Writer: Bryan Hill; Artist: German Peralta; Letterer: VC's Cory Petit; Colorist: Arthur Hesli; Editor: Will Moss; Editor in Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Ken Lashley
Blade the vampire hunter meets at a diner with a squad of soldiers that he had previously trained to kill vampires, having called for them to meet for an important mission. Blade then turns on the soldiers and quickly murders them all. Afterwards, he sheds a tear.
Later, in Arizona, after the vampires have blacked out the sun and attacked the world under Blade's leadership, Danny Ketch is approached by Blade's former partner Tulip. She explains the situation with Blade and that she needs the Ghost Rider's help to determine if her former friend has truly turned evil or is under the control of someone else. In order to determine Tulip's trustworthiness, Danny transforms into the Ghost Rider and gives her the Penance Stare. Tulip wakes up hours later to find Johnny Blaze at her bedside, and he explains that he is no longer a Ghost Rider and only has a shotgun that shoots hellfire. Blaze tells Tulip that he and Danny will help her find Blade, and she states the made a promise to kill Blade if he ever went to the dark side, a promise she intends to keep. Tulip goes outside and finds Danny, who tells her that if she wants help she will have to help them in turn, and reveals a hidden cache of guns.
On a deserted road in the middle of the desert, Tulip and Blaze attack a vampire convoy protecting an armored car, which was transporting a creature captured from the Darkforce Dimension. The creature attempts to break free and the Ghost Rider destroys it by driving straight through the armored car. Meanwhile, in Iraq, Victoria Montesi arrives at a cave where a holy man has been possessed by a vampiric spirit. Montesi casts a spell to summon Lilith, the Mother of Demons, who exorcises the vampire from the man's body. Later, Victoria is visited by Johnny Blaze, who wishes to recruit her help in finding Blade. She replies that she had a vision of what has happened, and if Blade has truly become evil then the Midnight Sons will kill him.
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| Windows to the soul. |
THE ROADMAP
This series is a tie-in to the "Blood Hunt" crossover event, which saw Blade lead a vampire army to cover the planet in Darkforce energy and try to take over the world.
The Midnight Sons were a loose affiliation of supernatural heroes, whose membership indeed included Danny Ketch, Johnny Blaze, Victoria Montesi, and Blade among others. They first came together as an informal group in Ghost Rider (1990) # 31 to defeat Lilith. A more recent incarnation of the Midnight Sons were gathered in Doctor Strange: Damnation # 2 to fight Mephisto, and both Blaze and Blade were on that team as well.
Where this story takes place in terms of continuity is frankly impossible to determine. Johnny Blaze lost the power of Zarathos in Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance (2024) # 1 and he regained his hellfire shotgun in Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance (2024) # 5. He is reunited with Zarathos in Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance (2024) # 6 and the footnotes in this issue explicitly states that this story takes place between issues of Final Vengeance. However, there are no breaks in the Final Vengeance story where Johnny could make it to Arizona or Iraq to take part in this story, so it's actually a major continuity error.
Danny Ketch last appeared in Ghost Rider (2022) # 15. Tulip last appeared in Blade (2023) # 10. Victoria Montesi last appeared in Crypt of Shadows (2022) # 1.
CHAIN REACTION
The Midnight Sons reform in this tie-in to the "Blood Hunt" event.
As a concept for bringing together horror-related characters in the Marvel Universe, I am frankly shocked that the Midnight Sons don't get more attention and that so little has been done with them as a concept since the early 1990s. The name got trotted out for the lackluster video game tie-in a couple of years ago, but that was half-hearted at best. I mean, Wolverine was on the team, need I say more? The Midnight Sons are low-hanging fruit just waiting for Marvel to come along and pick, and this comic right here is a perfect example of what can be done with these characters if they're given the right creative team.
Everything about this issue hit home for me, updating the characters and the team in a way that's modern yet also respectful of what came in the past. Danny Ketch back as THE Ghost Rider, John Blaze with his hellfire shotgun, Victoria Montesi calling forth Lilith in the biggest mic drop moment of the comic, it all fits together so nicely. Using the "Blood Hunt" event as the impetus for the group's revival is perfectly appropriate as well, given what was being done with Blade in the pages of the main series. Bryan Hill had been slaving away with little appreciation on the Blade ongoing series that led into "Blood Hunt", and while he honestly should have been the architect of the whole event it's nevertheless nice to see him picking up the pieces for this mini-series.
Hill writes the hell out of these characters, and the respect and gravitas he gives to Danny Ketch made me a happy reader on a lot of levels. Yes, Blaze is relegated to a supporting role, but that's a small price to pay when you get moments like Ketch transforming into Ghost Rider to give Tulip the Penance Stare, not because she's evil but because it's a sure-fire way to gain the Rider's trust. Using Ghost Rider as the heavy hitter in the convoy scene harkens back to the way the character was treated in his heyday, the true big gun of the Midnight Sons. Vicki Montesi shines here as well in her introduction at the issue's end, she was a character I always appreciated and it's nice to see her get some love. Am I disappointed that Hannibal King doesn't appear? Yes, frankly, I am. Still, though, this is a great collection of characters that Hill writes very well.
German Peralta is the artist on this mini-series, and you wouldn't think his relatively clean and thin lines would translate well to characters like this. This comic is absolutely beautiful to look at, though, and every page just drips with mood and malice. His Ghost Rider is magnificent and he paces the twists and reveals perfectly. The colors, too, by Arthur Hesli, are gorgeous. That opening with Blade in the diner is all reds and blacks that sell the shock of the scene, and the part in the cave with Lilith's appearance is lit magnificently well. I can't stop talking about the artwork on this comic, it's really that good.
I wasn't too invested in "Blood Hunt" as an event, but this comic is something I absolutely recommend to Ghost Rider fans. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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| Vicki calls in the cavalry |
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