Creator Interview: Larry Hama



Larry Hama

One of the first interviews I did for Vengeance Unbound was with Larry Hama back in 2003.  Hama is best-known, of course, for his fantastic work on G.I. Joe in the 1980s and Wolverine in the 1990s, but he also holds a nice spot in Ghost Rider history as well.  The solo Blaze series by Hama and Henry Martinez was a damn weird series that only lasted 12 issues, cut down before its time by a collapsing marketplace, and it remains one of my favorite takes on ol' Johnny and the Quentin Carnival.

Looking back at it now, I wasn't that great an interviewer back in 2003 and I was trying way too hard to be funny and/or "cool" with the questions.  So, if Hama comes off as a bit defensive (and even annoyed, I think) with his answers, I think the blame falls on me for the way I was doing things back then. 

In yet another exclusive Vengeance Unbound interview, former BLAZE writer Larry Hama has stepped up to the plate! Read on for info on carnival freaks, Canuckleheads, and supreme weirdness in general.

1) In 1994, Howard Mackie's second Ghost Rider title, Spirits of Vengeance, was cancelled with it's 23rd issue. To some people's surprise, when the announcement came that a Blaze series would be starting a few months later, your name and not Mackie's was attached. What made you want to pen the adventures of Johnny Blaze and his circus folk? 

 

It was the only job being offered to me at the time. I always had a hard time getting writing work at Marvel. I was always the last person considered for a book, and I was never offered a book that was considered "hot" or even making a cent in royalties at the time of the offering. I was absolutely the last person they asked to write GI JOE, and only because they had asked everyone else and they had turned it down. I didn't know anything about the character and had not read any of the Ghost Rider material and had to do a lot of homework. Of course, I hadn't read any of the Wolverine material either.

 

2) Floating eyeballs, vampire bikers, werewolves that live in haunted mesas, Icebox Bob...I think I can safely say that Blaze was an incredibly weird book. What inspired all this weirdness...lots of research, or were you secretly writing the series from an insane asylum?

 

I thought weirdness was the whole point of the series. First off, I'm not a writer. I'm a penciler with a word processor. I think of the stories as a series of pictures first, with a strong idea of who the characters are. Writerly writers seem to work from the plot outwards. I try to think of gonzo fun images and really jumping action with characters I like or think are cool, and the plot is only there to glue the scenes together.

 

3) Not really a question, more of a comment: when I picked up Blaze # 1 upon its release, I couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief when you changed John back to his normal look and ditched the Deathlok/Cable look. Did readers really hate that cyborg-Blaze design as much as I did?

 

I dunno. I just didn't like that sci-fi look myself.

 

4) The part that totally took me off guard was the lack of any appearances by the Ghost Rider (save for a one-page cameo in the first issue). In a book about a character from the Ghost Rider mythos, did you feel Blaze had it in him to stand on his own without any help from his previous partner?

 

I didn't know all that much about Ghost Rider, and besides, I was doing a book about a character named Blaze.

 

5) Blaze was cancelled after issue # 12, cut down in its infancy. Why do you think the book never caught on with the majority of readers?

 

I don't remember ever quitting a book. If they put me on a character, I stayed on until the book was cancelled or they fired me.

 

6) Following that line of thought: had the book stuck around longer, what would you have done with the series? 

 

Got more into some of the other characters in the carnival. Carnies are a great setting for continuing drama. Check out "Carnivale" on HBO.

 

7) After the book's cancellation, the writer on Ghost Rider (Ivan Velez, Jr.) brought Blaze into his supporting cast and proceeded to completely ignore everything done in your series concerning John's carnival and two children. Did you follow the character at all after your series was cancelled?

 

I never read any comics in any series after I stopped writing them. I don't generally read comics. Mostly, I look at the pictures, because that's what I'm interested in. If the art and the storytelling aren't any good, I'm not interested at all.

 

8) Who's more grizzled and hardcore: John Blaze, shotgun firing circus owner, or Wolverine, dirty stinkin' mutie? 

 

Not a fair question. I wrote the ol' Canucklehead book for so long that I could naturally turn on his mindset. Blaze, I felt was little more cold, not given to fits of sentimentality and also not capable of true berserker rage. I saw Logan more as Robert DeNiro in the era when he did Raging Bull, and I saw Blaze more as Clint Eastwood when he was doing the spaghetti westerns for Sergio Leone.

 

9) Moving forward to the present, do you have any upcoming projects that we should be on the lookout for?

A few projects are covered by security docs. Been doing some animation stuff, and a bunch of video games. Also TV and feature development. Can't really talk about most of if.

 

10) Thanks for taking the time to participate in this interview, Larry! Do you have any closing comments for the readers?

I had a great time writing comics. I was very lucky that I was able to make a living just making
up fun stuff.

 

Loads of thanks to the ultra-cool Mr. Hama for doing this interview, and I'll definitely be on the lookout for his name in the credits of future television and movie projects!

Ghost Rider Collector's Edition (1993) # 1

"Eye of the Beholder!"

