The Ghost Rider (1950) # 1

Cover Artist: Frank Frazetta

Published: August 1950
Original Price: $.10

Title: "This is the Tale of the Ghost Rider"

Title: "The Fire Ghost!"
Title: "Spook Justice"
Title: "A Trap For Nemesis"
Writer: Gardner Fox
Artist: Dick Ayers
Letterer: Dick Ayers
Colorist: Unknown

SYNOPSIS

"This is the Tale of the Ghost Rider"
US Marshall Rex Fury and his companion Sing Song are ambushed on the prairie by a group of Apaches, led by a white man disguised as one of the indians.  They throw Fury and Sing Song into a watery cave to die, and after they wash into the cave a dying Fury is approached by the ghost of Wild Bill Hickock.  Wild Bill tells Fury that he and his comrades attempted to bring law to the west but find that work still needs to be done, so they have chosen Fury to act in their place.  Trained by Hickock, Calamity Jane, Bill Tilghman, Pat Garrett, and Kit Carson, Fury becomes the Ghost Rider.  He awakens in the cave along with Sing Song and sees his new horse, Spectre, waiting for him.  He soon creates the Ghost Rider costume and rides out to bring justice to the west.

"The Fire Ghost!"
The Osage medicine man Many Feathers has called forth the spirit of Wakonda, a Native American god, and roused the tribes of the west to attack settlers.  After rescuing a group of cavalrymen, the Ghost Rider travels to Many Feathers' tribe, where the chiefs of the assembled nations have met for council with Wakonda.  Realizing that the ghost indian is a trick played by Many Feathers and his sub-chief Hunting Horse, the Ghost Rider descends into the hut and fights the mortal "god".  He exits the hut and proves that Many Feathers has tricked them, causing the chiefs to end their attacks.

"Spook Justice"
Rex Fury's friend Sam Harberg and his family have set up a settlement with Fury's help, but local rancher Jeb Cole is angry about the newcomer taking the land.  He and his men ride out to scare Harberg away, but they are stopped by the Ghost Rider.  The next night Cole's men attack the Harberg ranch again, but the Ghost Rider is able to apprehend them all using his ghost tricks and a new lantern projector created by Sing Song.

"A Trap For Nemesis"
A gang of bank robbers gloat about their secret hideout that contains all of their stolen loot, and even an attack by the Ghost Rider doesn't dissuade them from robbing another bank.  They set a trap for the Ghost Rider by covering up a dug hole, which the vigilante and his horse fall into when they ride over it.  However, they both fall through the bottom of the hole into an abandoned mine, the same mine that the robbers are using as their hideout.  They seal themselves into the mine, but the Ghost Rider finds them.  After subduing them, he forces the men to dig their way back out of the mine before they go to jail.

ANNOTATIONS 

Rex Fury was created by Raymond Krank and Dick Ayers in Tom Holt # 6 as the Calico Kid, and he became the Ghost Rider in Tim Holt # 11.

The Ghost Rider last appeared in Tim Holt # 14 and appears next in Tim Holt # 15.

Creator credits were not included in the comic other than the artist's signature, but it has been verified that "This is the Tale of the Ghost Rider" was written by Gardner Fox.  It has been assumed that he was the writer for the rest of the stories in this issue as well.

The Rex Fury Ghost Rider is not part of Marvel continuity and is unrelated to the Carter Slade Ghost Rider, outside of inspiration of course.

REVIEW

The very first Ghost Rider, Rex Fury from Magazine Enterprises, gets his own series after appearing in a few Tim Holt back-up stories.

I'd imagine that most readers are completely unfamiliar with the 1950 Ghost Rider, perhaps just peripherally aware that Carter Slade wasn't the first white-costumed western hero.  He's pretty much just a footnote in comic history now, way overshadowed first by Marvel's (more or less stolen) iteration and then even more so by the introduction of Johnny Blaze.  These comics did exist, though, and despite not being connected to Marvel's Ghost Rider outside of adopted inspiration and a shared name, I would be remiss as a Ghost Rider historian NOT to feature the series in some capacity.  So, here are are with the first issue of the adventures of Rex Fury, and I'm happy to report that these stories hold up much better than I assumed they would.

 Most Golden Age comics do not read well today, they're anachronistic and the style of storytelling is generally dull and simplistic in comparison to comics from not only today, but even from the Silver and Bronze Ages.  This comic, however, does not read like it was from 1950...okay, well, YES, it definitely DOES read like it came from 1950, but it's so much better than other comics from that time period.  The stories aren't much to dwell on, they're fairly run-of-the-mill cowboy stuff, so that's not what sets the comic apart.  No, that comes down to the details and the artwork, the latter of which I'll talk about later.  For the former, what I mean about "details" is the amount of imagination that went into the character to separate it from its western comics brethren.  It would have been pretty easy to just make the Ghost Rider a standard cowboy vigilante, but Fox (and creator Ray Krank) at least put in the attempt to give the character something distinct.  The origin story, with the ghosts of the frontier heroes, is pretty inspired stuff for its time.  There are problems, too, of course, such as the stereotypical portrayal of Native Americans that was so prevalent in comics around this time.  And then there's Sing Song, who is a conundrum of a character.  He's an obviously racist caricature of frontier Asians, with the Oriental dress, buck teeth, and horrendous dialect; but then he's also the most intelligent and personable character in the book.  He definitely shines in comparison to Rex Fury himself, who outside of his Ghost Rider identity is about as interesting as burnt toast.

It's also funny (well, not really funny so much as dastardly) just how much Marvel lifted from this series when they debuted Carter Slade.  The "ghost tricks" like the disappearing cape and the lantern projector were lifted right along with the character's design, but there's more to it than that.  While they discarded the origin story with Wild Bill Hickock's ghost, they kept the specific plot point about the white man disguised as an indian bandit.  That's such an odd element to include in this issue, since the origin story doesn't bother to address it again.  Where's the conclusion to that story?  Where's the fucking VENGEANCE?  I suppose with only 7 pages to work with the creators did what they could, but it's so glaring in its omission that I'm perplexed.  I guess stopping two murderous prospectors was more important than stopping the man who killed you, Rex?

The main reason, and if I'm being honest the ONLY reason outside of historical curiosity, to read this series is for Dick Ayers' artwork.  This guy is the reason this series looks like it's several decades ahead of its publication date, because while he's still rough around the edges his work has more dynamism and excitement to it than most other artists of the time.  His design for the Ghost Rider is instantly iconic and is intrinsically tied to the artist, so much so that when Marvel stole the concept in 1967 they at least got Ayers to draw the series for them.  This issue also has a cover by a very young Frank Frazetta, so artistically the Ghost Rider had a whole lot going for it.

You can find this comic, and the 14 issues series as a whole, archived to read online due it now being in the public domain.  I'd recommend reading through them, if only to see where the Ghost Rider truly originated from.

Grade: B-

Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 8

Cover Artist: Chris Bachalo

Published: December 1994
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "The Persistence of Memory"
Writer: Len Kaminski
Artist: Kyle Hotz
Letterer: Richard Starkings w/ Comicraft
Colorist: Christie Scheele w/ Heroic Age
Editor: Evan Skolnick
Group Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
Zero has entered the mind of his girlfriend, Kylie Gagarin, to wake her form the coma induced by D/Monix.  The theory from Dr. Sandoz is that Kylie can awaken at any time, but she's trapped in a memory loop and has to be pulled out.  Walking through the visual iconography in Kylie's mind, Zero discovers that her memories are hidden behind a series of doors.  When he opens one and enters, he finds himself in something like an emulation program, where he is reliving the memory as Kylie.  The first memory is of when she was a child, and her poverty stricken father's decision to be a "suicide stuntman" for a television show called "Samsa NYPD".  When her mother discovers the note left by her husband, she goes to talk him out of it and accidentally triggers an explosion that kills them and 25 other people.  The producers of the television show pay Kylie a large amount of money to use her story as a "tragedy of the week" and assorted other death benefits, which causes her to swear that she won't care about anyone else ever again.  Realizing that Kylie is not trapped in that particular memory, Zero moves on to the next one.

