Inner Demons Episode 35: "Miracle Man on 34th Street"



Merry Ghostmas from Inner Demons!  Chris and Brian are delivering an early present for Vengeance Eve with our special holiday episode!  We look at the Christmas classic "Silent Night...Deadly Night!" from Marvel Two-In-One # 8, then we round out the episode with discussions about the decidedly non-yuletide Ghost Rider (1990) # 16 and Ghost Rider (2006) # 6!  Just like Santa Claus, Ghost Rider knows when you've been naughty, when you've been nice, and when you've spilled innocent blood.

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Inner Demons Episode 34: "Mister Man-Hyde"



Inner Panthers has returned after that unfortunate incident with the Infinity Warps for another episode of all new comic reviews!  Host Chris Biggie has some really bizarre memories of being two different people, but there's no way anything could smash two hosts together into one super host, right?  While he struggles with his identity he takes a critical look at Avengers # 10 and Cosmic Ghost Rider # 5, which feature a weird spin-off character named Ghost Rider, before taking a look at the origin of his hero Johnny T'Challa Blaze in Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther # 1!  

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Inner Demons Episode 33: "Satanic Fanboys"



Inner Demons returns...in SPAAAAAACE!  This episode Brian and Chris review Cosmic Ghost Rider #s 3 and 4, which features a pretty detailed account on how to murder every hero in the Marvel Universe, Thanos Legacy # 1, which brings Cosmic Ghost Rider firmly into the present day, and What If?: Ghost Rider # 1, which is certainly a comic book that exists.  Throw up your devil horns and head bang until your neck breaks, it's the most metal episode of Inner Demons yet!

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Inner Demons Episode 32: "Ghost Rider Genisys"



After a long hiatus Inner Demons has returned to go back, way back, back into time!  This is our All New Avengers review episode, where Chris and Brian take a look at issues 6 through 9 of the new Avengers series!  We talk about Robbie Reyes getting his Pacific Rim on, how the first Ghost Rider's origin story has turned the character's history into a "Choose Your Own Adventure", and Namor's brilliant idea to put armor on sharks!

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Inner Demons Episode 31: "Hulk Can't Breathe!"



Inner Demons returns with heavy hearts and sad tidings following the passing of Ghost Rider co-creator Gary Friedrich, who will missed by Flameheads everywhere.  This episode Chris and Brian review some classic comics, including Johnny Blaze's fight against the Hulk in Ghost Rider (1973) # 11, Danny Ketch's confrontation with Blackout in Ghost Rider (1990) # 15, and a return to the abandoned Quentin Carnival in Ghost Rider (2006) # 5.  Listen, enjoy, and then go read Marvel Spotlight # 5 in Mr. Friedrich's memory!

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Inner Demons Episode 30: "Magical Snapbracelet"



Inner Demons would like to extend an apology to John Tesh, we had no idea you were actually the Devil and would very much like to keep our souls from frying in one of your lakes of hellfire.  Chris and Brian have some excellent comic reviews in this episode and perhaps your enjoyment of them would convince you to spare us, oh benevolent Lucifer?  You could listen to our thoughts on Cosmic Ghost Rider # 2 or Ghost Rider 2099 # 11, though perhaps you'd rather hear our critique of Mythos: Ghost Rider # 1, in which you bless the pages with your handsome visage?  Please don't poke us with that pitchfork, Mr. Tesh!

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Inner Demons Episode 29: "You Say He's Just a Friend"



Okay people, you don't need Inner Demons to tell you how awesome Ghost Rider is or how essential to your daily lives these comics truly are.  You certainly shouldn't have to listen to Chris and Brian as they thoughtfully do a critical autopsy on such works of four color art as Ghost Rider (1973) # 9, Ghost Rider (1990) # 14, and Ghost Rider (2006) # 4.  You don't NEED such an in-depth analysis in your lives, but wouldn't you just give anything to have it?  Wouldn't you sell...YOUR SOUL????

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Inner Demons Episode 28: "Punch That Baby!"



Inner Demons is a proud member of the Church of Celestial God Vomit, and with our guidance you too can practice the beliefs of the space gods!  Our reviews of Avengers (2018) # 3, 4, and 5 will surely bring you to your knees in worship of the Final Host!  Don't listen to that heretic and blasphemer Frank Castle, though, for our sermon on Cosmic Ghost Rider # 1 will prove him to be the Devil himself.  He even punches poor defenseless toddlers in the face!  Peace be with you space brothers and sisters!

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from StitcheriTunes, or Google Podcasts.  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Ghost Rider (1990) # 36

Cover Artist: Bret Blevins
Published: April 1993
Original Price: $1.75

Title: "Transformations In Pain"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Bret Blevins
Inker: Fred Fredericks
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
In a Hell's Kitchen homeless shelter, a downtrodden man is visited by a ghostly woman that drains all of his strength.  As she leaves she mentions that Dan Ketch is for her while Ghost Rider is for another, which prompts the hiding Calvin Zabo to comment to himself that Ghost Rider belongs to his alter ego Mr. Hyde.

Meanwhile, Danny and the Caretaker are observing the skeletal Suicide, who is slowly regenerating his body after it was vaporized.  Caretaker mentions that Dan needs to find Heart Attack and Death Ninja, both of whom vanished after the previous night's battle.  Danny leaves to get some rest and exits Caretaker's room into an alley.  He again runs into the girl Adrienne, who had nearly videotaped his transformation the night before.  When she leaves, Dan is visited by the ghostly woman, who calls herself Succubus.  When she touches Dan, it triggers his transformation into Ghost Rider, which prompts her to flee so she can feed one more people to regain her strength.  Ghost Rider collapses and transforms back into Dan, not knowing how the transformation was triggered.  Dan tries to find the door to Caretaker's room, but it has disappeared.

Back at the homeless shelter, Succubus attempts to feed on another man's life force, but is stopped by Matt Murdock, who is there delivering canned goods to the shelter.  When she escapes he changes into his Daredevil costume and gives chase.  Inside the shelter, Succubus feeds on Zabo, triggering his transformation into Mr. Hyde.  He throws Succubus through a window into the alley where Daredevil is searching, then busts through the wall.  Dan drives by on his motorcycle and sees Hyde chasing Daredevil, who is carrying the unconscious Succubus.  Debris from the fight knocks Dan off his motorcycle, and he's saved from Hyde's grasp by Daredevil, who recognizes him as Ghost Rider's human host.  Succubus makes her way to the fallen Dan and grabs him, triggering the transformation again and again as she attempts to take his life force.  Daredevil attacks Succubus, allowing Ghost Rider to have a brutal fight with Mr. Hyde, which ends with Hyde receiving the Penance Stare and Succubus being knocked unconscious.  While Daredevil helps the weakened Danny escape the arriving police, Succubus crawls to the defeated Hyde to siphon away his strength.  She states that her mission is to drive a wedge between Ghost Rider and Dan, which will send them both to her master, Nightmare.