Cover Date: 1993
On Sale Date: October 1993

Writer: Chris Cooper
Artist: John Hebert
Inker: Bill Anderson
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Editor: Glenn Herdling
Editor-In-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Cover Artist: John Hebert

During a funeral held at Cypress Hills Cemetery, three criminals threaten the mourners at gunpoint, demanding their cash and valuables. Before they can hurt anyone, they are stopped by the Ghost Rider, who gives the first hood a dose of the Penance Stare. Outside the cemetery gates, Kirsten Crowley waits behind the wheel of the crooks' getaway van and admires herself in the rear-view mirror. She sees her partners fleeing the cemetery with Ghost Rider giving chase, so she abandons them and drives away. When she reaches the bridge, she realizes that Ghost Rider has pursued her, and in an attempt to out-maneuver him she runs the van off the bridge. She's caught by the Ghost Rider's chain, but when he takes her hand to pull her up the right side of her body is consumed by hellfire. Before he can get answers as to why this happened, the sound of police sirens force the Rider to depart. Back at the Cemetery, Ghost Rider transforms into Dan Ketch, who regrets what happened to Kirsten. The Caretaker appears and tells him to stop whining and visit her at the hospital if he's that worried about her.

The next day, Dan arrives at the hospital with flowers in his guise as a motorcycle messenger. As he walks to her room, he overhears two doctors talking about Kirsten being a confirmed mutant. Dan concludes that it must have been her latent mutant powers that caused the reaction with Ghost Rider's hellfire. He enters the room, and finds that the right side of Kirsten's body has been horribly burned and disfigured. She angrily knocks the flowers from his hand, and when a nurse enters to help pick them up Crowley yells at them to get out of her room. After they leave, Kirsten's anger at how she used to beautiful causes her mutant powers to activate, setting the right half of her body on fire once again. She starts terrorizing the hospital, forcing Dan to transform into Ghost Rider in order to stop her. She attacks the Rider, and at first he takes the fire blasts without fighting back, as he blames himself for what happened to her. When she turns her attention to the innocent bystanders, however, he realizes that the only person to blame for her cruel fate was Kirsten herself. Ghost Rider grabs her from behind and gives her the Penance Stare, which forces her to see the ugliness within her soul instead of her outward appearance. She collapses to the floor and the Rider leaves; but when she asks for help, the nurse she threatened to kill is there to embrace her.

Harvey Dent's understudy.

THE ROADMAP

This limited-edition comic was available exclusively through Kay Bee Toys as a promotional giveaway attached to the X-Men game for the Sega Genesis. As a result, this comic is incredibly rare and hard to find. Copies do pop up on eBay on occasion, though usually with a high price.

Ghost Rider last appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 38  and he makes his next appearance in Nightstalkers (1992) # 7.

CHAIN REACTION

Ghost Rider Collector's Edition # 1 - frequently referred to as "Ghost Rider: Hot Pursuit" due to the cover blurb - is near-mythical amongst Flameheads.

I remember seeing the advertisements for this promotional comic in the regular Ghost Rider comic in the mid-90s, and I so badly wanted to get it. Unfortunately, there wasn't a Kay Bee Toys anywhere near where I lived, so I had no way of tracking one down. In fact, it wasn't until last year that I got my hands on a copy through the wonders of eBay, even if it did cost me a pretty penny to purchase. Sadly, it didn't live up to the years of anticipation I had for it; though I shouldn't have been surprised, considering it was a promotional comic with a fill-in creative team doing a totally inconsequential stand-alone story.

The story isn't that bad, but its nothing phenomenal either. The most interesting aspect is Ghost Rider's feelings of guilt over what happened to Kirsten Crowley, and the responsibility he feels when she finally gets to seek her revenge against him. Kirsten's a bit of a shallow character, the stereotypical narcissist concerned only with her physical beauty, and once that beauty's taken away she blames everyone but herself. As Ghost Rider eventually realizes, its no one's fault but her own due to the choices she made in her life. If it hadn't been hellfire that destroyed her, it eventually would have been something else. We also get the typical "feel good ending" with the nurse accepting Kirsten's pleas for help, while the Spirit of Vengeance drives on to its next destination. Its a simple story, but it gets its point across fairly well.

I'm unfamiliar with artist John Hebert, other than seeing his artwork on another Ghost Rider story in one of Marvel's Holiday Specials from around the same time as this comic. He's certainly at the start of his career, with the expected amateur bits to his work, but for the most part he does a solid job. In particular, he does a good rendition of Ghost Rider himself, which is certainly the most important part to get right. The only complaint I have, really, is his design for Kirsten while she's in the hospital. Would a severe burn victim really be dressed in what looks like body armor? I suppose its supposed to be some sort of rejuvenating outfit, but it looks way too "super-villain" to be taken seriously.

This isn't a bad comic, far from it in fact. But unless you're a die-hard Ghost Rider fanatic who absolutely has to own every one of his comics (which I admit to being one of those, sad to say, lol) I can't recommend it due to the high price tag it carries today.

Not the jacket, anything but the jacket!

