Cover Date: December 1992; On Sale Date: October 1992
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
John Blaze wakes up in the sewers surrounded by the Death Spawn, while around him rages a battle consisting of Ghost Rider, Venom, Spider-Man, Hobgoblin, Demogoblin, the Doppelganger, Hag, Troll, and the comatose Deathwatch. Blaze also notices an innocent priest that has been pulled into the battle. Wanting to force the Deathspawn to back off, Blaze shoots a gas main with his hellfire shotgun, causing an explosion that separates the combatants. When Venom attempts to stop the Deathspawn from taking Spider-Man he gets in the way of Blaze's hellfire, causing the Venom symbiote pain. A brief confrontation occurs between Venom, Blaze, and Ghost Rider that ends with Venom stalking away to find Spider-Man. Ghost Rider then points out that Hag and Troll have left Deathwatch's body behind. They follow the sounds of screams to a hole behind a wall, but lose Deathwatch to one of the Deathspawn that emerges from the hole. Venom then reappears and shoves Ghost Rider and Blaze into the hole, following the Death Spawn. Meanwhile, in New Jersey at the Quentin Carnival, blind psychic Clara Menninger has a vision of the carnival being destroyed.
Back in the sewers, Blaze, Ghost Rider, and Venom find a group of homeless people that the Deathspawn have brought to the caverns as food. They also find Spider-Man, Father Martin, Demogoblin, Doppelganger, and Hobgoblin trapped against a nearby wall. Hag and Troll appear with the rest of the Deathspawn and another battle ensues. Once again, the Deathspawn separate, with the innocent people being taken one way and both Spider-Man and Deathwatch being taken another way. Blaze argues to Ghost Rider and Venom that the people take priority over everything, forcing the three into an uneasy alliance.
THE ROADMAP
This issue is the second chapter of the four part "Spirits of Venom" crossover, which began in Web of Spider-Man (1985) # 95 and continues in Web of Spider-Man (1985) # 96.
Hag and Troll were believed to have died during Ghost Rider's final confrontation with Deathwatch in Ghost Rider (1990) # 24. They were shown to be alive and killed the Guardsman in Web of Spider-Man (1985) # 94, which is why Venom is tracking them down.
The meaning behind Clara Menninger's psychic vision is revealed in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1992) # 7.
CHAIN REACTION
The "Spirits of Venom" crossover hits part two of this really underrated story.
I really don't think there's been a better Ghost Rider creative team than Howard Mackie and Adam Kubert, whose work together on this series and this issue in particular hits all of the right notes for what a good story involving these characters should be like. I've said before that Spirits of Vengeance was by far the stronger of the two Ghost Rider titles of this era, and this issue is a perfect example of why. It has a clear focus, strong character work from Mackie, and absolutely brilliant art from Kubert.
Even though there's a ton of characters running around, the plot to this crossover is fairly simple. The Deathspawn want to resurrect Deathwatch and Venom wants to eat Spider-Man's brain, while Blaze and Ghost Rider are trying to stop both. Its really just a series of extended fight sequences, but Mackie and Kubert do two very smart things to keep the comic from degenerating into battle after battle with shadow monsters. First off, Mackie takes time to breath between fights to not only move the heroes further down into the tunnels but to also allow Ghost Rider and John Blaze to have some wonderful conversations. Having Blaze flag up the Ghost Rider's recent loquacious demeanor leads to some excellent banter, the two characters just have great chemistry under Mackie.
The second thing this comic does right is the way Adam Kubert uses the underground setting to make the panels feel absolutely claustrophobic for the readers and the characters. His dynamic character work is crammed between walls while simultaneously breaking out of panel borders. Venom in particular seems to defy being constrained by the pages, jutting out at uncomfortable angles at every opportunity and looking the scariest he's ever been. Kubert also fills the comic with so much personality, like with Ghost Rider making Deathwatch smile with his fingers on his mouth.
"Spirits of Venom" doesn't get brought up as much as it should when talking about classic Ghost Rider stories, but its yet another issue of solid gold from a great creative team.
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