ANNOTATIONS 
Suicide was reduced to a skeleton by an AIM weapon in Ghost Rider (1990) # 35.  Despite the Caretaker's assurances that he'll be needed as an ally, this issue marks Suicide's last appearance until 2011's Wolverine: The Best There Is # 1.

Succubus makes no further appearances after this issue and her relationship with Nightmare, who Ghost Rider and Danny last encountered in Ghost Rider (1990) # 30, remains unexplored.

The Caretaker's disappearing room is actually the Nightclub of the Blood, which we see next in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 13.

Adrienne, the photographer who first appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 35, makes no further appearances after this issue.

The Danny Ketch Ghost Rider will encounter Mr. Hyde one last time in Ghost Rider (1990) # 55. Many years later, Mr. Hyde will encounter another Ghost Rider, Robbie Reyes, in All-New Ghost Rider (2014) # 5.

Ghost Rider and Daredevil met previously in Daredevil (1965) # 295, which is where Daredevil learned that Danny Ketch shares a body with Ghost Rider.

REVIEW
This issue is the backbone of the Era of Abandoned Plots as we get three, count 'em THREE, characters who were introduced and never heard from again.

If anything else can be said about this period in the title's life, it's that Mackie wasn't afraid to throw shit against the wall to see what stuck.  Unfortunately, by this point nothing was sticking because his plots were being reconfigured with each new issue to accommodate the marketing department's desire for Ghost Rider's origins to be explained.  I'm sure he had grand plans to revisit Suicide and Succubus but they got tossed aside in favor of the Blood and (ugh) the Medallion of Power nonsense that was coming up in short order.  This issue at least pays lip service to Mackie's long-simmering idea that a war for souls was coming, with Caretaker pulling in unlikely allies (or more likely cannon fodder) like Suicide just as Mephisto was doing the same over in the Spirits of Vengeance sister title.  The Centurious reveal was coming up in a few issues time, and had the writer stayed the course maybe something really memorable and exciting could have been produced.

Ideas for what might have been won't save this issue, though, because it's a straight-up hot mess.  Ghost Rider and Danny are just ricocheting from one threat to the next without any time for a breather, coming across a multitude of villains that are less interesting than the ones before them.  Death Ninja and Heart Attack have given way to the Succubus in this issue, and she's even more of a cipher than her predecessors.  Apparently she works for Nightmare and wants to sever the connection between Dan and Ghost Rider, I guess just for revenge on Nightmare's part?  It makes it needlessly frustrating when every villain introduced is referring to "HIM" without using names and said "HIM" is a different person each time.  Sometimes "HIM" is Centurious, sometimes "HIM" is Mephisto, other times "HIM" is Zarathos, and now "HIM" has become Nightmare.  Roping poor Mr. Hyde into this story is a waste as well, since it does nothing but compare less than fondly with the last time Ghost Rider fought that villain.  Daredevil serves little purpose and is the worst kind of guest-star, the one who's only there because he happens to be walking by the fight.  He at least has a reason to be at the church, though, which makes it only slightly better than next issue's hysterical Archangel team-up.

The worst part of the issue has to be the artwork, though, and it pains me to say that.  Bret Blevins is an incredible artist, his work on New Mutants and Sleepwalker was great in so many ways, but he's got two things working against him here.  One, I think he's terribly mismatched on this title, it has none of the quirky charm of Sleepwalker nor the teenage angst and antics of New Mutants, instead he's locked into drawing uninspired superhero stuff.  When he does get to do something creepy or unsettling, such as Suicide's skeleton regenerating, it just doesn't have the oomph that the sequence calls for.  The second thing hindering him is the totally unflattering finishes by Fred Fredericks, who makes every line look way softer and blobbier (is that a word?  it is now!) than it should.  All that said, though, the fight between Ghost Rider and Mr. Hyde is pretty great, with GR getting more and more messed up throughout, including his jaw hanging by only one hinge by the end.

This is by far the worst issue of the series to date and it depresses me greatly to see how far the book has fallen in the last year.

Grade: F

Thanos (2017) # 15

Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw
Published: March 2018
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Thanos Wins, Part 3"
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Geoff Shaw
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS
Thanos uses the Ghost Rider's Penance Stare to relive every horrible act of violence and suffering that he's caused, which the Mad Titan enjoys immensely.  King Thanos tells his younger self that he performs that ritual every day.  Young Thanos tosses the Rider's head to the ground, where his body retrieves it to place back on his shoulders.  King Thanos tells young Thanos that he has killed every being in the universe save for one, the Fallen One, and not until his enemy dies can he be reunited with Mistress Death.  Thanos scoffs at his older counterpart's fear of a "forgotten Herald" and in response King Thanos tells him to prepare for the coming battle and leaves.  Ghost Rider invites Thanos to help him "feed the dog" and takes him to the dungeon beneath the throne room, talking all the while about how different he was before becoming the right hand of King Thanos.  In the dungeon, the "dog" needing to be fed is a bestial Hulk, who is kept chained in a pit of bones and relics of long-dead heroes.  Ghost Rider then introduces himself to Thanos as Frank Castle, a name Thanos fails to recognize.

In the chapel where King Thanos worships Death, young Thanos confronts the old man who has readied himself for battle, holding Surtur's Twilight Sword.  After the two argue over their perceived love and servitude for Mistress Death, an explosion announces the Fallen One's arrival.  King Thanos explains that the Fallen One is not a name, it is a title, this time held by the incoming Silver Surfer, accompanied by the Annihilation Wave behind him.

ANNOTATIONS
The story of how Frank Castle became the Ghost Rider is told in Thanos (2017) # 16.

This issue was released with three additional printings, all of which featured new covers taken from Geoff Shaw's interior artwork.

Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 19 - "Espresso at the Gates of Hell" (Click to Listen)

 

REVIEW
"Thanos Wins" continues with a major revelation from the Cosmic Ghost Rider and the story's antagonist gets a grand introduction.

It surprises me just how dead-on Donny Cates "gets" the concept of the Ghost Rider.  The opening page contains the absolute best description of the Penance Stare that I've ever read, it's an absolutely chilling and perfect encapsulation of what the Ghost Rider's most powerful weapon does to his victims.  Going through all of that narration, then hitting the reader with the idea of Thanos' using the Stare to essentially relive his greatest hits is pretty ballsy.  I've talked a bunch of times about how the Penance Stare is only as effective as the writer wants it to be, and when Ghost Rider gets used as a guest-star a lot of times the person he's fighting just sort shrugs off the Stare.  Morbius, the Punisher (more on him in a minute), the Deacon, Deadpool, Venom...there's a long list of characters who were used to make the Spirit of Vengeance look a bit like a chump.  Cates at least goes through the motions of making the Rider and his Penance Stare into something epic and terrifying, which keeps the Thanos bit on the next page as something monumental that doesn't undercut what's being done.  It's a powerful opening to a comic, I'll say that much.

