Ghost Rider (2022) # 1

"Breakdown"

Cover Date: April 2022; On Sale Date: February 2022

Writer: Benjamin Percy; Artist: Cory Smith; Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham; Colorist: Bryan Valenza; Editor: Darren Shan; Editor in Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Kael Ngu

Johnny Blaze sits and has a conversation with his therapist about his recent motorcycle accident and head injury, which occurred several months before. He talks about the nightmares he has when he doesn't drink whiskey before bed and how he should be happy with his life in Hayden's Falls, married to Roxanne and raising his two kids, Craig and Emma. Since fracturing his skull he's experienced waking nightmares, hallucinations of horrific things, but he lies and denies having seen them recently. He walks around the town of Hayden's Falls and encounters numerous unexplained things that people tell him are a result of his head injury. Meanwhile, at FBI Headquarters, Agents Whilmer and Talia Warroad are given a discretionary fund to explore rising cases of the supernatural across the country. 

While Blaze spends time with his son and later his father-in-law, Crash Simpson, a stranger comes to Hayden's Falls and senses a dark evil lurking beneath the surface. While the town starts to fall apart around him, Johnny continues to see everyone he knows as monstrous creatures, including his own family. He's found by the stranger, a necromancer named Zeb who was sent by a group of magicians to locate Blaze. He tells Johnny that his family and the town aren't real and unlocks his memory along with the power of the Spirit of Vengeance. Zeb turns into a crow and flies away while Johnny transforms into the Ghost Rider and destroys all the demons, including the ones masquerading as his family, out of revenge for keeping him trapped. Realizing that he had been imprisoned by someone, the Ghost Rider creates his motorcycle and rides out of Hayden's Falls, on the hunt for answers.

That's some John Carpenter stuff right there!

THE ROADMAP

This is Legacy # 244 of the ongoing Ghost Rider series.

Johnny Blaze last appeared in Spirits of Vengeance: Spirit Rider # 1.

Crash Simpson died in Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 5 and Roxanne Simpson died in Ghost Rider (1990) # 50. Johnny's children, Craig and Emma, disappeared prior to Ghost Rider (1990) # 72 and were revealed to be dead and in Heaven with their mother in Ghost Riders: Heaven's On Fire (2009) # 6.

CHAIN REACTION

Ghost Rider gets another chance at an ongoing series a year after his last one ended prematurely, this time by writer Benjamin Percy and artist Cory Smith.

In short, this comic is incredible and is everything I've ever wanted out of a Ghost Rider series. How's that for praise? I admit some trepidation toward accepting this series, as I felt and still feel that Ed Brisson and Juan Frigeri got a raw deal when their Ghost Rider series was chopped off at the knees after just seven issues last year. That was a really good series that I hated to see end, but if this is what's replacing it then it works to salve the wound a little bit (at least for readers, probably not the previous creative team, of course).

If I had to liken this debut issue to anything it would be the recently concluded Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing, or maybe even Donny Cates' recently finished run on Venom. Taking darker characters and embracing a horror movie approach to them seems to be working in spades for Marvel recently, and if any character would benefit from that tone it's Ghost Rider. This isn't "motorcycle hero" fighting supervillains stuff, this is Clive Barker, John Carpenter, and H.P. Lovecraft all mixed together. It's actually scary, something I don't know if I've ever been able to say about a Ghost Rider story. There's also a solid mystery surrounding the atmosphere and gruesome imagery. Who trapped Johnny Blaze in that hellish picket fenced life? Who sent Zeb to find him? What's causing all the supernatural mayhem around the country? Definitely intriguing.

When it comes to the artwork, I'm not immediately familiar with Cory Smith's work, but he does an incredible job on this debut. His work is visceral and disturbing, perfectly matching Percy's script on every level. Zeb has an interesting look, like an evil rhinestone cowboy mixed with a magician, and Smith gives him a malicious personality with that ever-present grin on his face. Smith's background details are the best part, though, with Blaze's reality slipping from panel to panel and things getting creepier until the whole town is just a cesspit of demons by the end.

This is just about a perfect debut issue, one of the strongest the character has ever received. I'm all-in on this series, here's hoping the brutally dark tone continues. Absolutely recommended.

Some gnarly descriptive text.