Ghost Rider (1973) # 1

"A Woman Possessed!"

Cover Date: September 1973; On Sale Date: June 1973

Writer: Gary Friedrich; Artist: Tom Sutton; Inker: Syd Shores; Letterer: John Costanza; Colorist: George Roussos; Editor: Roy Thomas; Cover Artist: Gil Kane

Following his encounter with Linda Littletrees, the Witch Woman, Blaze races back toward the hospital where he left Roxanne. He encounters a police barricade, which he breaks through easily. Immediately afterwards, however, one of the officers shoots him in the shoulder, causing him to wipe out on his bike.

Meanwhile, Linda has fallen into a strange coma. Her fiancé, Sam Silvercloud, and father, the man once called Snake Dance, are unable to wake her up, realizing that her soul has been stolen by Satan. Sam, unwilling to let his loved one die, dials a number out of a newspaper. The number is for an occult exorcist named Daimon Hellstrom, who agrees to fly to Arizona immediately to help Linda. Back at the hospital, Johnny's road manager, Bart Slade, tells Roxanne that he plans to make the jump over the canyon in Blaze's stead. Elsewhere, Linda is approached by Satan, who takes possession of her body and flees toward the city in search of Blaze.

Night falls, prompting the hospitalized Johnny to transform into the Ghost Rider. With his injuries surprisingly healed in his demon form, Blaze escapes from the hospital and heads for the canyon. He arrives just in time to see Slade attempt the jump, unable to do nothing but watch as his friend crashes into the canyon wall. Blaze hurriedly scoops up the fainted Roxanne, and the two escape in a pickup truck. Back at the reservation, Hellstrom arrives to help Linda.

Transformation!

THE ROADMAP

This issue is continued from Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 11.

Though never showing his face, this issue marks the first appearance of Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan. This character would go on to be featured in the Marvel Spotlight series for several issues, and eventually star in two separate ongoing titles: The Son of Satan in 1975 and Hellstorm in 1993.

CHAIN REACTION

Johnny Blaze is finally awarded his own ongoing series after graduating from the pages of Marvel Spotlight…but perhaps the creative team missed that memo?

For a first issue of a new series, this really doesn’t deliver on what a first issue is supposed to have. In all honesty, this comic reads like Gary Friedrich was still writing for Marvel Spotlight instead. In the last Spotlight issue, there were no attempts to wrap up the ongoing plot threads, and what we get here is just a straight continuation of the story, as if this were originally planned as Marvel Spotlight # 12. Maybe the decision to make this the first issue of Ghost Rider came after the issue’s completion? That would go far to explain why it’s so unfriendly to new readers – if a reader picked this up due to seeing “first issue” on the cover, they would have been hopelessly lost despite the presence of a recap page.

So as a debut issue this one fails miserably. But what about as a part of Friedrich’s ongoing storyline? In that aspect, it fares a little better – we’re finally given the long-awaited jump of Copperhead Canyon and the tragic end of a supporting character. Bart Slade’s grisly fate was telegraphed from a mile away – no one expected him to do something that only Johnny Blaze could be allowed to do – but it was still a great scene, nonetheless. I always felt sympathy toward Bart…even though he was constantly scheming against Blaze to steal Roxanne, I never blamed the guy. Johnny yelled at him and threatened to fire him on numerous occasions, and Slade most likely just got sick of the abuse. You go, Bart Slade…er, well, until you crash into a mountain, anyway.

This issue also marks the first pseudo-appearance of Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan. I love how Friedrich and Sutton kept Daimon’s face hidden throughout the story, giving the character this great sense of mystery building up to his official debut in Marvel Spotlight # 12. The revelation of Satan’s mark on his chest is a great moment, built up well by previous panels showing all of the Christian texts and iconography in his home.

This issue, naturally, had some bad points along with the good. The treatment of the police as first trigger-happy and later as sympathetic toward Blaze is totally unbelievable, especially considering they were shooting to kill an unarmed man who was wanted for nothing more than traffic violations. There’s also a huge error in the Copperhead Canyon sequence – night has fallen, allowing Blaze to transform into the Ghost Rider and escape the hospital. But when the scene shifts to Bart jumping the Canyon, the panels are colored as if it’s daylight. In fact, no matter how good Johnny may be, who in their right mind would schedule a possibly fatal motorcycle jump at night?

The artwork is by Tom Sutton, who came on board as the replacement for original series artist Mike Ploog. Despite being a different style than Ploog’s moody horror, I was always a fan of Sutton’s detailed work, especially on the Ghost Rider himself. One thing I didn’t like about this issue was the colors by George Roussos, who makes things way too bright and shiny for a book that’s supposed to be dark and atmospheric – not to mention the nighttime/daytime screw up in the Copperhead Canyon scene.

Overall, this issue is good as part of the continuing Ghost Rider story but is a horrible example of what a first issue is supposed to be.

R.I.P. Bart Slade