On Sale Date: December 1991
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: John Hebert
Inker: Al Milgrom
Letterer: Michael Heisler
Colorist: Evelyn Stein
Editor: Renee Witterstaetter
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco
Cover Artist: Arthur Adams
On Christmas Eve, a blind child named Willie is running through a snowy forest in Queens, New York. He had been kidnapped from his home by armed men, but was able to escape. As he hears the men searching for him, he prays for Santa Claus to save him and take home. The men had taken Willie to ransom back to his rich father, and are determined to find him. Willie stumbles into a cemetery and one of the men finds him, but he is saved by Ghost Rider. Hearing the rattle of Ghost Rider's chains and feeling his books, Willie mistakenly thinks it is Santa there to rescue him. The other kidnappers approach, but Ghost Rider defeats them all with his Penance Stare. Willie asks "Santa" to take him on, so Ghost Rider carries him to his motorcycle and they ride back to the boy's home with Willie thinking the bike is a sleigh pulled by "hungry reindeers". Willie's parents greet him at their front door, with their son telling them about how Santa saved him. They hear the roar of Ghost Rider's bike and look up to see tracks of flame on their roof.
This Christmas special also included stories featuring the X-Men, Spider-Man, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Punisher, Thor, and Captain Ultra.
Ghost Rider last appeared in Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 97 and he appears next in Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 98.
CHAIN REACTION
Ghost Rider last appeared in Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 97 and he appears next in Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 98.
CHAIN REACTION
Ghost Rider stands in for Santa Claus in a very strange, but very endearing, story from Marvel's first holiday anthology.
Howard Mackie gets a lot of criticism for his writing, and while a lot of it is warranted after some truly horrendous work on characters like Spider-Man and X-Factor, the man could definitely turn out some great stories. Like a lot of his early Ghost Rider work, this story has a strong and simple narrative hook that doesn't get bogged down in unnecessary continuity or byzantine plotting. "Blind kid confuses Ghost Rider for Santa Claus" is a premise that's both brilliant and ridiculous at the same time, and it sounds like it would lend itself to a gag strip. Mackie turns it into a very heart-warming story of a scared little boy who desperately wants to be rescued, and since it takes place on Christmas his logical leap of faith is to Santa. Mistaking the rattling of chains for sleigh bells and the roar of the motorcycle for a sleigh and reindeer is so sweet and genuine that it forces you to take it seriously regardless of the bizarre premise.
The artwork by John Hebert is very good, toeing the line between dark/scary and hopeful. His facial expressions are well-drawn, and he sells the terror and wonder that Willie experiences while also portraying him as convincingly blind. His Ghost Rider looks great, too; I wonder why his career never took off back in the early 1990s?
While it may be just an 8-page anthology story, "Ghost of Christmas Present" is probably one of the very best Ghost Rider stories that Mackie ever produced. It's sadly never been reprinted, so if you come across this comic in a discount bin you should definitely pick it up.
Howard Mackie gets a lot of criticism for his writing, and while a lot of it is warranted after some truly horrendous work on characters like Spider-Man and X-Factor, the man could definitely turn out some great stories. Like a lot of his early Ghost Rider work, this story has a strong and simple narrative hook that doesn't get bogged down in unnecessary continuity or byzantine plotting. "Blind kid confuses Ghost Rider for Santa Claus" is a premise that's both brilliant and ridiculous at the same time, and it sounds like it would lend itself to a gag strip. Mackie turns it into a very heart-warming story of a scared little boy who desperately wants to be rescued, and since it takes place on Christmas his logical leap of faith is to Santa. Mistaking the rattling of chains for sleigh bells and the roar of the motorcycle for a sleigh and reindeer is so sweet and genuine that it forces you to take it seriously regardless of the bizarre premise.
The artwork by John Hebert is very good, toeing the line between dark/scary and hopeful. His facial expressions are well-drawn, and he sells the terror and wonder that Willie experiences while also portraying him as convincingly blind. His Ghost Rider looks great, too; I wonder why his career never took off back in the early 1990s?
While it may be just an 8-page anthology story, "Ghost of Christmas Present" is probably one of the very best Ghost Rider stories that Mackie ever produced. It's sadly never been reprinted, so if you come across this comic in a discount bin you should definitely pick it up.
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| An easy mistake for a blind kid to make? |
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