And, while the ongoing conversations between the two versions of Thanos is certainly compelling, the real twists of this issue are the two big reveals that Cates has been building up to.  One of which is absolutely effective and one of those moments where you slap yourself on the forehead and yell "of course that's who it is!"  I am not referring, I'm afraid, to the identity of Cosmic Ghost Rider, but instead to that pitch-perfect last page that shows the Silver Surfer looking more badass than ever before.  The Frank Castle reveal is built up in the preceding pages, but at this point in the story I don't think it's really earned.  Did Cates really play fair with the readers?  I know I certainly never would have pegged Castle as the maniac Ghost Rider that talks incessantly.  The insanity angle is addressed here to try and account for the differences, but I almost think it's TOO far a stretch for a character like the Punisher to go from what readers know and understand to this fundamentally and disparately different incarnation.  It definitely made my jaw drop open the first time I read that page, and Thanos' response is perfect ('cause really, why WOULD he know that name?).  I just don't think the story has gone far enough to sell the reveal.  Thankfully, that will change with the next issue's origin sequence, but here it's a little more than shock value that made me (and a lot of others, specifically Punisher fans) scratch my head in hesitation.

The artwork, though, continues to be a revelation in its own right.  Geoff Shaw is a name I wasn't familiar with before this series, but it's damn sure on my radar now.  Look at that opening splash page of the Rider's skull giving the Penance Stare and tell me this guy can't draw a phenomenal Ghost Rider.  The design for the Cosmic Ghost Rider, in hindsight, gives more clues to the Punisher connection than the story has so far, but it was so subtle that I didn't piece it together until after I read the issue and was able to go back for a deeper inspection.  Shaw is knocking this series out of the park and I cannot wait to see him cut loose with that Silver Surfer fight that's coming up.

Thanos remains an absolutely amazing series on pretty much every level, and I highly recommend everyone read it.  Cosmic Ghost Rider might be a bit of a pill for long time Ghost Rider fans to swallow, but as one of those fans I was swept away by the epic storytelling and artwork.  Still not buying the Frank Castle stuff at this point, but that's a minor criticism.  Go buy this comic.

Grade: A+

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 116

Cover Artist: Sean McManus
Published: October 1992
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Legion of Vengeance, Part 4: Our Name is Legion..."
Writer: Joey Cavalieri
Artist: Shawn McManus
Letterer: Steve Dutro
Colorist: Fred Mendez
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
Nearly dead from disease, Iron Fist is on the ground in the cavern.  While Ghost Rider is held at bay, Bacillus attempts to touch Iron Fist one last time to finally kill him, but Iron Fist is able to grab the villain and hold him.  Threatening to snap him in half if he doesn't reverse his sickness, Iron Fist is restored to full health by Bacillus' touch.  Ghost Rider uses his hellfire and Penance Stare to uncover the origins of the four members of the Legion of Vengeance, and how in each case a malevolent entity was working behind the scenes.  When Ghost Rider demands the entity show its face, the demon D'kay appears.

ANNOTATIONS 
This issue of MCP also contained stories featuring Wolverine/Typhoid Mary, Giant-Man, and Two-Gun Kid.

This story was reprinted in the Iron Fist: The Book of Changes trade paperback.

REVIEW
"Legion of Vengeance" picks up a little bit, strangely enough by slowing its pace down to a crawl.

While I can't say the four villains of this story have been very compelling to this point, the writer certainly seems to have a lot invested in them.  I have to give Joey Cavalieri credit for at least attempting to give the villains interesting back stories and personalities, even if they still remain a bit too bland and broad.  Mind's Eye and Vesper are given semi-legitimate reasons for becoming murderous vigilantes, what with the "seeing corruption" and religious righteousness angles, but Strontium 90 and Bacillus are just generic scientists that weren't given that extra motivation.  Still, at least we have something more to hang on the characters than we did before, and even this depth of characterization is more than I've come to expect from a Marvel Comics Presents serial.

The artwork takes a major upswing with this chapter as well, with McManus doubling down on the gruesome nature of the villains' powers and providing some macabre atmosphere to their origin flashbacks.  Iron Fist at the beginning of the chapter looks absolutely grotesque, like his flesh is rotting off from the diseases that are killing him, and I'm surprised the editor let him take it that far.  Ghost Rider gets some good moments (though he's inexplicably throwing hellfire again, something that usually happens when the writer isn't familiar with the 90s version of the character) and he gets a great Penance Stare in about halfway through.  The demon that shows up at the end, D'Kay, doesn't have the most appealing visual design, but the decent looks of the other villains kind of make of for that.

All in all, this still isn't a very good serial, but at least this chapter held my attention.  That's more than the first three chapters did!

Grade: C+

Too Many Ghost Riders?


So, yesterday Marvel released a bit of information on a new 2-issue limited series coming in November called Infinity Warps: Ghost Panther.  No details on the creative team yet, but it's spinning out of the upcoming Infinity Wars event and is one of several mini-series that features "mash-ups" of Marvel characters.  Captain America and Doctor Strange are put together to make "Soldier Supreme", for example.  Ghost Panther is, naturally, a combination of Ghost Rider and Black Panther, and the artwork released so far by Humberto Ramos certainly looks awesome.

This is another instance in a trend that I'm not sure is all that great for the character, namely putting the Ghost Rider name and brand with another established character.  Look at the examples we've had in the last year.  Leaving Ghost Panther to the side, the other big success story has of course been Cosmic Ghost Rider.  This future Spirit of Vengeance is a possessed Frank Castle, the Punisher, and he was the break-out character of Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw's recent run on Thanos.  The Cosmic Ghost Rider mini-series actually debuts tomorrow and is expected to be a huge hit for Marvel.  While it's awesome that we're getting a new Ghost Rider series out of this, it also makes Ghost Rider as a concept one that can be traded around to just make a cool visual.  Gone is the actual character of Johnny Blaze (or Danny Ketch, for that matter) to give the character an actual personality of his own.  Now he's just a cool visual that can be bolted on to other characters or concepts, such as the Punisher.

For another recent example, there's the Doctor Strange: Damnation event, which has as its big hook the idea of Doctor Strange and several Avengers (including Black Panther) becoming evil Ghost Riders working for Mephisto.  Before that, last year saw the Venom/Ghost Rider combination, "Host Rider", showing up in the Edge of Venomverse mini-series. The flaming skull is such an iconic, awesome visual identity, but is that all Ghost Rider is to Marvel and the creators?  Has the character reached a point of saturation, where the skull and hellfire can be slapped onto anyone?  Sure, Robbie Reyes is in the Avengers now, but some fans consider even him to be a dilution of a character they love.

