Peter Parker: Spider-Man (1990) # 93

"Reborn Again"

Cover Date: July 1998; Publication Date: May 1998

Writer: Howard Mackie; Artist: Javier Saltares; Inker: Scott Hanna; Letterer: Richard Starkings; Colorist: Gregory Wright; Editor: Ralph Macchio; Editor In Chief: Bob Harras; Cover Artist: John Romita Jr.

In Cypress Hills Cemetery, local firefighters attempt to douse a mysterious flame that has started - flames burning in the pattern of the Medallion of Power. From the flames emerges the Ghost Rider, who - before jumping on his motorcycle - simply says "It begins anew. I ride again...for vengeance!"

Elsewhere in the city, Spider-Man swings over the rooftops, jubilant that his recent troubles with the law are over. Spider-Man spends his evening stopping muggers and rescuing people from a burning building, but discovers that his reputation is still ruined due to Norman Osborn's allegations of the wall-crawler being a criminal. Spider-Man then visits Arthur Stacy, a friend, and finds that even he is having trouble trusting the hero. Outside the Stacy house, Mary Jane Watson-Parker talks to Jill Stacy before starting home. A few moments later, Mary Jane is startled by her husband, Peter Parker, jumping out of the trees. Peter scoops his wife up and swings them to a nearby rooftop. Peter tells her that things are finally starting to look up and asks "what could go wrong?". Just as Mary Jane says that she wishes he hadn't said that, Parker's spider-sense goes off, causing him to grab his wife and cover them with a web shield just in time to keep them from being burned by a flash of fire. The Ghost Rider rides past them on the street below, melting cars and street lamps as he passes. Parker changes back into Spider-Man and kisses Mary Jane before swinging off after the Rider.

A short time later, Spider-Man wonders what's causing Ghost Rider's flames to burn out of control. He stumbles across an abandoned building caught on fire by Ghost Rider's flames and sees a kid trapped on one of the floors. Spider-Man saves the boy just in time and returns him to his parents, winning back the trust of some of the public. Spider-Man picks the Ghost Rider's trail back up, following the trail of fire left by his motorcycle, and finds the Spirit of Vengeance in the middle of Times Square. Fallen on his knees, the Ghost Rider yells for everyone to stay away from him, that he's lost control of his hellfire. Ghost Rider is confused and disoriented by "so many truths and lies mixed together". "Noble Kale, the Lord of the Dark Realm, Mephisto, Blackheart", he says, "lies within lies within lies!" Spider-Man jumps down to the street, but is immediately attacked by Ghost Rider, who tells the hero to leave - that the lives of innocents are at stake and if he doesn't act soon the streets will run with blood. Spider-Man attempts to stop the Ghost Rider, but the demon smashes the ground beneath them, blowing a huge crater in the street. Severely weakened, Ghost Rider falls next to the hole - and when Spider-Man investigates, he finds a group of terrorists planting a bomb under the street. Spider-Man makes quick work of the terrorists, but sees that the bomb has just over five minutes before it detonates. Ghost Rider says he's too weak to help, but then out of the crowd steps Daniel Ketch, the Rider's descendant and former host. Dan asks the Rider - addressing him as Noble Kale - how he escaped Mephisto's realm and if he remembers him. Ghost Rider claims not to be this Noble Kale, and that Mephisto and Blackheart are the lords of the lie...the truth is not yet known. Spider-Man brings their attention back to the bomb, and Ghost Rider asks Dan to merge with him once again to make him stronger. Realizing that if he doesn't thousands of people will die, Dan agrees - and the two merge, restoring the Ghost Rider to his full strength. Whole once again, Ghost Rider takes the bomb and asks Spider-Man to contain him with as much webbing as he can generate. Within the giant dome of webbing, Ghost Rider stands with the bomb until it explodes, barely contained by Spider-Man's web. Immediately after the explosion, Ghost Rider rides out of the fire and out into the city. Spider-Man thinks to himself that this should finally prove to the city that he's a hero again...but the next day reads an editorial by J. Jonah Jameson that claims both Spider-Man and Ghost Rider to be part of the terrorist plot.

Daredevil (1964) # 372

"Devil and the Demon"

Cover Date: February 1998
On Sale Date: December 1997

Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Ariel Olivetti
Inker: Pier Britto
Letterers: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Editor: Jaye Gardner
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

Cover Artist: Ariel Olivetti

At Riker's Island Prison, Assistant District Attorney Kathy Malpher investigates a room that had been hidden following a riot in the prison, where several bloody bodies were discovered in connection to the villain Mr. Fear.  Across town, Daredevil drops his girlfriend Karen Page off at the radio station where she works, then he makes his way to his own law office as Matt Murdock.  Meanwhile, Danny Ketch is about to enjoy the beautiful day, but the Ghost Rider tells him that there is evil in the air and to "prepare" for him.

Matt runs into Malpher, who receives a phone call from Judge Chalmers telling her that she is not to interview the prison warden, which makes her furious.  Having overheard the phone call, Murdock changes into his Daredevil costume and enters Malpher's office through her window, offering to help her get the information they need from the warden.  At the warden's apartment, Daredevil crashes through the window and finds Ghost Rider about the give the man the Penance Stare, which will reduce him to an incoherent mess.  Needing to question him, Daredevil saves the warden and confronts Ghost Rider, asking if he can question the man before the Rider seeks vengeance.  Ghost Rider does not take kindly to the interruption and attacks, which also allows the warden to escape by stealing a car outside.  Ghost Rider takes off after him, forcing Daredevil to commandeer a motorcycle of his own, which nearly overwhelms his radar sense.  Ghost Rider catches up to the warden, crashes his car, and gives the man the Penance Stare just before Daredevil hits the Rider with his motorcycle, causing an explosion.  Daredevil realizes that the warden is now a mindless husk, which causes him to yell about the meaning of justice to the approaching Ghost Rider.  Having lost his patience, Ghost Rider grabs Daredevil by the sides of his head and gives him a taste of the Penance Stare, even though Murdock his blind.  He tells Daredevil that when he interrupted the Penance Stare it prevented him from discerning the truth about the evil forces unleashed at the prison.  Because of Daredevil's actions Ghost Rider will be unable to stop the shedding of more innocent blood, and the responsibly to stop what's coming will be on Murdock's shoulders alone.  Ghost Rider leaves Daredevil curled up on the floor, able to feel nothing but cold.

Devil's Reign: Ghost Rider/Ballistic # 1

"Devil's Reign, Chapter 3: Kill Everyone We See"

Cover Date: February 1997
On Sale Date: December 1996

Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Billy Tan
Inker: D-Tron
Letterer: Dennis Heisler
Colorists: Richard Isanove, Tyson Wengler, & Greg Hammond
Editor: James Felder
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

Cover Artist: Billy Tan

At 4 AM in New York, four cars driven by the demonically-possessed minions of Mephisto travel down the Midtown Tunnel. In this universe, there is no God of Death; so Mephisto has come to use all the unclaimed souls for himself while his servants kill everyone they see. Before they reach the end of the tunnel, the vehicles are attacked and destroyed by Ballistic and the Ghost Rider.

An hour and a half earlier, Cyberforce member Ballistic sits at a crummy bar with a group of unconscious men scattered around her. She hates the fact that men constantly hit on her, unaware that she's lethal and genetically incapable of missing a shot. Yet another man comes up from behind to hit on her, and she replies by punching his nose off with her elbow. Surprisingly, the gentlemen is a demon, who has come into the bar with a whole group of demon friends that are all smitten by the barfly sharpshooter Ballistic. A brief fight begins, with Ballistic quickly eliminating each of the demons with her guns, until one grabs her from behind. The demon is knocked away by a swinging chain produced by the Ghost Rider, who has been sent by Cyberforce to retrieve Ballistic. Ghost Rider explains the situation, that he is from an alternate Earth and the devil Mephisto from his world has come to her universe. She lights a cigarette off Ghost Rider's hellfire and agrees to take a look at what he's describing.

Minutes later, atop a nearby building, Ghost Rider shows Ballistic what is happening to New York City. Times Square is Mephisto's lair, so the two heroes decide to go there and shoot Mephisto until he dies. They attack the demon horde and kill a good number until Mephisto himself appears and forces them to retreat. As they escape, they see a group of demons heading toward the Midtown Tunnel to enter Manhattan and kill everyone on the island. Ghost Rider and Ballistic destroy the cars in the tunnel, but the demons are still alive. With a few well-placed shots, Ballistic ignites the gasoline spilling from the damaged cars, causing the tunnel to be engulfed in an enormous explosion. Ballistic congratulates herself and the Rider on a job well done, unaware that they are being watched from a nearby building by none other than Wolverine.