Ghost Rider Poster Book

Cover Artist: Blechman

Published: Jan. 2003
Original Price: N/A

SYNOPSIS

This poster book features the following 14 pin-ups:

 

- Poster image by artist I don't know
- The cover to Ghost Rider (2001) # 2 by Trent Kaniuga
- An edited version of the cover to Doctor Strange/Ghost Rider Special # 1 by Michael Golden
- A pin-up by Mark Texeira
- A pin-up by Michael Bair
- The cover to Daredevil (1964) # 372 by Ariel Olivetti
- A pin-up by Joe Jusko from the Marvel Masterworks trading card set
- The cover image to this issue by an artist named Blechman
- The cover to Ghost Rider (1990) # 24 by Mark Texeira
- The cover to Ghost Rider (2001) # 4 by Trent Kaniuga
- The cover to Ghost Rider (2001) # 5 by Trent Kaniuga
- A pin-up from Ghost Rider (2001) # 2 by Trent Kaniuga
- A pin-up from Paradise X # 9 by Doug Braithwaite
- A pin-up by Nelson DeCastro

 

ANNOTATIONS 

This poster book came packaged with the Marvel Legends Wave 7 Original Ghost Rider action figure manufactured by Toy Biz.

 

REVIEW

Not much to talk about here, so I'll make this review quick.

 

Ghost Rider is a character that has had a ton of amazing artists working on his comics, and Marvel was able to release a previous poster book about ten years before. This poster book was included as an extra to the Ghost Rider action figure from the Marvel Legends line, which usually packaged their figures with reprints of character-appropriate comic books. Instead of a reprint, the Original Ghost Rider figure came with this poster book, which is much cooler than another copy of a comic I already own.

 

The time it was released naturally influenced what artists were featured, with Trent Kaniuga being the heavy favorite due to the then-recent release of "The Hammer Lane". I was surprised, though, at the number of art pieces that I'd actually never seen before (namely the images from Michael Bair and the cover image) and ones that weren't used as covers (like the images from Joe Jusko, Nelson DeCastro, and Mark Texeira).

 

So, yeah, neat little extra addition for people (like me) who bought the Ghost Rider action figure. Not much more I can say about it (though if you know who painted the pin-up on the first page or the first name of the Blechman artist, please let me know).

 

Grade: N/A

Ghost Rider 2099 Chronology

The Marvel 2099 imprint launched in 1992 with four titles (Spider-Man, Punisher, Doom, and Ravage) and slowly expanded its line over the next two years.  Among the titles added was Ghost Rider 2099 by writer Len Kaminski and (at least initially) artist Chris Bachalo.  This version of Ghost Rider was completely removed from the modern day incarnation; instead of a demonic Spirit of Vengeance, hacker anarchist Zero Cochrane found his mind downloaded into the body of a technologically advanced robot.  The series last for 25 issues with only a few guest-appearances, so this chronology will be relatively brief. 

The character was brought back in 2009 during the Timestorm 2009/2099 mini-series and in 2015 for the Ghost Racers mini-series, but those versions of Zero were from alternate realities and not the one from the 1994 series.

Finally, there were two unpublished issues of Ghost Rider 2099 from 1996 (which were commissioned and completed just prior to the series being cancelled) that have been released online by the artist.  "Daddy Dearest" was written by Scott Andrews and illustrated by Salgood Sam (then Max Douglas) and "Horrorshow" was written by Warren Ellis and illustrated as well by Salgood Sam.  

Cover Artist: Ashley Wood

1994
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 1
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 2
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 3
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 4
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 5
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 6
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 7
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 8

1995
Ghost Rider 2099: Horrorshow (unpublished)
Ghost Rider 2099: Daddy Dearest (unpublished)
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 9
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 10
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 11
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 12
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 13
2099 A.D. # 1
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 14
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 15
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 16
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 17
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 18
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 19
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 20

1996
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 21
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 22
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 23
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 24
Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 25

1998
2099: Manifest Destiny # 1

2009
Timestorm 2009/2099 # 2
Timestorm 2009/2099: X-Men # 1
Timestorm 2009/2099 # 3
Timestorm 2009/2099 # 4

2015
Ghost Racers (2015) # 2
Ghost Racers (2015) # 3
Ghost Racers (2015) # 4

2016
Spider-Man 2099 (2015) # 14

Promotional Artwork: Chris Bachalo

Secret Wars: Secret Love # 1

Cover Artist: David Nakayama

Published: Sept. 2015
Original Price: $4.99

Title: "Fan of a Fan"
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Felipe Smith
Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Val Staples
Editor: Emily Shaw
Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso 

SYNOPSIS
During the finale of a Ghost Race, the "Mechanic From Hell" Robbie Reyes uses his chains to wrap up a giant monster called a Klamaggon, which he uses to knock out the other racers.  Once again, Reyes is the winner of the night's Ghost Race and is cheered by the fans in the grandstands.  Watching from the stands are his brother, Gabe, and his girlfriend Lisa, who is worried about how dangerous the Killiseum can be.  At the "Circle Q Concession Stand" at the edge of the Killiseum is Kamala Khan, also known as the heroine Ms. Marvel, who is ordered by her boss to take Reyes a free "Magnum Slurpee of Doom" for promotion.  Kamala runs up to Robbie during his victory march, while a jealous Lisa and Bruno (Kamala's unrequited love interest) watch on jealously.

