Ghost Rider Chronology: 1994-1995

"Siege of Darkness" finishes up at the start of 1994, which results in the death of Ghost Rider and Vengeance taking over his role in the main Ghost Rider series and in Marvel Comics Presents until Ghost Rider # 50 later in the year (so the chronology that starts with Ghost Rider # 46 through to # 50 is actually for Vengeance as the "new Ghost Rider").  Spirits of Vengeance becomes a Blaze series in all but name until that book's end and the launch of the actual solo Blaze series, which lasts for only a year.  Vengeance continues on as the star of Marvel Comics Presents until the end of that series in 1995.  By the end of that year, there remains just the one Ghost Rider title, as the character's popularity is dipping pretty low.


Cover Artist: Javier Saltares

1994
Nightstalkers (1992) # 15
Ghost Rider (1990) # 45
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 145
Darkhold: Pages From the Book of Sins (1992) # 16
Morbius the Living Vampire (1992) # 17
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 146
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (1988) # 61
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18
Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 4
Ghost Rider (1990) # 46
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 19
Blaze: Legacy of Blood (1994) # 1
Blaze: Legacy of Blood (1994) # 2
Blaze: Legacy of Blood (1994) # 3
Blaze: Legacy of Blood (1994) # 4
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 147
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 148
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 149
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 150
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 151
Ghost Rider (1990) # 47
Ghost Rider (1990) # 48
Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 5
Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 5 (Blaze back-up story)
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 20
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 152
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 153
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 154
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 155
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 156
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 157
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 158
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 159
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (1988) # 65
Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (1988) # 66
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 160
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 161
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 162
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 163
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 21
Ghost Rider (1990) # 49
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 22
Ghost Rider (1990) # 50
Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 23
Ghost Rider (1990) # 51
Blaze (1994) # 1
Ghost Rider (1990) # 52
Ghost Rider (1990) Annual # 2
Ghost Rider (1990) Annual # 2 (Vengeance back-up story)
Ghost Rider (1990) Annual # 2 (Blaze back-up story)
Venom: Nights of Vengeance # 1
Venom: Nights of Vengeance # 2
Venom: Nights of Vengeance # 3
Venom: Nights of Vengeance # 4
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 164
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 165
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 166
Ghost Rider (1990) # 53
Ghost Rider (1990) # 54
Blaze (1994) # 2
Blaze (1994) # 3
Ghost Rider (1990) # 52 (Vengeance back-up story)
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 167
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 168
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 169
Ghost Rider (1990) # 55
Blaze (1994) # 4
Blaze (1994) # 5
Blaze (1994) # 6
Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: The Dark Design

Cover Artist: Gary Erskine

1995
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 170
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 171
Blaze (1994) # 7
Ghost Rider (1990) # 56
Ghost Rider (1990) # 57
Wolverine (1988) # 89
Morbius: The Living Vampire (1993) # 29
Blaze (1994) # 8
Blaze (1994) # 9
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 172
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 173
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 174
Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 175
Blaze (1994) # 10
Blaze (1994) # 11
Blaze (1994) # 12
Ghost Rider (1990) # 58
Ghost Rider (1990) # 59
Ghost Rider (1990) # 60
Ghost Rider (1990) # 61
Ghost Rider (1990) # 62
Ghost Rider (1990) # 63
Ghost Rider (1990) # 64
Ghost Rider (1990) # 65
Double Edge: Omega
DC Versus Marvel # 1 (cameo appearance only)
Ghost Rider (1990) # 66
Ghost Rider (1990) # 67
Ghost Rider (1990) # 68

You Can't Go Home Again

So, apparently the server that hosted the original Vengeance Unbound site has gone away and no one elected to tell me.  While I luckily have everything from the site backed up, a lot of which hasn't been re-posted here on the blog yet, you can no longer visit the site to read through the review archive.  It will all eventually be posted on here, possibly sooner rather than later chronologies be damned just so there's some content being released.

That said, did everyone get to check out the return of Ghost Rider 2099 during the recent "Civil War II" tie-in arc of Spider-Man 2099?  Zero appears in issue # 14, naturally the one issue of the arc that didn't feature him on the cover in some capacity (and the ones where he IS on the cover, yeah, he's not in those issues), and it's well worth tracking down.  Zero's not quite as surly as he was in the 1990s, but the personality is more or less intact as he throws down against Punisher 2099.  Maybe I'll try and get a quick review posted soonish.

