Inhumans: Attilan Rising # 1

Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Published: March 2015
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Attilan Rising, Part 1: The Voice Unheard"
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: John Timms

Inker: Roberto Poggi
Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Frank D'Armata
Editor: Nick Lowe
Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso 


SYNOPSIS
In the Hulk-controlled dominion of Battleworld called Greenland, a quartet of freedom fighters called the Voice Unheard arrive, led by the Undead G-Man, a Ghost Rider from the 1950s.  They're attacked by a mindless Hulk, which they are able to give conscious thought back to with a spray mist developed by their benefactor.  Their actions are noticed by a squad of Thors, the police force of Battleworld, and the Undead G-Man tells his teammates to leave while he draws away the Thors' attention.  He leads them on a chase through the desert in his hellfire-powered car, but is eventually captured by the Thors.

Later, in New Attilan, the G-Man is brought before Medusa, ruler of the domain.  A vision of Doctor Doom appears and tells Medusa that she will interrogate the G-Man to find out information on the rebellion and them destroy him.  Elsewhere, the rest of the Voice Unheard meet with Karnak and discuss what's happened to the G-Man, and how eventually he'll tell Medusa everything he knows.  Back in New Attilan questions the bound G-Man, who spits hellfire at her feet.  She brings in a psychic Inhuman named Sterilon, whose telepathic interrogation kills the Undead G-Man.  Sterilon learned only one thing, the name "The Quiet Room".  Recognizing the name, Medusa sends an Inhuman named Auran to infiltrate the nightclub called The Quiet Room.  While there, Auran is met by Black Bolt, who recognizes that Medusa must have sent her to find him.  

ANNOTATIONS 
This mini-series 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 issues takes place in the Greenland and New York City domains of Battleworld.

On Battleworld all Ghost Riders are called "Spirits of Ignitions" and are forced to participate in the Ghost Races, held in the domain of Doomstadt's Killiseum, as shown in Ghost Racers (2015) # 1.  

The Undead G-Man first appeared in Ghost Rider (2006) # 33 alongside his partner Knuckles O'Shaugnessy.  Knuckles appears as one of the captive Spirits of Ignition in Ghost Racers (2015) # 2.  The Undead G-Man is an escapee of the Ghost Races and is working as an agent of Black Bolt until his death in this issue.

REVIEW
An unexpected Spirit of Vengeance makes a surprise appearance in this Inhumans tie-in to the Secret Wars event.

One of the more interesting things about the "Secret Wars" set-up is the ability for different iterations of characters to appear in locations and titles you would normally expect to find them.  Ghost Rider, in particular, really benefited from that idea with the Ghost Racers concept and how it allowed for every single version of the character to appear simultaneously.  Seeing as how that series had roles for all of the well-known Riders, such as Reyes and Blaze, alongside some of the less-familiar ones like Vengeance and Alejandra, there probably weren't many options left for any other writers wanting to utilize the "Spirit of Ignition" concept in their story.

Charles Soule must have dug deep to pull the Undead G-Man into this series, as he gets more screen time and characterization here than he did in the two panel appearance he made during Jason Aaron's Ghost Rider run.  Soule makes the G-Man into an immediately interesting take on the Ghost Rider (sorry, Racer), with his old Hollywood gangster dialogue and hellfire tommy gun.  I could honestly care less about the Inhumans or all the other characters floating around in this comic, but the G-Man was a welcome addition whose role in the story was more engaging and important than most people would have guessed.

The artwork by John Timms is perfectly serviceable, nothing flashy or outlandishly dynamic about it but it tells the story well.  He gets some good action moments out of the Undead G-Man and is able to make his distinct visual style work to the comic's benefit.  The rest of the characters all kind of meld into a generic haze of fiddly designs, but that could just be par for the course with an Inhumans series for all I know.

This certainly isn't a mandatory or necessary read, even if you're just following the Ghost Riders' path through Secret Wars, but it's certainly entertaining enough to not disappoint. 

