Cover Date: March 1993; On Sale Date: January 1993
Writer: Howard Mackie; Artist: Adam Kubert; Inker: Bill Reinhold; Letterer: Michael Heisler; Colorist: Gregory Wright; Editor: Bobbie Chase; Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco; Cover Artist: Adam Kubert
Ghost Rider and John Blaze are transported to a desert wasteland by Mephisto, who seeks to test them against his own agents. He refers to an upcoming "war of souls" that is building, where forces will attempt to usurp his power, which he will have none of. Mephisto disappears, and Blaze and Ghost Rider are left to wait for their motorcycles to come pick them up. Before that can happen, they are attacked by two of Mephisto's demons, the Soulless Ones. The two demons quickly get the upper hand against the Spirits of Vengeance, nearly killing Blaze in the process. After a brief battle, the demons are destroyed, and Mephisto reappears. He directs them to seek out the Soul Crystal, where they will find answers to their questions, and then he disappears. Later, in Hell, Mephisto tells the Soulless Ones that while he cannot kill the Spirits of Vengeance he can only hope to steal their souls. However, there is another mortal that will sell their soul to him willingly.
"The Great Hunt, Part 2"
Writer: Howard Mackie; Artist: Joe Kubert; Letterer: Bill Oakley; Colorist: Gregory Wright; Editor: Bobbie Chase; Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco
Ghost Rider is dragged into the basement tunnels beneath the Natural History Museum by the Feeders, monsters who have emerged to hunt and eat humans. Ghost Rider is taken before the oldest Feeder, who explains that they are a race that has lived hidden for centuries and adhere to their racial need to feast on human flesh. Ghost Rider breaks free and imprisons the Feeders with his chain, all save the leader who he defeats in combat. The eldest Feeder mocks the Ghost Rider's inability to kill, transforming into a human-like form and saying that his race are an offshoot of humanity. Ghost Rider instead gives him the Penance Stare, then escorts the kidnapped people back to the surface.
THE ROADMAP
Mephisto last appeared in connection to Ghost Rider and Blaze in Ghost Rider (1990) # 20.
Mephisto tells Blaze and Ghost Rider to seek out the Soul Crystal, which was last seen in Mephisto's possession in The Mighty Thor (1966) # 430.
The other person that Mephisto mentions at the end is Michael Badilino, who will sell his soul to become Vengeance in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 9.
The back-up story in this issue and the next takes place weeks before the events in the main story, specifically between Shadow Riders # 2 and Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 4.
CHAIN REACTION
It's another short issue buffered by a back-up strip, and while neither story does much more than feature fight scenes punctuated with pontificating villains this is still a highly-satisfying comic.
Adam Kubert was still having difficulty with deadlines, so like last issue's blizzard Howard Mackie has attempted to help his partner by setting this issue in a desert. And, just like last issue's blizzard, Adam Kubert draws the hell out of that desert, making every panel detailed as possible while still making it look sparse and desolate. As much as I love Mackie's writing on this series, Kubert is the real star here. The man can draw landscapes, choreograph fight scenes perfectly, and design characters that are at least really damn interesting to look at. The two one-shot characters introduced here, the Soulless Ones, are striking in their designs and distinct enough from your run-of-the-mill demon type that they stand out as something more, something special. They aren't that special in the end, but they look pretty damn menacing. Kubert's Mephisto is also a great visual, picking up the design created by John Romita Jr. a few years prior on Daredevil. He looks bloated, slovenly, and unsettling, just like the (not literal) Devil should look. It's a drastic departure from the classic John Buscema style Mephisto, but it absolutely works under Kubert's pen.
The best bit in the issue, though, goes along with Mackie's fantastic script. I'm sure they were probably working "Marvel Style", with Mackie providing plot first, Kubert drawing the pages and arranging them as he saw fit, and Mackie adding the dialogue later. The sequence with Blaze being choked out, shown in a series of panels from his perspective that get darker and blurrier in procession, is a great visual moment. I love everything about the artwork on this series, and if it meant shorter page counts to get Kubert on every issue I'm glad they made that call.
The plot and dialogue aren't anything to discount, though, because Mackie is firing on all cylinders as well. I think that when Mackie was paired with a phenomenal artistic partner is when he produced his best work on Ghost Rider, such as with Mark Texeira, Javier Saltares, and Salvador Larroca. You can tell that he and Kubert have fantastic creative chemistry, because every page of this is riveting stuff. The mystery of Ghost Rider's origin and the forces working against him and Blaze is building to a head, and it's such a god damn shame that what it led to was so disappointing. I think plans HAD to have changed not long after this, most likely be editorial fiat, probably around the time of "Midnight Massacre". All of the things Mackie was building up in this issue, such as Mephisto's involvement and the "soul war", go unfulfilled. In their place we got, ugh, "Road to Vengeance: The Missing Link". I would kill to see what Mackie's actual plan was at the time of this issue's release.
In the back part of the issue is the second chapter of "The Great Hunt", and there's really not much to say about it other than it's passable filler material. The story is an afterthought, even with the twist at the end that the monsters are actually humans after all, and the only thing it has going for it is the artwork by Joe Kubert. But even that's not really firing on all cylinders, and I suspect it was likely another rush job to help out his son's deadline problem.
Still, the material in the main story is good enough to give this issue high marks, even with the filler material in the back. Definitely recommended.
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