Oh, and the Spirits of Vengeance: Rise of the Midnight Sons trade paperback collection is now on sale, so be sure to buy it!

Taking a looooooong nap

I'm not dead, I swear!  New updates will be coming soon, just been having a frenetically busy personal life the last couple of months.

Robbie Reyes on Agents of SHIELD?  First episode was interesting, I really enjoyed the Ghost Rider segments (and the Rider looked amazing!), but like with my previous attempts at watching the show, the parts involving SHIELD's agents had me zoning out in boredom.  I'll still be watching, though, just to see where Robbie's character goes next.

New Ghost Rider series in November?  Great news, I'm really excited to see what Felipe Smith has in store for the new series, though the idea of having the book flooded with teen hero guest-stars (Totally Awesome Hulk? Ugh.) isn't exactly what I'd like to read.

So, yeah, at least I posted SOMETHING.  Be patient with me, folks!

Vengeance Never Sleeps, But It Does Take Frequent Naps

So, we've pretty much reached the end of my ability to re-post reviews from the original Vengeance Unbound site.  There are other comics reviewed on the old site, but they were done out of any kind of order or sequence, I tended to skip around a lot to whatever I felt like reviewing at the time.  Now, though, I'm really wanting to keep a sense of structure to the reviews on the blog, which means those out of order reviews won't be posted until I reach them naturally while doing new reviews of the remaining Ghost Rider volumes.

That, unfortunately, brings me to my point: I will no longer be able to maintain daily updates/reviews without the re-postings to pad things out.  I can average 1-2 new reviews a week, if I'm lucky, due to the massive constraints on my free time (have four children and then get back to me to see how much time YOU have to write comic book reviews on a daily basis).  So blog postings will be slowing down considerably from this point on.  I'll still be doing the occasional article between reviews, along with finishing up the Ghost Rider Chronology lists, so there will definitely be new content.  Just please be patient with me.

For the record, though, here are my thoughts on a few recent topics:

1) I still fully expect a new Ghost Rider/Spirits of Vengeance series to show up in Marvel's October solicitations and will be really surprised if I'm wrong.  I predict that Felipe Smith will be writing, and hopefully he'll be on the art chores as well.

2) Regarding Ghost Rider as a show on Netflix, I am of course down for that.  Daredevil and Jessica Jones have both been phenomenal shows, especially their interpretation of the Punisher from DD Season 2, so I have full faith that they could do Ghost Rider justice.  Personally, though, I would like to see them steer clear of Johnny Blaze and instead center the show around the Danny Ketch incarnation from the early 1990s.  This would allow a fresh approach and allow them to tie in to other New York based shows/characters.  That being said, though...

3) ...I would welcome Norman Reedus as Johnny Blaze, though not as Ghost Rider.  Instead, cast him as the older John from the 1990s series, hellfire shotgun and trenchcoat, and let him play the mentor to the Ketch character.

To finish this post up, which may be the last new one for a bit, here's a picture of Alejandra Jones getting struck by lighting that kicks all kinds of ass (click to see it larger).

Artwork by Dalibor Talajic from Ghost Rider (2011) # 6

Night Rider (1974) # 3

Cover Artist: Dick Ayers

Published: Feb. 1975
Original Price: $.25

 

Title: "Circus of Fear!"
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Dick Ayers
Inker: Vince Colletta
Letterer: John Verpoorten
Colorist: None Credited
Editor: Roy Thomas

 

SYNOPSIS

The Ghost Rider approaches the town of Bison Bend just as a band of outlaws perform a bank robbery. The outlaws are chased by Sheriff Benjamin Brooks, who manages to shoot the gang's leader. The rest of the robbers are apprehended by the Ghost Rider at the edge of town, but when Brooks arrives to arrest them he attempts to arrest the vigilante as well. The Rider barely manages to evade arrest at Brooks' hand, leaving the Sheriff with doubts as to whether he can perform his job.