You don't touch a demon's ride, Ballistic!

THE ROADMAP

Ghost Rider was brought to the Top Cow Universe to stop Mephisto in the second chapter of the crossover, Devil's Reign: Cyblade/Ghost Rider # 1.

This story takes place between Ghost Rider (1990) # 85 and Ghost Rider (1990) # 86.

Mephisto was believed to be dead, killed by his son Blackheart in Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: The Dark Design.

CHAIN REACTION

As I said in the review for the previous chapter, the two Ghost Rider issues are all that I own of “Devil's Reign”. Re-reading this issue makes me curious about the rest of the story, I wonder if its anywhere near as entertaining as this one?

It's a safe bet that any Ghost Rider comic written by Warren Ellis is going to be interesting at the least, considering a few years before this he had produced two highly enjoyable fill-in stories for the character. Unlike the previous Cyblade team-up issue, Ballistic comes off as an interesting character that can hold her own with Ghost Rider; of course, I assume that's because this is Warren Ellis writing it and not because Ballistic was already a fully-realized and fleshed-out character in the pages of Cyberforce. Ellis makes me like Ballistic right away, and he once again does a good job writing Ghost Rider as well.

The best thing about this comic is the script, which is where Ellis excels with the dialogue between Ballistic and Ghost Rider. The plot is pretty much non-existent, nothing more than an excuse for 22 pages of explosions and gunfire. Ellis knows this, I think, and he fills the action scenes with some terribly witty banter between the two heroes. Even Ghost Rider, who at times can come off as overly-serious and dramatic, has some hilarious moments - such as when he tells Ballistic to get off his bike (“Nobody touches the bike.”) and his deadpan reactions to her snide comments. The whole “Decor Rider” bit is priceless, too. It's a bit surprising that a comic with demons, murder, and horrible things like that is so much FUN!

Helping to achieve that sense of fun is Billy Tan, who at the time was a Top Cow house artist that has since gone on to have a solid career at Marvel. His work here is very rough and very much of the company's house style (proto-Silvestri, see David Finch as well), but he gives it a manic energy that propels the action sequences along at a breakneck speed. He, too, gives us some good humor moments, particularly with Ghost Rider removing his own jaw following Ballistic's remark that she's try to get him to laugh if she wasn't afraid his lower jaw would fall off. I really like Tan's work in this comic, he fits Ghost Rider very well. In fact, he even manages to make that horrible red-and-yellow tracksuit costume look sort of cool!

I must admit, I would really like to read more issues of Ghost Rider and Ballistic blowing shit up and quipping with one another. This comic doesn't take itself too seriously, and in fact embraces the ridiculousness of the violence. For pure entertainment value, this one is a winner.

Call it a strategic withdrawal of forces?

Devil's Reign: Cyblade/Ghost Rider # 1

"Devil's Reign, Chapter 2"

Cover Date: January 1997
On Sale Date: November 1996

Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artists: Anthony Chun & David Finch
Inkers: Aaron Sowd & Joe Weems V
Letterer: Dennis Heisler
Colorist: Peter Steigerwald
Editor: David Wohl
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

Cover Artist: Anthony Chun

In a universe parallel to our own, Mephisto - former lord of Hell - watches over the new realm he has decided to conquer for his own. Having found a portal to this new universe, Mephisto began his plot by corrupting several of that world's heroes, and now plans on transforming it into a new Hell for him to rule. Even the most powerful of the world's heroes, the team Cyberforce, are falling apart - and Mephisto gloats as he turns his attention toward Cyblade, one of the last remaining members of Cyberforce. In her apartment, Cyblade thinks to herself about the ramifications of Heatwave, her team leader, and his disappearance. A feeling of dread comes over her, that things are going to get much worse.

In another universe, the one from which Mephisto originated, college student Dan Ketch is lectured by one of his professors on his poor attendance and falling grades. On his way home, Dan thinks about how his role as the Ghost Rider's human host had thrown his life into chaos. Meanwhile, in her East Village apartment, sorceress Jennifer Kale attempts to practice a spell of calming to help her relax following the recent revelation that she's related to Dan, John Blaze, and the Ghost Rider by blood. Her spell is interrupted by Eternity, the cosmic embodiment of the universe, who tells her that the Ghost Rider is needed and she must be the physical messenger. On the subway, Dan is approached by the cosmically powered Jennifer, who triggers his transformation against his will. The Ghost Rider is filled in on Mephisto's plan to subjugate the other world, and the Rider agrees to stop him. Kale opens a portal through which the Ghost Rider rides, draining her of Eternity's power and leaving her stranded on the subway car.

Back on the parallel Earth, Cyblade sees a flash of light elsewhere in the city from her balcony and suits up to investigate, unable to shake the feelings of dread she's experiencing. Mephisto, meanwhile, rages as he sees the Ghost Rider arriving on the new Earth through Eternity's portal. The Rider is immediately approached by the police, who are knocked unconscious by the vigilante's chain. While he ponders on the best way to find Mephisto, Ghost Rider is attacked by Cyblade, who has mistaken him for a villain. Throughout the battle, the Rider recognizes that she must be one of the new Earth's heroes, but quickly becomes annoyed at her attempts to stop him. Mephisto, realizing that the battle will soon turn to the heroes teaming up against him, sends forth demons to possess the surrounding police. The Ghost Rider saves Cyblade from one of the demons, and the two quickly decide that they are both heroes when the Rider explains his mission against Mephisto. After a short fight with the demons, the two are approached by another of the world's heroes, Killrazor, who has been corrupted to evil by Mephisto's power. Cyblade fights her former friend, beating him nearly to death before she is stopped by the Rider. Ghost Rider gives Killrazor his penance stare, which drives the laughing form of Mephisto from the former hero's body. Mephisto vanishes in an explosion that rocks the Rider to his feet, and when he rises he finds that Cyblade has disappeared as well, leaving him alone in an unfamiliar world.

Bare feet on the New York Subway?  Ewwww!

THE ROADMAP

This story takes place between Ghost Rider (1990) # 85 and Ghost Rider (1990) # 86.

"Devil's Reign" was an 8-part crossover between Marvel Comics and Top Cow Comics, with each one-shot chapter starring a team-up between Marvel and Top Cow characters. Ghost Rider will appear in the next chapter, Devil's Reign: Ghost Rider/Ballistic # 1, while Cyblade will appear next in chapter 7, Devil's Reign: Elektra/Cyblade # 1.

Mephisto was "killed" by his son, Blackheart, in Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: The Dark Design.

Jennifer Kale learned that she was the descendant of Noble Kale, the Ghost Rider, and cousin to Dan Ketch and John Blaze in Ghost Rider (1990) # 78.

Years later, the Johnny Blaze incarnation of Ghost Rider will encounter Witchblade and the Darkness from the Top Cow Universe in Unholy Union # 1, though whether that takes place in the same continuity as this remains unclear.

CHAIN REACTION

In a rare (and honestly surprising) move, Marvel decided to include the Ghost Rider in a major starring role during a crossover with another comic company. The results are mixed, mainly because the Ghost Rider comes off as such a better character than the one he's paired with here.

"Devil's Reign" was an ambitious 8-part crossover between Marvel Comics and Top Cow Comics, artist Marc Silvestri's division of the independent Image Comics company. Silvestri had grown to fame in the late 80's during his stints on Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine, and his first Top Cow series - Cyberforce, from which Cyblade originates - is an obvious clone of the X-Men, like many of the other Image characters of the time (see Youngblood, Brigade, and the Wildcats). Cyblade herself is a pretty clear rip-off of Marvel's Psylocke with a little bit of Elektra thrown in, and it's hard to take her seriously as a character when she's nothing more than a cipher of much better characters that have the benefit of years of good storytelling behind them. But despite this, the Top Cow books were heavy sellers in the late 90's, and this crossover was a major success for both companies.