Grade: B

Inner Demons Episode 38: "Old Man Dracula"



You've got a second chance, Inner Demons!  Back from a lengthy hiatus and now working as stuntmen in Hollywood, Brian and Chris are ready to tackle a full compliment of comic books both old and new for your listening pleasure!  Robbie Reyes talks to a ghost dog in Avengers (2018) # 14 & 15, Zero Cochrane lays around in a pile of wreckage in Ghost Rider 2099 # 13, and Johnny Blaze actually scares a supervillain in Ghost Rider (1973) # 13!  Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to be on set to jump this motorcycle over a burning schoolbus.  Action!

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 16

Cover Art: Henry Martinez
Published: November 1993
Original Price: $1.75

Title: Road to Vengeance: The Missing Link, Part 6: "Zarathos"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Henry Martinez
Inker: Keith Williams
Letterers: Bill Oakley
Colorist: John Kalisz
Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
Ghost Rider, John Blaze, Vengeance, and the Caretaker all lay defeated at the feet of the newly-reborn Zarathos.  The Spirits of Vengeance are able to escape into the catacombs beneath Cypress Hills Cemetery with the unconscious Mrs. Ketch, while the amnesiac Zarathos is found by Lilith and her Lilin.  Centurious, injured in the battle with Ghost Rider, demands Lilith's help but instead he is attacked and teleported away by the Lilin and Zarathos.  Lilith, seeing an opportunity for power, tells Zarathos that she is his mother. 

At the Blood's mystical Nightclub, Caretaker and Seer tell the Spirits of Vengeance about how they're connected to one another through the Medallion of Power and Mephisto's interference.  While the members of the Quentin Carnival look after Mrs. Ketch, Caretaker teleports them away, but not before Mrs. Ketch demands that Caretaker tell them the whole truth about "her babies".  The heroes arrive back at the cemetery and attack, but only when Ghost Rider taps into the power of the Medallion on his motorcycle gascap is he able to blast Zarathos and Lilth back into the catacombs, which he believes has sealed them away "forever".  With the battle ended, Blaze demands to know what Mrs. Ketch was talking about, and Caretaker reveals that he and Dan Ketch are actually brothers.

ANNOTATIONS 
This issue was continued from Ghost Rider (1990) # 43.  The story picks up immediately from this issue's conclusion in Nightstalkers (1992) # 14, the first chapter of the "Siege of Darkness" crossover.

Zarathos was trapped inside the Soul Crystal with Centurious in Ghost Rider (1973) # 81.  He made only one subsequent appearance in Amazing Spider-Man (1963) # 274 when he was released from the Soul Crystal by Mephisto and then returned to his imprisonment.  Centurious reappeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 18 and it was revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 43 that Zarathos had been hiding inside Centurious all this time.  How they were able to escape the Soul Crystal and Mephisto was never revealed.

Centurious appears next in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 23.  Zarathos, Lilith, and the Lilin continue on as the villains of "Siege of Darkness".

The childhood separation of Blaze and the Ketch siblings gets some elaboration in Ghost Rider (1990) # -1 and Ghost Rider (2006) # 5.  Dan had learned that he and his sister were adopted in Ghost Rider (1990) # 33.

REVIEW
"Road to Vengeance" ends (well, not really) with one of the most unsatisfying comics I've ever read.

This review is going to be a rough one, folks, because I don't know if I have the words to convey how much I dislike this comic and just how fundamentally it screws up so many of the things that the last three years of Ghost Rider comics had been building toward.  "Road to Vengeance" had been a chore to suffer through already, what with the cavalcade of villains and the cyborg redesign of John Blaze, but somehow the conclusion tops every bad mistake the preceding chapters had made.  Let's break things down a little bit.