Suddenly, the Klamaggon jumps at Reyes, and he transforms into the Ghost Rider to stop it.  Kamala changes into Ms. Marvel, and the two young heroes quickly defeat the giant monster.  When the smoke clears, Robbie and Kamala stand facing one another, close enough to kiss, while Lisa and Bruno look on in horror.  But instead of kissing, Robbie and Kamala slap their hands together and Kamala shouts "Crossover besties 4 lyfe, bro!!".  Lisa and Bruno both sigh in relief.

ANNOTATIONS 
Secret Love was part of the 2015 Secret Wars event, which saw the Marvel multiverse destroyed with only a single world remaining under the rule of a godlike Doctor Doom.  The planet, Battleworld, was comprised of dozens of domains consisting of fragments of alternate realities.  This story takes place in the domain of Doomstadt, which is home of the Killiseum and the location of the Ghost Racers limited series.

This story likely takes place just prior to Ghost Racers (2015) # 1.

This anthology special also contained stories featuring Daredevil, Iron Fist & Misty Knight, Squirrel Girl, and Ant-Man & the Wasp.

REVIEW
All-New Ghost Rider and Ms. Marvel have a really sweet crossover in the midst of Secret Wars, which  makes me wonder why these two characters haven't interacted again.

Secret Love is an inconsequential anthology one-shot (which is strange in and of itself, since Secret Wars already had TWO anthology mini-series running concurrently) centered around nominal notions of love.  Pairing together two new, young heroes like Robbie and Kamala was a smart move, even though I've never read the Ms. Marvel series and know absolutely nothing about her character (she makes giant fists, I assume?).  This is a comedy piece, which is kind of refreshing given how bleak and unrelentingly depressing the Ghost Racers series has been, but it's absolutely unnecessary to pick up outside of its admittedly charming leads. I liked the swerve at the end, which forgoes the expected romantic sparks between the characters in favor of something totally different.  Also, "crossover besties 4 lyfe, bro!" gave me a real laugh.

The artwork is likewise charming, with Felipe Smith returning to draw another Ghost Rider story after his work on All-New Ghost Rider.  While Juan Gedeon was a great choice to draw the Ghost Racers series, I still say that no artist "gets" Robbie Reyes like Smith does, and I will always welcome any opportunity he has to draw as well as write the character.  His work isn't as dark as Gedeon's, though both are stylistically similar, so it certainly fits the more light-hearted tone of this story.

Again, I'm really surprised that more hasn't been done with the Reyes/Khan pairing post-Secret Wars, but since Robbie has yet to reappear since that event perhaps it's in the cards for the future.  As it stands, though, this is a nice, happy little story that will make you smile but is certainly not essential reading.

Grade: B

Creator Interview: Tony Moore

Tony Moore

At the end of 2009, I got to interview another then-current creative force on Ghost Rider, the incomparable Tony Moore.  Even though he only did three issues of the series (at the time, he later came back during the "Circle of Four" story in 2012), Moore left an undeniable mark on the series and helped to produce one of my all-time favorite Ghost Rider comics (the first chapter of "Trials and Tribulations").

Two things I'll point out, though: a) the confirmation that The Walking Dead was coming to television sounds so quant when read here, considering the juggernaut that series has become, and b) I really should get around to either re-posting or flat-out re-doing the Top Ten Ghost Rider Comics of All Time list...

As part of our anniversary extravaganza, Vengeance Unbound proudly presents a few words with recent Ghost Rider artist Tony Moore! Take it away, Tony!

1) While you've had an extensive career as a comic book artist, your work on Ghost Rider has been very recent. For Ghost Rider fans that may have experienced your work for the first time, what are some other projects you've worked on in the past? In other words, what books would you recommend as “The Essential Tony Moore”?

 

Hmmm. Well, I guess I'd recommend one of everything I've done! If I had to pick a handful of my favorites, I'd pick Brit issues 1 and 2, both 48 pages, written by Robert Kirkman and full art by me. It's about an impervious old man who does the government's dirty work fighting monsters and weirdos. Then, The Walking Dead vol. 1, which is also by myself and Robert, which is a Romero-style survival/horror story in a zombie apocalypse. I co-created Fear Agent with my now Punisher cohort Rick Remender, and it's basically a two-fisted sci-fi western, inspired largely by the EC comics of the 1950s. My favorite collection from that series is vol. 3, The Last Goodbye, which is the origin story of Heath Huston and how he became the alcoholic space cowboy we see in the rest of series. And lastly, but not leastly, The Exterminators, which i did at Vertigo with Simon Oliver, which is a gritty black comedy with supernatural overtones, which basically follows a group of social misfits on their daily job with the family pest control business in the underbelly of Los Angeles. These are my favorite four creator-owned projects, which lead right up to the point I started working with Marvel.

 

2) What with your work on zombies and monsters of all kind, did you come into your run on Ghost Rider already a fan of the character? If so, what are some of your favorite Ghost Rider comics/moments?