What's surprising is Marvel's decision to give the starring roles on their part to characters that had somewhat fallen out of favor with the fans. Both the Silver Surfer and Ghost Rider were major characters in the story, and neither character had been burning up the charts by this point. While Wolverine was of course included, I'm honestly a bit shocked that the editors chose appropriate characters like the Surfer and Ghost Rider over more popular ones like Spider-Man or Gambit. But the character choices on Marvel's part truly do enhance the story, making it more than the gimmick that it obviously is intended to be.

It also serves to make Cyblade look really bad in comparison, given that Ghost Rider is an actual original and distinct character. What helps is that this issue is written by the regular Ghost Rider writer Ivan Velez, meaning that the character is written correctly and the storyline actually ties in to several ongoing plots in the main book. Mephisto, the crossover's antagonist, had been written out a few years prior to this in a Ghost Rider story, and it's good to have a follow-up with the appropriate characters involved.

The artwork for this issue is split in half by two Top Cow artists, one of which who has gone to much larger fame in recent years. The first artist is Anthony Chun, who handles the majority of the work, and I admit that his name was unfamiliar to me since I was never a regular Top Cow reader. But he does a good job illustrating this story, though it's a bit more mainstream super-hero styled than it probably should be, given the horror-centric plot elements. The other artist is Dave Finch, who became a hot commodity due to his work on New Avengers and Moon Knight, and fans of his work today would probably really enjoy what he brings to this issue. His work is more heavily stylized than Chun's, giving it the appropriate level of darkness and grittiness that's called for - his work on Dan's transformation into the Ghost Rider is particularly well done.

I admit to not having read any of "Devil's Reign" other than the two Ghost Rider specials, but what's found here is easily above average work. In the next special, Ghost Rider is paired with Ballistic, another female character cloned from Marvel but who is handled with a much more distinct voice than Cyblade in this issue.

She's fairly dismissive of the flaming skeleton monster, isn't she?

Ghost Rider (1990) # 86

Cover Art: Pop Mhan

Published: June 1997
Original Price: $1.95

Title: "Faultlines"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Pop Mhan
Inkers: Jason Martin & Andrew Pepoy
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

Two months have passed since Dan Ketch has let the Ghost Rider out of the Void. The Rider, having been trapped for so long, begins to wonder if he'll ever see the outside world again.  In Hell, Blackheart questions the Scarecrow, who failed in his mission to possess Dan's body.  Scarecrow's torment is given over to Black Rose, who is quite enthusiastic to go about her duties.  Meanwhile in the real world, Dan and Stacy visit Mrs. Ketch, who has been institutionalized after seeing Dan transform into the Ghost Rider. When Dan enters the room, she begins to scream.

Meanwhile, two men from Damage Control, an organization that cleans up after superhuman battles, investigate the Ghost Rider beginning with the site of his battle with the Furies.  They interview Carlie Colon, who tells them that the Ghost Rider only shows up to save people.  Elsewhere, Jennifer Kale gives John Blaze a haircut as part of a magic ritual intended to help locate his missing children.  The Damage Control agents interview Luz and Candido, with Luz stating the Ghost Rider is a demon out for her "pure, virginal flesh".  The agents are led to a group of children, who all have stories about the Ghost Rider, and finally to a church to interview a man name Toother who has turned his life around after receiving the Ghost Rider's Penance Stare.

In the top floor of a building the group of kids set the room on fire with firecrackers. Dan exits the subway and hears the screams, finally letting the Ghost Rider out. The Damage Control agents watch as the Rider rescues the children and rides off into the night.

ANNOTATIONS 

Ghost Rider last appeared in Devil's Reign: Ghost Rider/Ballistic # 1.

It was revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 39 that Francis Ketch had always known about Dan being the host for the Ghost Rider.  However, her memories were erased by Jennifer Kale in Ghost Rider (1990) # 79.

The Ghost Rider's battle with the Furies happened in Ghost Rider (1990) # 80.  Carlie Colon was possessed by one of those Furies in Ghost Rider (1990) # 79.

The disappearance of Blaze's children, Craig and Emma, doesn't make a lot of sense.  He states they disappeared during the "Siege of Darkness", but it actually happened after that crossover, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 50.  Blaze did later see the children in the company of the Wendigo, and they did indeed disappear again while he was unconscious in Blaze (1994) # 6.  However, John was reunited with this children in Blaze (1994) # 12 and the Wendigo departed.  That was their last appearance and Blaze's inner thoughts in Ghost Rider (1990) # 74 revealed that they had disappeared once again.

John Blaze and Jennifer Kale appear next in Ghost Rider (1990) # 88, where they are on the road searching for the missing Blaze children.

Ghost Rider actually saved Luz's life twice, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 70 and in Ghost Rider (1990) # 73.  Toother received the Penance Stare in Ghost Rider (1990) # 70.

REVIEW

Ivan Velez finally slows down his run for a breather issue that features Pop Mhan's strongest (and last) work on the title.

By this point Velez has been on the series for 17 issues, and the first 16 of those were really all one storyline, or at least a series of stories that all dovetailed into one another with very little breathing room in between.  From what I can gather through multiple readings, that year and a half of comics actually all took place within maybe a week of story time.  So if there's one thing the series definitely needed right now, it's to stop and take stock of everything that's happened, to effectively slow the hell down.  The result of that is an issue that's probably the best of Velez's run so far, and he's had some quite good issues already up to this point.  That's due to him taking the time to address the repercussions of his run on the characters, from Danny and his immediate supporting cast to the new ones that Velez created in his first issue. 

This comic, in fact, is full of call backs to that first issue of Velez's run, referencing events and characters that had fallen to the side with all the Furies and Scarecrows running around.  That's not to say that Velez's supporting cast are all that endearing, Luz and Candido in particular are two of the more annoying characters this series has seen, but it's still nice to acknowledge the world that exits around the Ghost Rider.  Using the narrative trick of the interview process, through Damage Control's insurance adjusters no less, is certainly effective.  It shows that the Ghost Rider has been interpreted in many varied ways, most of which are wrong but all with a hint of truth.

The artwork really shines in this comic, too, though it's noted that Pop Mhan was not a favorable part of the creative team at the time.  He started off way too exaggerated and cartoonish in his first issue, but his work has slowly toned that down over his brief run.  This issue had some fantastic visuals, and had he started with this approach from the beginning perhaps he would be more fondly remembered as a part of Ghost Rider creative history.  His backdrops for the interviews, each with an increasingly demonic image of the Rider in the background, are quite good.  He's still stuck with the red and yellow eyesore of an outfit, but he does get to show what his version of the black leather Ghost Rider could have been on that opening page. 

While Ghost Rider's sales were dropping like a stone during 1997 that doesn't mean there weren't some gems being produced.  This was certainly one of them.

Grade: B+

Ghost Rider (1990) # 77

Cover Art: Salvador Larroca

Published: September 1996
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Bitter Smoke"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Sergio Melia
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: James Felder
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

Francis Ketch has a nightmare about her daughter Barbara's grave being disturbed by images of crows.  Meanwhile, Ghost Rider sits atop the hospital that houses Capt. Dolan, his mind confused about the visions he's had since his fight with Vengeance. He transforms back into Dan, who breaks into a sweating seizure. Blaze picks him up, deciding to take him to a special kind of doctor.

The two arrive at the house of Dr. Strange, who tells Blaze that Dan is host to a Spirit of Vengeance that was once a mortal man that has had his memories erased. During the battle with Vengeance Ghost Rider received the Penance Stare, which has caused some of these memories to leak out.  Meanwhile, in Hell, Blackheart watches as his servants bring forth his bride - Black Rose.

Strange and Blaze take Dan to a young sorceress named Jennifer Kale, whose help is demanded by Strange. Jennifer releases the memories inside the Ghost Rider and he reveals his true name, Noble Kale. Simultaneously, Dan floats alone in the void until three beings called the Furies appear to kill him.

ANNOTATIONS 

The full story behind Noble Kale's origin is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 78 and Ghost Rider (1990) # 92.

The spell keeping the Ghost Rider's memories hidden from him was broken when he received the Penance Stare, courtesy of Vengeance, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 76.  Gerald Dolan was injured during the same fight, victim of a heart attack.

Ghost Rider has caught fleeting glimpses of his past memories on two other occasions: when he was killed by Blade in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 13 and when attempting to give the Penance Stare to Skinner in Ghost Rider (1990) # 64.

Francis Ketch's dream about Barbara's grave is actually a real event.  Barbara Ketch's reanimated body reappears at the end of Ghost Rider (1990) # 82 and it is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 83 that the Scarecrow has taken possession of the corpse.