Easily the most disappointing part of the comic is the return of Zarathos.  What should have been the most epic moment in Ghost Rider history up to that point, the return of the villainous demon that had defined the 1970s series and hadn't been seen in a decade, was instead the most underwhelming moment in a crossover full of underwhelming moments.  As a reader at the time, I was expecting Zarathos in his true form, the one seen in the flashback origin sequence from the early 80s with a towering skeletal demon clothed in hellfire that eats souls with a touch.  Instead, we get an amnesiac, costumed buffoon in a Dracula cape that can control the elements for some damn reason.  Instead of it being the most personally terrifying moment in John Blaze's life, the return of the demon that nearly drug him to Hell and ruined his life for years, it's a fight scene that ends with no emotional resonance whatsoever. 

Zarathos at least gets treated better than poor Centurious, though, who gets to crawl around on his belly whimpering like a kicked puppy.  This guy was supposed to be the big bad of the crossover, the ultimate villain whose history with Ghost Rider stretched back centuries!  Why it was decided that the end to the last few years of building him up as the overarching villain of both Ghost Rider titles would be him begging for help from Lilith is beyond me.  It's bad enough that the poor master villain was continually denied the spotlight in favor of Lilith, Blackout, Deathwatch, Skinner, Vengeance, Big Daddy Dawson, Gunmetal Gray, Devil Grip, and every other single fucking villain they could possibly fit in (okay, some of those weren't actually in the story, but you get my meaning, right?).  They couldn't even let Centurious keep what little dignity he had left and he really deserved a better conclusion to his role.

There's so much wrong with this comic, I can keep rambling about it for days.  It's the conclusion to a crossover that leads into another fucking crossover!  When all is said and done, the Ghost Rider and Spirits of Vengeance titles were embroiled in crossovers for six months between "Midnight Massacre", "Road to Vengeance", and "Siege of Darkness".  This was supposed to be the ultimate Ghost Rider story that provided all these answers and concluded the story that Mackie had been building toward since the series began, and he couldn't even give it an ending that was satisfying on any level.  Zarathos and Lilith get pushed down a hole and we're supposed to take that as an ending?  There's all of the problems with the Medallion of Power that I talked about during the review of the previous "Road to Vengeance" chapter, that it's somehow a physical shard of metal that gets passed down through bloodlines, it doesn't make a lick of sense.  I guess it's like a magical kidney stone?  There's the revelation that John and Dan are long lost brothers, an idea that I hated at the time and only like slightly more in hindsight.  It's this over-complication of everything that Mackie was forcing readers to endure, though I'm sure a lot of this was due to massive editorial oversight. 

Then there's the artwork by brand-new series artist Henry Martinez, and wow is it ever a mess.  You can tell that Martinez was real early in his career, this might have even been his first published gig for all I know, because the character work is real bizarre.  The first few pages seems some attempts to correct an art error, with Martinez having drawn Blaze in his non-cyborg outfit (nice try, Henry, I feel you) and the comic seems some really strange design choices.  Mrs. Ketch's high-heeled hooker boots, Ghost Rider's squinty-eyed sad skull face, and Lilith's massive cleavage window are just some of the highlights.  Martinez will go on to become a really great artist by the time Spirits of Vengeance gets relaunched as the solo Blaze series, but things in this comic are real, real rough.

"Road to Vengeance" is easily one of the lowest points in Ghost Rider history, and this conclusion ranks up as one of the worst Ghost Rider comics of all time.  It's disappointing on every single level, it has nothing redeemable about it, and it just plain sucks. 

Grade: F

Ghost Rider (1990) # 86

Cover Art: Pop Mhan
Published: June 1997
Original Price: $1.95

Title: "Faultlines"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Pop Mhan
Inkers: Jason Martin & Andrew Pepoy
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS
Two months have passed since Dan Ketch has let the Ghost Rider out of the Void. The Rider, having been trapped for so long, begins to wonder if he'll ever see the outside world again.  In Hell, Blackheart questions the Scarecrow, who failed in his mission to possess Dan's body.  Scarecrow's torment is given over to Black Rose, who is quite enthusiastic to go about her duties.  Meanwhile in the real world, Dan and Stacy visit Mrs. Ketch, who has been institutionalized after seeing Dan transform into the Ghost Rider. When Dan enters the room, she begins to scream.