Ghost Rider has, in the last decade, gone from a character with two incarnations (three, if you're counting Carter Slade in the 1960s) to a legacy hero that's possessed countless human hosts since the dawn of time.  There's prehistoric Ghost Riders on wholly mammoths and future Ghost Riders as Heralds of Galactus, all of which brings some inspired storytelling and improved recognition for the character.  But is the cost of all that exposure for Ghost Rider the loss of characters like Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch?  Is Robbie Reyes the last bastion of that dual nature for the Spirit of Vengeance?  Do all we, as fans of the character, have to look forward to is more books like Ghost Panther or Cosmic Ghost Rider?  I guess we'll have to wait and see.




Ghost Rider (1990) # 66

Cover Artist: Salvador Larroca
Published: October 1995
Original Price: $1.95

Title: "Darkness Falls"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Sergio Melia
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Kevin Tinsley
Editor: James Felder
Editor In Chief: Bobbie Chase

SYNOPSIS
Danny Ketch has finally accepted his shared existence with the Ghost Rider and has located a need for him to transform.  The Ghost Rider stops a woman from being mugged and killed, giving the muggers his Penance Stare before riding away.  Later, he contemplates the temptation to keep control of their body, but ultimately decides to relinquish control back to Dan.  Meanwhile, a teenage girl attempts suicide by jumping off a bridge, but changes her mind at the last minute.  She's saved from falling by Blackout, who murders her.

Later, Danny is preparing to go visit his mother with his girlfriend Paula, who is picking up from her apartment.  Before they leave Paula has a phone call that angers her; she tells Dan that it's an ex-boyfriend of hers that follows her and won't leave her alone.  She snaps at Danny when he asks to help and tells him to go to his mother's on his own.  On the way he hears about a group of terrorists that have taken over a warehouse on the harbor and are threatening to detonate a bomb if the police don't stay away.  Ghost Rider takes out the terrorists, who he learns work for Anton Hellgate, one of his enemies.  When Ghost Rider returns to Cypress Hills Cemetery, he's approached by a man in the shadows who offers to act as his informant.  The man, who calls himself "Deep Throat", gives Ghost Rider information on Blackout and the young girl he killed.

At his penthouse apartment, Blackout is attacked by Ghost Rider.  Blackout mentions the arrangement they made during their last meeting, that if Ghost Rider leaves him alone he won't murder Danny's family.  Ghost Rider tells him that there are no more deals to be made, that every victim he kills makes the Rider as culpable for having not stopped him.  The battle between the two is brief, but the defeated Blackout still laughs in triumph; he knows Ghost Rider won't kill him and if he's taken to the police he'll be out in short time, after which he says he will kill Dan's mother.  Ghost Rider takes Blackout and chains him to the top of the World Trade Center antenna, where the dawn sunlight burns him alive.  Ghost Rider rides away, talking about his mission and how vengeance will no longer be denied.

ANNOTATIONS 
Danny began dating Paula Harris in Ghost Rider (1990) # 58.  The subplot with the stalker ex-boyfriend will continue over the next few issues until it is resolved in Ghost Rider (1990) # 69.

Ghost Rider last encountered Anton Hellgate in Ghost Rider (1990) # 50, but had battles with his agents Dread and Rak as recently as Ghost Rider (1990) # 61.

The identity of "Deep Throat" will be revealed as Captain Gerald Dolan in Ghost Rider (1990) # 73.  The name "Deep Throat" is taken from the mysterious informant of the Watergate Presidential scandal in the 1960s and was also used as an alias for an informant character in the X-Files, which was popular at the time of this issue's publication.

Blackout last appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 54, where he made the deal with Ghost Rider to spare Danny's family if he is left alone.  This is the character's last appearance for many years and shows up in Ghost Rider (2006) # 26 working with Dan Ketch as an agent of Zadkiel.

REVIEW
Howard Mackie gives his final word on Blackout, the villain that defined much of his Ghost Rider run, with an issue that reads a lot like an introduction for new readers.

Given the first and last pages of the comic, which feature Danny and then Ghost Rider speaking directly to the reader with a cleverly written expository speech about the character's status quo, this had to have been approached as a "jumping on point" for new readers.  It was the first issue released after the "Over the Edge" crossover, though I'm not sure how that crossover sold or if there were any noticeable sales bumps for the involved titles, and I'm sure Marvel wanted any potential new readers to stick around.  So, having Mackie and Larroca produce a one-shot story that hits upon a bunch of different plot points at once was logistically a smart move.  The storytelling gimmick at the beginning and end, the breaking of the fourth wall to address the reader, was a nice touch as well.

I wonder if Mackie knew he was going to be exiting the series a few issues later when he wrote this one?  It honestly reads like it go either way, because while he spends a lot of time establishing new subplots, such as "Deep Throat" and Paula's abusive ex, he also produces a pretty final send-off for Blackout.  I can imagine that Blackout might have been a character Mackie didn't want passed along to the next writer, if he indeed knew he was going to leave the book in a short amount of time, because you didn't see villains like Hellgate getting the wrap-up that Blackout receives in this issue.  The ending, which featured Blackout strapped to the top of the World Trade Center while the sun comes up, is definitely a memorable moment that's both shocking and gratifying.  Blackout was the major threat for so much of the title's history and been built up as a thoroughly despicable character, so seeing him finally get his due is extremely satisfying to see.

Other parts of the issue don't hang together quite so well, though it does give a very thorough "day in the life" look at the character and series as a whole.  The Hellgate and Paula sections feel very out of place and ultimately just distract from the Blackout section, which is relegated to the back half of the comic.  Had the Blackout section been the main focus and given enough room to breathe would have made the issue feel a lot less disjointed, but as it stands it feels rather piecemeal.  There's also the "Deep Throat" introduction, which I'm sure Mackie intended as a reference to the real-life Watergate informant but always struck me as a really weak X-Files homage.  Hey, it was the mid-90s, everyone was watching that show, so the reference sticks out like a sore thumb.  Giving Ghost Rider an informant/guide figure to move him from threat to threat is perfectly reasonable and I think its a fair assumption to make that Mackie wanted to avoid bringing back the Caretaker and all his baggage to fit that role.

The artwork by Salvador Larroca continues to impress, still providing the clear action sequences and storytelling that's been bringing to the title for over a year.  I still think it's a strange juxtaposition, having an artist like Larroca who's so bright and open on a title that had been so defined by the Texeira style of heavy blacks, but it continues to work really well.  I'm not so enamored with the colors by Kevin Tinsely, who unlike previous colorist Gregory Wright has a tendency to make things look flat and washed out.  The new use of computer colorization techniques makes things pop off the page pretty well and, coupled with the slick paper that the series is now using, enhances Larocca's artwork.  This isn't an urban horror series anymore, Larocca has dragged it firmly into being a solid superhero comic, but it still looks great.

Overall, this is a good comic that gets bogged down in the middle with subplots but manages to redeem itself with a highly effective ending.  That, coupled with the narrative tricks and the welcome attempt to make it as new-reader friendly as possible, means the good far outweighs the bad.  Recommended.

