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.

Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 3

Cover Artist: John Romita Jr.

Published: Oct. 1993
Original Price: $3.95

Title: "Sins of Spider-X"
Writer: Mort Todd
Artists: Mort Todd, Javier Saltares, John Czop, Ken Meyer Jr., Dougie Braithwaite, and Vince Giarrano
Inkers: Pat Redding, Mike Witherby, Mark Pennington, and Cam Smith
Letterer: Steve Dutro
Colorists: John Kalisz, Tom Smith, Joe Caponsacco, Ken Meyer Jr., and Kevin Somers
Editor: Hildy Mesnik
Group Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS

In a deserted alley in New York City, Spider-Man is ambushed by an evil mutant called the Paralyzer, who was just passing by and decided to attack the hero. Spider-Man recovers after the villain has left and returns home, depressed at the state of his life. He's welcomed by the Dwarf, who is there to offer him a page of the Darkhold.

 

Later, Ghost Rider and John Blaze are riding through the city streets when they are caught in a giant web that has also trapped several other people. A demonic creature wearing a ripped Spider-Man costume appears, calling himself Spider-X, and the Spirits of Vengeance assume that Spider-Man has become corrupted by the Darkhold and is now killing criminals. Ghost Rider frees himself from Spider-X's web, but Blaze remains trapped. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, two of the Darkhold Redeemers (Victoria Montesi and Jinx) sense the use of a Darkhold page in New York City and prepare to leave. Blaze is able to retrieve his shotgun and he blasts Spider-X away long enough for Ghost Rider to free him. Blaze and Ghost Rider fight with Spider-X over his victims, and Ghost Rider attempts to give the creature his Penance Stare. Spider-X breaks free and escapes, leaving the two heroes to free the people caught in the web.

 

Meanwhile, the Nightstalkers are in New York to meet with a client that had written them a letter about rising crime rates being attributed to the occult. They go to visit the letter writer, Brian Kornfeld, and meet the young man's mother. She tells them that Brian idolizes superheroes, and when she was brutally mugged last month he took it personally that none of the heroes helped her. She shows him a picture of Brian, who is wearing a Spider-Man costume. Suddenly, Spider-X breaks through the window, carrying a dead man wrapped in webbing. He kidnaps Mrs. Kornfeld and the Nightstalkers give chase through the city. Spider-X is blasted by Frank Drake into an electronics store, where he hears a news report about the Paralyzer having taken control of a power station in the city. Spider-X escapes, and when the Nightstalkers recover Mrs. Kornfeld she tells them that the body the creature had with him was the man who had mugged her.

 

At Grand Central Station, Vicki Montesi and Jinx arrive in the city and immediately encounter Spider-X. He webs Jinx to a wall and carries Montesi up the side of a building, but the demon is stopped by Ghost Rider, who has finally caught up to his foe. Montesi falls, but is caught by Blaze, who also rescued Jinx. They follow Spider-X through the city, but the creature again escapes them.

 

Morbius, the living vampire, sees Spider-X swinging through the city and flies to investigate, but is stopped by Spider-Man, who wants to apprehend Morbius. Spider-Man thinks about the strange dwarf in his apartment and how upset he was that the hero wouldn't take his envelope, saying he would "just have to find another Spider-Man". The fight between Morbius and Spider-Man takes them toward the power station, where they find another web with victims trapped inside it. Spider-X attacks them both, but he is stopped by the assembled Midnight Sons. Inside the power planet, Paralyzer finishes his work and recreates the energy being Zzzax, who he sends to fight the heroes. Morbius hypnotizes Spider-X into attacking Zzzax, and with the help of the Midnight Sons and Spider-Man the electrical monster is destroyed, killing Spider-X in the process. Spider-Man attempts to capture Morbius, but is held back by Hannibal King while Morbius escapes. The Paralyzer, though, gives up when he sees Spider-Man and the Midnight Sons surrounding him. Spider-Man returns home to his wife, Mary Jane, and he relaxes, comforted by the thought that there are heroes like the Midnight Sons out there to fight the beings outside his ability to defeat.

 

ANNOTATIONS 

Ghost Rider and John Blaze last appeared in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 13. Ghost Rider appears next in the back-up story in Ghost Rider (1990) Annual # 1 and Blaze appears next in Gun Runner # 1.

 

Ghost Rider and Blaze at first mistake Spider-X for the spider-demon Shelob, whom they fought and defeated in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 11.

