It should come as no surprise that Ghost Rider continuity, chronology, and reading orders can quickly deteriorate into a hot, flaming pile of mess. Multiple characters ranging from the dawn of time to the literal end of universal existence and some bafflingly confusing origin contradictions can make reading the Ghost Rider mythos into a daunting task.
But don't worry, I'm here to help!
This is an unofficial (but, hey, it's as official as it's gonna get, folks) reading order for every single Ghost Rider. It's essentially a live document that's going to change as new comics are released, but for now here's a starting point and a possible end point with a rapidly expanding middle section for the present day.
Avengers (2018) # 7
Marvel Legacy (2017) # 1
Avengers (2018) # 1-6
Avengers (2018) # 63
Avengers (2018) # 63
Those issues form the backbone for the 1,000,000 B.C. Avengers, which featured among their number a prehistoric Spirit of Vengeance named Ghost on back of a flaming mastodon. That's the origin point, at least as has been revealed so far. Ghost's death occurred during a battle with the Multiversal Masters of Evil, but there could always be more stories told about him from earlier in his life.
Ghost Rider (2006) # 33
This comic featured an abridged history of the Spirits of Vengeance in America, going back to Biblical Times and spanning through the country's early history. Some of the Ghost Riders featured there were Noble Kale, Chief Hellhawk, and a murdered slave named Caleb. The main story takes place in the modern era, but the flashback sequences are spread out all across history. We're going to stop in the 18th-19th Centuries to focus on a few important characters and stories.
Avengers (2018) # 58 (Ghost Ronin)
Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears (2007) # 1-6 (Caleb)
Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme (2016) # 3 (Spirit Rider/Kushala)
The Rawhide Kid (2010) # 1 (unnamed Ghost Rider)
Following Kushala the Spirit Rider is the time of the Phantom Riders, the original Old West Ghost Rider. Two men used that identity, the Slade brothers Carter and Lincoln, and they have their own legacy stretching out into the modern era.
The Ghost Rider (1967) # 1
The Original Ghost Rider (1992) # 3-5, 7-13, 15-20
The Ghost Rider (1967) # 2-3
Ghost Rider (1973) # 50-51
The Ghost Rider (1967) # 4-7
Western Gunfighters (1970) # 3
Western Gunfighters (1970) # 1-2
Giant-Size Kid Colt, Outlaw # 3
Avengers Forever (1999) # 6
Avengers (1963) # 141
Avengers (1963) # 142
Avengers (1963) # 143
Western Gunfighters (1970) # 4-6
Carter Slade died at the end of Western Gunfighters (1970) # 6, and the next issue of that series saw his brother, lawman Lincoln Slade, take up the Ghost Rider mantle. Lincoln died in 1987's West Coast Avengers # 23, which took place in the late 1800s via time travel, after he brainwashed and raped the Avenger Mockingbird, who let him fall to his death. Another Western gunslinger, Reno Jones, briefly took over the Ghost Rider identity in the Blaze of Glory limited series.
Western Gunfighters (1970) # 7
West Coast Avengers (1985) # 18-23
Blaze of Glory (2000) # 3-4
Prior to the modern era, there was a character active during World War II named the Blazing Skull, who in only one appearance was named as "Ghost Rider 1945". Other than that, the Blazing Skull seemingly has no connection to the Ghost Rider mythos. Most recently another World War II era Ghost Rider named Sal Romero was introduced as a "Hellhunter" alongside Wolverine, Bucky, and Nick Fury. Following that, and keeping in mind the Spirits of Vengeance of American history introduced in Ghost Rider (2006) # 33, the next Ghost Rider of note was Naomi Kale, the mother of Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch. After her death, the mantle briefly passed to an archaeology professor named Max Parrish, who found himself possessed by the demon Zarathos while fighting minions of Dracula.
Hellhunters # 1-5 (1944, published 2025)
Midnight Sons Unlimited # 9 (Blazing Skull, 1945, published 1995)
Ghost Rider (1990) # -1 (Naomi Kale, 30 years ago, published 1997)Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms # 1-3 (Max Parrish, 20 years ago, published 2000)
That brings us to the first modern day Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, who adventured as the Spirit of Vengeance from 1972 to 1983.
Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 5-11
Ghost Rider (1973) # 1-2
Marvel Spotlight (1972) # 12
Ghost Rider (1973) # 4
Marvel Team-Up (1972) # 15
Avengers (1963) # 118 (cameo appearance only)
Ghost Rider (1973) # 5-9
Ghost Rider (1973) # 11
Marvel Two-In-One (1973) # 8
Ghost Rider (1973) # 12-13
Ghost Rider (1973) # 35 (all but 1st page, published in 1979)
Ghost Rider (1973) # 14
The Champions (1975) # 1-2
Ghost Rider (1975) # 15
The Champions (1975) # 3
Ghost Rider (1973) # 16
Marvel Premiere (1972) # 28
The Champions (1975) # 4
Ghost Rider (1973) # 17-19
Daredevil (1964) # 138
Ghost Rider (1973) # 20
The Champions (1975) # 7
Gambit & the Champions: From the Marvel Vault # 1 (published in 2011)
The Champions (1975) # 8-10
Marvel Treasury Edition # 13 (cameo appearance only)
Ghost Rider (1973) # 21
The Champions (1975) # 11-13
Ghost Rider (1973) # 22
The Champions (1975) # 14-15
Ghost Rider (1973) # 23-24
Marvel Team-Up (1972) # 58
Ghost Rider (1973) # 25
The Human Fly (1977) # 2
Iron Man (1964) Annual # 4
Super-Villain Team-Up (1975) # 14 (cameo appearance only)
The Champions (1975) # 16
Giant-Size Hulk (2006) # 1 (published in 2006)
The Champions (1975) # 17
Peter Parker: the Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) # 17 (cameo appearance only)
Ghost Rider (1973) # 26-34
Ghost Rider (1973) # 35 (1st page only)
Ghost Rider (1973) # 36-40
Marvel Team-Up (1972) # 91
Ghost Rider (1973) # 41-57
The Defenders (1972) # 96
Ghost Rider (1973) # 58-60
Marvel Two-In-One (1973) # 80
Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 6 (published in 1994)
Ghost Rider (1973) # 61-62
Marvel Graphic Novel # 1: The Death of Captain Marvel (cameo appearance only)
Avengers (1963) # 214
Ghost Rider (1973) # 63-74
Marvel Super-Heroes (1989) # 11 (published in 1992)
Team America (1982) # 11
Ghost Rider (1973) # 75-81
The rest of the 1980s were pretty quiet for the Ghost Riders, though both Johnny Blaze and Zarathos made separate appearances during the latter half of the decade.
The New Defenders (1972) # 145-146 (Johnny Blaze and Roxanne appear)
Amazing Spider-Man (1963) # 274 (Zarathos appearance)
The Phantom Rider was quite busy, though, as Lincoln Slade returned as a literal phantom that possessed his descendent, Hamilton Slade. Together the two became the modern day Phantom Rider and set out to join the short-lived Rangers and torment Mockingbird for her part in Lincoln's death. Daimon Hellstrom eventually exorcised Lincoln from Hamilton's body, leaving him possessed by the decidedly more heroic Carter Slade, and he continued on as the Phantom Rider.
Ghost Rider (1973) # 56 (Hamilton Slade becomes the new Phantom Rider)
Incredible Hulk (1968) # 265
West Coast Avengers (1985) # 8, 29, 31-32, 34, 39, 41
With that we close off the 1980s and next time we'll be looking at the next decade and the rise of Danny Ketch as the new Ghost Rider and all the many, many, MANY appearances he made over the next 10 years.
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