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| Cover Artist: Javier Rodriguez |
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
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+
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+
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