Blackheart killed his father Mephisto in Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: The Dark Design and was first seen as the new King of Hell in Ghost Riders: Crossroads # 1.

The true identity of Black Rose is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 93.

REVIEW

Following the conclusion of the Vengeance arc, Ivan Velez dives into uncharted territory with his version of the Ghost Rider's origin.

I have a lot of fondness for this arc and for the Noble Kale origin story, even if at the time it seemed to fly completely in the face of everything that had come before during Howard Mackie's defining run.  At first glance it appears that Velez is trying to rewrite continuity, he's not been the best example of consistent characterization up to this point, but when everything is finally revealed it all does fit together with very little effort on the part of readers.  You have to kinda forgive some things, sure, but even Mackie had hinted at the Ghost Rider having an identity of his own before becoming a Spirit of Vengeance.  Velez takes that idea and runs with it, making this issue the start of what's really the writer's defining legacy on the series. 

I honestly can't really blame him for wanting to steer the series away from what Mackie had done, especially concerning Ghost Rider's origin and identity.  The whole Medallion of Power origin was such a huge misstep for the character that it actively hurt the ongoing mystery of the series, so quietly shoving it into the background for a much more personal take on the Ghost Rider's actual identity is honestly pretty refreshing.  There's a great hook to this issue, that Ghost Rider's memories are seeping out like poison that is affecting Danny in the real world, and it drags this series further into being a character-based drama in place of a superhero action series.

Unfortunately, those characters are absolutely all over the place, and its not to Velez's strength when he brings in guest-stars.  John Blaze is still wildly out of character, screaming and whining like a maniac at everyone.  I actually think that his use of Blaze is one of my least favorite aspects of Velez's run as a whole, it's so exaggerated and hostile that it's irritating to read.  Similarly, his use of Doctor Strange makes the character so inherently antagonistic to two heroes that had not long ago been pretty solid allies, though perhaps that's due to things that had gone on in Strange's own series at the time that I'm just not aware of.  Then there's Jennifer Kale, whose reappearance I appreciated even if it left me scratching my head about.  Why, I wonder, did Velez land on Kale as the linchpin character of this arc, tying her significantly to the Ghost Rider mythos in such a familial way?  Sure, it's nice to see her again, considering how much I enjoyed Steve Gerber's Man-Thing stories that introduced her, but she's essentially unrecognizable here.

I'm still appreciating Salvador Larroca's artwork, which has evolved in some pretty interesting ways during his extended tenure as the regular series artist.  The guy was consistent, with not a single fill-in issue during his run, and though he started as an obvious Jim Lee clone he grew as an artist very quickly.  His work at this point, which is nearing the end of his run, is more minimal than even a few issues ago.  He's not as interested in filling up the page with lines and allows the characters to get some definition, while also not scrimping on the details.  His rendition of Ghost Rider continues to be fantastic, and the splash page with him on the hospital roof is fantastic.

All in all, there's a lot to love about Velez's run on the series, despite its drawbacks and occasional characterization problems.  This issue in particular is one of the better ones of the run.

Grade: A-

Ghost Rider (1990) # 92

Cover Artist: Javier Saltares

Published: January 1998
Original Price: $1.99

Title: "The Last Temptation, Part 3: The Secret Fire"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Javier Saltares
Inker: Mark Texeira
Letterers: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

The Ghost Rider is in Hell, and after striking a deal with Blackheart he has regained his original human body and become Noble Kale once again.  Meanwhile, Danny Ketch awakens from a dream where he and his ex-girlfriend Stacy Dolan were married with a child and finds the ghost woman from the void hovering over his bed.  When he refuses to help the Ghost Rider now that he's free from the curse, she uses magic to channel Noble's memories through him, effectively making him relive Kale's life in the 18th century.  Noble/Danny tells her about his father, Pastor Kale, and the town of Patience in which they lived.  He remembers the woman, Magdelena, who they saved from death in the wilderness and how he fell in love with her despite his father's objections that she was from "savage stock".  When Magdelena became pregnant, Pastor Kale had Noble whipped and the baby taken away from them, causing Danny/Noble to declare his father evil.

Meanwhile, in Hell, Blackheart holds a banquet for the Ghost Rider and his four new Spirits of Vengeance (Wallow, Pao Fu, Verminous Rex, and Doghead).  When Blackheart explains that Ghost Rider will teach the four how to mete out vengeance, Wallow states that he should be the leader.  This causes Noble to jump the table and place a sword to his head, saying he will learn from him or be destroyed.

Back in the memory replay, the ghost woman forces Noble/Danny to relive when Magdelena was burned at the stake for being a witch.  When the ghost accuses him of cowardice and not being willing to help his wife, the memories show that Noble had been drugged, beaten, and imprisoned by his father.  Magdelena had learned Pastor Kale's secret, that he was a servant of Mephisto and had used black magic make the town prosper; because she discovered this, he had her burned as a witch.  When she died Magdelena cursed the town, calling upon the Furies to avenge her.  In response, Pastor Kale summoned Mephisto and gave his son over to the demon, who transformed him into the Ghost Rider.  Noble fought the Furies for three straight days before finally achieving victory, upon which Pastor Kale offered him his own infant son to feast upon.  This sickened Noble so much that he took his own life, causing both Mephisto and the angel Uriel to appear.  The demon and the angel struck a deal where neither side would claim Noble's soul, instead he would become the Spirit of Vengeance and would possess his descendants of each new generation.  Mephisto then cursed Pastor Kale with immortality, to watch over the family and mark each first born with the vengeance brand.  In the void, where Noble would stay when not on the Earthly realm, the ghost woman sees him visited by Uriel in secret.  There they learn the secret that had been kept hidden, that Noble has become the angel of death.  This causes the memory spell to end, and both Danny and the ghost woman appear back in his apartment.  They have the knowledge they need to defeat Blackheart and allow the Ghost Rider to claim his full power, god help them all.

ANNOTATIONS 

The story of Noble Kale and Magdelena was first told in Ghost Rider (1990) # 78, though some details were left out in that issue that were revealed here.

The Furies returned in the modern day, when Ghost Rider recovered the lost memories of Noble Kale, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 78.  Magdelena's ghost appeared and renounced her curse on the Kale bloodline in Ghost Rider (1990) # 80.

The ghost woman is revealed to be Danny's mother, Naomi Kale, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 93.

While Noble Kale was transformed into a Spirit of Vengeance, as shown years later in Ghost Rider (2006) # 33, it was the meddling of Mephisto and Uriel that formed his particular curse and bound him to the bloodline of his descendants.

Uriel, or another incarnation of him named Uri-El, appeared in Blaze (1994) # 12.

REVIEW

The classic Ghost Rider art team of Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira are reunited, but it's too little too late as the book barrels toward both the end of this story-arc and the series itself.

I'm going to spend another post talking mostly about the artwork, at least at the top of the review, because having the Saltares/Texeria team back together was a big damn deal to Ghost Rider readers at the time.  It was one of the many attempts that editor Tom Brevoort made to rescue the sales figures for the title, which had fallen from the top of the charts to being one of Marvel's lowest-selling books, along with bringing back the black leather outfit and classic logo.  Saltares came back to the series a few issues before, during the "Flashback" event, and while it was all really nice looking artwork (the best the series had seen in years, to be frank) it just didn't pop the way Saltares' work did in the series first year.  Texeira, his original finisher on that first run, was brought back onto the team with this issue, and it makes things look immediately familiar to fans of that particular time.  That's the magic that the editor was hoping to recreate, that fans would see a recognizable version of the once-popular character and pick the series up again.

While the line work looks fantastic, those two artists together could draw Ghost Rider on a napkin and have it look like a million bucks, the art falls down with a crucial component.  Colorist Brian Buccellato jacks the contrast to the max while coloring everything way too bright and vibrant, which robs the artwork of the darkness and heavy blacks established by Texeria's finishes.  Take a look at how Gregory Wright colored the Saltares/Texeira team in the early 1990s or how Dan Brown tackled it 10 years after this when the art team reunites for a third time.  The right colors make this art team one of the best in the business, and Buccellato completely overpowers the pencils and inks with too many oranges and yellows.  It's a shame, too, because the art provides some fantastic visuals, particularly Noble's flashback transformation into the Ghost Rider and fight with the Furies.