 

Blade was possessed by the Darkhold and became Switchblade during the "Midnight Massacre" crossover, which ran through Nightstalkers (1992) # 10, Ghost Rider (1990) # 40, Darkhold: Pages From the Book of Sins (1992) # 11, Morbius: The Living Vampire (1992) # 12, and Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 13.

 

REVIEW

The quarterly Midnight Sons anthology series does its first full-length story, which has a great premise that falls down in the execution.

 

In the first two issues of this series, the book was split up with individual stories that spotlighted the various Midnight Sons characters. So this, a story that spanned the full 64 page issue, was a welcome break from the established formula. Of course, the anthology format was still used to break the story into individual chapters for each group of characters, there was just a common through-line that allowed everything to connect together at the end. It's a well-established storytelling device for comics, starting all the way back in the Golden Age with the original Justice Society of America series.

 

"Sins of Spider-X" has a fantastic hook, namely "what if Spider-Man became corrupted by the Darkhold?". It takes Marvel's most traditional superhero and throws him into the middle of the horror corner of the Marvel Universe, and it immediately makes you interested in what's happening. The mystery surrounding Spider-X is believable enough for the characters, even though the reader knows that there's no way Spider-Man has actually turned into a murderous demon. The point of the story isn't about what could happen to Spider-Man, it's about the mystery behind the new character.

 

Unfortunately, Mort Todd wasn't seasoned enough of a writer to take such a great premise and write an engaging story around it. Todd was an editor at the time for Marvel, and he'd established himself as a writer in the previous MSU issue. His plotting isn't the issue, he teases the mystery along nicely through each segment. The problem is his dialogue, which is incredibly cliched. The characters pontificate their way through everything, most egregiously during the Nightstalkers chapter. "You are the most sinful of all, Spider-X!" "Stay, beast! Now is time for recompense!" People just don't talk like that outside of Silver Age Marvel comics, and that's a problem for a story written in 1993.

 

Similarly, the artwork bounces around from the fantastic to the mediocre during each chapter transition. Todd himself handles the bookend pieces that focus on Spider-Man, and his work is extremely simplistic. I get the idea of having a non-horror artist handle Spider-Man's pages in order to contrast the difference between him and the Midnight Sons, but getting an actual traditional artist would have been much more preferable. The Spirits of Vengeance and Darkhold segments are the best looking, with Javier Saltares finally returning to draw Ghost Rider after two years away. He may not have Mark Texeira doing the finishes in this issue, but Saltares still draws a fantastic Ghost Rider and Blaze. The Darkhold chapter by Ken Meyer, Jr. is absolutely breathtaking to look at, but that's also why it sticks out like a sore thumb in the issue. Meyer's painted artwork is magnificent, and it makes the rest of the issue (outside of Saltares' pages) look inferior in comparison. Dougie Braithwaite, an artist I really liked for his work on the Punisher around this time, does a good job on his Morbius chapter before bailing five pages from the end. He's bailed out by Vince Giarrano, another jarring artistic transition from what's come before. The weakest art in the issue, outside of Todd's, comes from John Czop during the Nightstalkers chapter (seriously, the Nightstalkers had the worst segment by far). Czop just isn't in the same league as his contemporaries here, and it stands out in the complete opposite way from Meyers'.

 

I give this issue a lot of leeway due to it having such a killer concept behind it, I just wish the creators had been able to live up to it. Still, seeing Javier Saltares draw Ghost Rider again was, at the time, more than enough to justify picking this comic up.

 

Grade: B-

Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 2

Cover Artist: Bill Sienkiewicz

Published: July 1993
Original Price: $3.95

Title: "Organ Grinder"
Writer: Mort Todd
Artist: Bart Sears
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti
Letterer: Jon Babcock
Colorists: John Kalisz & Paul Becton
Editor: Hildy Mesnik
Group Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS

In a terminal ward of a hospital, Johnny Farmer lies brain dead, kept alive by breathing machines. But deep in his brain is a spark of consciousness, the result of Farmer experiencing the Penance Stare of the Ghost Rider following his rape of a young woman. The Stare caused his body to shut down, but the machines now beep with brain activity - the one thought of revenge on the Ghost Rider. Suddenly, Farmer is approached by the Darkhold Dwarf, who offers him a page of the Book of Sins to gain his fondest wish. Farmer reads the cursed words of the Darkhold as the Dwarf fades away...

