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| Cover Artist: Steve Lightle |
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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
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