 

Yeah, Ghost Rider's one of the big reasons i got into comics as a kid. Unfortunately it was in the period of his heaviest saturation in the 90's, but as a kid who was already a fan of horror and monsters, I was an easy mark for everything that featured the flamey-skulled biker. I grew up on the Mackie/Tex run with Danny Ketch from then, but as I grew older and my collection grew bigger, I really came to enjoy the older Blaze stories by Friedrich and Ploog from the late 70s.

 

3) For your run on Ghost Rider, you partnered up with writer Jason Aaron. What was that experience like? Should we be on the look-out for more Aaron/Moore produced comics in the future?

 

I'm a big fan of Jason's work, and he's a dear friend of mine, so the experience was one of those kinds of experiences that make drawing comics a joy. We come from similar schools of thought, and we really enjoyed kicking ideas around together and making the kinds of comics we as readers would enjoy. As soon as our schedules allow, I'd love to work with Jason again. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: that dude could write a VCR manual and I'd strangle 50 other artists for the chance to draw it.

 

4) Even though you only contributed three issues to the character, your work on Ghost Rider was hugely important to the character's history. In one issue in particular, you were responsible for designing a whole slew of past Spirits of Vengeance. Where did the inspiration for all those wildly fascinating Riders come from, and was it difficult having to design so many characters in your very first issue?

 

The seeds for most of them came from Jason wanting to have one for each of the featured time periods. A good many of them are pretty thinly veiled analogs of pop culture icons that Jason and I both enjoy, and the rest were born from our similar interests, such as outlaw country music, which inspired our Penance Fist-wielding zombie smashing Hellbilly Ghost Rider. Designing them all was a blast, but it was easily one of the most challenging issues of a comic that i've had to draw, constantly establishing new time periods and locales and introducing an all new guy that you only get to see for a panel of two, yet somehow make it all feel important. It was a pretty tall order.

 

5) As part of the site's 8 year anniversary celebration, I've recently posted the Top Ten Ghost Rider Comics of All Time – and one of your issues, Ghost Rider # 33, made the list! What do you think about one of your issues being held up as one of the greatest Ghost Rider tales ever told?

 

I'm truly honored. Ghost Rider is one of the characters closest to my heart, so for a story I worked on to be held up as one of the greatest really means a lot to me. The 12 year old fanboy inside me is blown away by it all.

 

6) You've recently started work on the Punisher alongside writer Rick Remender, the most recent issue of which seems to have been met with a bit of controversy amongst fans. What's the story with “Franken-Castle” and how do such Marvel horror icons as Morbius and the Man-Thing come into play?

 

Well, we figured that the Marvel 616 continuity is a batshit crazy place. Giant cosmic planet-eating gods and flying weirdos in tights, mutants and androids, and a guy like Frank, a regular (albeit highly skilled) dude with guns, whose M.O. is shooting people in the face, can't rightly exist in such a place without bumping into, and even running afoul of, a lot of these cats with some pretty serious consequences, and perhaps some pretty outlandish results.

In our tale, Frank has been sliced to chunks by Wolverine's no-account son, Daken, on the order of Norman Osborn. Before the body can be retrieved, moloids scuttle off with the pieces. Meanwhile, the monsters of the Marvel Universe are on the run from a mysterious new force, which is slaughtering them at every turn, hell-bent on eradicating them from the earth. Among the monsters is Morbius, who has rebuilt Frank as a lumbering bolt-necked behemoth in hopes of having him join Manphibian, Werewolf by Night, N'Kantu the Living Mummy, and Man-Thing as  the Legion of Monsters, to help protect the creatures of the night. We're examining Frank as a monster on the inside as well as out, and telling a fun tale that gets Frank on his feet again in the wake of his murder. It's all pretty wild stuff, but that's what's so fun about the Marvel Universe!

 

7) A question I ask every creator: what did you think of the Ghost Rider movie?

 

It broke my heart. The script had a bazillion holes in it. Why did Sam Elliott waste his final flame-up on the ride over, to leave Blaze hanging when he could have used the help the most? Why did the Penance Stare that failed 30 minutes earlier suddenly work on Blackheart? I love Nicolas Cage, but as Hi from Raising Arizona, and as Charlie Kaufman in Adaptation. Try as i might, i can't buy him as a tough guy or a hero, and he's way to old to play a naïve screwup like Blaze. I dunno. The whole thing was a wreck. I watched it a second time to see if it was a bad as i remembered, which is was, and I watched it a third time because I'm a glutton for punishment.  It was all too slick, and made no sense. It's a horror story. Simple. Go watch Sons of Anarchy and American Werewolf in London, and read Faust. The thing should practically make itself

 

8) Outside of your work on the Punisher, what other projects do you have in the works right now?

 

That's it for the time being. I have some stories i'm building up in my notebook, for future use, either with another writer, to to do by myself. A couple ghost stories and a couple westerns, but Punisher is taking up all my time for the foreseeable future, until my biggest work in progress hits in March. My wife and i have a daughter on the way, which will surely monopolize my waking hours for a while. We're both very excited.

 

9) I hear that Hollywood has taken a serious interest in your work of late. Did I hear correctly that both The Exterminators and The Walking Dead have been optioned for television?