Grade: A

Mega Morphs # 1 (2005)

Cover Artist: Lou Kang
Published: October 2005
Original Price: $2.99

Title: "Mechanized & Manipulated"
Writer: Sean McKeever
Artist: Lou Kang
Inker: Pat Davidson
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Editor: John Barner
Consulting Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada

SYNOPSIS
At a cafe Bruce Banner is stung by a robotic insect that causes him to transform into the Hulk, who under mind control leaps off to find Doctor Octopus.  While Iron Man and Spider-Man test the capabilities of Spider-Man's Mega Morph, they receive the news that the Hulk stole both his own Mega Morph and the one created by Doctor Octopus.  Hulk breaks Doctor Octopus out of prison, but their escape is halted by Spider-Man.  Realizing he's outnumbered, he asks Tony Stark to call for back-up to help him.  Ghost Rider arrives in his Mega Morph and joins the fight, but the two heroes are soon confronted by an army of giant robots modeled after Doctor Doom.

ANNOTATIONS
The Mega Morphs first appeared in the series of mini-comics that came packaged with each Mega Morph toy, including one for Ghost Rider.

This series is not considered part of Ghost Rider continuity and should be considered an "alternate universe" appearance for the character.

REVIEW
Ghost Rider has been involved in some seemingly inexplicable appearances throughout the decades.  He taught bike safety to kids in Canada, held a stunt race with a "real life" biker named the Human Fly, and was even briefly a manga character.  Ghost Rider's seen some shit, y'all.

Then there's Mega Morphs, a comic series based around a line of toys that made no goddamn sense.  It was the popular Marvel heroes smashed with Transformers, but they couldn't actually call them "Transformers" because the toys were made by Toy Biz and not Hasbro, who had the Transformers license.  It's like Toy Biz executives looked at the sales figures and said "we gotta get some of that sweet, sweet transforming robot action", then shat out the Mega Morphs.  They should also be differentiated from the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, which this series ALSO steals from in the idea of heroes piloting giant robots.

The toys were crap, I'm ashamed to say I bought the Ghost Rider one when it was released and instantly regretted it.  Toy Biz did great with the Marvel Legends series, but their robots were fragile and nearly impossible to transform, which kinda defeats the point of making a transforming robot line of toys.  Marvel Comics, naturally, thought they better jump on this wave of transformin' morphin' robots and then produced their own tie-in comics.  Some of them were released with the toys themselves as mini-comics (something Ghost Rider is also familiar with, mini-comics included with toys), and for reasons unfathomable this mini-series was unleashed on an unsuspecting comic readership.

Look, trying to review this comic is like staring at the sun, eventually you're going to go blind and it's ultimately not worth it.  This is a series predicated on the high concept of the Hulk piloting a Transformer, which is almost as ridiculous as seeing GHOST RIDER piloting a Transformer.  Sean McKeever, bless his heart, tries his best to make this into something coherent, but it's all for naught.  Ghost Rider, who rides a mystical motorcycle for a living, is inside a robot that turns into a fucking motorcycle.  It's like a snake eating its own tail and I just can't reconcile the thought process behind it.  Putting Captain America and Wolverine in big robot suits, okay, I can almost justify that.  But Ghost Rider and the Hulk?

The artwork isn't much to speak of in this comic either, though it seems that Lou Kang would be right at home drawing the actual Transformers comics.  The designs for the Mega Morphs are so blocky and cluttered, though, and it's hard to convey them moving in any kind of natural way.  So everything looks very stiff and posed, like (hey hey!) someone just took photos of the toys in stock poses and ran them through a Photoshop filter to flatten out the images.  That is kind of a nice cover, though, so there's one point in the comic's favor.

If you haven't read this comic, you can either stay away and remain in blissful ignorance, or you can read it for the sheet "what the fuck?" idea behind it.  I warn you, though, that second path leads only to disappointment.

Grade: F

Inner Demons Episode 27: "Redneck Interlude"



Creeping up behind you, it's horrible!  It's a new episode of Inner Demons, it just hid behind that tombstone!  I heard rumors y'know, that those two hosscats Brian and Chris once reviewed a whole bushel of comics.  Stuff like Ghost Rider (1990) # 13 and Ghost Rider (2006) # 3.  Even (dare I say it?) Ghost Rider 2099 # 10!  It cursed 'em, y'see, and now they roam the cemetery in search...of listeners!  

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from either Stitcher or iTunes .  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 107

Cover Artist: Sam Keith
Published: June 1992
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Return of the Braineaters, Part 1: Bad Moon Rising"
Writer: Chris Cooper
Artist: John Stanisci
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti
Letterer: Mike Heisler & Steve Dutro
Colorist: Freddy Mendez
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
In Brooklyn's Prospect Park, Ghost Rider discovers the mutilated body of a person that appears to have been mauled by a large beast.  The next day, Jack Russell reads about the murder in the newspaper and goes off to find the killers, thinking to himself that he's been tracking them across the country.  That night, a young couple is being mugged by a large biker, but the mugger flees on his motorcycle when he's interrupted by a group of bikers that have their own plans for the couple.

Later, Jack is in the park searching for the killers while a group of kids play nearby.  One of the kids named Billy accidentally sees the bikers killing the couple; they are the Braineaters, a group of werewolves that kill indiscriminately.  Billy overhears them discussing how another gang of Braineaters encountered Jack Russell and were wiped out, which this gang's leader Scuzz says happened because they forgot the first rule: anyone who sees them change has to die.  Ghost Rider deals with some criminals in the city, then makes his way toward the park.  Billy is discovered by the Braineaters, who give chase after him, and Jack arrives just in time to discover the bodies of the couple they killed.  Ghost Rider appears on his motorcycle and, upon seeing Jack in his werewolf form, assumes he is the killer he's been searching for and attacks.

ANNOTATIONS 
This issue of Marvel Comics Presents also contained stories featuring Wolverine/Nightcrawler, Red Wolf, and the Young Gods.

Werewolf by Night encountered another group of Braineaters in Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 54-59, which ended with all members of the gang dead.

While this is his first encounter with this incarnation of Ghost Rider, Jack Russell did meet Johnny Blaze twice, in Marvel Premiere # 28 and Ghost Rider (1973) # 55.

The biker that attempts to mug the young couple is named Fraser and he previously appeared in Ghost Rider (1990) # 4.

REVIEW
Another storyarc for Ghost Rider in Marvel Comics Presents means another random superhero team-up, this time with the Werewolf by Night.

Jack Russell had kinda become a staple of Marvel Comics Presents by this point, and it makes sense as to why.  He's one of those solid C-list characters that can't quite manage to anchor their own book despite fans still having affection for him.  MCP was a haven for those characters, guys like the Man-Thing and Shang-Chi, and the series proved to be a popular place for Werewolf by Night stories.  Len Kaminski turned out a wonderful 6-part story with the character about 50 issues before this one, which also served as the basis for Chris Cooper's sequel story that starts here.