Meanwhile, at D/Monix, CEO Dyson Kellerman watches an interview he had performed with Harrison Cochrane, Zero's father and the person who ordered the boy's death for date theft.  Kellerman, who now knows that Zero is the Ghost Rider, tells Harrison that he plans to use the boy as a public enemy, the fear in which he will instill in the populace guaranteeing that they will give up their rights in exchange for safety.  In the meantime, Kellerman tells Harrison that he will be in charge of finding a way to destroy Zero once they've finished using him.  In his office, Kellerman then watches the footage of the Ghost Rider's speech against D/Monix, which has an altered audio track that paints Zero as a horrific terrorist bent on destroying Transverse City.

Back in Kylie's mind, Zero finds a door marked with a number zero sign, obviously meant to represent him.  When he enters the memory, he finds himself in her bedroom, acting as Kylie herself.  The memory of Zero is getting dressed to leave after having sex, but stops long enough to ask Kylie for $50.  Kylie breaks into laughter, thinking to herself that he's perfect, she'll have a new reason to dump him every day of the week.  Kylie melts away into the Ghost Rider, as Zero takes control and smashes the memory version of himself, upset at how she really felt about him, that he was disposable.  Realizing that she didn't love him, but couldn't stand that he was taken away from her, he locates her in a recent memory: the one of her finding Zero's body at D/Monix.  He wakes her up by telling her that if she has something to say to him she needs to do it quick, because he's busy.  She breaks up with him inside her mind, and the two both wake up in Sandoz's lab.  The Ghost Rider leaves, and when Kylie runs after him she asks if Zero is dead.  He says yes, but asks her why she even cares considering how awful a person her was.  He tells her that he's "got biz" and leaves, making her wonder if the Ghost Rider is actually Zero.

ANNOTATIONS
The memory in which Kylie was trapped occurred in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 4.

Harrison Cochrane learned that his son was the Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 5.

In Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 5 reporter Willis Adams recorded Zero's speech against D/Monix, which Kellerman turned into the "media virus" from this issue.

Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 14 - "Ms. Jemima Catmint: Spirit of Vengeance" (Click to Listen)

REVIEW
Kaminski and Hotz finish the title's second story-arc with a really fascinating look at how the characters handle loss.

As much as I loved the previous issues in this series, and I loved them A LOT, I also accused them of being pretty shallow.  They were filled with a lot of fantastic action sequences that went by at a breakneck pace, allowing for only a little bit of characterization moments to sneak in the pauses between the carnage.  There's nothing wrong with having this be a full-on action series, especially when those few and far between character building scenes were handled as well as Kaminski handled them.  This series was damn near perfect in its previous seven issues, but then the creative team gave us THIS issue, and it blew my mind the first time I read it.

This was the issue of the series were Zero and Kylie (and even Kellerman, to a lesser extent) became real people instead of stock comic characters.  This comic had no action at all, save for perhaps the dramatic page where Kylie melts away to show the Ghost Rider's enraged skull, but it was absolutely riveting to read through.  At no point did this book bore or disappoint me while I read it, and with each page the tension and sadness was ratcheted up another notch.  There's a gloom over this comic, and not just a visual one (though that's certainly a factor, I'll get to Kyle Hotz and Christine Scheele in a minute).  Kaminski was a writer who was able to introduce all of these brilliant "futuristic" concepts so naturally, and that continues here with the "psychespace" inside Kylie's mind and the door imagery.  Using the doors as a way to enter memories probably isn't a new idea, but it's used so well here that it might as well have been.

Kylie was a likable enough character in the previous issues, spunky and determined to find out what happened to her boyfriend.  This issue, though, gives us her backstory in the most heartbreaking way possible, by having us (and Zero) relive it through her eyes.  From the death of her parents and the way it informs her relationship to other people as he gets older, to the reality of her relationship with Zero, it's adds up to one fundamentally broken young woman.  I sympathized with Kylie throughout this comic, and she's a much richer character because of the tragedies that have come to define her.  Zero, too, gets his much-deserved shot of characterization in this issue, and it paints him in a very unflattering light.  He's a disposable hunk of meat to Kylie, and the way she represents him in her memory as being literally heartless (there's a chunk of his torso missing, in the shape of a heart) continues Kaminski's portrayal of pre-Ghostworks Zero as a really shitty human being.  His shock and anger at how Kylie really thought about him and their relationship is like a gut punch, not just to Zero but to the readers, who have been with Zero the last three issues as he's tried to save the girl who he thought loved him.  The best exchange between characters is after they wake up in the lab, and Dr. Neon pats Zero on the back for a job well done.  Zero's response to the kid is "touch me again and I'll KILL you", probably the most direct threat he's ever lobbied at someone.

Another truly fascinating part of the issue is the conversation between Kellerman and Harrison at D/Monix, and how prescient Kellerman's plans are in relation to using a boogeyman enemy to convince people to sacrifice their rights.  This comic was written in 1994, but you could easily make me believe that Kaminski had written this as a response to the early 2000s "War on Terror" and Patriot Act, where the threat of terrorist made America as a whole give up their privacy and Constitutional rights in exchange for the illusion of safety.  Hell, you could probably convince me that it was written TODAY as a response to the Trump administration, it's that close to how things have been progressing in real life.  The "media virus" speech given by Kellerman's version of the Ghost Rider is terrifying, especially when you consider the implications behind the fear campaign.  "I will dance upon the ashes of your children" is about as literal a threat as one can get, and in a future world controlled by D/Monix and other corporations it's scary that all Kellerman wants is even MORE control.

Going back to the work by artist Kyle Hotz and colorist Christine Scheele, this comic is drenched in darkness.  I said there was a visual gloom, and it's not only overwhelming but it gets more imposing as the comic goes along.  The opening pages are full of pinks and reds, with Zero wandering through the girl's mindscape, but once he enters her memories it's all flickering blues and deep blacks, a life lit by television screens and computer monitors.  Hotz was a strange choice as a follow-up artist for Bachalo and Buckingham, but he sells the shit out of the drama in this issue.  His Ghost Rider is a wire-strewn nightmare walking, especially when he's going around with his holographic flame turned off.

This issue is where Ghost Rider 2099 put its heart and soul on display, and it made the series so much better for it.  That this series isn't available for new readers to discover is a crime.

Grade: A+

Ghost Racers (2015) # 4

Cover Art: Francesco Francavilla

Published: July 2015
Original Price: $3.99

Title: untitled
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Juan Gedeon
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso 

SYNOPSIS
Robbie Reyes watches the television in horror as he discovers that his little brother, Gabe, has been transformed into a Ghost Racer and is preparing to enter his first race.  The Spirit of Eli explains to Robbie that Gabe's Spirit of Ignition comes from their family genetics.  The race begins, and all of the assembled Ghost Racers are targeting Gabe as he tries to outrun them to the finish line.  Robbie teleports onto the track with the Battle Charger just in time to save Gabe from T-Rider Rex, which is a tyrannosaurus rex riding a flaming jet fighter.  Robbie refuses to teleport himself and his brother away, telling Eli that the only way to truly be free is to defeat Zadkiel.  Arcade releases Venus Compiler to kill the Reyes boys, and the robot biker cuts her way through the other Ghost Racers easily, forcing Robbie and Gabe to run for their lives.  While watching from above the arena, Zadkiel warns Arcade that he can no longer control Reyes or his Spirit of Ignition, so they need to finish him tonight.

Robbie grabs onto Carter Slade and has him utilize the Penance Stare, forcing Slade and the other Spirits of Ignition to free themselves from Zadkiel's control.  They work together to destroy Venus Compiler and then turn their attention toward their captors.  Zadkiel catches Gabe just before he reaches the finish line and flies with him into the air, threatening to destroy the young boy.  Eli uses his teleportation power to allow Robbie and Gabe to switch places, and Robbie sucks Zadkiel's soul into his mouth, killing the angel.  The Racers then knock Arcade out of the sky, where he's caught by a vengeful Alejandra, who makes good on her promise to rip out the villain's eyes.  Eli opens a teleportation portal, and the Ghost Racers run Arcade over as they make their way through the portal and out of the Killiseum.  United as one force, they are Ghost Racers no more...now they are Spirits of Vengeance!