Ivan Velez continues to make this arc a big damn deal in its own right with all of the upheavals and revelations he's packing into each issue.  Ghost Rider reclaims his original body, though until Texeria steps in with his finishes I couldn't see the resemblance between Noble and Danny that everyone mentions in the text.  The extended flashback sequence finally puts all the pieces together for Velez's origin story, and though it doesn't jive AT ALL with anything that had come before his run, whether it was by Marc DeMatteis or Howard Mackie, it's still a satisfying part of the story Velez has been telling for the last two years.  The angel Uriel seems a bit tacked on, because unlike Mephisto and the Furies he hadn't been established in the earlier origin teases in Velez's run, but it doesn't feel out of place.  Everything has this momentum to it, the stuff in Hell with Blackheart and the ghost woman, and it's the most exciting and interesting this series had been in quite a long time.

"The Last Temptation" is a forgotten piece of Ghost Rider history, since it was at the tail-end of a run that got the title cancelled, but it's well worth reading.  Just don't go into it cold, because it's absolutely the climactic story for a writer that had been playing the long game with his plotting for over 20 issues.

Grade: A-

Ghost Rider (1990) # 83

Cover Artist: Pop Mhan

Published: March 1997
Original Price: $1.95

Title: "House of Burning Souls"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Pop Mhan
Inkers: John Lowe & Jason Martin
Letterers: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: James Felder
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

The Ghost Rider laughs as he chases down a mugger, telling him to do no more evil after catching him.  Ghost Rider stops in an alley and ponders the unfairness of his curse and if he should relinquish his body, but then reconsiders when he remembers what it would do to his human host.  He transforms back into Danny Ketch, who realizes he is near his mother's house.  When he goes to see her, however, he finds her on the floor in tears with a strange package.  She had been visited by her daughter, Danny's dead sister Barbara, who left them a rotted human heart in a box with a note promising to return.

Meanwhile, in an abandoned auto junkyard, Brother Voodoo and the vampire Lilith investigate the disappearance of seven corpses from Cypress Hills Cemetery.  They find six of the bodies, which have been partially eaten, unaware that the seventh missing corpse is Barbara Ketch who is watching them from afar.  With her makeshift pitchfork, Barbara sends a flock of crows to attack Voodoo and Lilith, prompting the vampire to call forth her own army of rats to fight.  Elsewhere, Jennifer Kale returns to her destroyed apartment with John Blaze close behind, nagging her about helping him find his missing kids.  She kicks him out of the apartment but tells him to call her tomorrow.

Back in Cypress Hills, Danny takes his distraught mother to stay with Stacy Dolan, who tries to get Danny to call the police.  He tells her that it's a family problem and has to deal with it himself.  On the way back to his mother's house he's confronted by Barbara, who attempts to kill him with her pitchfork.  He realizes quickly that the Scarecrow, who he last saw in Hell, has taken over his sister's body.  When Danny threatens to transform into Ghost Rider, Scarecrow plants the seed of doubt that any harm he does to him may harm her as well.  Blaze drives by and grabs Danny, saving him from Scarecrow's flock of birds, and the two brothers take refuge inside Mrs. Ketch's home.  While Danny goes to check the back door, he notices something odd.  Blaze, then, is knocked unconscious from behind by Danny, whose body is now possessed by the Scarecrow.  In Hell, Blackheart and Black Rose watch and laugh, confident that their plan is working.

ANNOTATIONS 

Ghost Rider last appeared in Marvel Fanfare (1997) # 3.

Danny Ketch last faced the Scarecrow in Ghost Riders: Crossroads # 1; in that same issue he was reunited with his dead sister Barbara and was forced to leave her behind in Hell along with the Scarecrow.  Scarecrow was sent to Earth by Blackheart to reanimate Barbara's corpse in Ghost Rider (1990) # 77 and in Ghost Rider (1990) # 81 he sent a flock of crows to attack Francis Ketch.

The Lilith in this issue is the daughter of Dracula that first appeared in 1974's Giant-Size Chillers # 1; not to be confused with Lilith, Mother of Demons, who first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 28.

Brother Voodoo met Danny Ketch and the Ghost Rider once before in Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 7.

Jennifer Kale learned that she was a cousin to Dan Ketch and John Blaze in Ghost Rider (1990) # 78 and she agreed to help Blaze find his missing children in Ghost Rider (1990) # 81.

REVIEW

The Scarecrow makes a truly horrific return as Velez starts to pay off a lot of his simmering subplots from the last few months.

I have a confession to make: there was a period in the mid-1990s that I actually stopped reading Ghost Rider.  When Howard Mackie left the book it was coupled with my waning interest in comics as a whole, so I dropped everything I was reading (which by that point wasn't much) and walked away from my favorite character.  Fast forward about two years later and I find myself wandering into a comic shop while out with some friends.  I wandered over to the new comic shelf to see what Ghost Rider was up to, checking in on my old buddy, and I found two issues on the shelf.  One was issue # 79, the debut of the yellow and red costume, and this one, issue # 83.  I couldn't resist the temptation and picked up both to take home and read.  Issue # 79 wasn't that big a departure from what I was used, it still had Salvador Larroca on artwork, and though I was a little put off by the garish costume I was digging the story.  It did not prepare me for what I was going to find in THIS issue, though.

I hated this comic when I first read it, mainly as a reaction to Pop Mhan's artwork.  A lot of fans STILL hate this brief run of issues due to the art, and I totally get why readers used to Texeira and Larroca would have that opinion.  Looking at them now, though, I think I've come around to appreciating Mhan's work on the series more than I did back in the day.  The previous issue, the infamous one with Devil Dinosaur, is still uniformly terrible, don't get me wrong.  But this one, when paired with the really suitable inks of John Lowe, perfectly captures what is actually an extremely disturbing and scary storyline.  Everything is really exaggerated and stylized, of course, but look past that to some of the individual panels.  The shot of Scarecrow unleashing his crows in the junkyard, with the lightning flashing behind him, is amazingly terrifying.  The way Mhan draws Ghost Rider himself, with his cartoonishly grotesque skull, is offset by the amazing way he conveys the flames of his head and motorcycle.  I LOVE how Mhan draws fire, it has such motion and energy to it.  The artwork trails off again for the back 1/4th of the issue, when Jason Martin takes over the inks and makes things a lot more sketchy and blocky, but those first 16 or so pages look really, really nice.

The story, too, takes a real sharp turn with this issue.  Velez had given us two pretty long arcs in his run so far, the Vengeance story and the Noble Kale/Furies saga, and both had been pretty standard vigilante/supernatural superhero fare.  Instead of keeping that "par for the course" mentality, Velez drives the metaphorical motorcycle right over the edge into psychological horror for this third arc.  The Scarecrow suffers a bit from a wild characterization inconsistency, but I can deal with that when you've got the villain reanimating the corpse of Danny's dead sister, which makes for some really disturbing implications.  Velez makes an unfortunate decision to clutter up the story with two 1970s horror comic castoffs, Brother Voodoo and Lilith, which flags up an issue with his plots for the last few months.  He littered the previous issues with Valkyrie, Devil Dinosaur, and Howard the Duck, the former of which offered absolutely nothing to the story she was in.  Maybe editorial forced these characters on Velez to try and drum up interest in them?  I know the guest-stars stopped appearing once the book's editorship changed from Felder to Brevoort.

Regardless, "House of Burning Souls" sticks out in my memory as the comic that brought me back to Ghost Rider for the remainder of Velez's run.  I think it's a pretty great comic with only a couple of unfortunate creative decisions.

Grade: B+

Ghost Rider (1990) # 91

"The Last Temptation, Part 2: Down Among the Dead Men"

Cover Date: December 1997
On Sale Date: October 1997

Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Javier Saltares
Inker: Andrew Pepoy
Letterers: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

Cover Artist: Javier Saltares

The Ghost Rider, near death after having his heart ripped out by Pao Fu, has been left to lay alone in Hell, visited by the ghostly woman that had visited him previously in the Void.  Elsewhere in Hell, Blackheart approaches Michael Badilino and offers to send him back to Earth as Vengeance, but Badilino refuses the offer and his torture resumes.  The mysterious woman tells Ghost Rider, addressing him by his real name Noble, to think before he makes his next choice.  The Rider's body is pulled by demonic hands and delivered to Blackheart's throne room, where the Hell-Lord orders his consort Black Rose to share some of her power with the Rider so they can talk.  She does so, which awakens Ghost Rider just in time to see Blackheart's four ersatz Spirits of Vengeance arrive: Doghead, Wallow, Verminous Rex, and Pao Fu, who holds Ghost Rider's heart.  She delivers it to Blackheart, who explains to the Rider that as long as he holds his heart the Ghost Rider is his to command.