Meanwhile, two men from Damage Control, an organization that cleans up after superhuman battles, investigate the Ghost Rider beginning with the site of his battle with the Furies.  They interview Carlie Colon, who tells them that the Ghost Rider only shows up to save people.  Elsewhere, Jennifer Kale gives John Blaze a haircut as part of a magic ritual intended to help locate his missing children.  The Damage Control agents interview Luz and Candido, with Luz stating the Ghost Rider is a demon out for her "pure, virginal flesh".  The agents are led to a group of children, who all have stories about the Ghost Rider, and finally to a church to interview a man name Toother who has turned his life around after receiving the Ghost Rider's Penance Stare.

In the top floor of a building the group of kids set the room on fire with firecrackers. Dan exits the subway and hears the screams, finally letting the Ghost Rider out. The Damage Control agents watch as the Rider rescues the children and rides off into the night.

ANNOTATIONS 
Ghost Rider last appeared in Devil's Reign: Ghost Rider/Ballistic # 1.

It was revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 39 that Francis Ketch had always known about Dan being the host for the Ghost Rider.  However, her memories were erased by Jennifer Kale in Ghost Rider (1990) # 79.

The Ghost Rider's battle with the Furies happened in Ghost Rider (1990) # 80.  Carlie Colon was possessed by one of those Furies in Ghost Rider (1990) # 79.

The disappearance of Blaze's children, Craig and Emma, doesn't make a lot of sense.  He states they disappeared during the "Siege of Darkness", but it actually happened after that crossover, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 50.  Blaze did later see the children in the company of the Wendigo, and they did indeed disappear again while he was unconscious in Blaze (1994) # 6.  However, John was reunited with this children in Blaze (1994) # 12 and the Wendigo departed.  That was their last appearance and Blaze's inner thoughts in Ghost Rider (1990) # 74 revealed that they had disappeared once again.

John Blaze and Jennifer Kale appear next in Ghost Rider (1990) # 88, where they are on the road searching for the missing Blaze children.

Ghost Rider actually saved Luz's life twice, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 70 and in Ghost Rider (1990) # 73.  Toother received the Penance Stare in Ghost Rider (1990) # 70.

REVIEW
Ivan Velez finally slows down his run for a breather issue that features Pop Mhan's strongest (and last) work on the title.

By this point Velez has been on the series for 17 issues, and the first 16 of those were really all one storyline, or at least a series of stories that all dovetailed into one another with very little breathing room in between.  From what I can gather through multiple readings, that year and a half of comics actually all took place within maybe a week of story time.  So if there's one thing the series definitely needed right now, it's to stop and take stock of everything that's happened, to effectively slow the hell down.  The result of that is an issue that's probably the best of Velez's run so far, and he's had some quite good issues already up to this point.  That's due to him taking the time to address the repercussions of his run on the characters, from Danny and his immediate supporting cast to the new ones that Velez created in his first issue. 

This comic, in fact, is full of call backs to that first issue of Velez's run, referencing events and characters that had fallen to the side with all the Furies and Scarecrows running around.  That's not to say that Velez's supporting cast are all that endearing, Luz and Candido in particular are two of the more annoying characters this series has seen, but it's still nice to acknowledge the world that exits around the Ghost Rider.  Using the narrative trick of the interview process, through Damage Control's insurance adjusters no less, is certainly effective.  It shows that the Ghost Rider has been interpreted in many varied ways, most of which are wrong but all with a hint of truth.

The artwork really shines in this comic, too, though it's noted that Pop Mhan was not a favorable part of the creative team at the time.  He started off way too exaggerated and cartoonish in his first issue, but his work has slowly toned that down over his brief run.  This issue had some fantastic visuals, and had he started with this approach from the beginning perhaps he would be more fondly remembered as a part of Ghost Rider creative history.  His backdrops for the interviews, each with an increasingly demonic image of the Rider in the background, are quite good.  He's still stuck with the red and yellow eyesore of an outfit, but he does get to show what his version of the black leather Ghost Rider could have been on that opening page. 

