetoast Carter Slade and Natalie Brooks (oh, and that mysterious Clay Rider, he's up to no good I tell you!) and the J. Jonah Jameson syndrome that had befallen Sheriff Ben Brooks, both definite byproducts of the Marvel House Style of the 1960s. This issue takes things a step further by introducing the first no-holds-barred super-villain, the Sting-Ray.
The Sting-Ray is so Marvel Comics he might as well have Stan Lee's face emblazoned on his chest as a logo. He's a character that had previous appeared under a different identity in a different comic series, namely as the Scorpion in the pages of Rawhide Kid. He has a mask and cape and uses "paralysis bullets" in his six-shooter that he came up with during his day job as a pharmacist, which would be all well and good if he was fighting Daredevil in 1967. However, he is fighting the Ghost Rider in the late 1800s, which means all of his super-villain trappings make him look ridiculous. Is "reverse-anachronistic" a term? If not, it certainly should be, and Sting-Ray can be his poster child. His Doctor Doom level plot of becoming "Emperor of the West" is certainly a lofty goal, but his means of achieving it are a bit lackluster. He robs a book fair fund raiser and kidnaps a girl, both acts apparently meant to cement his status as God Emperor of New Mexico.
On the subplot side of things, Carter Slade's personality takes a major nose dive in this issue, and all I want is for the poor guy to man up and either get over Natalie or tell her how he feels. Instead, his idea of flirting is to be mean as shit to her and then wonder why she keeps coming back for more. It's an odd way to court a girl, even for the Old West, but I can't fathom Natalie's interest in Slade. He's boring as toast, the "nice guy" who can't help but be overshadowed by Clay "Fireballs" Rider and Benjamin "I'm Totally Not Banging My Sister" Brooks. The romantic back-and-forth between Natalie and Carter is dead on arrival, much like the plot for this issue as a whole. The one interesting thing to note is the end, which sees Ghost Rider simultaneously saved and framed by the returning Tarantula, who is so much more interesting than the Sting-Ray, terrible accent and all.
I will say, though, that I'm coming around to the Dick Ayers/Vince Colletta art team. I don't know why, maybe because Colletta was more at home inking an issue with a supervillain, but they really clicked on the visuals for this issue. The Western Ghost Rider still manages to maintain a spooky façade, even when he explains his tricks ad nauseum to the readers, and Ayers could draw this guy like nobody else. If he'd toned down the superhero influence on the design, I could almost see the Sting-Ray working, but the cape and tights just send it over the top, no matter how cool the hood-mask looks.
I've enjoyed the 60s Ghost Rider series as a product of its time, but this issue just drowns in its attempts to be something its not.
While this series had dabbled with the superhero comic conventions that Marvel had popularized, what with the creation of the Tarantula as the book's first super-villain type in issue # 2. There was also the ongoing "unrequited love" angle between milquetoast Carter Slade and Natalie Brooks (oh, and that mysterious Clay Rider, he's up to no good I tell you!) and the J. Jonah Jameson syndrome that had befallen Sheriff Ben Brooks, both definite byproducts of the Marvel House Style of the 1960s. This issue takes things a step further by introducing the first no-holds-barred super-villain, the Sting-Ray.
The Sting-Ray is so Marvel Comics he might as well have Stan Lee's face emblazoned on his chest as a logo. He's a character that had previous appeared under a different identity in a different comic series, namely as the Scorpion in the pages of Rawhide Kid. He has a mask and cape and uses "paralysis bullets" in his six-shooter that he came up with during his day job as a pharmacist, which would be all well and good if he was fighting Daredevil in 1967. However, he is fighting the Ghost Rider in the late 1800s, which means all of his super-villain trappings make him look ridiculous. Is "reverse-anachronistic" a term? If not, it certainly should be, and Sting-Ray can be his poster child. His Doctor Doom level plot of becoming "Emperor of the West" is certainly a lofty goal, but his means of achieving it are a bit lackluster. He robs a book fair fund raiser and kidnaps a girl, both acts apparently meant to cement his status as God Emperor of New Mexico.
On the subplot side of things, Carter Slade's personality takes a major nose dive in this issue, and all I want is for the poor guy to man up and either get over Natalie or tell her how he feels. Instead, his idea of flirting is to be mean as shit to her and then wonder why she keeps coming back for more. It's an odd way to court a girl, even for the Old West, but I can't fathom Natalie's interest in Slade. He's boring as toast, the "nice guy" who can't help but be overshadowed by Clay "Fireballs" Rider and Benjamin "I'm Totally Not Banging My Sister" Brooks. The romantic back-and-forth between Natalie and Carter is dead on arrival, much like the plot for this issue as a whole. The one interesting thing to note is the end, which sees Ghost Rider simultaneously saved and framed by the returning Tarantula, who is so much more interesting than the Sting-Ray, terrible accent and all.
I will say, though, that I'm coming around to the Dick Ayers/Vince Colletta art team. I don't know why, maybe because Colletta was more at home inking an issue with a supervillain, but they really clicked on the visuals for this issue. The Western Ghost Rider still manages to maintain a spooky façade, even when he explains his tricks ad nauseum to the readers, and Ayers could draw this guy like nobody else. If he'd toned down the superhero influence on the design, I could almost see the Sting-Ray working, but the cape and tights just send it over the top, no matter how cool the hood-mask looks.
I've enjoyed the 60s Ghost Rider series as a product of its time, but this issue just drowns in its attempts to be something its not.
Grade: C-
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