 

Weeks later, on a New York street, Dan Ketch undergoes the transformation into the Ghost Rider - who senses that this section of the city is housing a darker evil of unnatural origin. The Rider comes across a woman running for her life, and she tells him that a monster ripped her boyfriend's heart out. A flying mailbox collides with the Ghost Rider's bike, and the girl escapes while the "monster" approaches. Farmer has become the Harvestor, who is trapped in a decaying body that needs fresh organs placed within it to live. The page of the Darkhold gave him the ability to instantly graft fresh transplants onto his body, and any wound the Rider causes him will directly result in his needing a new organ "donor". Ghost Rider attacks with his chain, but finds the Harvestor to possess incredible strength - he catches the chain and throws the Rider into a wall that collapses down atop him. Harvestor leaves, thinking the Ghost Rider dead, but the Spirit of Vengeance emerges from the rubble moments later. He leaps atop his bike and chases the Harvestor down, tackling him to the ground but finding the villain impossible to hold due to the viscid texture of his body. Harvestor leads the Ghost Rider into a seemingly-abandoned building, and the two's fight sends them through the floor into the basement level. There the Rider finds dozens of people hanging naked from the ceiling - still alive and intended as fresh organ supplies. As the hero and villain grapple, Ghost Rider again gives the Harvestor his Penance Stare, which drives the monster back into the hanging crowd of victims. The people grab and grasp at the Harvestor's body, eventually tearing him apart. Satisfied that the monster is destroyed, the Ghost Rider begins the task of helping the innocent victims down.

 

ANNOTATIONS

This issue of Midnight Sons Unlimited also contained stories featuring Morbius, the Darkhold Redeemers, and Blade.

 

Ghost Rider last appeared in Terror, Inc. (1992) # 11 and appears next in Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 131.

 

Johnny Farmer, the Harvestor, was given the Ghost Rider's Penance Stare in Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 1.

 

REVIEW

Well, it's a 9-page anthology story that is only there for the supposed selling-point of Bart Sears artwork. How good did anyone really expect it to be?

 

Mort Todd was a writer that was doing a lot of work for Midnight Sons Unlimited around this time (including the feature-length Morbius story in this issue), and it's easy to say that he's not the most subtle or nuanced writer in the world. It's obvious from the onset that he's not too experienced with the Ghost Rider, making the character incredibly verbose with dialogue so purple that it would make Chris Claremont blush. Everything about the story, from the action to the dialogue, is over-done and pushed to silly extremes.

 

And it's not as if the story idea is all that bad. The Harvestor, despite having a horrible cliched name, has a neat concept behind him with the grafting of organs to his decaying body. What doesn't work about the character is that his concept calls for something more visceral than an all-ages comic can bring. In other words, the concept is neutered and therefore rendered with a high cheese-factor.

 

But the selling-point of this isn't the story or the villain, it's the artist. Bart Sears had become a fairly popular artist by this point, doing work on books like X-O Manowar and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for Valiant Comics, and Marvel promoted his work on this filler story as the crux of this issue. I've personally never been a fan of Sears' work, considering his grotesque renditions of human anatomy, and his Ghost Rider was done in the same vein. I hated it when artists drew the Rider's jeans and leather jacket as tight-fitting as spandex, and that's exactly what we get here with Sears. I DID like the artist's design for the Harvestor, but it also goes back to the aforementioned neutering of the concept - had this been a mature readers story, I can only imagine how wild Sears could have got with the villains design. Something else that hurts the visuals of the story is a switch in colorists halfway through (seriously, a fill-in colorist on a 9-page story!). While Kalisz's colors are vibrant and beautiful to look at, Becton's are flat and static. I expect superior color from a series with such a high-price tag, and this story only holds up that expectation for the first half.

 

Yes, it's an anthology story that obviously wasn't meant to be anything ground breaking. Does that fact excuse it for being nigh-unreadable? Of course not.

 

Grade: D+

Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 1

Cover Artist: Mark Texeira

Published: July 1993
Original Price: $3.95

Title: "Eyes of the Beholder"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Klaus Janson
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Editor: Hildy Mesnik
Group Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS

In the small town of Sleepy Hollow, a monster hunts and kills a young couple during a snow storm.  As it happens, a catatonic elderly woman named Clarisse Van Ripper watches silently from the window of her nursing home.  Later, at the crime scene, police give some details of the murders to the passing John Blaze, who the sheriff recognizes from the Quentin Carnival.  Blaze goes to where he left Ghost Rider, but finds that the Rider has saved a young woman that had been raped.  Ghost Rider gives the rapists the Penance Stare and he and Blaze then flee from the arriving police officers.