Meanwhile, in the Void, Danny Ketch waits to regain his body after the Ghost Rider is finished on Earth, unaware of what has happened.  He's visited by the ghost woman, who tells him that Blackheart has set things in motion that will affect both Dan and the Ghost Rider.  Danny becomes angry, stating that he wishes he were free of the Ghost Rider.  The woman sighs and tells him that his wish is about to come true.

Back in Hell, a weakened Ghost Rider is forced to watch as Blackheart condemns the soul of a woman to the pits, the woman that caused Doghead's mortal death.  Blackheart explains that he is going to renegotiate all of the treaties with other realms that had been forged by his father, Mephisto, including the one regarding the Ghost Rider and his bloodline.  He introduces the new Spirits of Vengeance and says that he wants the Ghost Rider to lead them; and to sweeten the pot, he will offer up Pao Fu to become the Rider's wife.  Meanwhile, back on Earth, Stacy Dolan takes her frustration out on an illegal gun runner.  She talks with Ski, who she still has feelings for even though she truly loves Danny.  Ski surprises her by asking her to marry him.

In Hell, Pao Fu reveals herself as the woman that Ghost Rider attempted to save but failed, and that his was the only kind face she ever knew.  She is in love with him, but he refuses her, telling the four Spirits that Blackheart is using them.  They all disagree, praising Blackheart for giving each of them what they truly desired.  Blackheart then sweetens the deal even more by offering to break the bloodline curse, freeing Noble Kale's descendants from hosting the Spirits of Vengeance.  While this is happening, the Void begins to break apart around Danny, and the ghost woman disappears after calling Dan her "baby boy".  Blackheart reveals that he has recovered Noble Kale's mortal body, and offers it to the Ghost Rider as a gift for accepting the deal.  Even though he knows that Blackheart has ulterior motives, Ghost Rider accepts the deal with one condition, that he be given Black Rose as a wife along with Pao Fu.  Blackheart laughs and accepts, tossing Ghost Rider's heart back to him.  The Rider approaches his human body and places the heart inside.  In the void, Danny feels himself dying as the dimension is destroyed around him, but he suddenly finds himself waking up in his own bed.  Finally, in Hell, Blackheart and the Spirits of Vengeance gather around Noble Kale, now in his own body again with the Brand of Vengeance blazing on his chest.

Low blow, Blackheart, try to keep the gloves up!

THE ROADMAP

Lian, the girl who became Pao Fu, died in Ghost Rider's arms in Ghost Rider (1990) # 88.

Doghead's death was caused by the woman condemned to Hell in this issue during Ghost Rider (1990) # 89.

The identity of the ghost woman is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 93.

Vengeance destroyed himself to kill Anton Hellgate in Ghost Rider (1990) # 76.  He appears next, still in Hell as Blackheart's prisoner, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 93.

CHAIN REACTION

"The Last Temptation" is living up to its promise to completely upend the book's status quo with an issue that has little action but a whole load of very interesting developments.

Ivan Velez's run always had a good balance of action and introspection, plenty of character-building quiet moments in between the fight scenes.  This issue, though, is a real change of pace for the series, because it deals completely with conversations.  This was the issue, honestly, that really sold me on this arc as a whole, given that the first chapter wasn't bad so much as it was just setting up the conflicts we see played out here.  Blackheart really gets a chance to shine as more than just a Mephisto stand-in, the new Spirits of Vengeance all get some excellent definition to their characters, and the mystery of the ghost woman starts to become clearer.  The faux Spirits of Vengeance, in particular, get a fantastic summation in one panel for each Spirit when they reveal what Blackheart has truly given to them.  Pao Fu: "Redemption.  Vengeance."  Doghead: "Relevance. Vengeance." Verminous Rex: "Respect.  Vengeance."  Wallow: "Righteousness.  Vengeance."  These villains are getting fleshed out properly and becoming more than just bad guys for Ghost Rider to beat up, their nuances are coming to the fore.

I'm hard pressed to remember a time when this Ghost Rider was as defeated and weakened as he is in this issue, and that along with his acceptance of Blackheart's "deal" really serves to humanize a character that had long been defined by his inhuman characteristics.  That's actually another hallmark of Velez's time as the title's writer, he was able to humanize Ghost Rider in some really unexpected ways, such as the cruelty he started to display after he learned his origin story.  The Ghost Rider that he'd been developing over the last twenty issues is one who could accept Blackheart's deal without it breaking the character, because the Ghost Rider of Howard Mackie's tenure would never have accepted.  That's not to say that Velez's version isn't valid, because he put in the time and the effort to get to this point and have it all flow naturally.  Ghost Rider's attitude and Danny's rejection of the Ghost Rider, both of which lead to the dissolution of their connection, are things that Velez had been building to for nearly two years, and it starts the conclusion of some really interesting character evolution for them both.

Of course, all of this is benefited greatly by the presence of Javier Saltares on art.  This title finally feels like its hitting the high notes again after months of sub-par artwork from some wildly inappropriate artists.  While next issue reunites the Saltares/Texeira team, this issue has Andrew Pepoy on finishes for Saltares, and while its not quite the same as when Tex is involved its still some high quality work.  Saltares definitely sells how far Ghost Rider has fallen through his depiction of the hands clawing at his body, the hellfire gone from his skull and gaping hole in his chest.  I am one of many readers who appreciated editor Tom Brevoort's attempts to right this ship by getting Saltares back on board, and I can't help but think if it had just been six months earlier maybe this series would have made it to issue # 100.  Just look at that cover, it's magnificent, and it jumped off the shelves when I first saw it.

"The Last Temptation" winds up being Velez's swan song on the series, and it's definitely proving to be a wild and unexpected ride.  It's an arc I highly recommend, this issue being the particular stand-out.

Unexpected loopholes in a deal with the Devil? Never!

Ghost Rider (1990) # 87

Cover Artist: Karl Kerschl

Published: August 1997
Original Price: $1.99

Title: "Wallow"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Karl Kerschl
Inker: Al Milgrom
Letterers: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

A young woman named Melissa stands on the edge of a rooftop and is compelled to jump off the building by a sinister ghost with a doll's face.  In the alley below, Ghost Rider chases down two muggers and gives them the Penance Stare.  He finds Melissa, barely alive from her fall, and rushes her to the nearest hospital where he demands she receive medical attention.  The ghost, Wallow, has followed Melissa to the hospital and his presence begins to make everyone in the building start to feel hopeless and suicidal.  Ghost Rider rides across the rooftops and thinks that he should relinquish control back to Danny Ketch, but changes his mind and decides to wait one more day.

A young homeless man named Michael has a nightmare about when his father shot and killed his mother, then tried to jump off a building with Michael and his sister Melissa before he was shot by the police.  Michael is attacked by Wallow, who claims to be the boy's father there to save him from the cruelties of life.  Michael runs to a church but is pulled back by Wallow, only to be rescued by the Ghost Rider.  Wallow flees and Ghost Rider demands answers from Michael, who tells the Rider about his father and sister.  At the hospital, Wallow goes to Melissa in her hospital room and hands her a pair of scissors to kill herself with.  Ghost Rider and Michael arrive at the hospital just as Melissa stabs Wallow with the scissors, telling him that she hates him for what he did to her mother.  Ghost Rider grabs Wallow by the doll mask on his face and gives him the Penance Stare, which turns him into ash.  Later, in Hell, Wallow is brought before Blackheart, who claims to have a deal for him.

ANNOTATIONS 

Wallow returns as one of Blackheart's Spirits of Vengeance in Ghost Rider (1990) # 90.

A character named "Wallow" appeared in the 2007 Ghost Rider film as one of Blackheart's minions, the Hidden.  Other than the name, the film character is totally unrelated from the Wallow that was introduced in this issue.

This issue's "Ghost Rider" logo reverts back to the original one that was first used on the cover of Ghost Rider (1990) # 1.  The logo was last seen on the cover of Ghost Rider (1990) # 76.

