Writers: Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum; Artist: Scott Hepburn; Letterer: Travis Lanham; Colorist: Antonio Fabela; Editor: Darren Shaw; Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Scott Hepburn
Following a murder spree across the galaxy, Frank Castle is locked up inside a Shi'ar Supermax Space Prison. When he's attacked by the inmates he transforms into Cosmic Ghost Rider and begins slaughtering all of them. During the fight the power to the prison is disabled, releasing "the Veil", a creature seemingly made of pure darkness that sucks all of the hellfire out of Cosmic Ghost Rider before the last living guard activates the station's self-destruct protocol, destroying the prison and killing everyone inside.
Months later, a group of alien scavengers sift through the prison's debris and discover Cosmic Ghost Rider's inert skull. One of the crew is a human girl named Cammi, who has a rivalry with one of her mates. Back on their ship, Cosmic Ghost Rider wakes up and begins killing the scavengers, reforming his body as he goes along, until only Cammi remains. When Frank gives Cammi the Penance Stare it reveals that she is actually an innocent girl despite her hard exterior. She explains that the pirates were working for the Cosmic King, the most powerful alien gangster in the galaxy, who is also listening in on their conversation. Cosmic King then opens a portal to the Hotel Inferno for a meeting with Mephisto, where he demands the soul of Frank Castle.
"Semper Fight"
Writers: Donny Cates; Artist: Geoff Shaw; Letterer: Travis Lanham; Colorist: Matt Milla; Editor: Darren Shaw; Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Scott Hepburn
While at the grave of his wife, Maria Castle, old man Frank is attacked by his present-day counterpart, the Punisher. Using consecrated hellfire rounds and grenades, the Punisher attempts to kill Cosmic Ghost Rider. Finally getting fed up with the attack, old man Frank stops the fight and asks why present-day Frank is trying to kill him. The Punisher answers that he knows about Cosmic Ghost Rider's traveling through time and is angry that he didn't save their wife and children. Cosmic Ghost Rider leaves Earth after the Punisher says he will kill him if he returns.
THE ROADMAP
Cosmic Ghost Rider was brought to Hell in Guardians of the Galaxy (2018) # 6 by Johnny Blaze to take part in the Challenge of the Ghost Riders. He was sent to Earth in Avengers (2018) # 24 to fight the Avengers and last appeared in Avengers (2018) # 25.
Mephisto was imprisoned in the Hotel Inferno in Las Vegas at the end of Doctor Strange: Damnation (2018) # 4.
CHAIN REACTION
Cosmic Ghost Rider returns for another mini-series with a brand-new creative team, accompanied by a short-story from Cates and Shaw that finally brings Cosmic Frank together with the Punisher.
I must admit, after the last debacle of a series I was not expecting much from another Cosmic Ghost Rider story. The character had already descended into becoming a Deadpool knock-off, eschewing all of the pathos and character building that had been installed in him by his creators, and it was going to take a major course correction to make him even a little bit readable again. It's disappointing that such a new character who debuted with such enthusiasm was already in need of a rehabilitation project, but that's exactly what this series had to be.
Thankfully, Hallum and Hepburn are a solid creative team that know how to construct a plot with engaging dialogue and dynamic artwork. Most importantly, they understand the character of Frank Castle and treat him as more than just a vehicle for bad jokes and wacky hijinks. The outrageousness of Cosmic Ghost Rider is still there, of course, but it's balanced with other aspects of his character. The Punisher is still there, in other words, and having Castle go on a vigilante kill spree just to get himself locked inside a supermax prison is one of the most Punisher things he could do.
Seeing as this is a space-faring story it does allow Hallum to involve one of his pet characters from previous works, namely Cammi from Drax and Avengers Arena. It's not something that's out of the ordinary for creators who hop from title to title to have a favorite character hop along with them, but it does bring along a lot of baggage to a series previously unrelated to the character. Cammi doesn't interfere too much with the story here, but we'll see how her role plays out throughout the series.
Scott Hepburn is a fantastic choice for artist for this series, following along nicely from the tone set by Dylan Burnett in the first Cosmic Ghost Rider mini-series. I love the way Hepburn plays with the flame effects around CGR's head and the kinetic way he depicts the action. Things are always moving around in his panels, nothing seems static, and it really adds to the chaotic events in stuff like the prison sequence. Plus, the part with Frank being a bag of broken bones moving around in his human form is hilariously nauseating.
The real selling point for this comic, though, is the back-up story by Cosmic Ghost Rider creators Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw, which finally brings a meeting with the Punisher. It's a brief exchange that really hits home in the final pages, where the Punisher demands to know why Cosmic Ghost Rider didn't save their family when he was traveling through time. It's poignant and really gives a sense of sadness and depth to two characters that can easily devolve into mindless violence machines.
This is a good start to what hopes to be a redeeming chapter in the Cosmic Ghost Rider storyline. It surely can't be as bad as the last series, right?
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