ANNOTATIONS 
Ghost Racers was part of the 2015 Secret Wars event, which saw the Marvel multiverse destroyed with only a single world remaining under the rule of a godlike Doctor Doom.  The planet, Battleworld, was comprised of dozens of domains consisting of fragments of alternate realities.  This series takes place in the domain of Doomstadt, which is home of the Killiseum.

Due to the nature of Battleworld, none of the Ghost Riders featured in this series come from the established Marvel Universe; all of them hail from alternate realities, which explains the inconsistencies in characterizations.

The Ghost Racers featured in this issue include: Robbie Reyes (who first appeared in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 1), Danny Ketch (first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 1), Carter Slade (first appeared in The Ghost Rider (1967) # 1), Michael Badilino (first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 21), Zero Cochrane (first appeared in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 1), T-Rider Rex (this is his first appearance), Johnny Blaze (first appeared in Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 5), Shoba Mizra (first appeared in Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch (2008) # 1), and Alejandra Jones (misnamed Alejandra Blaze in this series, first appeared in Ghost Rider (2011) # 1).

Zadkiel, who appears here as the handler for the Spirits of Ignition, was the angel responsible for the creation of the Spirits of Vengeance in the 616 Marvel Universe.  He made his first appearance in Ghost Rider (2006) # 27.

This issue was released with an Alejandra Jones variant cover by Stacey Lee.

REVIEW
Ghost Racers concludes with a near-perfect ending that would have been a perfect set-up for a future series, which unfortunately never materialized.

Marvel's 2015 "Secret Wars" event was such a bizarre creature, bloated and unwieldy with so many tie-in titles that it was a damn near impossibility to collect the whole story.  Thankfully, most of the better tie-ins were so far outside the boundaries of the main event story you could read them individually without much standing in your way of enjoying them.  I read the main Secret Wars mini-series and several of the tie-ins via Marvel Unlimited, and there were several books that were really good.  Marvel Zombies, Inferno, Years of Future Past, and Inhumans: Attilan Rising were all good to great comics (especially Marvel Zombies, holy shit was that a great story), but none of them were quite as good as Ghost Racers.  That's not just because this is a Ghost Rider blog, people, I promise.  Ghost Racers was just THAT FUCKING GOOD.

Doing an alternate reality mash-up story such as this one has its up side and its down side.  One one hand, it's viewed as inconsequential to the character's continuity, since nothing in its pages "counts" toward anything in the larger scheme of Ghost Rider history.  On the other hand, it allowed Felipe Smith to go as out-of-his-mind crazy with idea after idea as he could go while at the same time giving him carte blanche to mine the Ghost Rider chronology without seemingly nothing off limits.  I know continuity is important to a lot of fans, but I'll take more stories like this over continuity wanking any time.  This was a series that brought every Ghost Rider from Cater Slade to Zero Cochrane into one story, utilized the Secret Wars event to make it happen, and transformed a simple "Deathrace 2000" concept into a love letter to all iterations of the character.  That this series worked as well as it did is god damned amazing to me.

Naturally, given that this was written by Felipe Smith, Robbie Reyes was the focal point of the story.  It allowed Smith to hang the series on an emotional hook of brotherly love that the absence of which would have robbed it of any soul.  It's easy to have a high-concept like this series, but if you don't have the character moments to go along with it then it feels empty and soulless.  Granted, you could maybe have done this with a similar brotherly sibling take on Blaze and Ketch, but I think the Reyes brothers sell the drama better.  Also, as I said in the review for issue # 3, I really liked how Blaze wasn't given much of a role in the story, with the major focus going to characters like Carter Slade and Alejandra Jones instead.  Those two characters absolutely shone like diamonds in this issue, and it made me more interested in either of them than I have ever been in the past.  Now, that's not to say that Smith doesn't push things too far, considering he introduces T-Rider Rex in this issue.  Some people will think a Ghost Rider dinosaur with rocket fists that rides a jet fighter like a skateboard is the coolest thing ever, and some will think it's the dumbest.  I think it's pretty idiotic, personally, but I admire that Smith was really willing to swing for the fences here.  That kid's got moxie, and I dig it.

The perfect partner for Smith on this series was Juan Gedeon, whose action sequences in this issue are breathtaking.  They're busy and detailed without being confusing, nor does it sacrifice clarity for character posing.  Each Ghost Racer are given such personality in how they move on their vehicles, or how they relate to one another on the track.  Carter Slade doesn't just move like he's riding on a horse, he hunches forward like he's constantly bearing down on someone, ready to snatch them up.  Alejandra strikes like a snake while Danny Ketch drives through things like a freaking tank, turret on the front of his bike and everything.  Gedeon's wild character designs are on display anew in this issue as well, with not only the aforementioned T-Rider Rex (which looks terrifying, ridiculous or not) but also with Gabe in his Spirit of Ignition vehicle that's really just a big wheel with him riding in the middle.

This series is one of my favorite Ghost Rider stories of the last decade, easily the best thing done with the characters since Jason Aaron finished his run.  It ended so perfectly, with that last page "Spirits of Vengeance" gatefold image, and I am absolutely floored that Marvel didn't immediately follow this up with a series that featured all the Ghost Riders in one book.  Smith's follow-up, the recently cancelled Ghost Rider series that was more about the Hulk than it was about Ghost Rider, was certainly an even bigger disappointment given how fantastically this comic ended.  If you haven't picked up Ghost Racers for whatever reason, because of the event tie-in or because you don't like Robbie Reyes or again whatever reason, please rectify that mistake and read it immediately.  I don't think you'll be disappointed, no matter which Ghost Rider is your favorite.

Grade: A+

Ghost Racers (2015) # 3

Cover Art: Francesco Francavilla

Published: June 2015
Original Price: $3.99

Title: untitled
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Juan Gedeon
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso 

SYNOPSIS
Ghost Racer Robbie Reyes has disappeared from the Killiseum, teleported away by the spirit of Eli before Arcade could have him killed.  He arrives in downtown Doomstadt, and after a frantic drive into an alley Eli explains that because he's different from all of the other Spirits of Ignition he is now immune to Zadkiel's influence.  Eli transforms the Battle Charger into an innocuous car, and Robbie heads toward his apartment to pick up his little brother, Gabe, so they can leave town.

Before they get very far, Robbie and Eli are found by six other Ghost Racers that were sent out by Zadkiel to retrieve Reyes.  The other Spirits of Ignition easily destroy the Battle Charger, leaving Robbie to fight them without a vehicle.  When Eli attempts to teleport them away, Robbie transforms back into his human form and stops fighting, attempting to reason with his fellow Racers.  One of them, Carter Slade, attacks Robbie with the Penance Stare.  When the other Racers attempt to kill Robbie, however, Slade stops them.  All of them transform back into their human forms and are able to remember their lives before being enslaved to the Killiseum.  They allow Robbie to escape, and when they are called back to the Killiseum by Zadkiel they are all punished brutally for their failure.

When Robbie arrives at his apartment, he finds that Gabe is missing.  He visits Lisa, his neighbor, to ask if she's seen his brother, which she hasn't.  Robbie goes inside her apartment when he sees her television playing the Ghost Races, which has just introduced their newest Racer: Gabriel Reyes, who sits crying inside an Igniter vehicle.

ANNOTATIONS 
Ghost Racers was part of the 2015 Secret Wars event, which saw the Marvel multiverse destroyed with only a single world remaining under the rule of a godlike Doctor Doom.  The planet, Battleworld, was comprised of dozens of domains consisting of fragments of alternate realities.  This series takes place in the domain of Doomstadt, which is home of the Killiseum.