 

The next morning, Natalie Brooks enters Carter Slade's schoolhouse and tells him that a circus has just arrived in town. Slade dismisses his students and laments to himself about how he is in love with Natalie despite her being engaged to another man. After the circus sets up in town, owner Barton refuses to give his star attraction, animal tamer Andriani Adano, a raise due to his former background as a criminal called the Cougar. Furious, Adano storms off and swears revenge, unaware that he's been overheard by Slade's ward Jamie Jacobs, who tells Carter. When the circus begins later that evening, the show is disrupted by Barton's murder at the hands of a cougar. Brooks immediately arrests Adano, thinking him guilty as he's the only animal trainer present.

 

That night, the Ghost Rider frees Adano from jail, believing the man to be innocent and needing his help to find the real murderer. Their escape is witnessed by Ben Brooks, who gathers up a posse to arrest the two men. Ghost Rider and Adano arrive at the circus, but the Rider is knocked unconscious from behind. When he awakens, he finds Adano's brother-in-law Phillip standing over him. Now thinking Adano is guilty, the Rider goes off to find him, only to be attacked by a cougar. Brooks saves the Rider by shooting the animal, but then turns to arrest him. Ghost Rider escapes and confronts the true killer, knocking him unconscious just as Brooks and his men catch up. Adano emerges from a nearby trailer, having also been knocked unconscious, and the killer is revealed to be Philip. The Ghost Rider scares Phillip into confessing that he killed Barton in order to get out of Adano's shadow. While the Ghost Rider departs on his horse, Brooks is still convinced that the vigilante should be arrested.

 

ANNOTATIONS 

This issue is a reprint of The Ghost Rider (1967) # 3.

To avoid confusion with the then-current Johnny Blaze character and series, when Carter Slade was reintroduced in the pages of Avengers his name was changed to Night Rider.  In this reprint series, all instances of the Ghost Rider's name were re-lettered to "Night Rider".  Marvel would change the name again to "Phantom Rider" in the 1980s when they realized the white-garbed Ku Klux Klan called their soldiers Night Riders, an unfortunate coincidence to say the least.

This issue also had back-up story, "The Gun!", from Wyatt Earp (1955) # 10.

Night Rider (1974) # 2

Cover Artist: Gil Kane

Published: Dec. 1974
Original Price: $.25

 

Title: "The Macabre Menace of the Tarantula!"
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Dick Ayers
Inker: Vince Colletta
Letterer: Artie Simek
Colorist: None Credited
Editor: Roy Thomas

 

SYNOPSIS

The Ghost Rider halts a group of rustlers from stealing a herd of cattle from some ranchers, then returns to his mountain hideout. Waiting for him is young Jamie Jacobs, the only person that knows the Ghost Rider is really school teacher Carter Slade. The Rider takes the opportunity to show Jacobs how he accomplishes his "supernatural" feats, using his blackout cape and a lantern that projects a ghostly image of himself. Meanwhile, the cattle rustlers return to their shack to find a masked man with a bullwhip named the Tarantula waiting for them. He shows off his prowess with the whip and declares himself the gang's leader, determined to prove that the Ghost Rider is merely a man and not a spirit.

 

The next morning, Slade and Jacobs are supervising the construction of the new schoolhouse. Ben Brooks and his sister Natalie talk to Slade about the Ghost Rider, with Ben convinced that the vigilante is really a villain that should be stopped. Natalie introduces Slade to her fiance, Clay Rider. That night, the Tarantula and his men ride into town and demand $100 a month from each settler, for "protection". Slade watches from the crowd while Tarantula leaves, saying he'll be back at sundown tomorrow. Ben Brooks is the only man who disagrees with paying the Tarantula, the other townspeople all afraid of their families being harmed. The following day, Slade falls from the roof of the schoolhouse and winds up in a hospital bed, though not seriously harmed (and given a good alibi for when the Ghost Rider shows up that night).

 

The Tarantula and his men return that night, and only Ben Brooks stands up to him. Before they can seriously harm Brooks the Ghost Rider appears and frightens away the gang of outlaws. The Tarantula is still convinced that the Rider is merely a man, not falling for any of the faux supernatural tricks the hero employs. When the Ghost Rider breaks the villain's bullwhip, however, the Tarantula grabs Natalie and threatens her life. Slade uses his black lariat to snare Natalie and lift her to safety, making it appear that he is using ghostly powers to make her fly into the air. While the Ghost Rider rescues Natalie, a frightened Tarantula escapes into the night. Ghost Rider leaves as well, returning to his hideout, while the townspeople convince Ben Brooks to become the sheriff of Bison Bend. Ben accepts and declares that he will bring the Ghost Rider in to face justice.

