Cover Date: September 2023; On Sale Date: July 2023
Writer: Howard Mackie; Artist: Daniel Picciotto; Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham; Colorist: Guru-eFX; Editor: Darren Shan; Editor in Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Ben Harvey
Inside Cypress Hills Cemetery, the Ghost Rider threatens to kill a trio of ninjas that once worked with Blackout, demanding to know the villain's location. The Caretaker steps in and allows the ninjas to escape while Ghost Rider turns back into Dan Ketch, who is hysterical over the kidnapping of Stacy Dolan. Dan gets a phone call from John Blaze, who tells him that his wife and children have also been kidnapped. Assuming that Blackout is involved, Danny rides off to upstate New York with the Caretaker saying he will meet him there.
Elsewhere, the Broker meets with his master and informs him that their captives are safely hidden away. In a basement cell, Stacy Dolan and Roxanne Simpson, along with her sleeping children, talk about their abductions and attempt to find a way to escape. In Rhinebeck, New York, Blackout and the Scarecrow envelop the town in darkness and fear, terrorizing the citizens. Dan Ketch arrives at the town's border and finds a wall of pure darkness. The Caretaker appears and the two enter the darkness of the town, eventually coming across John Blaze. While Caretaker returns to the cemetery, Ketch and Blaze continue on until they find some of Blackout's victims, which triggers Dan's transformation into Ghost Rider
At a nearby comic book store, the Scarecrow terrorizes the inhabitants hiding inside. Ghost Rider and Blaze stop him but the two are attacked by Blackout, who Blaze shoots in the face with his hellfire shotgun, scarring him once again. Scarecrow is able to use his fear powers to tap into Dan Ketch inside Ghost Rider, causing both the collapse in terror. Caretaker arrives and Blaze saves Ghost Rider from Scarecrow. While they talk about whatever is happening to the connection between Ghost Rider and Dan, Scarecrow sneaks behind them and stabs the Caretaker with his pitchfork before escaping, seemingly killing him.
THE ROADMAP
This mini-series takes place during the 1990s Ghost Rider series, but where exactly it fits in continuity is unclear due to contradictory elements.
Due to the Quentin Carnival being active and John Blaze's wife and children still being with him this story likely takes place shortly after the "Rise of the Midnight Sons" crossover and before Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 4.
Blackout would have last appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 31 where he was killed in the Arctic along with the rest of the Lilin; he will be resurrected in Ghost Rider (1990) # 41. He received his facial scarring in Ghost Rider (1990) # 3 and learned that Dan and Ghost Rider were one and the same prior to Ghost Rider (1990) # 7.
Blackout worked with Deathwatch and his ninja assassins, three of whom appear here, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 3.
Scarecrow would have last appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 38 where he escaped from the Firm's hospital prison. He was given the ability to induce overwhelming fear in his victims via pheromones in Ghost Rider/Captain America; Fear.
CHAIN REACTION
Ghost Rider teams up with John Blaze for a Spirits of Vengeance reunion against Blackout and the Scarecrow as the mini-series continues to soldier on.
There's just something immediately engaging whenever Howard Mackie chooses to pair up Ghost Rider and Blaze, his versions of those two characters play off one another so well. That inherent charisma shines in this issue, as does almost all of the other characterization choices that Mackie makes. Danny Ketch and Ghost Rider also play off one another exceptionally well, a tricky thing to pull off considering the two can't necessarily occupy the same panels at the same time. The idea of their personalities bleeding into one another is something Mackie played with on and off during the original series, and it continues to be an intriguing concept to push the forward progress of their characterizations. Hell, even the Caretaker gets a good showing in this issue. He was always a character with a good presence on the page but too often was used as "mysterious information dumper" in the original series. Here he comes off as the reluctant mentor figure, a role he's much better suited for.
The villains also get a grand showing in this issue, particularly the Scarecrow. Mackie and Picciotto really sell the horrific nature of Blackout and Scarecrow, with the darkness manipulation and body contortions. The duo make for a very credible threat against Ghost Rider and Blaze, and it's good to see the classic villains getting such solid treatment after being used as canon fodder or jokes in other recent stories (looking at you, Heaven's On Fire).
Daniel Picciotto continues to really shine on this series and I really hope he gets another Ghost Rider gig at Marvel soon. His action scenes do seem a little stiff and posed at times, but I think he's an artist that is going to keep improving with each new project he works on. The panel of Scarecrow twisting his way into the comic book store is terrifying, and he really captures the dark edge that defined the 1990s series at its best.
This mini-series continues to hit all the right buttons for me and anyone who was a fan of the original Mackie run needs to pick this up.
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