Due to the nature of Battleworld, none of the Ghost Riders featured in this series come from the established Marvel Universe; all of them hail from alternate realities, which explains the inconsistencies in characterizations.

The Ghost Racers featured in this issue include: Robbie Reyes (who first appeared in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 1), Danny Ketch (first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 1), Carter Slade (first appeared in The Ghost Rider (1967) # 1), Michael Badilino (first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 21), Zero Cochrane (first appeared in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 1), Gorilla Rider (this is his first appearance), and Alejandra Jones (misnamed Alejandra Blaze in this series, first appeared in Ghost Rider (2011) # 1).

Zadkiel, who appears here as the handler for the Spirits of Ignition, was the angel responsible for the creation of the Spirits of Vengeance in the 616 Marvel Universe.  He made his first appearance in Ghost Rider (2006) # 27.

This issue also included a 1-page text/art article by Juan Gedeon called "The Devil's In the Details Part 3: The Most Supernatural Superhero of All", which features commentary on his design for Johnny Blaze.

This issue was released with a Johnny Blaze variant cover by Felipe Smith.

REVIEW
Robbie breaks free from the Ghost Races, giving us a pretty sweet battle between the various Spirits of Ignition (including some new ones, like Vengeance!).

You know, I could have sworn I had already reviewed all four issues of this mini-series, but lo and behold while I was looking through my to-do-list of reviews I noticed that I never bothered to write up anything about issues 3 and 4 of Ghost Racers.  I don't know why or how that happened, but I'm happy to rectify the mistake because I fucking LOVE this mini-series and I could write about it until my fingers bleed from all the typing.

Felipe Smith seems to be such an uneven writer when it comes to his time with Ghost Rider.  He turns out some really fantastic stuff, like "Engines of Vengeance", while at the same time producing a few less than stellar arcs like "Legend" and "Four on the Floor".  This series, though, is by far his best work with the characters, due strictly to the onslaught of manic concepts he's able to throw at the readers while still maintaining what makes Robbie Reyes an intriguing protagonist.  The highest bar of success for Ghost Rider in the modern/post-2000s era has been the Jason Aaron run, which straddle the line between farcical nonsense and chest-pumping grindhouse awesomeness.  Subsequent writers have attempted to tap into that same flavor of storytelling, with diminishing returns each time, but Smith comes the closest to nailing that sense of sheer "what the fuck did I just read" awesomeness in this series.

Ghost Rider by way of Deathrace 2000 is a brilliant concept, and it allows Smith to play around with any and all Ghost Rider characters as he sees fit.  It works perfectly, and while Reyes is still the de facto lead of the series, the other Ghost Racers still get their time to shine.  Having Alejandra and Carter Slade as the heavies among the Spirits of Ignition is a great inversion of the expectation that those roles would fall to Blaze and Ketch.  Smith goes a little too far with the Gorilla Ghost Rider, whose vehicle is apparently a train engine, but he pulls back enough that it doesn't become TOO ridiculous (that will happen next issue with the dinosaur on a jet fighter).

The real star is the artwork by Juan Gedeon, who continues to turn in some truly inspired redesigns for all of the various Ghost Riders.  None of them look the same, each has a distinct personality to their design that floors me, considering how similar the Ghost Riders have all looked to one another in the past.  Flaming skulls and leather on motorcycles is a pretty common look for all of them over the years, and seeing each one get updated designs is great.  Gedeon also really excels at the action pieces, because the fight/chase sequence with Robbie and the other Racers is handled great.  Nothing looks cluttered or confused, it all flows together and is paced very well.

Ghost Racers continues to be one of the highlights of the modern day Ghost Rider mythos, and it's easily the most fun that's been had with the character in the last few years.  I highly recommend picking it up.

Grade: A+

Inner Demons Episode 5: "Beware the Purple Posse!"

Brian and Chris are back with the 5th episode of Inner Demons, where they review The Unbelievable Gwenpool # 15 and ponder the mysterious line-up of the Purple Posse.  Then, in the Flashback Reviews, they look back at Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 9, Ghost Rider (1990) # 5, and Ghost Rider (2001) # 5.  You will be astonished by Johnny Blaze beating up a cripple, thrilled by the Punisher's inexplicably designed guns, and awed by how the Hammer Lane is the death of all things good!

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from either Stitcher or iTunes .  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and feel free to send us a message.  Thanks for listening!

Ghost Rider and Cable: Servants of the Dead # 1

Cover Artist: Sam Keith

Published: September 1992
Original Price: $3.95

Title: "Servants of the Dead"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Guang Yap
Inker: Bud LaRosa
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Fernando Mendez
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS

In the tunnels that run beneath Manhattan, mutant soldier Cable is investigating the movements of the sewer dwelling Morlocks. When the Morlocks spot him, Cable drops to the floor, only to have the ground collapse beneath him. Elsewhere, at Cypress Hills Cemetery, Dan Ketch is visiting the grave of his sister, Barbara.

Cable makes his way through an underground stream, miles away from his previous location. When he goes further into the caverns he comes across a young woman that's running for her life. She tells Cable that her pursuers are the Grateful Undead, two of whom attack Cable with throwing knives. Cable kills the two assassins, though the girl tells them they are not killed quite so easily. The girl leads Cable through the tunnels, eventually bringing them beneath Cypress Hills. Cable is attacked by two giant hands that come up from the ground, belonging to a "guardian" that Cable swiftly kills. Cable shoots the ceiling with his rifle, hoping to blow a way to the surface. This results in Dan seeing an explosion in the cemetery, followed by the girl's screams. Danny touches the gas cap of his motorcycle, transforming him into Ghost Rider. The Rider descends into the tunnel, where he finds the girl being carried away by the Grateful Undead and Cable pinned to the wall by a net. Cable tells Ghost Rider to cut him down because they're about to be attacked.

Having entered the tunnels beneath Cypress Hills Cemetery, Ghost Rider finds Cable trapped to the cave wall and the young girl being dragged away by the Grateful Undead. Ghost Rider frees Cable, and the two heroes are splattered with the girl's blood, thrown by the Undead as a warning for them to stay away. The two men follow the Undead to a huge cavern, where the mysterious underground group have set up an ambush. Using rocket launchers from the cliffs above, they herd Ghost Rider and Cable to a nearby wooden bridge. When Ghost Rider's motorcycle crosses the bridge, it collapses, sending both of them down into the chasm below.

Having fallen from a collapsed bridge, Ghost Rider and Cable are plummeting into a deep chasm. After reaching his falling motorcycle, Ghost Rider uses his chain to form a bridge, allowing he and Cable to cross into a tunnel in the cavern wall. Ghost Rider retrieves his chain and the two heroes make their way through the tunnel to a cathedral with skeletal remains covering the floor. They sense something moving in the remains beneath them, but see nothing. Cable asks Ghost Rider if he serves the dead since he's a Spirit of Vengeance, but they are interrupted by a priest of the Grateful Undead, who calls them blasphemers. The priest's acolytes emerge and engage the heroes in a brief battle. When Ghost Rider and Cable win the fight, the priest calls upon his god that lives beneath the bones to drag them under and claim them as food.

Ghost Rider and Cable have been pulled beneath the lake of bones in the Grateful Undead's cathedral.  The priests then throw the young girl that the heroes had been attempting to rescue in with them, all of them pulled under into a murky mire by large tentacles.  Ghost Rider and Cable both free themselves from the tentacles and, working together, are able to free the girl as well.  The three burst out of the lake of bones on Ghost Rider's motorcycle and ride out of the cathedral, toward the surface.  When the priest orders his men to follow them, he finds all of them struck dead by the Warriors of the Dead, another sect of the Grateful Undead.  Angered that the priest's actions may have killed their god, the leader of the Warriors of the Dead kills the priest and vows to track down the surface dwellers to slay.