Not far away, the monster attacks a group of small children, who are rescued by Ghost Rider.  The creature thinks to itself that the Rider must have been sent by "the Other" who gave it its power, and attempts to defend itself.  A fight breaks out between Ghost Rider and the monster, which is interrupted by John Blaze and his hellfire shotgun.  The monster flees to the nursing home and heads directly to the room where Clarisse lays in bed.  Blaze kills the monster with his hellfire and then finds a page of the Darkhold sitting next to Clarisse's bed.  Blaze puts two and two together, that the monster was Clarisse, while the old woman thinks to herself about her life.  She had been a childcare worker who abused children, and when one fought back it caused her to fall down a flight of stares, paralyzing her into a catatonic state for the rest of her life.  When the Darkhold Dwarf approached her with the deal that would allow her to walk again, the spell implanted her mind into the body of the monster, giving her the means to take her revenge on the town's children.  Realizing that Clarisse was the true monster responsible for the murders, Ghost Rider gives her the Penance Stare, which breaks her from her catatonia just enough for her to scream.

ANNOTATIONS

This issue of Midnight Sons Unlimited also contained stories featuring Morbius, the Darkhold Redeemers, and the Nightstalkers.

Ghost Rider and Blaze last appeared in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 6 and appear next in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 7.

Johnny Farmer, the rapist that was given the Penance Stare at the beginning of this story, will return as the Darkhold-powered creature called the Harvestor in Midnight Sons Unlimited (1993) # 2.

REVIEW

Midnight Sons Unlimited debuts as Marvel's first high-priced, quarterly anthology title with stories spotlighting each of the line's characters.

The Unlimited books were an interesting experiment that Marvel conducted in the early 1990s.  The publishing department had essentially driven every title into "families" or groupings that didn't allow stand-alone concepts to remain as such for very long.  Ghost Rider was the poster child for this movement, which saw a unique title shoehorned into a family of books that did nothing but dilute what had made the Ghost Rider series so successful at the start.  At this point, the Midnight Sons had only been in publication for about six months, so it's interesting that it was the first line to receive an Unlimited spin-off, with the more popular franchises (like Spider-Man and the X-Men) coming later.  Even the format of the anthologies were curious: 64 page issues with thick, glossy paper stock released every four months, with a massively increased price tag to go along with it.  Considering that the average price for a comic at this time was $1.50 to $1.95, paying $3.95 was a major jump.

This first issue does a really good job of telling introductory stories for each of the Midnight Sons titles by the writers of the ongoing books (except Morbius, with the curious absence of Len Kaminski).  The Nightstalkers story is a great look at that book's concept, and the Darkhold story by Chris Cooper and Joe Quesada is fantastic (and terrifying).  Naturally, though, the book was going to lead with Ghost Rider in terms of page count and profile, given that character's dominance over the Sons line.  The Spirits of Vengeance story here is a great one-shot tale by Howard Mackie and Klaus Janson, which serves to not only tie the characters into the greater mythology of the Midnight Sons "universe" but also give a look at the dynamic shared by Ghost Rider and Blaze in their regular series.

The use of the Darkhold as the through-line between each of the Sons titles was brilliant, as it allowed for the continuity ties while also giving a variety of threats for the characters to face.  It was much more effective as a story-telling engine than the stuff that came later with Lilith and "Siege of Darkness", and the lead-up in all the books to the "Midnight Massacre" crossover was done very well.  Plus, it allows for some really great horror elements to come in, such as with this story and the chilling Clarisse Van Ripper.  The idea of an elderly woman in a wheel chair secretly being a child-murdering monster, with her evil nature given a literal manifestation as a demonic creature, is a great story idea and it's one that Mackie uses very well.

Klaus Janson is an artist I've always been less than fond of, both as an inker and artist by himself.  I'm just not much of a fan of his scratchy style, which always makes the characters look stiff and awkward during action sequences.  Still, the man is a legend in the industry, so seeing him draw Ghost Rider makes for an interesting take on the character.  Even better, his style is actually a really good fit for this story and Ghost Rider as a whole, who always works better the further away from "traditional superhero" he can get.  Most impressive in this story, though, is the colors by Gregory Wright, who I assume is using the better paper quality to really do some neat tricks with the colors.  The red panels, which are what the monster sees from its first-person perspective, have a haze to them that looks like they're filtered through a lens covered in rust or dried blood.  And the snow fall throughout the story looks amazing!

Midnight Sons Unlimited quickly fell into a rut, populated with filler stories by less than A-list creators, but the series certainly got off to a strong start.

Grade: A+

Peter Parker: Spider-Man (1990) # 93

Cover Artist: John Romita Jr.