 

ANNOTATIONS 

This issue is a reprint of The Ghost Rider (1967) # 2.

To avoid confusion with the then-current Johnny Blaze character and series, when Carter Slade was reintroduced in the pages of Avengers his name was changed to Night Rider.  In this reprint series, all instances of the Ghost Rider's name were re-lettered to "Night Rider".  Marvel would change the name again to "Phantom Rider" in the 1980s when they realized the white-garbed Ku Klux Klan called their soldiers Night Riders, an unfortunate coincidence to say the least.

This issue also had back-up story, "Gunmanship", from Wyatt Earp (1955) # 26.

Adventures of the Thing # 2

Cover Artist: Joe Quesada

Published: May 1992
Original Price: $1.25

Title: "Call Him...Monster!"
Writer: Tom DeFalco
Artist: Ron Wilson
Inker: Chic Stone
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: George Roussos
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter

SYNOPSIS

In the Baxter Building, headquarters of the Fantastic Four, blind sculptress Alicia Masters is shocked by a sudden earthquake that destroys many of her statues. Afraid that something may have happened to her love, Ben Grimm, Alicia races down the hall to the next room where the Thing is punching on his new hydraulic exercise machine and causing the tremors. Alicia, relieved at hearing Ben's voice, steps into the room directly in the path of the returning punching block - but is saved at the last moment by Mr. Fantastic. Upset that he almost accidentally caused Alicia's death, the Thing leaves the building in grief. Sometime later, while the rest of the Fantastic Four help to clean up her studio, Alicia can only brood on where Ben may have gone.

Elsewhere in the city on an empty rooftop, the Thing sits brooding over the curse of his appearance and power. In a fit of anger, he destroys part of the building and realizes that he's too dangerous to associate with normal people. He hops on his flying cycle and takes the sky where he hears police sirens from below. The police are in frantic pursuit of the Ghost Rider, who maniacally leads them on a harrowing chase through the city that terrifies onlookers before finally culminating with a game of "chicken" with an elevated train. Landing on a rooftop, the Ghost Rider allows Johnny Blaze to regain control, leaving the man tired and weak. Blaze is approached by the Thing, who offers him a ride by saying "us monsters have to stick together". When they land in front of the run-down motel that Blaze is staying in, Johnny thanks Ben by giving him two tickets the show he's performing in Shea Stadium. Feeling a little less alone, but still brooding, Grimm returns to the Baxter Building and reunites with Alicia, who welcomes him back with open arms.

The next day, a huge crowd has gathered at Shea Stadium to see Johnny Blaze perform cycle jump over 16 automobiles. In the crowd are two young men, who decide to steal one of the performance stock cars. Also in the crowd are Alicia and Ben, who watch in amazement as Blaze begins his show, performing seemingly impossible tricks with his bike. But as he's finishing his act, Blaze is almost run down by the two kids in the stolen car, causing him to wreck. As the kids drive off, Blaze transforms into the Ghost Rider, hungry for vengeance against them for nearly killing him. The Thing sees what's happening and heads for his sky-cycle, worried that Blaze may do something harsh to the kids.

The Ghost Rider quickly catches up to the boys and disables their car, forcing them to flee on foot. As the demon burns the boys with hellfire Ben arrives and commands him to stop - something the Rider takes as an insult. The two begin to fight, with the Thing easily gaining the upper hand due to the Rider not wanting to fight someone undeserving of vengeance. The battle continues until the Thing flies into a rage himself, beating the Ghost Rider mercilessly before he realizes what he's doing. Ghost Rider takes the advantage when Ben stops fighting, and the Thing uses a different tactic by speaking to the submerged personality of Johnny Blaze. Grimm eventually talks the Rider down and Blaze returns to his normal form and collapses in the Thing's arms, apologizing before he passes out.

Later, the Thing returns to the Baxter Building and finds Alicia, who asks him why he's so quiet. Grimm replies that even though his life is difficult he still has good things like his friends and family in the Fantastic Four and Alicia herself. Ben comments that it's not fair for him to have so much while others have nothing at all. As he says this, Johnny Blaze rides out of New York, still alone.

ANNOTATIONS 

This issue is a reprint of Marvel Two-In-One # 80.