A grave robber witnesses Ghost Rider, Cable, and the girl they've rescued emerge from beneath Cypress Hills Cemetery.  After they've left, the grave robber is then killed by the Warriors of the Dead.  In an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn, Ghost Rider and Cable have brought the girl, who wakes up and attempts to run away.  Cable convinces her to tell them about the Grateful Undead, who she explains are assassins well-versed in the mystic and warrior arts, at war with countless other subterranean races.  She remembers being taken to a sacrificial place, but cannot remember her own name.  She realizes that they are flesh eaters, they eat the dead.  As she finishes her story, the three realize that the Warriors of the Dead have followed them and are about to attack.

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 girl rescued by Ghost Rider and Cable has been revealed to actually be dead, having been stabbed by the Warriors of the Dead, her wounds leaking energy instead of blood.  When the Grateful Undead's leader tells her that only they can help her, she fights back and refuses to go.  Ghost Rider and Cable intervene on the girl's behalf, putting the fight at a stalemate.  The head Warrior explains that the girl is no longer a living human being, instead she is a nameless shell reanimated by their priests during an ancient ritual, and all the memories of their race were placed inside her mind.  Realizing that the Warrior speaks the truth, the girl goes into a rage and attacks him and her two protectors.  She again refuses to go, but breaks down into tears when the Warrior tells her that she has no choice.  Cable protests for her again, saying they will make sure she gets a choice.  Then the room is engulfed with bright light and the floor gives way, with the Warrior stating that "all choice has been taken out of our hands...now our lives are in the hands of my god".  Ghost Rider, Cable, the girl, and the Warriors of the Dead are brought back to the Cathedral of the Dead far underground.  When they land, the all of the Warriors except for the bowing leader are sucked under the ground, and the skeletons around them form themselves into the shape of a man.

In the Grateful Undead's Cathedral of the Dead far beneath Cypress Hills Cemetery, the underground race's god has formed a body from the multitude of skeletons on the ground.  Ghost Rider immediately attacks the god, saying that the girl they rescued will live.  As he advances toward the girl, the Undead god tosses Ghost Rider aside and shrugs off Cable's gunshots.  When the sole remaining Warrior of the Dead attempts to intervene, Ghost Rider punches him and Cable holds him at gunpoint.  Ghost Rider punches his fist through the god's chest, but that does nothing to stop him.  The god claims that the girl is one of the dead and is to be his bride.  Ghost Rider attacks again, causing a hairline fracture in the god's skull, which Cable exploits with a bullet to the head.  This reveals the god to be a human man, who stops the fight and wishes to understand why the heroes are attempting to prevent him from paying homage to the dead.  He calls forth the Warrior of the Dead and reads his mind, but is shocked and angry over what he learns.  He was once a necromancer who worshipped the dead; he came underground to live amongst the dead and became like a god to a race of people who lived there.  Unbeknownst to him, his followers have become assassins, misunderstanding what he attempted to teach them.  He tells Ghost Rider and Cable to leave him to his people, and when they ask about the girl the god tells her that her fate is her own.  She chooses to die, prompting Ghost Rider and Cable to escape the Cathedral on Ghost Rider's motorcycle.  They emerge on the surface in Cypress Hills Cemetery.  They depart as allies, aware that no one witnessed their conversation or heroics...no one but the dead.

ANNOTATIONS 

This special edition comic reprints the entire "Servants of the Dead" serial from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 90-97.

All creator credits and chapter titles have been removed from the reprinted pages.

Ghost Rider (2016) # 5

Cover Artist: Felipe Smith

Published: May 2017
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Four on the Floor", Part 5
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Danilo S. Beyruth
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov w/ Federico Blee
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS
Robbie Reyes, as Ghost Rider, fights a gang of thugs outside of his ex-con co-worker Ramon's house.  Ramon gets a phone call telling him about a situation, and he hops on motorcycle to leave.  Robbie, goaded by Eli in his head, follows Ramon to Canelo's Auto Body, where he finds the purple alien monster, the Agents of SHIELD, and the three assembled superheroes (Totally Awesome Hulk, Silk, and All-New Wolverine).  They tell Robbie that the alien absorbs DNA by biting, so he needs to be careful; if the alien were to acquire his powers it would be unstoppable.  The creature mutates as it fights the heroes, having taken on the attributes of SHIELD agents Coulson and May, and Ramon decides to take matters into his own hands.  He grabs a drum of gasoline and stuffs a rag into the top, which he lights on fire and drives toward the monster.  Robbie grabs Ramon and drives the drum into the alien himself, causing it to explode.  But when Ghost Rider walks out of the fire, the alien jumps him and bites him on the shoulder.  Instead of the alien mutating, though, it's Robbie who changes into a more bestial, powerful form of the Ghost Rider.  With Eli's guidance, Robbie blasts the alien with hellfire, which it cannot adapt against.  The alien reverts back into a small hunk of rock, leaving the heroes stunned by Ghost Rider's transformation.

The next day, Amadeus Cho explains that the alien reverted to his dormant state when it couldn't adapt to Ghost Rider's power.  Agent Coulson remarks that it was lucky that Ghost Rider's power wasn't intrinsic to his biology, and all the alien got was Robbie's DNA.

ANNOTATIONS 
Robbie Reyes will appear next in The Unbelievable Gwenpool # 14.

The cover of this issue is an homage to Fantastic Four (1961) # 348, which featured the "New Fantastic Four" team of Spider-Man, Wolverine, the Hulk, and the Dan Ketch Ghost Rider.

This issue was released with a "Venomized" variant cover by Dustin Weaver.

Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 4 - "The Jumping of Chipmunk Canyon!" (Click to Listen)

REVIEW
The second Robbie Reyes series limps across the finish line with its final issue, cancelled only 5 months into its run.  I can't say that surprises me.

Speaking of reviews I was putting off writing, this issue wraps up what was perhaps the most disappointing Ghost Rider series ever published.  It's not the worst, don't get me wrong, there's always the Alejandra and Hammer Lane comics, but it IS the one with the most squandered opportunity.  Robbie Reyes was riding high as the break out star of Agents of SHIELD when this series debuted, and instead of doubling down on what made the character so appealing on that show Marvel and the creative team saw fit to give us 5 issues of "Teen Hero Team-Up" that barely guest-starred the titular Ghost Rider.  I've ranted about this in the reviews for the last four issues, and went on about it at length on the podcast to boot, but it still just stuns me that this was considered a good idea by the writer or editor.

Felipe Smith created a wonderful character with Robbie Reyes, and his work with Ghost Rider over the last few years has been generally pretty damn good.  That doesn't change here, when he's actually focusing on Ghost Rider instead of the myriad amount of heroes cluttering up the pages.  The stuff with Robbie "leveling up" to a more powerful and more obviously demonic form is really intriguing, and it's a shame we'll likely never get to read a follow-up story.  Smith had a rare opportunity to really surprise Ghost Rider fans with where he could take the concept after he put in the work to separate Robbie from the past Spirits of Vengeance.  Sure, he's a Ghost Rider In Name Only, but he still works as a version of the character that we haven't seen before.  While the character in Agents of SHIELD was naturally based heavily on the Robbie that Smith created, I do wish we could have seen that version of the character show up more in the characterization.  The adapted version of Robbie had a sadness and darkness that the comic version doesn't have, and it helped tie him back more to the standard Ghost Rider concept.  Still, with Robbie's characterization, Smith still does well with him in this issue.

The plot, unfortunately, is where things fall apart.  I get that Smith wanted to do his "New Fantastic Four" homage, and I get that he likely wanted to maintain the coincidental nature of the first time those characters interacted.  However, the pieces are too jumbled and coincidental to the point of improbability.  No one in this comic has a reason to be here other than happenstance, other than Ghost Rider himself, and it's not explained why he's even involved.  Ghost Rider had been operating on the periphery of the alien storyline for the entire arc, and it had been hinted at throughout that the alien was in fact seeking Robbie out and was driven away whenever he got close.  That was never addressed in this issue, so maybe the alien just sensed Robbie's power and wanted to take a bite?  But that seems like a cop out, so much so that I almost hope it was a mistake in plotting that left that answer on the cutting room floor instead of just "more coincidence!".  A lot of this comic feels like a rush to a finish line that the creators should have had in sight four issues ago, because the story doesn't so much end as it just STOPS.  Ghost Rider defeats the alien, one page epilogue to explain how he defeated him, and then "Robbie Reyes and the Spirit of Eli will return".  It's disappointing, to say the least.