Published: July 1998
Original Price: $1.99

Title: "Reborn Again"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Javier Saltares
Inker: Scott Hanna
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS

In Cypress Hills Cemetery, local firefighters attempt to douse a mysterious flame that has started - flames burning in the pattern of the Medallion of Power. From the flames emerges the Ghost Rider, who - before jumping on his motorcycle - simply says "It begins anew. I ride again...for vengeance!"

Elsewhere in the city, Spider-Man swings over the rooftops, jubilant that his recent troubles with the law are over. Spider-Man spends his evening stopping muggers and rescuing people from a burning building, but discovers that his reputation is still ruined due to Norman Osborn's allegations of the wall-crawler being a criminal. Spider-Man then visits Arthur Stacy, a friend, and finds that even he is having trouble trusting the hero. Outside the Stacy house, Mary Jane Watson-Parker talks to Jill Stacy before starting home. A few moments later, Mary Jane is startled by her husband, Peter Parker, jumping out of the trees. Peter scoops his wife up and swings them to a nearby rooftop. Peter tells her that things are finally starting to look up and asks "what could go wrong?". Just as Mary Jane says that she wishes he hadn't said that, Parker's spider-sense goes off, causing him to grab his wife and cover them with a web shield just in time to keep them from being burned by a flash of fire. The Ghost Rider rides past them on the street below, melting cars and street lamps as he passes. Parker changes back into Spider-Man and kisses Mary Jane before swinging off after the Rider.

A short time later, Spider-Man wonders what's causing Ghost Rider's flames to burn out of control. He stumbles across an abandoned building caught on fire by Ghost Rider's flames and sees a kid trapped on one of the floors. Spider-Man saves the boy just in time and returns him to his parents, winning back the trust of some of the public. Spider-Man picks the Ghost Rider's trail back up, following the trail of fire left by his motorcycle, and finds the Spirit of Vengeance in the middle of Times Square. Fallen on his knees, the Ghost Rider yells for everyone to stay away from him, that he's lost control of his hellfire. Ghost Rider is confused and disoriented by "so many truths and lies mixed together". "Noble Kale, the Lord of the Dark Realm, Mephisto, Blackheart", he says, "lies within lies within lies!" Spider-Man jumps down to the street, but is immediately attacked by Ghost Rider, who tells the hero to leave - that the lives of innocents are at stake and if he doesn't act soon the streets will run with blood. Spider-Man attempts to stop the Ghost Rider, but the demon smashes the ground beneath them, blowing a huge crater in the street. Severely weakened, Ghost Rider falls next to the hole - and when Spider-Man investigates, he finds a group of terrorists planting a bomb under the street. Spider-Man makes quick work of the terrorists, but sees that the bomb has just over five minutes before it detonates. Ghost Rider says he's too weak to help, but then out of the crowd steps Daniel Ketch, the Rider's descendant and former host. Dan asks the Rider - addressing him as Noble Kale - how he escaped Mephisto's realm and if he remembers him. Ghost Rider claims not to be this Noble Kale, and that Mephisto and Blackheart are the lords of the lie...the truth is not yet known. Spider-Man brings their attention back to the bomb, and Ghost Rider asks Dan to merge with him once again to make him stronger. Realizing that if he doesn't thousands of people will die, Dan agrees - and the two merge, restoring the Ghost Rider to his full strength. Whole once again, Ghost Rider takes the bomb and asks Spider-Man to contain him with as much webbing as he can generate. Within the giant dome of webbing, Ghost Rider stands with the bomb until it explodes, barely contained by Spider-Man's web. Immediately after the explosion, Ghost Rider rides out of the fire and out into the city. Spider-Man thinks to himself that this should finally prove to the city that he's a hero again...but the next day reads an editorial by J. Jonah Jameson that claims both Spider-Man and Ghost Rider to be part of the terrorist plot.

ANNOTATIONS 

Noble Kale became the ruler of Hell in Ghost Rider (1990) # 93, but only made one appearance in this capacity in Werewolf by Night (1998) # 6. Nine years later in 2007, Marvel finally released the final issue of the 1990s Ghost Rider series, titled Ghost Rider: Finale, which takes place before the events in this issue.

This was the last appearance of the Dan Ketch/Noble Kale version of the Ghost Rider for close to ten years. John Blaze returned as the host for the Rider in Ghost Rider (2001) # 1 and remains as the Ghost Rider in the current continuity. Dan Ketch finally made his reappearance in Ghost Rider (2006) # 23 and the details behind his whereabouts and the fate of Noble Kale were revealed in Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch (2008) # 1-5.

