Ghost Rider (1973) # 48

“Wind of the Undead!”

Cover Date: September 1980
On Sale Date: June 1980

Writer: Michael Fleisher
Artist: Don Perlin
Colorist: Rob Carosella
Letterer: Jim Novak
Editor: Dennis O’Neil
Editor in Chief: Jim Shooter
Cover Artist: Bob Budiansky

Johnny Blaze rides through a desolate prairie at night, where he’s attacked by a swarm of giant vampire bats. The creatures carry him off into the night sky, but he is able to transform into the Ghost Rider and escape. When he lands, he transforms back into Blaze and makes his way toward a nearby farmhouse, unaware that one of the locals has seen his transformation. The owner of the home, a young woman named Tabitha Arcanne, invites Johnny inside and tells him about the bats that attack and feed upon the residents of the valley every night. Meanwhile, the bats return to their master, a vampire named Dalton Cartwright who has seen the coming of the Ghost Rider in the facets of his mystical crystal and has a plan to destroy him.

The townsfolk storm the Arcanne home and knock Johnny unconscious, thinking him to be a demon that they need to kill. They prepare to hang him but are interrupted by the sheriff, who takes Johnny into custody and locks him in the jail for his own protection. When he overhears the police saying that Tabitha has been taken by the vampire bats, Johnny transforms into the Ghost Rider and escapes the jailhouse. However, when Ghost Rider arrives at Cartwright’s home, he learns that Tabitha is also a vampire and has led him into a trap. Cartwright uses his magic crystal to force the Ghost Rider to transform back into Blaze, then knocks him unconscious with a mystic blast. When he wakes up, Johnny finds himself locked inside a grain silo while the vampire bats circle around its ceiling. Unable to transform due to Cartwright’s magic, Johnny uses a lantern to set the silo on fire as a means of escape. He goes to the house and knocks Cartwright unconscious, smashes the magic crystal, and turns into the Ghost Rider. Racing back to the silo, he destroys the vampire bats, while the fire spreads to the house and kills both Cartwright and Tabitha before they can escape.

Such a weird choice for a vampire bad guy.

CHAIN REACTION
To read my review of Ghost Rider (1973) # 48 see my book Wheels On Fire: An Unofficial Guide to Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider: 1972-1983!

Wheels On Fire: An Unofficial Guide to Marvel Comics' Ghost Rider From 1972-1983: Munn, Chris, Ishizaki, James, DeMatteis, J.M.: 9798702991832: Amazon.com: Books