So that's a little odd, right?  This is a sequel to a story by Kaminski that's written by Cooper AND it's the first Ghost Rider story in MCP that's not written by Howard Mackie.  I'm not sure why I think that's so odd, but there it is.  Cooper is a writer that will show up often as the MCP Ghost Rider writer going forward, and he's usually more of a miss than a hit.  He has my respect for his work on the criminally underrated Darkhold: Pages From the Book of Sins series that debuts not long after this, but his MCP stuff never manages to seem more than just average.  The opening chapter of "Return of the Braineaters" isn't hugely imaginative, biker werewolves are killing people while heroes investigate, and its smart enough to not make the Kaminski Braineaters story essential to the plot of this one.  It just doesn't do anything to elevate it from all the other MCP Ghost Rider team-ups, especially when the cliffhanger hinges on yet another mistaken identity hero fight.

The artwork's not much to laud, either.  John Stanisci isn't a name I'm very familiar with, I believe he may have drawn some other MCP stories later on, and his work here seems very rough with little polish.  I do appreciate how his work echoes the style of great artists like Kelley Jones and Bernie Wrightson, definitely making him suitable for a horror story like this one.  I also think he does a strong rendition of Ghost Rider, such as in the page where he's dispatching the two criminals.  Where he struggles is with the werewolves, who don't seem to adhere to standard rules of anatomy for either men or wolves.  I think he's trying to ape the look of movies like the Howling and just falls a little short, making his werewolves look silly instead of scary.   When your story hinges around werewolf horror, that's a bit of a problem.

All told, this is the opening chapter to a middling MCP serial.  There's just not much here to grab your attention, though things do pick up some in later chapters.

Grade: C+

Inner Demons Episode 26: "Unreliable Narrator"



Turn your hellevisions to Channel 666, where Inner Demons is proud to present "Let's Make a Deal...with the DEVIL"!  Each player will receive the consolation prize of a Thanos Annual # 1 review along with a chance to win reviews of Avengers (2018) # 1 & 2!  Of course, they can choose to risk it all and go for the grand prize: a review of Ghost Rider (1973) # 8!  Which damned souls will go home with the gold and the glory?  Tune in to find out!

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from either Stitcher or iTunes .  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Marvel Collector's Edition (1992) # 1

Cover Artist: Sam Keith
Published: 1992
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "You've Got to Have Friends"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: John Hebert
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colorist: Ariane Lenshoek
Editor: Glenn Herdling
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
Young teen Mike "Mouse" McCormick is running for this life, bleeding from a wound in his side while thinking to himself that all he wanted to do was impress people and have friends.  He runs into Cypress Hills Cemetery and collides into Danny Ketch, who is visiting his sister's grave while sitting atop his motorcycle.  Mouse apologizes and runs away, but when Dan notices the blood smeared onto his shirt from the boy he finds himself transforming into Ghost Rider.  Mike collapses and is found by Devil Grip, who is angry that Mike didn't do the job he had paid him to do, and now that he's seen too much of the criminals operations he's going to have to be killed.  Ghost Rider stops Devil Grip, and after a brief fight gives the villain the Penance Stare.  Ghost Rider picks up Mike and takes him on a ride through the neighborhood to the hospital; Mike is finally content that he has a friend and the respect he desired when everyone, including his mother, sees him with Ghost Rider.

ANNOTATIONS 
This comic was a special promotional giveaway by Marvel and Charleston Chew candy bars, which could be obtained through the mail by redeeming packages of the candy.

The other stories in this feature featured Wolverine, Spider-Man, and the Silver Surfer.

Ghost Rider last appeared in Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 118 and he appears next in Amazing Spider-Man: Hit and Run # 3.

Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 16 - "Hellfireface" (Click to Listen)

REVIEW
Marvel released a promotional issue of Marvel Comics Presents through a candy bar company of all things, available only through a mail away offer on the candy wrapper.  It served as a short spotlight for the company's biggest characters (though one can understand why the Punisher wasn't included, what with the whole mass murder thing not jiving with a marketing campaign aimed at kids), one of which at the time was, naturally, Ghost Rider.

It's great that they got Howard Mackie to write this thing, back when he was still serving as the de facto controller over everything Ghost Rider, even candy bar tie-ins.  It's also great that they got John Hebert to reunite with Mackie for this extremely short story after their highly entertaining Christmas story about the blind kid mistaking Ghost Rider for Santa Claus.  Unfortunately, this story misses the high marks of that earlier collaboration, though I can certainly see what Mackie was aiming for and how difficult it must have been to convey in a 6 page story.  This had to tell new kid readers who Ghost Rider was and give him a conflict to resolve while keeping things as simple as possible, and that's not an easy thing to accomplish.  Wrapping the story hook around the idea of friendship and falling in with a bad crowd is a perfectly appropriate idea for something like this, and it's certainly sound in theory.

Where it falls apart is the "villain" of the piece, the absolutely ridiculous Devil Grip.  Never mind the ludicrous consequences of a name like fucking DEVIL GRIP, the guy isn't given any kind of motivation other than "bad" and "crush you".  It makes you wonder why Mouse even wanted to impress this guy to begin with, if he's one to kill any random kid who doesn't fall in line with whatever his "organization" may be.  His laughable character design just underscores what a waste this character was, he looks like Hagrid from Harry Potter posing as a leather daddy.  Hebert is a quality artist, he's turned out a few other Ghost Rider stories that looked fantastic, but this one just doesn't work on any level.

Mackie tries to hit you in the feels with the last panel, like he did with the blind kid in the Christmas special, but it just doesn't have the same punch.  This is an interesting curio but ultimately inconsequential and definitely not worth tracking down.

Grade: D

Ghost Rider (1990) # 92

Cover Artist: Javier Saltares
Published: January 1998
Original Price: $1.99

Title: "The Last Temptation, Part 3: The Secret Fire"
Writer: Ivan Velez Jr.
Artist: Javier Saltares
Inker: Mark Texeira
Letterers: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor In Chief: Bob Harras

SYNOPSIS
The Ghost Rider is in Hell, and after striking a deal with Blackheart he has regained his original human body and become Noble Kale once again.  Meanwhile, Danny Ketch awakens from a dream where he and his ex-girlfriend Stacy Dolan were married with a child and finds the ghost woman from the void hovering over his bed.  When he refuses to help the Ghost Rider now that he's free from the curse, she uses magic to channel Noble's memories through him, effectively making him relive Kale's life in the 18th century.  Noble/Danny tells her about his father, Pastor Kale, and the town of Patience in which they lived.  He remembers the woman, Magdelena, who they saved from death in the wilderness and how he fell in love with her despite his father's objections that she was from "savage stock".  When Magdelena became pregnant, Pastor Kale had Noble whipped and the baby taken away from them, causing Danny/Noble to declare his father evil.