This story's title, "Reborn Again", is an homage to Ghost Rider (1990) # 50, which also featured a "return" of the Noble Kale Ghost Rider.

REVIEW

This is a difficult issue to review, given the behind-the-scenes chicanery that was going on at the time concerning Ghost Rider and the book's demise. In 1998, Ivan Velez's run on Ghost Rider came to an end with the series' cancellation and Marvel's decision not to publish the final issue. This left the character in a precarious position of literally hanging in limbo with an unfinished story that was radically changing his status quo. Velez's run had changed the character dramatically from original series writer Howard Mackie's version, giving him an origin as a man named Noble Kale that became the present-day Ghost Rider and has since inhabited the bodies of his descendants - Dan Ketch and John Blaze both being such. In the final published issue of the series, Noble Kale overthrew Blackheart and became the ruler of Hell...and that's where the series was ended, leaving the character in a bizarre scenario that had fully removed him from his original place in the Marvel Universe. Only one story utilized Kale as Hell's ruler, an issue of the late 90's revamp of Werewolf by Night, and it remained to be seen whether or not the Ghost Rider would appear again.

A few months later, in what was a last-minute editorial decision, the Noble Kale version of the Ghost Rider reappeared in this issue of Peter Parker: Spider-Man written by Howard Mackie. Without knowing what was happening behind the scenes, it appeared to readers that Mackie wrote this issue as a reaction to what Velez had done with the character he created, casually disregarding everything that had been revealed in the last 30+ issues of Ghost Rider. Fortunately, this wasn't the case at all.

In a discussion I held with Mackie back in 2002, I asked him about this issue and his reasons for writing it. Was it actually a printed swipe at Velez's work, a criticism of what had been done with the character? Mackie replied that he hadn't read ANY of Velez's work on the book, that he stayed away from Ghost Rider after leaving due to his personal feelings about the character. He meant no disrespect toward the writer that had followed him, and this story - indeed a last minute piece of work - was mandated to him by then Spider-Man editor Ralph Macchio, who said that he wanted Mackie's version of the Ghost Rider back in the Marvel Universe. Given just the broadest explanation of what had happened since he left, Mackie was told to reveal the Noble Kale origin as "lies" perpetrated by Blackheart and Mephisto...and needless to say, fan reaction to this was mixed at best.

While Ghost Rider fans had problems with Velez's run on the series, the Noble Kale origin was nevertheless something now firmly established in the character's history - some 30 issues had been spent detailing it as such. Such a massive retcon like the one done in this Spider-Man story was met with disdain by fans, despite a majority of them indeed wishing for the character to return to the roots Mackie had established for him. This issue, coupled with the decision not to publish Ghost Rider # 94, felt like a slap in the face to a fanbase that already felt abused by the publisher. Finally, Marvel has decided to release that final issue in 2007, nearly a decade after it's originally intended publication date...and thus, much of this story's events may now become a moot point.

It also doesn't help that this story is as forgettable as it is. It's painfully clear that the story was rushed to print at the last minute, as the story's bare bones plot is disregarded in favor of wiping away the character's recent history. Even the artwork by series favorite Javier Saltares is below par, as the artist is paired with Scott Hanna, an inker that simply did NOT mesh well with Saltares' grittier illustrations. Also, colorist Gregory Wright painted the Ghost Rider with a red skull throughout the story - and the end result wasn't pretty to look at.

Regardless of any of this, it still remains that this story is the last appearance the Dan Ketch/Noble Kale version of the Ghost Rider would make (though Dan will reappear as a Ghost Rider nearly a decade later, Noble Kale was not involved). This is truly a bizarre end to a character that, in his prime during the early 90s, was one of Marvel's most successful.

Grade: C-

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

Blaze: Legacy of Blood (1993) # 1

Cover Artist: Ron Wagner

Published: Dec. 1993
Original Price: $1.95

Title: Legacy of Blood, Part 1: "Family Matters"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Ron Wagner
Inker: Howard Rourke
Letterers: Richard Starkings & John Gaushell
Colorist: John Kalisz
Editor: Chris Cooper
Group Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
While drinking in a bar, John Blaze is hassled by a group of bikers. Blaze beats the men severely, but stops himself before he kills them. He returns to drinking, but is found by his friend Clara Menninger and the youngest member of the Blood, Seer. Blaze blames the Blood for what's happened to his life, telling them to go find the surviving Spirit of Vengeance to play with. Seer tells him that this concerns his wife and children, but they are interrupted by the arrival of a demon. John kills the demon, saying that this happens every night because the demons are attracted to his power. John leaves, telling the two women to leave him alone. Later, they find him slumped over drunk in an alley. They take him to the cabin where the remaining members of the Quentin Carnival have been living, and they sober him up by splashing him with water. The telephone rings, and John speaks to his son Craig, who hangs up after only a few moments. He had been calling all day, which is why Clara had been searching for him. Wolf gives John the address of where Craig had been calling from in Chicago, and Blaze leaves, rebuking Seer's attempts to help him.