Wolverine (1988) # 89

Cover Artist: Adam Kubert

Published: Jan. 1995
Original Price: $1.95

Title: "The Mask of Ogun"
Writer: Larry Hama
Artist: Fabio Laguna
Inker: Joe Rubinstein
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Colorist: Marie Javins
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS

After an extended leave, Wolverine returns to New York City on his way back to the X-Men's mansion in Westchester. As he crosses the George Washington Bridge into the city, he's met by the Ghost Rider, who tells him that a spectre from Logan's past has returned to shed innocent blood. Wolverine shrugs this off and tells the Rider that he'd better say something quickly to keep him from heading to Westchester. Ghost Rider says one word, "Ogun", and Logan turns away from the exit ramp to head into the city.

Wolverine follows Ghost Rider to the Metropolitan Museum, which is closed due to the late hour at night. The heroes find the doors blasted open and the guards dead, but no alarms have sounded. They ride into the museum, while Ghost Rider tells Wolverine that he found the entire building permeated with an evil mystic aura that echoed with the name "Logan". Ogun had sensed Logan's entering the city, and the Ghost Rider sensed the desire for a final confrontation - so he sought the X-Man out. They come across a display case that houses the Demon Mask of Ogun, along with a sword - a mask that Wolverine himself destroyed in Tokyo the night he killed Ogun to save his teammate, Kitty Pryde. The Rider explains that the mask of an artifact of the dark arts, and must be mystically unmade before they can be destroyed. A noise draws them away from the display, and when they return the mask and sword are gone. Ogun descends from the ceiling and attacks the two heroes, repelling their claws and chains with ease.

Ogun leads them into the Egyptian wing, where Ghost Rider senses a terrible evil. Logan explains that Ogun was a demon sorcerer while he was alive, but has somehow managed to cheat death. As they fight again, Wolverine thinks back to his time as Ogun's pupil in Japan, and how he could only beat his master by allowing his animal side to take over. While lost in thought, Wolverine is saved from Ogun's sword by the Ghost Rider's chain, allowing Logan to claim the sword. He brings the blade down upon Ogun's head, cutting the Demon Mask in half - and for a split second Logan sees his own face beneath the mask before the body vanishes into smoke and dust. Ogun the sorcerer had reached out from beyond the grave to attack Logan with a part of himself, but forgot that he taught the X-Man about balancing his animal and rational mind.

ANNOTATIONS 

This issue is the second part of a very loose crossover with Ghost Rider (1990) # 57, in which Wolverine helped Ghost Rider defeat the Next Wave.

Ghost Rider and Wolverine will meet next in Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: The Dark Design.

Wolverine's history with Ogun was detailed in the classic Kitty Pryde & Wolverine mini-series from the early 1980s, which is also when Logan killed his former teacher.

REVIEW

Well, we've come to a time when Ghost Rider guest-appearances weren't as trumpeted as loudly as a few years before when the character was a guaranteed sales-booster. In this unofficial crossover with the Ghost Rider series, ol' Flamehead didn't even warrant a cover mention, let alone an appearance. 'Tis a sad thing, indeed, especially considering how poor this issue is outside of the stellar Kubert cover.

This issue came out the same month as Wolverine's guest-appearance in Ghost Rider, so it's an easy assumption that the two were meant to be a crossover of sorts. Of course, neither book does anything to tie the two stories together or even segue into one another appropriately. The ending to the Ghost Rider issue doesn't match up with the beginning of this Wolverine issue, and vice versa - so it begs the question of why the writers even bothered to begin with? It's not like Larry Hama was using Ghost Rider as a sales-booster, considering the character didn't appear on the cover or the solicitation text - his appearance was truly a surprise.

Of course, Ghost Rider is completely unnecessary here, only needed to bring Wolverine from point A to point B in a plausible way. The story itself reads like a filler issue, despite the involvement of the book's regular writer. Ogun was a character that Chris Claremont effectively created and destroyed in a mini-series a decade before, and if he was to come back Ogun deserved much better than this throw-away story.