Meanwhile, in Hell, Blackheart holds a banquet for the Ghost Rider and his four new Spirits of Vengeance (Wallow, Pao Fu, Verminous Rex, and Doghead).  When Blackheart explains that Ghost Rider will teach the four how to mete out vengeance, Wallow states that he should be the leader.  This causes Noble to jump the table and place a sword to his head, saying he will learn from him or be destroyed.

Back in the memory replay, the ghost woman forces Noble/Danny to relive when Magdelena was burned at the stake for being a witch.  When the ghost accuses him of cowardice and not being willing to help his wife, the memories show that Noble had been drugged, beaten, and imprisoned by his father.  Magdelena had learned Pastor Kale's secret, that he was a servant of Mephisto and had used black magic make the town prosper; because she discovered this, he had her burned as a witch.  When she died Magdelena cursed the town, calling upon the Furies to avenge her.  In response, Pastor Kale summoned Mephisto and gave his son over to the demon, who transformed him into the Ghost Rider.  Noble fought the Furies for three straight days before finally achieving victory, upon which Pastor Kale offered him his own infant son to feast upon.  This sickened Noble so much that he took his own life, causing both Mephisto and the angel Uriel to appear.  The demon and the angel struck a deal where neither side would claim Noble's soul, instead he would become the Spirit of Vengeance and would possess his descendants of each new generation.  Mephisto then cursed Pastor Kale with immortality, to watch over the family and mark each first born with the vengeance brand.  In the void, where Noble would stay when not on the Earthly realm, the ghost woman sees him visited by Uriel in secret.  There they learn the secret that had been kept hidden, that Noble has become the angel of death.  This causes the memory spell to end, and both Danny and the ghost woman appear back in his apartment.  They have the knowledge they need to defeat Blackheart and allow the Ghost Rider to claim his full power, god help them all.

ANNOTATIONS 
The story of Noble Kale and Magdelena was first told in Ghost Rider (1990) # 78, though some details were left out in that issue that were revealed here.

The Furies returned in the modern day, when Ghost Rider recovered the lost memories of Noble Kale, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 78.  Magdelena's ghost appeared and renounced her curse on the Kale bloodline in Ghost Rider (1990) # 80.

The ghost woman is revealed to be Danny's mother, Naomi Kale, in Ghost Rider (1990) # 93.

While Noble Kale was transformed into a Spirit of Vengeance, as shown years later in Ghost Rider (2006) # 33, it was the meddling of Mephisto and Uriel that formed his particular curse and bound him to the bloodline of his descendants.

Uriel, or another incarnation of him named Uri-El, appeared in Blaze (1994) # 12.

REVIEW
The classic Ghost Rider art team of Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira are reunited, but it's too little too late as the book barrels toward both the end of this story-arc and the series itself.

I'm going to spend another post talking mostly about the artwork, at least at the top of the review, because having the Saltares/Texeria team back together was a big damn deal to Ghost Rider readers at the time.  It was one of the many attempts that editor Tom Brevoort made to rescue the sales figures for the title, which had fallen from the top of the charts to being one of Marvel's lowest-selling books, along with bringing back the black leather outfit and classic logo.  Saltares came back to the series a few issues before, during the "Flashback" event, and while it was all really nice looking artwork (the best the series had seen in years, to be frank) it just didn't pop the way Saltares' work did in the series first year.  Texeira, his original finisher on that first run, was brought back onto the team with this issue, and it makes things look immediately familiar to fans of that particular time.  That's the magic that the editor was hoping to recreate, that fans would see a recognizable version of the once-popular character and pick the series up again.

While the line work looks fantastic, those two artists together could draw Ghost Rider on a napkin and have it look like a million bucks, the art falls down with a crucial component.  Colorist Brian Buccellato jacks the contrast to the max while coloring everything way too bright and vibrant, which robs the artwork of the darkness and heavy blacks established by Texeria's finishes.  Take a look at how Gregory Wright colored the Saltares/Texeira team in the early 1990s or how Dan Brown tackled it 10 years after this when the art team reunites for a third time.  The right colors make this art team one of the best in the business, and Buccellato completely overpowers the pencils and inks with too many oranges and yellows.  It's a shame, too, because the art provides some fantastic visuals, particularly Noble's flashback transformation into the Ghost Rider and fight with the Furies.

Ivan Velez continues to make this arc a big damn deal in its own right with all of the upheavals and revelations he's packing into each issue.  Ghost Rider reclaims his original body, though until Texeria steps in with his finishes I couldn't see the resemblance between Noble and Danny that everyone mentions in the text.  The extended flashback sequence finally puts all the pieces together for Velez's origin story, and though it doesn't jive AT ALL with anything that had come before his run, whether it was by Marc DeMatteis or Howard Mackie, it's still a satisfying part of the story Velez has been telling for the last two years.  The angel Uriel seems a bit tacked on, because unlike Mephisto and the Furies he hadn't been established in the earlier origin teases in Velez's run, but it doesn't feel out of place.  Everything has this momentum to it, the stuff in Hell with Blackheart and the ghost woman, and it's the most exciting and interesting this series had been in quite a long time.

"The Last Temptation" is a forgotten piece of Ghost Rider history, since it was at the tail-end of a run that got the title cancelled, but it's well worth reading.  Just don't go into it cold, because it's absolutely the climactic story for a writer that had been playing the long game with his plotting for over 20 issues.

Grade: A-

Inner Demons Episode 25: "Walking In Both Worlds"



Inner Demons would like to invite you to join us in celebrating our 25th episode milestone!  Allow Brian and Chris to be your guide through the 2007 Ghost Rider feature film with the special Inner Demons commentary track!  Fire up your DVD or Blu-Ray disc and watch along as we discuss bad hairpieces, impotent villains, and the absolute awesomeness of Sam Elliot.  Let's ride, listeners!

You can listen to the episode at the Vengeance Unbound page on blogspot, or you can download it from either Stitcher or iTunes .  You can also find us on Facebook, just search  for "Vengeance Unbound" and on Twitter under @InnerDemonsGR.  Thanks for listening!

Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 9

Cover Artist: Kyle Hotz
Published: January 1995
Original Price: $1.50

Title: "Demolition Man"
Writer: Len Kaminski
Artist: Mark Buckingham
Inker: Kev F. Sutherland
Letterer: Richard Starkings w/ Comicraft
Colorist: Christie Scheele w/ Heroic Age
Editor: Evan Skolnick
Group Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco

SYNOPSIS
Zero Cochrane is surfing through cyberspace, searching for the Ghostworks, the artificial intelligence programs that transformed him into the Ghost Rider.  After discovering that they had altered his programming to stop him from talking about their existence he is determined to find them, but after 6 days has had no luck. He unplugs himself from the matrix and remembers a virus program he has at his old crash pad that could track down the Ghostworks for him. In Cyberspace, the Ghostworks have been observing Zero's search for them, and though they admit that given sufficient time he could conceivably track them down they are aware of coming events that will serve to distract him from that goal.