Meanwhile, at a stronghold in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, a member of the Blood named Regent is told that they found the children but the "husband" has become involved. Regent tells his men to delay Blaze, but that "the woman" is expendable. Blaze arrives at the abandoned building in Chicago, but finds only a photograph of his children waiting for him. He is attacked by a group of ninja assassins called the Hidden, whom he kills as he ascends to the roof of the building. One of the assassins holds his wife, Roxanne, hostage, and stabs her before escaping. Seer arrives and begs John to bring Roxanne and follow her, just before the building explodes.

ANNOTATIONS

John Blaze last appeared in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 19.

Blaze sent his wife, Roxanne, and children, Craig and Emma, away with George and Marianne Waters in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 1. In that same issue, Blaze was told by Clara that he was a magnet for supernatural energy.

Blaze blames the Blood for the death of Dan Ketch in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 18. (which was published two months after the release of this issue). John learned that he and Dan were brothers in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance # 16.

John says to Seer, "Are the Blood running out of Spirits of Vengeance to play with? Go get the one that's still alive to do your dirty work", which references Vengeance taking over as the "new" Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider (1990) # 46.

REVIEW

John Blaze gets his first shot at a solo series separate from Ghost Rider.

It kind of mystifies me why this series existed at all, to tell the truth. The series debuted the same month that "Siege of Darkness" started in the rest of the Midnight Sons line of titles, which means the editors and writer Howard Mackie knew that in just two short months the ongoing Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance series would be missing one of its two lead characters. Spirits of Vengeance effectively became a solo Blaze series by default once Ghost Rider was killed at the end of the "Siege" crossover, and this mini-series explicitly takes place after those events, so why not just wait to run this story? It forces Mackie to tip-toe around the events of the crossover so as not to spoil the big death, and running this arc in Spirits would have kept that book from treading water for five months as it waited for cancellation.

Regardless of the logistics concerning its publication, the Blaze limited series does in fact exist and I can see the reasons why. Johnny Blaze had seen an upswing in popularity following his return and revamp in the early issues of the 90s Ghost Rider series, with good reason because Mackie transformed him into a really great, engaging character. He had a great visual gimmick with the hellfire shotgun, and establishing him as a viable lead away from Ghost Rider was a good idea. Unfortunately, the editors (and, yes, Mackie too) had only a few months prior to this series saddled Blaze with a truly horrendous visual redesign that I'm sure was to make him look more appropriate to headline a series of his own. Gone was the grizzled guy in a trenchcoat and sunglasses, replaced with (sigh) a cyborg that looked way too much like Cable, glowing left eye included.

It's surprising, then, that with all of the accumulated baggage that had been heaped upon the character at the time, this is actually a pretty good comic. Mackie sets up Blaze as a man that has hit rock bottom very well, with his life now nothing but "get drunk, fight demons, repeat". Blaze has a totally justified animosity toward Seer and her kind, because they DID manipulate him and his family for generations without his knowledge. The big through-line for this series was "family", with the focus on Blaze's hunt for his children and the secrets that are thrown up due to said search. It's a good hook for the character, a father desperately trying to find his children and keep them safe (so good, in fact, that the next two writers to use the character do variations on that exact same story).

The artwork in this series is really great, too. Ron Wagner had just finished a fantastic run on the Morbius series, but his work looks quite different in this series. Howard Rourke is the inker, and I'm not familiar with his work outside of this series, but he's obviously what's made the different in Wagner's art. This is a really dark comic, the mood is practically drowning in misery as we move from Blaze drunk in a bar to a fight with ninjas in a burning building. I like the combination of pencils and inks, and I wonder why these two artists didn't work together more? They even manage to make the cyborg Blaze design look less ridiculous than usual, which is a fairly astounding feat.

"Legacy of Blood" may have been an unnecessary mini-series, but it was at least a fairly entertaining one.