While Ghost Rider's sales were dropping like a stone during 1997 that doesn't mean there weren't some gems being produced.  This was certainly one of them.

Grade: B+

Ghost Rider (1990) # 77

Cover Art: Salvador Larroca
Published: September 1996
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Bitter Smoke"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Sergio Melia
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: James Felder
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS
Francis Ketch has a nightmare about her daughter Barbara's grave being disturbed by images of crows.  Meanwhile, Ghost Rider sits atop the hospital that houses Capt. Dolan, his mind confused about the visions he's had since his fight with Vengeance. He transforms back into Dan, who breaks into a sweating seizure. Blaze picks him up, deciding to take him to a special kind of doctor.

The two arrive at the house of Dr. Strange, who tells Blaze that Dan is host to a Spirit of Vengeance that was once a mortal man that has had his memories erased. During the battle with Vengeance Ghost Rider received the Penance Stare, which has caused some of these memories to leak out.  Meanwhile, in Hell, Blackheart watches as his servants bring forth his bride - Black Rose.

Strange and Blaze take Dan to a young sorceress named Jennifer Kale, whose help is demanded by Strange. Jennifer releases the memories inside the Ghost Rider and he reveals his true name, Noble Kale. Simultaneously, Dan floats alone in the void until three beings called the Furies appear to kill him.

ANNOTATIONS 
The full story behind Noble Kale's origin is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 78 and Ghost Rider (1990) # 92.

The spell keeping the Ghost Rider's memories hidden from him was broken when he received the Penance Stare, courtesy of Vengeance, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 76.  Gerald Dolan was injured during the same fight, victim of a heart attack.

Ghost Rider has caught fleeting glimpses of his past memories on two other occasions: when he was killed by Blade in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 13 and when attempting to give the Penance Stare to Skinner in Ghost Rider (1990) # 64.

Francis Ketch's dream about Barbara's grave is actually a real event.  Barbara Ketch's reanimated body reappears at the end of Ghost Rider (1990) # 82 and it is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 83 that the Scarecrow has taken possession of the corpse.

Blackheart killed his father Mephisto in Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: The Dark Design and was first seen as the new King of Hell in Ghost Riders: Crossroads # 1.

The true identity of Black Rose is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 93.

REVIEW
Following the conclusion of the Vengeance arc, Ivan Velez dives into uncharted territory with his version of the Ghost Rider's origin.

I have a lot of fondness for this arc and for the Noble Kale origin story, even if at the time it seemed to fly completely in the face of everything that had come before during Howard Mackie's defining run.  At first glance it appears that Velez is trying to rewrite continuity, he's not been the best example of consistent characterization up to this point, but when everything is finally revealed it all does fit together with very little effort on the part of readers.  You have to kinda forgive some things, sure, but even Mackie had hinted at the Ghost Rider having an identity of his own before becoming a Spirit of Vengeance.  Velez takes that idea and runs with it, making this issue the start of what's really the writer's defining legacy on the series. 

I honestly can't really blame him for wanting to steer the series away from what Mackie had done, especially concerning Ghost Rider's origin and identity.  The whole Medallion of Power origin was such a huge misstep for the character that it actively hurt the ongoing mystery of the series, so quietly shoving it into the background for a much more personal take on the Ghost Rider's actual identity is honestly pretty refreshing.  There's a great hook to this issue, that Ghost Rider's memories are seeping out like poison that is affecting Danny in the real world, and it drags this series further into being a character-based drama in place of a superhero action series.

Unfortunately, those characters are absolutely all over the place, and its not to Velez's strength when he brings in guest-stars.  John Blaze is still wildly out of character, screaming and whining like a maniac at everyone.  I actually think that his use of Blaze is one of my least favorite aspects of Velez's run as a whole, it's so exaggerated and hostile that it's irritating to read.  Similarly, his use of Doctor Strange makes the character so inherently antagonistic to two heroes that had not long ago been pretty solid allies, though perhaps that's due to things that had gone on in Strange's own series at the time that I'm just not aware of.  Then there's Jennifer Kale, whose reappearance I appreciated even if it left me scratching my head about.  Why, I wonder, did Velez land on Kale as the linchpin character of this arc, tying her significantly to the Ghost Rider mythos in such a familial way?  Sure, it's nice to see her again, considering how much I enjoyed Steve Gerber's Man-Thing stories that introduced her, but she's essentially unrecognizable here.