 

It's true. Sara Colleton, who is one of the driving forces behind Dexter is working to bring The Exterminators to Showtime.  Frank Darabont is working on The Walking Dead at AMC. The crew at Dark Horse are talking to Universal about Fear Agent. If a couple of these come together, a fella could get real comfortable!

 

10) Mr. Moore, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview with me. Any last remarks for all the Ghost Rider fans out there?

 

I'd like to thank all the fellow fans out there for coming along with us on the ride. We've got a lot of love for these characters. I mean, they inspired us to avoid getting real jobs and devote our lives to this stuff, and it's an honor to get to play in this sandbox.  I'm really proud of the work we've been able to put together, so it means a lot to us when fans are having as much fun as we are. Thanks so much!

 

Ghost Rider by Tony Moore

 

Ghost Racers (2015) # 1

Cover Artist: Francisco Francavilla

Published: April 2015
Original Price: $3.99

Title: untitled
Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Juan Gedeon
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Editor In Chief: Axel Alonso 

SYNOPSIS
At the Killiseum, the entertainment center of Battleworld, a massive crowd is in attendance for the Ghost Races.  Each attendee has their favorite racer, but the most popular by far is Robbie "the Hell-Charger" Reyes, who is preparing for the race.  The proprietor of the Killiseum, Arcade, introduces the crowd to the Spirits of Ignition, and the race begins! 

The race between the five competitors is fierce, with Alejandra "Nicaraguan Hellfire" Jones nearly winning in the last moments before being taken out.  The winner is Reyes, who comments to the spirit of Eli Morrow inside him that the race was too close and they almost lost.  While Reyes is taken to the victory podium, the losing competitors (Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, Alejandra Jones, and Carter Slade) are all "de-spirited" and taken into custody by the Killiseum guards.  Reyes is interviewed by a reporter who comments that he now holds the record for the most victories in the Ghost Races.  Before he can comment, Danny Ketch yells to Reyes that he'll suffer for the torture that the rest of them have to endure, and that no one can escape the curse of the Ghost Racer. 

Later that night, Robbie and his younger brother Gabe are treated to VIP status at Club Jekyll & Hyde.  The two brothers watch a highlight reel of Robbie's victories in the races, with Gabe calling Robbie his hero.  Meanwhile, at the Killiseum, Arcade and his "guardian angel" Zadkiel are supervising the torture of the racers who lost.  Arcade checks in on the statistics of the night's race and comments to himself that Reyes is too good a racer, and it will make Arcade even richer if Reyes never sees the finish line again.

ANNOTATIONS 
Ghost Racers was part of the 2015 Secret Wars event, which saw the Marvel multiverse destroyed with only a single world remaining under the rule of a godlike Doctor Doom.  The planet, Battleworld, was comprised of dozens of domains consisting of fragments of alternate realities.  This series takes place in the domain of Doomstadt, which is home of the Killiseum.

Due to the nature of Battleworld, none of the Ghost Riders featured in this series come from the established Marvel Universe; all of them hail from alternate realities, which explains the inconsistencies in characterizations.

The Ghost Racers featured in this issue include: Robbie Reyes (who first appeared in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 1), Johnny Blaze (first appeared in Marvel Spotlight on Ghost Rider (1972) # 5), Danny Ketch (first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 1), Carter Slade (first appeared in The Ghost Rider (1967) # 1), and Alejandra Jones (misnamed Alejandra Blaze in this series, first appeared in Ghost Rider (2011) # 1).

Zadkiel, who appears here as the handler for the Spirits of Ignition, was the angel responsible for the creation of the Spirits of Vengeance in the 616 Marvel Universe.  He made his first appearance in Ghost Rider (2006) # 27.

This issue also included a 1-page text/art article by Juan Gedeon called "The Devil's In the Details Part 1: Horsepower From Hell", which features commentary on his design for Carter Slade.

This issue was released with a Carter Slade variant cover by Dan Panosian, a Robbie Reyes variant cover by Tradd Moore, and an "ant-size" variant cover by Mark Texeira.

REVIEW
All-New Ghost Rider is transformed into Ghost Racers as it enters the Secret Wars event, sorta but not really continuing the story of Robbie Reyes while offering some really wild interpretations of other Ghost Riders (sorry, Ghost Racers).

Secret Wars was such an uneven, weird event for Marvel, particularly when it came to the tie-in series (of which there were MANY).  Most of the tie-ins were simply sequels or retreads of past Marvel event stories, like "Inferno", "Future Imperfect", and "House of M".  Only a handful brought something truly original into the patchwork Battleworld, and those were generally the most interesting of all the titles.  The Marvel creators were given the choice to do a Secret Wars tie-in or to wrap up their titles with "Last Days" stories;  Felipe Smith chose to do the former, but since Ghost Rider doesn't really have a classic event story to call back on (unless you go with "Siege of Darkness", but who would want to read that again?), he went for a concept that was simultaneously batshit crazy yet a natural fit for the character.

Essentially, he did Deathrace 2000 with all the Ghost Riders, and it's fucking brilliant.