But what makes this issue truly awful is the artwork. As a growing artist myself, seeing the work of Fabio Laguna actually getting published makes me downright angry. This man has no talent whatsoever, as 90% of his "art" in this issue is swiped from other comics. Every panel featuring Wolverine is stolen from Jim Lee, while his Ghost Rider is swiped from poses by Mark Texeira and Adam Kubert. Check out the shot of Ghost Rider on pages 2 and 13 here, then take a look at pages 3 and 27 of Spirits of Vengeance # 1. It's shameful that the editors didn't catch this, because it's theft at its worst - Laguna is trying to pass off other people's work as his own, and it makes me sick.

This comic is utter shit. Read it at your peril.

Grade: F

Over the Edge (1995) # 4

Cover Artist: Robert Brown

Published: Feb. 1996
Original Price: $0.99

Title: "The Joker's Wild"
Writer: Bruce Sakow
Artist: Robert Brown
Inkers: Tom Palmer, Brad Vancata, Bud LaRosa, & Mike Witherby
Letterer: Michul Higgins
Colorist: Ashley Posella
Editor: James Felder
Executive Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

In Cypress Hills Cemetery, Ralphie - last of the Cypress Pool Jokers - rides a crudely fashioned skull-themed motorcycle. Two years ago to the day, Ralphie watched as Blackout murdered his best friend, Angel, while the Ghost Rider stood and watched. Ralphie has spent the last two years in hospitals, driven to the point of insanity, and now the day has come for his revenge against the Ghost Rider. Donning a skull helmet, Ralphie tosses his first grenade into a neighborhood home - the home of Francis Ketch, who is being visited by her son, Danny, and his girlfriend, Paula. The explosion injures Mrs. Ketch, and as an ambulance arrives Dan leaves to find out what caused the explosion. He finds Ralphie in the Cemetery, where onlookers mistake him for the Ghost Rider. Dan undergoes the transformation into the Spirit of Vengeance, who immediately confronts Ralphie. The young man rants and raves about how the Rider destroyed his life in Cypress Hills, but the Ghost Rider fails to recognize him or understand what he's talking about.

Meanwhile, Stacy Dolan listens to the newscasts about the "Ghost Rider" rampage. She tells herself that it must be false, that the chaos isn't the Ghost Rider - or Dan's - style. She then receives a telephone call from Ski, who tells her that the Team is being reactivated to take down the Ghost Rider once again.

Ralphie leads Ghost Rider out of the cemetery and into the city, where they eventually come to a subway train. Ralphie holds the conductor at gunpoint and tells him to speed the train up even though it means they'll ram the train ahead of them. While this is happening, Stacy and Ski assemble the rest of the Task Force at their headquarters and take flight in their helicopter. In the hospital, Paula is upset that Dan left them - but Mrs. Ketch tells her to give Dan time, that he tends to run away to be alone when tragedy happens. Paula accepts this just before the doctor enters to give Mrs. Ketch a clean bill of health.

Back on the subway, Ghost Rider manages to stop the train before the collision occurs and resumes his pursuit of Ralphie. While the two race through the city, the Task Force arrives overhead and begins to fire upon them. The chase heads to the Brooklyn Bridge and finally to the East River, which is jumped by the two bikers. They land on the Staten Island Ferry in the middle of the River, and with nowhere else to run Ralphie turns to fight. The Ghost Rider easily disarms the last Joker and unmasks him, finally recognizing him. The Rider tells Ralphie that he was not responsible for Angel's death, and the man breaks down in defeat. The Task Force fire a missile at the ferry from their helicopter, blowing it up in hopes of killing the two vigilantes. As the smoke obscures the river, the Ghost Rider emerges from the water on his motorcycle with Ralphie in his arms. Later, at Bellevale Hospital, Ralphie is visited by Dan and Stacy, who tell their old neighborhood friend that everything is going to be okay now.

ANNOTATIONS 

Ghost Rider last appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 68  and he makes his next appearance in Ghost Riders: Crossroads # 1.

The Cypress Pool Jokers last appeared as a group in Ghost Rider (1990) # 25.

Blackout did indeed murder the Joker named Angel in Cypress Hills Cemetery in Ghost Rider (1990) # 3. However, Ralphie wasn't present for this due to his parents having been murdered by Blackout as well in Ghost Rider (1990) # 2.

Stacy Dolan and the Ghost Rider Task Force last hunted - and successfully apprehended - the Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider (1990) # 61. Stacy learned that Dan and the Ghost Rider were one and the same in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18.