At least Danilo Beyruth gets to really strut his stuff with this issue, because he turns in yet another delightfully disgusting sequence of mutations with the alien monster.  It's rare that a creature in a comic actually has me saying "ewww" as I read, but Beyruth definitely succeeded here.  Similarly, his take on the Ghost Rider's "evolved" form was appropriately grotesque.  My Inner Demons co-host, Brian Biggie, dubbed the mutated form "Beast Rider", and it's an appropriate name.  Beyruth draws him with a gaping maw, down on all fours like an animal, and it looks both decidedly evil and decidedly awesome.

This was a series that SHOULD have been a hit, there was nothing but positive buzz when it launched.  Hopefully, both Marvel and the creative team have learned a lesson from the book's failure, and it's too bad we'll never get to see that sixth and final issue (until 10 years from now, of course).

Grade: C

Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme (2016) # 3

Cover Artist: Javier Rodriguez

Published: February 2017
Original Price: $3.99

Title: untitled
Writer: Robbie Thompson
Artist: Javier Rodriguez
Inker: Alvaro Lopez        
Letterers: VC's Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Editor: Nick Lowe
Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS
In the 1800s, a Native American woman named Kushala witnessed the massacre of her people by United States cavalrymen.  In her anguish she is possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance, which incinerates all of the soldiers.  Ever since she had traveled the world, learning magic while being followed by the ghosts of her victims, to try and find a way to rid herself of the "Demon Rider".

In the time of Camelot, Kushala and the rest of the Sorcerers Supreme have broken into Merlin's castle and finds all of the people inside alive but catatonic, their souls having left their bodies.  The sorcerers move deeper into the castle and locate Merlin's library, which they hope will include a way to stop the Forgotten.  In the library, Kushala finds a box but damns Merlin when she sees that the box's contents are gone.  They find a list of names written by Merlin of sorcerers that he captured and locked away because they were practitioners of "darker magic".  The group is then attacked by the spirits of the castle dwellers, who Kushala remarks have "turned".  Outside, the Forgotten senses that Merlin's protective wards have been broken, and he ventures inside.  The Forgotten arrives in the library and destroys some of the spirits, which angers Kushala due to them being innocent victims.  She transforms into the Demon Rider and attacks the Forgotten, who eventually flees after claiming a mysterious book from the library.  Later, after returning the spirits of their bodies, the sorcerers realize that the Forgotten isn't just one being, it's all of the magicians Merlin locked away combined into one entity.  Isaac Newton tells them that the Forgotten must be destroyed and directs them to where the Forgotten said it was going, the Hollow Out of Time.

Finally, in a flashback, Merlin promises Kushala that if she helps him then he will remove the Spirit of Vengeance from her permanently.

ANNOTATIONS
It is unclear where Kushala falls in the Ghost Rider timeline, though she would logically fall either directly before or after both Carter Slade from The Ghost Rider (1967) # 1 and Caleb from Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears (2007) # 1-6.  If I were pressed to make a decision, I would make the progression start with Kushala, go through Caleb right after the end of the Civil War, and end the 1800s with Carter Slade.

Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 2 - "All-New Fantastic Circle of Four on the Floor" (Click to Listen)

REVIEW

Kushala, the Demon Rider, gets a bit of a spotlight this issue, which also furthers the ongoing Forgotten storyline.

I realize it's been a good long while since I reviewed issue # 2 of this series, and part of that is just out of apathy.  I'd already discussed this issue, and this series as a whole, in length on the podcast, so going over it again when I really can't muster the interest has proven difficult.  Finally, though, I thought I'd correct the oversight and least get something down in print about the comic.  This is a strange series (okay, that pun was accidental) to say the least, and I think it leans into that weirdness as much as it can without falling off the batshit crazy cliff face.  You have such oddball creations as the Forgotten, who looks like a sheepdog with one of those old "blank magnetic ink face" toys you can still find in Cracker Barrel.  You have all of the new Sorcerers Supreme, all of whom certainly seem interesting and are becoming more so now that the surface has been cracked for most of them, and I can see the clear imagination that Robbie Thompson is bringing to the book.

It's probably no surprise that the most interesting thing in the comic to me is the Demon Rider, who finally gets some backstory in this issue's spotlight turn.  She's certainly an interesting character, and her backstory doesn't just fall in as a standard origin story for a Ghost Rider but it also elevates her with some really nice personal touches.  She's someone who wasn't just content to shoulder the curse, like Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch, but she became the greatest sorcerer of her era simply to try and shake the Spirit of Vengeance.  Her personality also has a really great contrast between her normal self and when she becomes the Rider, with her usually presenting as very calm but with a fairly biting wit.  I liked the bit with Dr. Strange needling her about her using Nordic magic and how he was impressed with all of her mystical skills, with her relaying her surprise that he was included at all since he apparently doesn't know any magic at all.  Perfectly deadpan, and it made me warm up to what had so far been a cold character.

The real star of the series, though, is artist Javier Rodriguez.  I wasn't as sold on his work in the previous two issues, but I think this one really steps his game up a lot.  The crazy layouts are still there, echoing the best of Ditko Strange, especially in the two-page library sequence that unfolds like an MC Escher drawing.  I'm not as sold on Rodriguez's character designs, though, going back to the bizarre choice for the Forgotten that makes him look more goofy than threatening.  I also don't necessarily dig the Demon Rider, who is just a plume of fire and not much else, considering how great Kushala looks as a character in her human form.

All in all, Sorcerers Supreme is a solidly decent series with some intriguing characters, but there's just something about it that holds it back from being great.  Admittedly, I'm not even sure what that something is, so maybe it's just me?

Grade: B+

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 159

Cover Artist: Malcolm Davis

Published: July 1994
Original Price: $1.75

Title: Altered Spirits, Part 4: "True Spirit"
Writer: Chris Cooper
Artist: Reggie Jones
Inker: Fred Harper
Letterer: Ul Higgins
Colorist: Joe Andreani
Editor: Richard Ashford
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
Vengeance has confronted Phantome at the Brooklyn docks, which she has set on fire during her rampage. Phantome realizes that she didn't steal Vengeance's power at all, but that her own mutant ability allowed her to copy his abilities, making her a false Spirit of Vengeance. Badilino pleads with her to take responsibility for her power and actions, a lesson he himself learned when he believed himself to be powerless. He leaves her to wallow in her self-pity when he sees people trapped in the burning buildings. Phantome finds her partner, Gargantua, barely alive and trapped under collapsed rubble, which she rescues him from. Vengeance enters the building and saves a group of trapped children, but on his way out he finds a large number of metal drums containing illegally dumped toxic waste. If the heat should rupture the drums, toxic fumes would spread over the city. Phantome arrives and tells him to save the children while she disposes of the toxic waste, having finally accepted the responsibility for the destruction she caused. She begins tossing the drums out a window into the water of the harbor, and Vengeance returns to help her finish. Suddenly, she grabs Vengeance by the neck and throws him out the window as well, letting him be caught on the ground by Gargantua. Phantome realizes that they can't know how much more toxic waste could be hidden in the burning buildings, so she ignites a number of propane tanks and blows the dock away from the mainline, sinking the entire burning section into the harbor. When Gargantua realizes that Phantome as killed herself, he dives into the water to find her, but sinks and drowns due to the weight of his armor. Only Vengeance remains, saddened by Phantome's desire for power and how she accepted the right to use it responsibly just in time to lose her life.

ANNOTATIONS 
Vengeance appears next in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme # 65.

Vengeance assumed the mantle of the "new" Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider (1990) # 46. The original Ghost Rider and his human host, Dan Ketch, died in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance # 18.

This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring the New Warriors, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury.