There isn't much of a story here, since most of the issue is a showcase for our first Ghost Race, but so much of the characterization is on display during the race that it feels like more happens than really does.  Robbie is pretty much the same as his previously established counterpart, but the personalities of the others vary wildly from what we've seen before.  Carter Slade as a demonic cowboy centaur with miniguns?  Okay, yeah, I can go with that.  I also think that this is the most personality Alejandra has ever shown, I actually liked her here far more than I did in our own series a few years back.  The problem, though, is that any emotional connection you may have with these characters are there in name only due to this all being alternate earth counterpart stuff.  Danny Ketch as a Sons of Anarchy type is interesting, sure, but it's Danny Ketch in name only.  Even Robbie doesn't feel the same, because all of the development he got during his last series has been erased, so while he's basically the same the differences in, for example, his relationship with Gabe makes things profoundly difficult to attach to.

The real showcase here is the artwork by Juan Gedeon, who has redesigned all of the Ghost Riders except for Robbie, some in very particularly awesome ways.  Carter Slade, as I described above, is a lot different from "He Who Rides the Night Winds", and it's fantastic that Gedeon was able to get across so much personality with each character design.  Plus, he was able to make a character who can easily get confused with other incarnations visually distinct from Rider to Rider.  He also excels at drawing chase scene action, which is notoriously hard to pull off in a dynamic way, given that comics are a visual sans motion. 

So, while the characterizations are a problem, that's really not Felipe Smith's fault given the mission statement of these Secret Wars titles.  He came out and made something really distinct and interesting, and I for one applaud this series.

Grade: A+

A Shout-Out To Readers

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who visits, reads, and comments both here at the blog and on the Vengeance Unbound Facebook page.  You guys are all awesome, and there are two guys in particular that I want to give some serious props to.

The first is Jim Yost, who has joined me both here on the blog and as my upcoming podcast co-host.  When I started Vengeance Unbound as a catch-all Ghost Rider fansite way back in 2001, Jim was one of the very first people to get in contact with me to share our love of the character.  In fact, he wrote a great article for that first incarnation of the website (which has, unfortunately, been lost to the misty Internet graveyard following site crashes).  He's been a staunch supporter of the site ever since, and if it wasn't for him the Skulls On Fire podcast would just be a pipe dream.  Here's to you, dude!

The second is a fan that goes by the handle GR_Fan82 (yes, I know his real name, but I don't know if he'd want me to share it on a public forum, so we'll just go by his 'net handle).  He's another one who has been a years-long supporter of the site and a fan that I keep in regular contact with via e-mail to chat about all things Ghost Rider.  This is a guy who went out of his way at a recent comic convention to get me not only a copy of Ghost Rider (1973) # 76 signed by Bob Budiansky, but also a kick-ass art print signed (and personalized, to boot!) by Budiansky, who is definitely my all-time favorite Ghost Rider artist.  The generosity and just flat-out awesomeness of that stuns me, and knowing that there are fans of my work on the blog that would do something so nice is a huge motivator for everything I do here. 

So thanks Jim, thanks GR-Fan82, and thanks to everyone else who has ever e-mailed or even just read something on the site or blog over the years.  You guys are all fucking awesome!

Art Print by Bob Budiansky

Creator Interview: Jason Aaron

Jason Aaron

I was on a creator interview hot streak back in 2008, when I got to interview not just Javier Saltares but also Jason Aaron, who was right in the thick of his fantastic run on the ongoing Ghost Rider series.  Specifically, this interview was conducted right when "Last Stand of the Spirits of Vengeance" was getting ready to kick off.  Since I'm about to start re-posting the reviews for that story-arc I figured this would be the perfect time to re-present this interview.  Take it away me from 8 years ago!

Vengeance Unbound is honored to present an interview with the current writer of the ongoing Ghost Rider series, Jason Aaron!

1) I understand you have an interesting story about how you broke into the comics industry, something about winning a writing contest for Marvel a few years back? What did it take for you to get your feet in the door at Vertigo for your first major project, The Other Side?

 

Yeah, my first break came when I won a Marvel talent search contest in 2002. I did an 8 page Wolverine story, which was my first published work. Unfortunately it didn't lead to anything else at the time, but it did encourage me to start pitching ideas around. And one of the first things I pitched was a Vietnam War mini-series. I somehow got that pitch to the attention of Will Dennis at Vertigo and it was published last year as THE OTHER SIDE. And since then, one thing has just led to another.

 

2) What circumstances led you to getting the Ghost Rider gig? Was Johnny Blaze a character you were chomping at the bit to write, or did you come into the series cold?

 

It was my Vertigo series SCALPED that brought me to the attention of Marvel editor Axel Alonso. I did some WOLVERINE issues for Axel, and he asked me if I wanted to pitch for GHOST RIDER. Up until then, I'd read GR off and on over the years. I has some issues of the original series and had read a lot of the 90s series, so I was already up on the character. Thankfully Axel liked my take. And it helped that the previous writer, Daniel Way, was leaving me in a great spot to take over.

 

3) You took over Ghost Rider from outgoing writer Daniel Way , who introduced the somewhat controversial idea of Blaze being possessed by an angel. Was the angel concept your idea or Way's, and did you have trouble with the new status quo when you came on board?