REVIEW

After the events of last month's Flashback issue, Ivan Velez starts the build-up to his next major story-arc with this first in a series of seemingly unconnected oneshots.

If there's one thing I really appreciate about this era of the series under Ivan Velez, its that he wasn't afraid to create and introduce new villains for Ghost Rider to fight.  Granted, it meant that a lot of the classic villains like Blackout and Deathwatch were dropped completely, but getting some new blood in the series by way of interesting new villains was appreciated, at least by me.  This issue introduces Wallow, the first in the set of four new villains that Velez will use to create Blackheart's "Spirits of Vengeance" during "The Last Temptation" mega-arc later in the year.  Out of all those new villains, which also included Pao Fu, Verminous Rex, and Doghead, Wallow is probably the most interesting as a concept.  Having a villain that revolves around suicide is always a tricky proposition that come across as insensitive and callous, sort of like when Howard Mackie introduced a villain whose literal name was Suicide, but Velez was able to side step that problem with Wallow.  Making him a villain that's an actual ghost, one that doesn't rely on physical means to harm its victims, may not make him much of a threat to Ghost Rider, sure.  But Wallow's power comes from his ability to instill despair just by being in his general vicinity, and it adds to the character's creepy vibe.

All told, though, this is a pretty simple done-in-one story that we've not seen much in the pages of Ghost Rider for quite a long time.  It's really refreshing, honestly, after the long stretch of continuous issue-to-issue storytelling that's dominated Velez's run up to this point.  I think the Flashback issue, and the change in editorial hands to Tom Brevoort, have given Velez some much-needed focus on where he wanted to take the series.  This issue, which on the surface is a pretty breezy story that doesn't seem very consequential to the overall plot of the series, is actually a fairly depressing affair and the start of a really dark trend in the subject matter of Velez's issues (with the next couple of stories dealing with human slave trafficking and immigrant discrimination, all cheery topics).

The artwork is by a fill-in artist this month, the always welcome Karl Kerschl.  The artist was still at the start of his career, but had in fact drawn some of the Toy Biz action figure tie-in comics a few years before, so he has at least a small prior involvement with Ghost Rider.  While its true that he's saddled with the terrible red and yellow racing outfit and blocky red motorcycle, he is able to get a lot of mileage out of the truly wonderful design he gave to Wallow.  The character is downright creepy, yet so simple: just a dark brown, featureless form that's accented with a small doll's mask on his face.  The doll mask does all of the emoting, and it works so well visually.  My only problem with the artwork is with the colors, if I'm being honest, because I think Brian Buccellato makes his series way too bright when it should be bathing in blacks and dark blues.  Of course, there's that red and yellow costume monstrosity squatting in the heart of the comic, so I guess he's just playing his color palate off of that.

Overall, "Wallow" is the most successful issue that Velez has turned out in quite a while, and it's a very welcome change of pace.

Grade: B-

Ghost Rider (1990) # 71

Cover Artist: Salvador Larroca

Published: March 1996
Original Price: $1.95

Title: "Blue Shadows"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Salvador Larroca

Inker: Sergio Melia
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Ashley Posella
Editor: James Felder
Executive Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

While Ghost Rider sits with this thoughts in a Bronx cemetery, a nearby police chase ends with the criminals car speeding onto a sidewalk full of innocent people.  Ghost Rider intervenes, saving a mother and her child, while trying to understand the fear he instills in the people he's trying to save.  He stops the two criminals and gives them the penance stare, causing the two reckless cops to fire upon him.  He questions whether or not he's punished the wrong people, then tells the cops to be more careful in the future before departing on his bike.

Meanwhile, a collection of mob bosses working for Anton Hellgate have gathered to meet with their superior, Snowblind, who demands a 25% increase in their earnings.  When Snowblind leaves, someone else arrives and murders the criminals.  Later, Stacy Dolan and Jim Sokolowski are awakened by a call alerting them to the murders.  They arrive at the Paralux Hotel to investigate and find more charred bodies and the words "no penance" written on the wall.

Danny Ketch wakes up from a nightmare in his bed and realizes that he's late for his class.  He rushes outside and jumps on his bike, watched by Choocho and his friend.  The two punks then meet with Makusa, a mid-level criminal who hires them to kill a young activist named Melissa Maro, who has been stirring up trouble for Snowblind.  At Rearden College, Danny arrives late for his class and sits next to Melissa, who reluctantly helps him with notes.  The two go to a nearby diner and discuss their studies, with Danny admitting that he might like to become a social worker.  Despite shooting down his advances, Melissa does accept the offer of a ride home from Danny and the two get on his motorcycle.  Before they can leave, Choocho and his friend arrive with masks on and shoot both Danny and Melissa multiple times.

ANNOTATIONS 
Snowblind first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 21 and was killed by Deathwatch in Ghost Rider (1990) # 24.  Prior to this issue he was revived as an nonliving slave by Anton Hellgate, as revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 74.

The identity of the "No Penance" killer is revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 73.

Stacy Dolan discovered that Dan was the Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18. She then helped the NYPD Task Force to capture him in Ghost Rider (1990) # 61.

REVIEW

After last issue's introduction to the new setting and supporting cast, new writer Ivan Velez gets down to business with his first story-arc that brings back a few different villains from the past.

If you asked me to take a wild guess at which Mackie villain Velez would choose to bring back in his first story arc, I probably would have said someone like Blackout or Scarecrow.  Instead, color me surprised as hell to see Snowblind show back up after a pretty definitive death some 50 issues previous.  I wasn't disappointed, I always thought Snowblind was an interesting villain that didn't get utilized much before shuffling off the mortal coil, and he definitely works in the context of the story that Velez is beginning to tell.  Snowblind is a mid-level underboss for bigger bads, first with Deathwatch and now with Hellgate (another Mackie villain I was surprised to see get a stay of execution, so to speak).  Snowblind naturally still doesn't have much in the way of a personality, and Larroca's artwork makes him appear about 20 years younger than when he last appeared, but it's still nice to see an early villain make a reappearance.

The subplots and character developments are what drive this issue, though, and it's a mixed bag.  Velez has an immediately engaging take on Ghost Rider as a character, with his monologues and thought narratives putting off a flashing neon sign that signals where the writer is going to take things.  Ghost Rider has always questioned why people fear him when his actions should speak more than his appearance, but Velez ups the ante with GR actually wondering why he's playing the hero at all when all gets in return is hatred and screams of fear.  I really like this new side of Ghost Rider, one that's starting to chafe at his mission and is becoming more cynical because of it.  The way he handles the two cops, who yes were obviously the real instigators of the chaos at the start of the issue, was great.  Where Velez tends to struggle is with his dialogue, especially when everyone is yelling things in BIG BOLDED EXCLAMATIONS with spiky speech bubbles.  Still, these are early days for him, and a little stilted or overwrought dialogue is acceptable when the story itself is solid, which in this case it certainly is.

Salvador Larroca is performing as expected with his usual fantastic artwork, and when I was re-reading this I was amazed that he was allowed to have such a long, uninterrupted run on this title when he was obviously becoming a hot commodity within Marvel.  He has improved phenomenally in the last 20 issues, and his work has become less stiff and a helluva lot more dynamic.  That dynamism does lead to a few points of confusion, but that's acceptable when you see shots like the one of GR saving the woman and her baby.  Where the comic falls down artistically is with the colors, which relies way too much on the computer enhancements that were just coming to the fore in the industry.  Everything is garish and way oversaturated, and it really detracts from the enjoyment of the art.  I will say that at least they started coloring Ghost Rider's flames a normal yellow and orange again instead of that god awful digital flame effect that showed up in the last couple of issues.

This was where the Velez run really took off, and from here it spirals out into a whole load of subplots and action pieces that run for around a year.  Good solid start to a good solid run on the book.

Grade: B-

Ghost Rider (1990) # 88

Cover Artist: Josh Hood

Published: Sept. 1997
Original Price: $1.99

Title: "A Kind Face"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Josh Hood
Inker: Derek Fisher
Letterers: Richard Starkings & Emerson Miranda
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

A gang of Chinese slave traffickers make their way through Chinatown with a van full of young women.  When their leader, Lau Tak Wah, stops for cigarettes he is confronted by the Ghost Rider, who has come to exact vengeance on the criminal.  When the slavers open fire on Ghost Rider, one of their captives named Lian sees her opportunity to escape.  She runs out of the van and into the subway, but she is seen by Lau.  Ghost Rider chains up the gang, but before he can give them his Penance Stare the police arrive and open fire.  Ghost Rider leaves, telling them to do no more evil, and the slavers are taken to jail.  On a nearby rooftop, Ghost Rider transforms back into Danny Ketch.