Grade: B+

Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 6

Cover Artist: Mark Buckingham

Published: Oct. 1994
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Neuropolitique"
Writer: Len Kaminski
Artist: Kyle Hotz
Letterer: Richard Starkings w/ John Gaushell
Colorist: Christie Scheele w/ Heroic Age
Editor: Evan Skolnick
Group Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS

At the Medi-Kwik health clinic in Transverse City, the Ghost Rider arrives with the comatose Kylie Gagarin and freed prisoner of D/Monix Doctor Neon and begs for someone to help the girl.  The doctor, Sandoz, was a friend of Zero Cochrane, and when the Ghost Rider invokes his past name Sandoz agrees to help.  After an examination, Sandoz determines that Kylie was injected with Mnemopromethylene, which has put her brain in a state of a memory feedback loop.  Her only chance is a psychoactive drug called Nootropine, which was banned by the government and even the chemicals necessary to manufacture it are highly controlled substances.  After being told that Kylie's condition is irreversible in 48 hours, Zero leaves her in the care of Sandoz and Neon and goes off to find the chemicals he needs.

At D/Monix headquarters, CEO Dyson Kellerman gives former employee Jackson Womack a "demotion" for his betrayal over the Singapore Archive, sending him off to be a lab rat for experimental study.  Kellerman then sees Harrison Cochrane and asks to talk about Harrison's son, Kenshiro and the Ghost Rider.  Meanwhile, reporter Willis Adams learns from his producer that the footage and interview he did with the Ghost Rider was flagged by D/Monix for "spin control", against Adam's wishes.

At the Bar Code, Zero has another meeting with proprietor Anesthesia Jones and asks to make another deal.  When she calls him out on being nothing but a cheap hustler, Zero drops his hologram and reveals himself to be the Ghost Rider.  However, when Zero attempts to tell her about the Ghostworks, he finds that he's been installed with an inhibitory program that keeps him from talking about them.  Though angry, Zero puts it aside to ask Jones about a recharge and scoring some Nootropine.  She points him in the direction of a "black pharmacist" named Max Synergy, the only man in Transverse City who could help.

On level three of Saint Vitus's Danceteria night club, Zero finds Synergy in the middle of the dance floor, his office walled off in a "quiet zone" that keeps out the club patrons.  Zero makes his presence known and asks Synergy about making the Nootropine, which Synergy says requires a supply of 2-4-5 Trioxidiclorizide.  The chemical is made by only one company, who would not be inclined to share.  After Synergy gives him the information on the company, Zero rides out of town, headed for Alchemax in New York City. 

ANNOTATIONS
Kylie was injected with Mnemopromethylene by D/Monix in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 4.

Zero made his first deal with Anesthesia Jones in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 3. 

Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 12 - "Ghost Passenger" (Click to Listen)

REVIEW
Ghost Rider 2099 slows down on the action while a new regular artist comes on board, giving the series a drastic shift in its visuals.

Kyle Hotz signs on as the book's regular artist with this issue, which is mainly a stock-taking chapter that starts the book's second arc.  Hotz has a very interesting art style that lends itself very well to the bizarre future visuals of 2099, but it's also a serious departure from the book's signature look from the first five issues.  It was, I assume, editor Evan Skolnic that was responsible for keeping the book's artistic identity so on point through that first arc, utilizing three different artists all with similar styles to keep things looking tidy.  With a new arc, however, the dramatic change in art style is understandable and welcome.  While I would have personally preferred either Peter Gross or Mark Buckingham (who does come back for a fill-in issue a few months down the road), Hotz is a great choice for some of the stranger aspects of the new two storylines. 

As this is the opening chapter to the book's second story-arc, Kaminski slows things way down to give the readers a much needed breather.  The first five issues were pretty much non-stop action, which while still moving the story forward was beginning to get monotonous with its break-neck pace.  Unfortunately, what this slow-down really means is that we're given an extensive multi-page info-dump about pharmaceutical use in 2099.  It's all pretty interesting stuff, colored with a bit of conspiracy theory about drug companies pushing narcotics that are known to keep people pacified and dumb, but it also comes across as a bit dry.  Things do pick up considerably when Kaminski introduces another fantastically conceived location, St. Vitus's Danceteria, which showcases one of my favorite aspects of the series.  Kaminski just went all-out with wild ideas and settings for this series, which makes it feel even more alien and futuristic than his 2099 counterparts.  In fact, I'd say this series was the most well-realized depiction of 2099 out of all the series, at least until Warren Ellis comes to write Doom 2099 perhaps.

Ultimately, though, this is a series defined by fantastic action sequences and here's an issue with nothing like that in its pages.  I appreciate the breather, readers needed it desperately, but even with the writer's spot-on futurist ideas and the enduringly abrasive personality of the lead character the comic still reads like a Wikipedia page. 

Grade: B

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-