I'm still appreciating Salvador Larroca's artwork, which has evolved in some pretty interesting ways during his extended tenure as the regular series artist.  The guy was consistent, with not a single fill-in issue during his run, and though he started as an obvious Jim Lee clone he grew as an artist very quickly.  His work at this point, which is nearing the end of his run, is more minimal than even a few issues ago.  He's not as interested in filling up the page with lines and allows the characters to get some definition, while also not scrimping on the details.  His rendition of Ghost Rider continues to be fantastic, and the splash page with him on the hospital roof is fantastic.

All in all, there's a lot to love about Velez's run on the series, despite its drawbacks and occasional characterization problems.  This issue in particular is one of the better ones of the run.

Grade: A-

Ghost Rider (1990) # 62

Cover Art: Salvador Larroca
Published: June 1995
Original Price: $1.95

Title: "Ghost Rider In Chains, Part 1: The Black Hole"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Sergio Melia
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Kevin Somers
Editor: Bobbie Chase

SYNOPSIS
After his capture by SHIELD, Ghost Rider is taken to a facility called the Black Hole, which is run by the government agent known as Spook. Upon delivery to the Hole, the Rider attempts a brave attempt at escape. The attempt is short-lived, however, as the Spook's men quickly recapture him.  Meanwhile, Stacy Dolan gets into a bar fight that's broken up by her commander, Ski, who wants to help her with whatever has been bothering her since they captured the Ghost Rider

Back at the Black Hole, Spook confers with the Hole's two top scientists, Dr. Keene and the android Dr. Wright. During their conversation, it's revealed the the Black Hole also houses several of the Ghost Rider's enemies, including Skinner and the Scarecrow. Keene decides that the best way to examine the Rider is to suit up and take a look for herself.

In the void, the Rider and Dan have a conversation about how the two cannot continue to battle one another over their co-existence. Dan gives full control back over to the Rider in order to escape, resulting in GR taking Dr. Keene hostage. This escape attempt doesn't last long either, as the Rider is blasted continuously by the guards. Unable to keep hold in this world, GR unwilling triggers the transformation, leaving a defenseless Dan at the scientists' mercy.

ANNOTATIONS 
Stacy Dolan learned that Dan and Ghost Rider are the same person in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18. She was offered a position in the Ghost Rider Task Force (called "The Team" starting in this issue) in Ghost Rider (1990) # 56 and she accepted in Ghost Rider (1990) # 57.

The Black Hole also has many of Ghost Rider's enemies imprisoned, including Skinner (last seen in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 14), Snowblind (last seen and presume dead in Ghost Rider (1990) # 24), Scarecrow (last seen in Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (1988) # 61), Rak, and Dread (both last seen in Ghost Rider (1990) # 61).

REVIEW
Mackie and Larroca follow up "Betrayals" with another major 4-part storyline that continues this title's return to form.

It might not be an obvious path to explore but science fiction was about the only avenue that the Mackie Ghost Rider series had yet to travel down, having started as urban crime and unwisely spiraling into mystical "horror".  The series had successfully transitioned into a more superhero oriented action series in the lead up to "Betrayals", which brought new life into what had become a pretty dull exercise in convoluted crossovers and magical demon fighting.  "In Chains", which begins here, feels like Mackie's attempt to do a Weapon X type of story for Ghost Rider, and it works really well.  This is an area that should clash up hard against the Ghost Rider aesthetic, but instead it throws both the character and the readers into the deep end of this hard sci-fi background in such a way that it creates an increasingly isolated experience as the issue goes on.