REVIEW
The Vengeance serial for MCP keeps chugging along, providing stories that on the surface seen inconsequential but actually do more to develop the character than the regular Ghost Rider series.

It's been quite a long time since I last reviewed a Vengeance issue of Marvel Comics Presents, so I picked one out at random tonight and decided to jump in head first. I hadn't read these comics in years, and I struggled to remember which story happened in what issues, and it figures that I'd accidentally grab the last chapter of a 4-part arc. Still, it will allow me to voice some opinions on the Vengeance series as a whole while talking about the "Altered Spirits" storyline.

Chris Cooper is a writer I had a lot of time for after reading his wonderful Darkhold series, which was my favorite of the non-Ghost Rider "Midnight Sons" titles. But as I've said in other reviews, Cooper had a pretty thankless job with the Vengeance serial in MCP since the character had been shoe-horned in as the "new" Ghost Rider in the main series. So while Mackie was advancing the character's storylines, Cooper was forced into a holding pattern, unable to really do anything of consequence. As bad as the early Vengeance issues were, Cooper had found his footing by the time this story started, and it actually DID feel like it meant something for the character. The idea that Badilino not only lost his powers but that they were stolen by someone who had since gone on a murderous rampage is a good hook for the story, and Cooper really sold it in the middle chapters. We're reviewing the end of the story, though, so I'll focus on that - and its not really satisfying, is it?

Phantome was an interesting character at the beginning of this arc, a woman who stole the Ghost Rider's power without knowing just how it would change her mentally and physically. She provided a nice parallel to the personal demons that Badilino was struggling with at the time, but it seemed like it was all thrown away for the lazy explanation that she was just a mutant with copycat abilities. If it wasn't the "Spirit of Vengeance" influencing and corrupting her, instead it simply being her own loss of sanity, it shatters the comparison to Badilino. Vengeance was the host to a power outside of his control, and while I get where Cooper was coming from (the old "absolute power corrupts absolutely" cliche) I still think it made for a poor ending. Phantome's change of heart and sudden willingness to sacrifice herself came without much to establish it, and the story really needed an extra chapter to get to this point. Vengeance really doesn't come off looking very good in the end either, does he? What hero stands there and yells at Gargantua to stop because he'll drown...and then does nothing to save him? That's the pitfalls of working on this series, everything feels rushed all the time.

Something else that consistently looks rushed is the artwork by Jones and Harper. When those guys first came on board with the Ghost Rider/Masters of Silence arc, they were pretty damn impressive. Rough around the edges, sure, but the energy in their artwork was physical and intense. As they progressed on the Vengeance stories, however, most of the visceral attributes that so attracted me to their work all but disappeared. Working on a bi-weekly comic couldn't have been easy, but then again they only had to produce eight pages an issue. They also have a definite weakness on the character design front as well, because Phantome frankly looks ridiculous. Jones and Harper still turn in some great work on this series (the arc with Diabolique is awesome!), but this one just didn't play to their strengths I'm afraid.

These issues of MCP are really on the outer edges of Ghost Rider material, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone unless they're just determined to have every Ghost Rider related comic that was published. The series isn't necessarily bad, but this issue wasn't one of the high points.

Grade: C

Ghost Rider Chronology: 2016-2019

Following a successful media crossover that featured the Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider as a major character on ABC's Agents of SHIELD television show, Marvel attempted to launch a new Ghost Rider series in 2016.  The series was cancelled shortly into 2017, but with the Marvel Legacy and "Fresh Start" relaunches the character was given some more time in the spotlight. 2018 saw Johnny Blaze as a major star of the "Doctor Strange: Damnation" event, which resulted in the character becoming the King of Hell, while Robbie Reyes joined the ranks of the Avengers by writer Jason Aaron!

2016
Ghost Rider X-Mas Special # 1 (Reyes)
Ghost Rider (2016) # 1 (Reyes)
Ghost Rider (2016) # 2 (Reyes)

2017
Ghost Rider (2016) # 3 (Reyes)
Ghost Rider (2016) # 4 (Reyes)
Ghost Rider (2016) # 5 (Reyes)
The Unbelievable Gwenpool # 14 (Reyes)
The Unbelievable Gwenpool # 15 (Reyes)
Marvel Legacy (2017) # 1 (Reyes)
Iceman (2017) # 6 (Blaze)
Iceman (2017) # 7 (Blaze)
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2015) # 24 (Blaze)
Spirits of Vengeance (2017) # 1 (Blaze)
Spirits of Vengeance (2017) # 2 (Blaze)
Spirits of Vengeance (2017) # 3 (Blaze)

2018
Spirits of Vengeance (2017) # 4 (Blaze)
Spirits of Vengeance (2017) # 5 (Blaze)
Doctor Strange: Damnation (2018) # 1 (Blaze)
Doctor Strange: Damnation (2018) # 2 (Blaze)
Doctor Strange: Damnation (2018) # 3 (Blaze)
Damnation: Johnny Blaze - Ghost Rider # 1 (Blaze)
Doctor Strange: Damnation (2018) # 4 (Blaze)
Avengers (2018) # 1 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 2 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 3 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 4 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 5 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 6 (Reyes)
Immortal Hulk (2018) # 7 (Reyes, cameo only)
Fantastic Four (2018) # 3-4 (Ketch, cameo only)
Avengers (2018) # 8 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 9 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 10 (Reyes)
Dead Man Logan (2018) # 3 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 11-12 (Reyes, cameo only)

2019
Avengers (2018) # 14 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 15 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 16 (Reyes, Blaze)
Avengers (2018) # 17 (Reyes, Blaze)
War of the Realms # 1 (Reyes, cameo only)
War of the Realms: Ghost Rider Ultimate Comic (Reyes)
War of the Realms # 2 (Reyes, cameo only)
War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Dark Elf Realm # 1 (Reyes)
War of the Realms # 3-6 (Reyes, cameo only)
Marvel Comics Presents (2019) # 6 (Ketch)
The Punisher (2018) # 14 (Ketch)
The Punisher (2018) # 15 (Ketch)
The Punisher (2018) # 16 (Ketch)
Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance # 1 (Ketch, Jones, Blaze)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 6 (Blaze, cameo only)
Strikeforce (2019) # 1 (Reyes, cameo only)
Avengers (2018) # 21 (Reyes, cameo only)
Free Comic Book Day 2019: Avengers # 1 (Reyes)
Avengers (2018) # 22 (Reyes, Blaze)
Avengers (2018) # 23 (Reyes, Blaze, Castle)
Avengers (2018) # 24 (Reyes, Blaze, Castle)
Avengers (2018) # 25 (Reyes, Blaze, Castle)
Ghost Rider (2019) # 1 (Blaze, Ketch)
Ghost Rider (2019) # 2 (Blaze, Ketch)

Ghost Rider (2019) # 3 (Blaze, Ketch)

2020

Ghost Rider (2019) # 4 (Blaze, Ketch)

Spirits of Ghost Rider: Mother of Demons # 1 (Blaze, Ketch)

Ghost Rider (2019) # 5 (Blaze, Ketch)

Ghost Rider (2019) # 6 (Blaze, Ketch)

Ghost Rider (2019) # 7 (Blaze, Ketch)

Avengers (2018) # 27 (Reyes)

Avengers (2018) # 28 (Reyes)

Avengers (2018) # 29 (Reyes)

Avengers (2018) # 30 (Reyes)

Empyre: Avengers (2020) # 0 (Reyes, cameo only)

Empyre (2020) # 1 (Reyes, cameo only)

Avengers (2018) # 33 (Reyes, cameo only)

Avengers (2018) # 37-38 (Reyes, cameo only)

Ghost Rider: The Return of Vengeance # 1

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 146

Cover Artist: Steve Lightle

Published: January 1994
Original Price: $1.75

Title: Siege of Darkness, Part 14: "Masks"
Writer: Chris Cooper
Artist: Reggie Jones
Inker: Fred Harper
Letterer: Ul Higgins
Colorist: Joe Andreani
Editor: Richard Ashford
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
Ghost Rider and Seer teleport into Cypress Hills Cemetery and find the Caretaker slumped over his shovel, barely alive. Seer teleports them all back to the Blood's Nightclub, where Stacy Dolan, Raydar, and Embyrre are waiting. Caretaker immediately tries to kill Embyrre, revealing himself to be the Fallen shape-shifter Metarchus in disguise. Ghost Rider, Stacy, and the Blood try to defeat Metarchus, but her shape-shifting gives her a definite edge. She takes Stacy hostage, but is stopped from killing her by Ghost Rider, who holds the Fallen with his chain and tells Embyrre to burn them both. Ghost Rider holds on to his enemy until she shape-shifts into Stacy, surprising the Rider and causing him to release his hold on her. Metarchus is cornered by the rest of the returning Midnight Sons, and rather than fight them all she teleports herself out of the Nightclub. Ghost Rider realizes that Caretaker must still be alive, and the Midnight Sons prepare to rescue him, but not before picking up Doctor Strange and the Darkhold Redeemers at Strange's destroyed mansion.