 

It was Way's idea, and no, I didn't have a problem with it. Quite the contrary. I loved the fact that the angel revelation allowed me to take the book in a different direction, setting up an all-new villain and ultimately a bit of a different tone for the book. I understand how people gripe about Ghost Rider's continuity, wondering how you can reconcile the GR being a spirit of heaven with Blaze being possessed by Zarathos and everything to do with Noble Kale and the Medallion of Power. But Ghost Rider continuity was already a very complicated mess. Unless you're a real student of the series, there's no way you can keep up with everything. As far as I'm concerned, the best thing to do is pare that stuff down as much as possible to make things accessible for new readers. I know a lot of long time readers would love to see stories resolved that were started years ago, but they have to understand that those writers are gone. We're just trying to create a Ghost Rider series for the present, to tell exciting new stories and to keep growing Flamehead's fanbase. That doesn't mean you have to throw out all the old stuff, and in fact you can see where I've been making a lot of references to GR continuity in recent issues. But the main thing here is just to tell new stories, stories that still stay true to what Ghost Rider is all about.

 

4) You were responsible for bringing back Danny Ketch, the host for the 1990s Ghost Rider and a character fans have been asking about since the new series began. What made you decide to bring Dan back to the series?

 

It was then editor Aubrey Sitterson who suggested it, and at first I was opposed to the idea. I just didn't want to open that whole can of worms. But the more I thought about it, the more excited I got. I liked that we'd be bringing Ketch back in a way that fans weren't expecting, and I was interested in being able to expand Blaze's supporting cast a bit and to shape Ketch into a more fully-realized character, someone I'd be able to have fun with. And rest assured, Ketch is back for good. This isn't a short term thing. I think he'll remain in the series even after I'm gone.

 

5) You're also dealing heavily with the Ghost Rider's origins in your current story-arc, a subject that's been handled pretty poorly in the past. Considering how convoluted the origin story has become over the years, what do you think is necessary to keep – Noble Kale, Zarathos, the Medallion of Power, Mephisto, what makes the cut?

 

I'm mostly just focusing on the new wrinkle, and trying to make everything else make as much sense as possible, if that's possible at all. I've worked in a few references to Noble Kale so far, and chances are you'll see a bit more of him later. I'm not at all interested in revisiting Zarathos or the Medallion of Power though. I just don't see that there's anymore story there.

 

6) Here's the question that's a major point of contention for Ghost Rider fans: Johnny Blaze or Daniel Ketch, who do YOU see as the true Ghost Rider?

 

I'm partial to Blaze, because he's just a more interesting character, more tortured, more fun to write. But that said, who says we can't have two Ghost Riders, huh? Or then again, why stop at two?

 

7) Do you have a favorite story-arc for Ghost Rider? Were there any writers that inspired your take on the character?

 

I'm a big fan of writer Michael Fleisher, and a lot of his issues from the original series were great. J.M. Dematties did some nice stuff at the end of that first series as well. And of course you've got to give respect to Gary Friedrich, who got the whole thing rolling. In terms of the 90s series, I became a big fan with the Rise of the Midnight Sons storyline, where we first got the spin-off title Spirits of Vengeance that paired Blaze and Ketch together. My favorite villain from that series was probably the Scarecrow, so I'd still love to bring him back at some point. I also really loved the recent GHOST RIDER: MYTHOS one shot by Paul Jenkins. That was my favorite GR story in a long time. Beyond that, I'm also a huge fan of Stever Gerber's Son of Satan stories from MARVEL SPOTLIGHT, as well as a lot of the elements that Warren Ellis introduced in HELLSTORM, and I hope to be incorporating some of those characters and ideas into GHOST RIDER in the coming months.

 

8) What did you think of the Ghost Rider movie?

 

Not my cup of tea really, but I thought the effects were pretty cool.

 

9) Here's where you get to shill your products, Jason! What other projects do you have in the works right now? Any other new Ghost Rider material outside of the current ongoing series?

 

I continue to write SCALPED, my Eisner nominated Vertigo series, and have a new WOLVERINE mini-series starting later this month. I'm also doing a PUNISHER Christmas Special later this year. And while it's not written by me, there is a new GHOST RIDER series debuting this month. It's a mini-series focusing on Danny Ketch, and it's written by the amazing British writer Simon Spurrier and drawn by someone who's no stranger to Flamehead fans: the great Javier Saltares. It will serve to bridge the gap between the old Danny Ketch and the new version, who for some reason is in service to Zadkiel.

 

10) Mr. Aaron, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview with me. Any last remarks for all the Ghost Rider fans out there?

 

I just wanna say that my first year on this series has been the most fun I've ever had as a writer, but I'm even more excited about what's coming up in year two. In terms of teases, be on the look-out for an awful lot of exciting new characters (including a look at some past Ghost Riders we've never seen before), as well as the return of another old favorite, though in a slightly different form. Oh, and the Orb will be back as well, I guarantee it. Thanks.

 

Special thanks to Jason Aaron for subjecting himself to this interview, and be sure to pick up the ongoing Ghost Rider series each and every month to read more of his incredible work!