The series had become so strangled by its bloated supporting cast, full of Midnight Sons and Blood and extended family, that finally cutting Ghost Rider and Danny off from them is a really effective way to get straight to the issue's tense backdrop.  Honestly, in most storylines so far there's not been a whole lot of doubt as to how Ghost Rider was going to win, but this one actually makes you fear for the characters.  The Black Hole as a setting, with all of its technological torture devices juxtaposed against the body horror of the prisoners, is claustrophobic and alien for a series usually set against concrete or cemeteries. 

Not surprisingly, Salvador Larroca is right at home with all of this.  He's been a fantastic addition to the series, getting better and better with each issue, but he was never a good fit for the horror or urban grime of previous years.  That, I imagine, is likely part of why the series moved on to focus more on superhero action, which played directly to Larroca's strength.  This issue, though, really leans in hard on the things he definitely excels at drawing, lots of technology and guys in armor shooting guns.  Ghost Rider remains consistently good looking throughout, and Larroca absolutely nails the character's desperation as he attempts escape again and again.

"In Chains" is off to a really great start and will remain a consistently good arc that gets chopped off at the knees right at the end by editorial interference (of which I'll talk about more when we get there).  It's not as emotionally powerful as "Betrayals", but still definitely worth your time.

Grade: A

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 110

Cover Art: Sam Keith
Published: July 1992
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Return of the Braineaters, Part 4: Under Cover at the Black Moon Bar and Grill"
Writer: Chris Cooper
Artist: John Stanisci
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti & Ken Branch
Letterer: Steve Dutro
Colorist: Fred Mendez
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
With the Braineaters holding the little boy Billy hostage and Jack Russell seemingly dead, Ghost Rider has surrendered himself and has had his limbs chained to motorcycles.  When the Braineaters attempt to rip him apart, Ghost Rider is able to break the chains, but the werewolves escape with Billy still in their possession.  The weakened Ghost Rider is found by Russell, who barely survived his fall of the bridge.  Jack has a plan and sends Dan Ketch out to local bars to try and locate the Braineaters in their human forms.  At the Black Moon Bar & Grill, Dan finds the Braineaters and strikes up a conversation with their human concubine, Lupe.  Dan sees through the girl's tough exterior and tries to appeal to the good inside her, but he's interrupted by the Braineaters.  They drag him outside of the bar and beat him nearly to death, leaving him unconscious in the alley.

ANNOTATIONS 
This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring Wolverine/Typhoid Mary, Thanos, and Nightcrawler.

The biker that gives information to Dan Ketch is named Fraser and he first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 4 before appearing in this story's first chapter in Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 107.

REVIEW
While the previous chapter of "Return of the Braineaters" was an ultimately unsatisfying fight scene, this one returns to form with more of the exploitation style tone that was making the serial so interesting at the start.

Writer Chris Cooper seems to be ticking off all the boxes for how to make this the grimiest story possible without going full lewd.  Beginning with Ghost Rider being drawn and quartered by motorcycles, which is a great visual that I'm surprised hasn't cropped up more in stories over the years, and ending with the fantastically dirty Black Moon Bar and Grill, this chapter just oozes with style.  I can imagine it's difficult to give new characters any kind of discernible personalities outside of broad stroke traits in the Marvel Comics Presents format, but Cooper breathes such life into Lupe that she's easily the most interesting character in the story.  It's also nice to see Danny Ketch get some play, he's usually left out of the more action-oriented Presents series, and his interaction with Lupe gives us the best scene in the chapter.

Similarly, despite the action detour last issue that didn't really play to his strengths, artist John Stanisci turns out eight really nice pages of work.  He has a great handle on Ghost Rider, and his rough slightly-distorted character work really sells the story's tone.  He's able to make the Black Moon Bar and Grill into a realistic place while still being minimal in the details, and his panels of Lupe simultaneously show her off as the dangerous ingenue and overwhelmed innocent that her characterization demands.

I'm really, really enjoying this story whenever it steps outside of the fight scene format, and I highly recommend it for the atmosphere alone.

Grade: A+