REVIEW

Over the Edge was one of several series released by Marvel in the mid-90s at a discounted price to try and attract new readers to their established book. Unfortunately, most of them - this one included - weren't very good.

It's interesting that writer Bruce Sakow chose such a forgotten bit of Ghost Rider continuity to explore, and I give him full points for finally addressing the whereabouts of the Cypress Pool Jokers after they disappeared from the main series right before "Rise of the Midnight Sons". It wasn't a story that needed to be told, but it still gives a nice bit of closure to some characters that made a handful of appearances in the book's early days. However, it's even more odd that Sakow would choose a forgotten plot point with Blackout and Angel and Ralphie but get the history of the event completely wrong. I just don't understand how that could happen, honestly. If Sakow did the research into the Cypress Pool Jokers and the events in the first arc of Ghost Rider - which he obviously would have had to have done to write this story - then how could he have come to such an incorrect conclusion?

Ralphie wanting revenge on the Ghost Rider is a good idea, because he had absolute just cause to want this (through his addled and damaged mind, of course, twisting the memories of the event). But the problem is a big one: Ralphie wasn't present when Angel was killed by Blackout. Instead, Ralphie hadn't appeared since the issue before that, when his entire family was murdered by Blackout - with only a last minute save by the Ghost Rider keeping him from dying as well. For all the good will Sakow gained by touching back on the years-old story, he lost it by screwing it up completely.

Regardless of continuity nitpicking, this story is just barely above average. It's a chase scene that's short on characterization and heavily reliant on action. But really, Over the Edge wasn't meant to be a massive study of characters - instead, it was a series meant as a teaser for the ongoing books. So the relatively simple script could perhaps be overlooked.

The artwork is by Robert Brown, who illustrated both Ghost Rider stories that appeared in Over the Edge. I'm not overly familiar with Brown's work outside of these two Ghost Rider stories, but the influence of comic legend Todd McFarlane is heavily recognizable. While Brown does a credible job with the action sequences, his work still looks fairly amateurish in quite a few places - and really, aping the style of such a distinct artist as McFarlane isn't really a good idea if you want to make an identity for yourself in the comic world. It's serviceable artwork, but nothing overly fantastic.

By nature, the stories produced for Over the Edge are forgettable, but decent enough for what they are.

Grade: C+

What If...? (1989) # 45

Cover Artist: Dale Eaglesham

Published: Jan. 1993
Original Price: $1.25

Title: "What If...Barbara Ketch Became Ghost Rider?"
Writer: Ron Marz
Artist: Dale Eaglesham
Inker: Brian Garvey
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Tom Vincent
Editor: Craig Anderson
Editor-In-Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS

In a junkyard near Cypress Hills Cemetery, Daniel Ketch hides with his wounded sister Barbara from men that are looking to kill them. Dan sees a motorcycle glowing amongst the wrecked cars, but he is discovered by the assassins before he can touch it. Daniel is shot and left for dead, while the gravely injured Barbara reaches out for the motorcycle. The assassins return to their master, Deathwatch, just before the female Ghost Rider arrives carrying the dying Danny. She makes short work of the ninjas, but when she attempts to kill Deathwatch she is struck with intense pain, allowing the villain to escape. The police arrive, but are unable to capture Ghost Rider, who escapes and transforms back into Barbara.

 

Later, Barbara attends her brother's funeral, wishing that she could have done something to save him. That night, she had a dream where she is confronted by the Spirit of Vengeance. The Spirit tells her that she attempted to use his power to take a life, which goes against his purpose. To the Spirit's surprise, Barbara turns the tables and imposes her will over him, taking his power for herself. She wakes up and goes outside, transforming into the Ghost Rider. She rides into the city, finds a gang of attempted rapists, and murders them. She later seeks revenge on Deathwatch for his role in Danny's death, murdering him and his partner Blackout. Over the next few weeks, Barbara kills the villains she encounters, such as Zodiak, Hag, Troll, Scarecrow, and Mr. Hyde. With each murder, Barbara becomes more and more insane, further dominating the Spirit of Vengeance inside her.

 

She and Spider-Man are fighting the demonic Hobgoblin, and when she attempts to kill the villain Spider-Man intervenes, only to be knocked unconscious. As he passes out, he sees the Ghost Rider whipping Hobgoblin to death with her chain. When he awakens and sees Hobgoblin's body, Spider-Man seeks help in stopping the murderous Ghost Rider. He visits the home of Dr. Strange, where he meets John Blaze, former host of the Ghost Rider that has come to kill the demon. Together, the three men formulate a plan of attack.