Zero makes his way to a part of Transverse City called Little Calcutta, where he meets with an old friend and street vendor named Pak.  During their conversation, Pak tells Zero that several people have been gruesomely murdered by a "horrorshow monster with teeth".  Zero makes his way to the crash pad, but quickly realizes that D/Monix ransacked the place and took away all of the discs that were there.  He gets lost in a memory of his dead friends and punches the wall, saying it wasn't his fault that he lived when they died.  Suddenly, the crash pad explodes.  Meanwhile, Pak is murdered by the "horrorshow monster".

Zero emerges from the rubble of the crash pad in his Ghost Rider form and is confronted by Jeter, former leader of the Artificial Kidz.  Zero had severed his cybernetic limbs from his body in his last encounter and he has since paid the Bone Mechanix to attach his torso to several tanks.  After a brief fight Zero gets the upper hand, decapitates Jeter, and throws his severed head into a fire.  Later, Zero wanders by a crowd that has gathered around Pak's mutilated body and Zero decides he needs to find the killer.

ANNOTATIONS
The Ghost Rider severed Jeter's cybernetic limbs in Ghost Rider 2099 (1994) # 2.

Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 19 - "Espresso at the Gates of Hell" (Click to Listen)

REVIEW
Mark Buckingham and Kev Sutherland return to the art chores for a done-in-one story that acts as a bridge between two arcs.

As much as I enjoy Kyle Hotz's work on this series, seeing Buckingham and Sutherland come back for one last issue is so, so welcome.  This was the visual style that defined the book's first arc, and though it's not quite Chris Bachalo it's awfully damn close.  So close, in fact, that having Buckingham continue the art chores with issue # 6 onward would have been as visually consistent and tone appropriate as the creative team could have got.  From what I understand, Buckingham was offered the full art chores on the series following that first arc and he turned it down, presumably to go work with Bachalo on Generation X, so it's probably a lucky break that he was able to come back for even this issue.

Just look at the artwork, though, it's magnificent!  Buckingham might not have the grit that Bachalo brought to the first couple of issues, but it's polished and grimey at the same time.  The attention to detail in Little Calcutta, from Pak's severed fingers (he was Yakuza, of course) to the various booths and knick-knacks scattered around each panel, Buckingham makes Transverse City come to vivid life.  He doesn't have the body horror HR Giger detailing that Hotz brings to the series, something that's going to work out very well visually in the next few issues, but he can still bring the shocking when he has to.  Pak's murder at the hands of the creature is particularly gruesome, with the guy's face getting shredded off, on panel no less.  The only downside to the artwork is with the end fight against Jeter, where some of the clarity is sacrificed and it's hard to tell exactly what's happening in a few panels.

With me gushing so much about the art, you might think I don't have much to say about this issue's story, and you'd be kinda right.  Kaminski's scripting is still absolutely on point with this installment, filling it with all of the biting humor and intriguing world building that this series is accustomed to, such as the travel guide to Little Calcutta written in the style of Hunter S. Thompson.  Zero's character gets some pathos in this one, too, with him finally showing some remorse over what happened to his friends at the onset of the series.  It's just the plot itself is really inconsequential: Zero goes to get a macguffin, bad guy comes back for revenge, bad guy gets killed, the end.

The plot itself is a little too stock to make this one stand out, even with sharp scripting and really nice artwork.  It's worth reading, of course, to keep up with the title's ongoing plot threads, but it's not a stand out of the series.

Grade: B+

Thanos (2017) # 14

Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw
Published: February 2018
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "Thanos Wins, Part 2"
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Geoff Shaw
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso

SYNOPSIS
In the far future, millions of years after the murders of nearly every being in the universe, King Thanos sits on his throne with the Spirit of Vengeance as his only companion.  He has called his younger self from the 21st century to his future time, and the young Thanos reacts with violence, not believing that he is face to face with himself.  When the Ghost Rider steps in to stop the younger Thanos, stating that he can't be killed, he is hoisted up by his skull with the intention to test that theory.  King Thanos gets on his knees and says "please" to his younger self, stating he needs his help.  Thanos blasts Old King Thanos out of the throne room, unwilling to believe that he would ever ask for help from anyone, but is convinced when his older self calls him by his true birth name, "Dionne".  King Thanos states that he has lost someone and needs help getting them back; when young Thanos asks who he lost, he is pointed to a magnificent statue of Mistress Death while King Thanos answers "who do you think?".

ANNOTATIONS
The identity of the Cosmic Ghost Rider is revealed in Thanos (2017) # 15 and his origin told in Thanos (2017) # 16.

Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 19 - "Espresso at the Gates of Hell" (Click to Listen)

REVIEW
Thanos meets his (much) older self in this second part of "Thanos Wins".

I really don't have a whole lot to say about this one, since the new Cosmic Ghost Rider has such a minimal role in the issue.  He gets a nice one-page segment where he's hoisted up by his skull by young Thanos, but other than that and a promise that readers will learn his story at a later date he doesn't get much play after his thunderous arrival in the previous issue.  It's actually a tad bit disappointing considering that build-up and how easily he captured Thanos to see him relegated to almost comic relief here, but I can easily forgive it.  He gets a much bigger role in the series in the next several issues and this is a much-needed spotlight on the book's title character that's done in such a way as to be utterly fascinating.

Donny Cates has this way of describing events that gives them this dramatic importance, his narration makes everything feel fucking EPIC.  The art of third person narration in comics is almost lost these days, and definitely unappreciated, but go back to the 1970s and it's everywhere.  It fell out of fashion once Frank Miller started doing first person narration in Daredevil, but a good "third person omniscient" can really spice things up.  It's especially effective when you have to get through a large span of time in just a few pages, which is what Cates has to do here.  He starts the comic off with Thanos' birth and makes even that occasion seem ominous and foreboding, then speeds through the entire history of the character up into the far future.  It's some really deft shorthand that effectively achieves the intended sense that Thanos is this inevitable doom that will ultimately kill everything in the universe.  I've said before that Thanos isn't a character I ever really cared much about it, he was always just okay but nothing special.  This story is absolutely changing that attitude.

One of the most important reasons for that change is the artwork by Geoff Shaw, who can make something as simple as Thanos' birth and make it both gripping and terrifying at the same time.  His job couldn't have been an easy one in this issue, what with the two-page summary of Thanos' published history followed quickly by his panoramic destructive acts against the Marvel Universe of the future.  Look at that spread of the Celestials walking toward Thanos, that is some incredible artwork that absolutely convinces you that this is something that demands your full attention.

So, while this isn't much of a Ghost Rider story even in guest-appearance standards, it's still a remarkable comic and necessary for the storyline as a whole.  Definitely pick it up.

Grade: A+