Lian rides on the subway, remembering how she and her young brother bought passage on a ship from China to America.  Her brother died from sickness during the voyage, and Lian was pressed into slavery.  She is seen on the street by one of Lau's men, but she manages to hide from him in an alley.  Later that night, a very ill Lian attempts to get food from Luz's bodega, but she is chased out of the store just as Danny enters.  While Danny wonders where his brother has disappeared to, John Blaze and Jennifer Kale are on the road in search of Blaze's missing children.  When Danny leaves the store he gives Lian an apple and walks away, just as two of Lau's men arrive in a van to take Lian captive.  Danny transforms into Ghost Rider, and after the two men shoot at him he disables them with his Penance Stare.  He turns to find Lian on the ground, having been hit by one of the bullets.  Ghost Rider scoops her up to get her to a hospital, but is too late.  She dies in his arms, realizing that the Rider's skull hides "a kind face".  Later, in the morgue, Blackheart visits Lian's body and offers her a chance to live again, resurrecting her as Pao Fu, the Goddess of Vengeance.

ANNOTATIONS 

Pao Fu returns as one of Blackheart's Spirits of Vengeance in Ghost Rider (1990) # 90, where she exacts her revenge on Lau Tak Wah.

Jennifer Kale agreed to help John Blaze find his missing kids in Ghost Rider (1990) # 86.

REVIEW

Ivan Velez turns in another stand-alone story that features some of the worst artwork I've ever seen on this series.

It's bad when an artist makes me long for Pop Mhan to return, but that's exactly how Josh Hood's work makes me feel.  I fail to understand why Marvel insisted on using artists with this style on this character so often, and it makes Javier Saltares' return in the Minus 1 issue stand out even more as an oasis of quality in a sea of eyesores.  Proportions are off, everything is over-rendered with lines everywhere, and the characters all look like children.  The worst offense is the way Ghost Rider himself is drawn, he's the size of the Hulk and wearing so much padding that he looks like a fiery Michelin Man.  I can't get over this, at least Pop Mhan had some qualities I enjoyed, but Hood just does not work on this series. 

The story for this issue doesn't quite work either, and maybe that's because Velez doesn't really excel at the done-in-one style of writing.  Before the last few issues, each issue of this series led into one another even when arcs were beginning and ending.  It made things feel like one big epic storyline in the life of the characters, and a lot of the progression he was making has ground to a screeching halt.  There is, of course, still the sense that this is all building to something, with Blackheart going around recruiting each of the new villains being introduced, but it's not enough to make this story in itself into anything interesting.

Lian's story is sad and hits all the right sympathetic notes, I like her recognition of Ghost Rider having "a kind face" as she dies, but the story surrounding her just feels so inconsequential.  At least last issue's Wallow story felt like it belonged in this series, this one just feels out of place.  Ghost Rider has never been a series with much of a social conscience, and throwing in an immigrant sex slave plot doesn't seem like a logical progression.  Maybe I'm being too harsh on it, though, because now that I think about it all of Velez's new villains in this era have a dark, sociological aspect to them.  Wallow as all about suicide, Pao Fu in this issue has the slavery angle, and Doghead next issue deals with the treatment of immigrants. 

Still, combined with the inappropriate artwork, this comic just fails for me on every level.  I welcome Javier Saltares coming back next issue, because no matter what the story is like at least the artwork will be fantastic.

Grade: D+

Werewolf by Night (1998) # 6

Cover Artist: Leonardo Manco

Published: July, 1998
Original Price: $2.99

Title: "Love is Colder Than Death, Part 1"
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Artist: Leonardo Manco
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Marianna Manco
Editor: Joe Andreani
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

A rash of brutal killings has been happening in New York City, and Jack Russell - the Werewolf by Night - has been tasked by his mysterious benefactor into stopping the murderer.  To do this, he visits the Underworld, a bar that is frequented by supernatural creatures.  At the bar he is assaulted by three vampires, who are insulted by the presence of a werewolf.  The fight is halted by the Ghost Rider, who has arrived to talk with Jack about the killings.  The two talk about their recent changes, namely Russell having freed himself from the control of the wolf demon and Ghost Rider having ascended as the new king of Hell.  Despite Jack's insistence, Ghost Rider refuses to help him, stating that he cannot show favoritism amongst his charges.  Jack gets up angry and leaves, while Ghost Rider tells him that he doesn't have to go farther from the room to find his killer.  That night, Jack locks himself in the sewer during his werewolf transformation, and when he awakens the next day he finds a dead body in the room with him.

ANNOTATIONS 

Ghost Rider last appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 93 and appears next in Ghost Rider: Finale.

Ghost Rider ascended to the throne of Hell at the end of Ghost Rider (1990) # 93, which was the final published issue of the series.  The actual final issue, # 94, went unpublished for nearly a decade before it was finally released in 2007 as Ghost Rider: Finale.  This issue falls some time during the events of Ghost Rider: Finale, before he abdicates the throne to Vengeance and frees the souls from Hell.  Ghost Rider would then appear back on Earth in Peter Parker: Spider-Man (1990) # 93, having been removed from Hell by the return of Mephisto.

Ghost Rider and Werewolf by Night had met several times before, most notably during Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 107-112 and Ghost Rider (1990) # 55.

REVIEW

Ghost Rider makes his only guest-appearance as the king of Hell in the final issue of this series, which was part of the doomed Strange Tales imprint.

I was a big fan of the Strange Tales books when they were released, with the promise that they would be a comparable match to DC's thriving Vertigo line of mature horror titles.  That was the intent behind Strange Tales at first, a competing imprint that would reimagine some of their horror characters for a mature readership.  Things started off very strong with some great creators like J.M. DeMatteis and Liam Sharpe on Man-Thing, Warren Ellis and Ariel Olivetti on Satana, Doug Moench and Tommy Edwards on Moon Knight, and Paul Jenkins and Leonardo Manco on Werewolf by Night.  Then, the publisher got cold feet in the midst of Marvel's bankruptcy, and suddenly the mature reader books had to meet all-ages requirements laid out by the Comics Code Authority.  Warren Ellis pulled his Satana series due to an unwillingness to compromise and the other titles came out with little fanfare.  That's not to say they weren't good, all three launch books for Strange Tales were great comics (especially Man-Thing), but you could tell that the creators were being held back from what they originally wanted to do.

Still, Strange Tales was the closest we ever got to a Vertigo style Marvel line, and Paul Jenkins was a great choice to take on Werewolf by Night.  Jack Russell was one of my favorite characters from the Marvel horror group and Jenkins had just finished a phenomenally great run on Hellblazer (still my favorite run from that series).  This sixth issue brought in Ghost Rider for a guest-spot, and in a normal Marvel comic that would mean a punch-up against a demon or something, but not here.  Instead, it's just a conversation in a bar between a werewolf and a biker with his head on fire, and it works so well.  These aren't monsters pontificating at one another, they're old friends having a conversation, discussing their lives and the politics around their situation.  It's mature in tone if not in content, and it was a perfect bridge for what Ghost Rider's status quo should have been coming out of the final issue.  It makes me wish we had got to read more appearances from Noble Kale during this time before the reset button was hit and he was pushed into obscurity.

Jenkins was paired with another one of my favorites for this series, artist Leonardo Manco.  He had been the artist a few years earlier on Warren Ellis' Hellstorm run, and his work had evolved a lot since that time.  He still had the scratchy, dirty style from before, but it was a lot tighter and just plain easier to read.  His Ghost Rider actually looks scary and horrific, not at all like what we'd been seeing in recent times from artists like Salvador Larroca.  He sells the conversation scene at the bar, making every panel menacing and dire, and he gets across Ghost Rider's growing impatience.  Plus, he draws a great action scene between Jack and the vampires, too.

Werewolf by Night, like a lot of comics from this time, was cut down way too soon.  The series would see two more chapters in the "Strange Tales" anthology, which ended before this story arc could conclude.  It remains a sad "if only" tale, but it produced eight issues of high-quality writing and artwork.  I don't just recommend this issue, I recommend finding the whole series and giving it a read.

Grade: A+