Ghost Racers (2015) # 3

Cover Date: August 2015; On Sale Date: June 2015

Writer: Felipe Smith; Artist: Juan Gedeon; Letterer: VC's Cory Petit; Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain; Editor: Mark Paniccia; Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Francesco Francavilla

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. 

THE ROADMAP

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.

CHAIN REACTION

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!).

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.