Inner Demons Episode 11: "Total Eclipse of the H.E.A.R.T."

Unzip your pants and let your tentacle appendages loose for the newest episode of Inner Demons, the 'net's best (i.e. only) Ghost Rider podcast!  This time Brian and Chris turn a critical eye toward Edge of Venomverse # 3, where Robbie Reyes totally tongue kisses Mr Hyde (spoilers ahoy, of course).  Then the classic reviews shine a light on Ghost Rider (1973) # 3, Ghost Rider (1990) # 8, and Ghost Rider (2005) # 3!  Finally, stick around 'til the end of the episode for a very special creator interview with a legendary Marvel Comics creator!

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 on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Lost Spirits of Artwork

I realize that it's been a while since I've posted any new content, and for that I apologize.  I've been taking some time away from blogging/reviewing comics the last few weeks to deal with some personal stuff (not the least of which is impending eye surgery on the 23rd of August, yikes!), so that's why Vengeance Unbound has been relatively quiet of late.

Don't worry, though, because the Inner Demons podcast is still going strong, and in fact we just recorded the 11th episode last night! There's going to be a very cool creator interview in the next ID episode, so everyone be on the lookout for it when it's posted this weekend!  

And, just because I don't want to go TOO long without spotlighting something here on the blog, I thought I'd post a few pieces of artwork for everyone to enjoy.  These were all covers that had originally been commissioned for publication, but for various reasons never saw the light of day.  If this is the first time you're seeing them, awesome!  Hope you enjoy!

This first piece of art is from Salvador Larroca from his time as Ghost Rider artist in the mid 1990s.  Specifically, this was originally the cover for Ghost Rider (1990) # 65, the conclusion of the "Ghost Rider In Chains" story-arc.  That issue's cover (and contents) were altered last minute when the book was drafted into the "Over the Edge" crossover, but the original cover art made its way online.  Awesome!

Next comes this piece from Trent Kaniuga, the artist on the Ghost Rider: The Hammer Lane mini-series.  This art piece was originally the cover for the follow-up miniseries "Ghost Rider: Redux" that was in the works by "Hammer Lane" creative team Devin Grayson, Kaniuga, and inker Danny Miki.  While the series never made it to publication, this fantastic piece of art survived!

Marko Djurdevic was the cover artist during Jason Aaron's run on Ghost Rider in 2008, and this was an unused cover piece by him that was scrapped when the art direction went in a more humorous tone.  There are several other unused cover drawings by Djurdevic, all of which can be seen in the Ghost Rider by Jason Aaron Omnibus!

Finally, there's this awesome cover drawing for Spectacular Spider-Man # 207 from 1994, which was originally supposed by a direct tie-in to the "Siege of Darkness" crossover event!  When the story content changed and Ghost Rider was dropped as the issue's guest-star, the cover had to be scrapped.  Still, it's an awesome piece of artwork!

If anyone has any other unused Ghost Rider cover images they'd like to send my way, please do so and I'll include them here on the blog!

Inner Demons Episode 10: "No Donuts For Bad Cops"

The tenth episode of Inner Demons comes at you like a flaming chariot pulled by demon horses!  Chris and Brian take a critical look back at Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 12, Fantastic Four # 347-349, Ghost Rider (2005) # 2, and Ghost Rider 2099 # 5.  Highlights include: the Son of Satan living in a heavy metal album, Ghost Rider as Spider-Man and the Hulk's stern older brother, and Ghost Rider 2099 barbecuing his own human body!  Tell me that's not worth the price of admission, folks!

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!

31st Century Spirit of Vengeance Chronology

Cover Artist: Jim Valentino

At the request of reader Alex Maki, here's a chronology of Wileaydus Autolycus, the Spirit of Vengeance of the 31st century!  This character is an interesting side-note to the Ghost Rider legacy, and his creation and presence actually say a lot more in subtext than one would think.  Created by Jim Valentino in 1991 during the writer/artist's run on Guardians of the Galaxy, Wileaydus was an alien possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance, making him a future iteration of Ghost Rider.  He lived on the planet Sarka, which was ruled by an oppressive religion called the Universal Church of Truth.  The Church went about policing their world with practices straight out of the Spanish Inquisition, and was actually a priest in the Church in his human guise.  As the Spirit of Vengeance (never called "Ghost Rider", just "Spirit of Vengeance"), Wileaydus fought against the Church's regime but was often just as judgmental and murderous as his enemies.

Eventually, Wileaydus came into contact with the Guardians of the Galaxy.  This was the original incarnation of the team, the 31st century group with characters like Vance Astro and Starhawk, not the modern day movie star team.  After some expected misunderstandings and clashes, the Spirit of Vengeance became an ally to the Guardians and was drafted into a spin-off group called the Galactic Guardians (original, yes, I know).  This team included other future versions of Marvel heroes, such as Phoenix, Firelord, and Wonder Man.  Following the conclusion of the 90s' Guardians series Wileaydus fell into limbo and has yet to make any more appearances.  But who knows, maybe he'll pop up again in some time travel story down the line?

Most interestingly is what he means to the Spirit of Vengeance concept, that subtext I mentioned earlier.  He's not from Earth, he's an alien with no contact or knowledge of humanity, yet he's possessed by an entity seemingly created by the Christian deity of Earth.  Does this mean Yahweh is the "one true god" of every planet, race, and civilization in the universe and has created Spirits of Vengeance to police all of them?  Does this mean the Spirit of Vengeance somehow made its way across the stars to settle on another world after Earth's near-destruction in that future timeline?    A story that detailed just HOW Wileaydus Autolycus became a Ghost Rider is one I would be truly interested in reading, though the likelihood of ever seeing that is slim to none.

1991
Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) # 13
Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) # 14

1992
Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) Annual # 2

1993
Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) # 34 (cameo)
Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) # 35
Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) # 36
Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) # 37

1994
Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) # 47 (cameo)
Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) # 50 (cameo)
Galactic Guardians (1994) # 1
Galactic Guardians (1994) # 2
Galactic Guardians (1994) # 3
Galactic Guardians (1994) # 4