ANNOTATIONS 
This is part 14 of "Siege of Darkness", continuing from Morbius # 17 and continuing into Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme # 61.

Caretaker was captured by the Fallen in Nightstalkers # 15. Metarchus of the Fallen first appeared in Darkhold # 16.

Stacy Dolan joined Ghost Rider in search for the Blood in Ghost Rider (1990) # 45.

This is the last issue of Marvel Comics Presents to feature Ghost Rider as a starring character. His spot is given over to Vengeance in Marvel Comics Presents # 147, who remains the book's lead character until its cancellation with Marvel Comics Presents # 175.

This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring Dr. Strange, Devil-Slayer, and the Nightstalkers.

REVIEW
"Siege of Darkness" just refuses to end, with Marvel Comics Presents producing another inconsequential Ghost Rider tie-in story (and for some reason, a Blaze cover when he doesn't appear in the issue but for one panel, very weird).

While the other stories in this issue do provide some important plot beats for the crossover (such as the Dr. Strange story introducing Salome), Cooper and Jones' Ghost Rider story is nothing more than filler. It should be a mandate for every crossover chapter to have at least one plot point that advances the story along, and this one has none. The Midnight Sons learn that Caretaker is still alive, sure, but they've known that since chapter 10. The only positive element to this story is a further examination of Ghost Rider's growing relationship with Stacy. Cooper gets to play around with his chosen member of the Fallen, whom he also used in the last Darkhold chapter, but there's nothing new said about the villain that hadn't already been covered.

Jones and Harper are getting sloppier with their artwork, as well. Their work always had a rough, sketchy style that I liked quite a bit, but perhaps the bi-weekly schedule is starting to wear on them (this is their 10th straight issue). I'd be curious to learn how much of the artwork is Jones and how much is Harper, because when working alone or with other artists neither has a style that looks much like this.

"Siege of Darkness" can't end any sooner for my tastes. This was the last Ghost Rider story to appear in MCP, and its sad that things ended on such a downer.

Grade: D

Ghost Rider (1990) # 71

Cover Artist: Salvador Larroca

Published: March 1996
Original Price: $1.95

Title: "Blue Shadows"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Salvador Larroca

Inker: Sergio Melia
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Ashley Posella
Editor: James Felder
Executive Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

While Ghost Rider sits with this thoughts in a Bronx cemetery, a nearby police chase ends with the criminals car speeding onto a sidewalk full of innocent people.  Ghost Rider intervenes, saving a mother and her child, while trying to understand the fear he instills in the people he's trying to save.  He stops the two criminals and gives them the penance stare, causing the two reckless cops to fire upon him.  He questions whether or not he's punished the wrong people, then tells the cops to be more careful in the future before departing on his bike.

Meanwhile, a collection of mob bosses working for Anton Hellgate have gathered to meet with their superior, Snowblind, who demands a 25% increase in their earnings.  When Snowblind leaves, someone else arrives and murders the criminals.  Later, Stacy Dolan and Jim Sokolowski are awakened by a call alerting them to the murders.  They arrive at the Paralux Hotel to investigate and find more charred bodies and the words "no penance" written on the wall.

Danny Ketch wakes up from a nightmare in his bed and realizes that he's late for his class.  He rushes outside and jumps on his bike, watched by Choocho and his friend.  The two punks then meet with Makusa, a mid-level criminal who hires them to kill a young activist named Melissa Maro, who has been stirring up trouble for Snowblind.  At Rearden College, Danny arrives late for his class and sits next to Melissa, who reluctantly helps him with notes.  The two go to a nearby diner and discuss their studies, with Danny admitting that he might like to become a social worker.  Despite shooting down his advances, Melissa does accept the offer of a ride home from Danny and the two get on his motorcycle.  Before they can leave, Choocho and his friend arrive with masks on and shoot both Danny and Melissa multiple times.

ANNOTATIONS 
Snowblind first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 21 and was killed by Deathwatch in Ghost Rider (1990) # 24.  Prior to this issue he was revived as an nonliving slave by Anton Hellgate, as revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 74.

The identity of the "No Penance" killer is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 73.

Stacy Dolan discovered that Dan was the Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18. She then helped the NYPD Task Force to capture him in Ghost Rider (1990) # 61.

REVIEW

After last issue's introduction to the new setting and supporting cast, new writer Ivan Velez gets down to business with his first story-arc that brings back a few different villains from the past.

If you asked me to take a wild guess at which Mackie villain Velez would choose to bring back in his first story arc, I probably would have said someone like Blackout or Scarecrow.  Instead, color me surprised as hell to see Snowblind show back up after a pretty definitive death some 50 issues previous.  I wasn't disappointed, I always thought Snowblind was an interesting villain that didn't get utilized much before shuffling off the mortal coil, and he definitely works in the context of the story that Velez is beginning to tell.  Snowblind is a mid-level underboss for bigger bads, first with Deathwatch and now with Hellgate (another Mackie villain I was surprised to see get a stay of execution, so to speak).  Snowblind naturally still doesn't have much in the way of a personality, and Larroca's artwork makes him appear about 20 years younger than when he last appeared, but it's still nice to see an early villain make a reappearance.

The subplots and character developments are what drive this issue, though, and it's a mixed bag.  Velez has an immediately engaging take on Ghost Rider as a character, with his monologues and thought narratives putting off a flashing neon sign that signals where the writer is going to take things.  Ghost Rider has always questioned why people fear him when his actions should speak more than his appearance, but Velez ups the ante with GR actually wondering why he's playing the hero at all when all gets in return is hatred and screams of fear.  I really like this new side of Ghost Rider, one that's starting to chafe at his mission and is becoming more cynical because of it.  The way he handles the two cops, who yes were obviously the real instigators of the chaos at the start of the issue, was great.  Where Velez tends to struggle is with his dialogue, especially when everyone is yelling things in BIG BOLDED EXCLAMATIONS with spiky speech bubbles.  Still, these are early days for him, and a little stilted or overwrought dialogue is acceptable when the story itself is solid, which in this case it certainly is.

Salvador Larroca is performing as expected with his usual fantastic artwork, and when I was re-reading this I was amazed that he was allowed to have such a long, uninterrupted run on this title when he was obviously becoming a hot commodity within Marvel.  He has improved phenomenally in the last 20 issues, and his work has become less stiff and a helluva lot more dynamic.  That dynamism does lead to a few points of confusion, but that's acceptable when you see shots like the one of GR saving the woman and her baby.  Where the comic falls down artistically is with the colors, which relies way too much on the computer enhancements that were just coming to the fore in the industry.  Everything is garish and way oversaturated, and it really detracts from the enjoyment of the art.  I will say that at least they started coloring Ghost Rider's flames a normal yellow and orange again instead of that god awful digital flame effect that showed up in the last couple of issues.

This was where the Velez run really took off, and from here it spirals out into a whole load of subplots and action pieces that run for around a year.  Good solid start to a good solid run on the book.

Grade: B-