 

At a construction site, Deathwatch and Blackout stand waiting for Ghost Rider to arrive, calling out her name until she comes. Though she does not understand how the two villains are alive once again, she immediately attempts to kill them. It is obvious that the villains are not who they say they are, using a shotgun and webbing to attack, and it is revealed that they are actually Spider-Man and Blaze hidden beneath a spell. Dr. Strange arrives and traps the Ghost Rider in a mystic circle, then exorcises the Spirit of Vengeance from Barbara's body. Blaze accidentally breaks the circle when he sees Barbara, allowing the Spirit to be set free to find its next host. Barbara dies, realizing what she had become in her desire for vengeance, and the mystical motorcycle soon finds a new host.

 

ANNOTATIONS 

This story deviates from events in Ghost Rider (1990) # 1.

 

Barbara Ketch was to be the host for the Ghost Rider in the established Marvel Universe, until she was killed and the curse passed to her brother, as revealed in Ghost Rider (1990) # 43.

 

The villains that Barbara kills were all faced by the Ghost Rider in the first two years of the series: Deathwatch and Blackout in Ghost Rider (1990) # 3, Mr. Hyde in Ghost Rider (1990) # 4, Scarecrow in Ghost Rider (1990) # 7, Zodiak in Ghost Rider (1990) # 10, Hobgoblin in Spider-Man (1990) # 7, and Hag & Troll in Ghost Rider (1990) # 24.

 

REVIEW

The 1990s Ghost Rider gets his first spotlight in the What If...? anthology, which features a particularly bleak fate for poor Barbara Ketch.

 

If the second volume of What If...? is remembered for anything, it's for how god damn depressing it was. Every issue ended with the death of the title character (at least, sometimes the entire Marvel Universe died because Spider-Man forgot to brush his teeth), and this one was no exception. A lot of these stories hinged on shock and a body count to tell the story, but thankfully Ghost Rider's debut at least manages to tell a sad, poignant story along with the carnage.

 

One thing the Ketch Ghost Rider was known for was that he wouldn't take a villain's life despite looking like a typical grim vigilante. It differentiated Ghost Rider from his modern contemporaries like Wolverine and the Punisher, so having an alternate reality story based around the character becoming a murderer is a decent enough idea. The real hook of the story, though, is switching the host from Danny to his dead sister, Barbara, and that's where things get interesting. Dear departed Barb never had much of a personality in the original series, given that she only had about 10 pages of screen time before becoming a vegetable and eventual murder victim. She pre-dated the whole "Women in Refrigerators" trope, but that's essentially what she was, a woman killed to spur the hero to action. All of that gets inverted in this story, and it proves that in this case at least the woman is by far the deadlier of the species.

 

It actually does hinge on the one aspect of Barb's established personality from her brief appearance, that she was the risk-taker and protector of her little brother. Danny was a bit of a milquetoast in the early days, so it makes sense that he wouldn't have had the willpower to overcome the demon possessing him. Having Barb prove herself stronger than any demon, spurring it on to a murderous rampage, is a very interesting idea that Ron Marz takes to its logical conclusion. Along the way we get this reality's version of the events from the Ghost Rider's first year, culminating with the return of Johnny Blaze and involvement of both Spider-Man and Dr. Strange. Despite the break in continuity, the events flow naturally alongside what had already been established, making this one of the least divergent What If...? issues I've read.

 

The artwork in this issue was by Dale Eaglesham at the start of his career, pre-dating even his early work on the Punisher titles. He's gone on to become a well-known artist for his work on Justice Society of America and Fantastic Four, but his work here is nearly unrecognizable to what he's doing today. Even in his early days, though, Eaglesham does a fantastic job with the artwork here. He makes Ghost Rider look feminine, which is really difficult (just look at how Matthew Clark struggled with the female Ghost Rider introduced in 2011), while also making her look terrifying. I also love the way he draws her movements and the use of her chain, which whips and strikes like a snake.

 

This is a surprisingly good comic, easily the best of Ghost Rider's handful of What If...? appearances.

 

Grade: A-