Thanos (2017) # 17

"Thanos Wins, Part 5"

Cover Date: May 2018; Publication Date: March 2018

Writer: Donny Cates; Artist: Geoff Shaw; Letterer: Clayton Cowles; Colorist: Antonio Fabela; Editor: Jordan D. White; Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw

The Silver Surfer, now armed with the hammer Mjlonir, attacks Thanos, Old King Thanos, and Cosmic Ghost Rider, sweeping all of them aside.  When Ghost Rider attacks, stating that the Surfer isn't the only Herald of Galactus there, the Surfer kills him, smashing him to pieces with his hammer.  The Surfer is then attacked by an enraged Hulk, who is calmed by the Surfer's voice and reverts back to Bruce Banner.  King Thanos then stabs both of them in the back with the flaming sword of Surtur, killing Banner.  The two versions of Thanos then beat the Surfer mercilessly, eventually killing him.  Now that they are the only two living creatures in existence, Death appears outside, dressed for a wedding.

Thanos (2017) # 16

"Thanos Wins, Part 4"

Cover Date: April 2018; Publication Date: February 2018

Writer: Donny Cates; Artist: Geoff Shaw; Letterer: Clayton Cowles; Colorist: Antonio Fabela; Editor: Jordan D. White; Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw

During his last attack on Earth, Thanos was in the skies above Manhattan slaughtering all of the planet's heroes.  On the ground below was Frank Castle, the Punisher, who was crushed under a falling building.  As he died, he thought that he would give anything to punish Thanos...and found himself in Hell before Mephisto.  Castle signed a deal with Mephisto to become the Ghost Rider, but found that he was the only living being left on Earth.  Centuries later, after having become mad from loneliness, Castle witness the coming of an injured Galactus.  Castle makes his second deal and becomes the cosmic powered Herald of Galactus, and the two of them went across the galaxy hunting for Thanos.  It took the pair centuries, but when they finally confronted Thanos the Mad Titan killed Galactus and offered Castle a place by his side, where he remained until the end of time.

Old Man Thanos, his younger time travelling counterpart, and the Ghost Rider are confronted by the Silver Surfer and his Annihilation Wave. When the wave of alien insects attacks, Thanos reminds Ghost Rider of his hellish power and, with a massive blast of hellfire, he destroys the entire Annihilation horde.  The Silver Surfer attacks, knocking all three of his opponents to the ground, and Old Man Thanos asks why the Surfer waited so long just to die.  The Surfer answers that he wasn't waiting, he was becoming worthy...just as Thor's hammer Mjolnir flies into his hand.

Thanos (2017) # 15

"Thanos Wins, Part 3"

Cover Date: March 2018; Publication Date: January 2018

Writer: Donny Cates; Artist: Geoff Shaw; Letterer: Clayton Cowles; Colorist: Antonio Fabela; Editor: Jordan D. White; Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw

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.

Thanos (2017) # 14

"Thanos Wins, Part 2"

Cover Date: December 2017; Publication Date: February 2018

Writer: Donny Cates; Artist: Geoff Shaw; Letterer: Clayton Cowles; Colorist: Antonio Fabela; Editor: Jordan D. White; Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw

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?".

Thanos (2017) # 13

"Thanos Wins, Part 1"

Cover Date: November 2017; Publication Date: January 2018

Writer: Donny Cates; Artist: Geoff Shaw; Letterer: Clayton Cowles; Colorist: Antonio Fabela; Editor: Jordan D. White; Editor-in-Chief: Axel Alonso; Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw

On the planet Chitauri Prime, the alien race of Chitauri have been completely dominated and overthrown by Thanos, who waged brutal war upon them in just five hours time.  He kills the king and takes his throne, new ruler of the Chitauri, and is soon approached by a servant who tells him of a being approaching the planet's orbit that has slaughtered its way through their spaceship armada.  The Ghost Rider arrives planetside and blows through the alien army on his way to Thanos, this Spirit of Vengeance that also possesses the Power Cosmic of Galactus as one of his former heralds.  He gets off of his space bike and approaches Thanos, telling him that he's there to bring him back to his master.  Thanos knocks hims aside, but Ghost Rider recovers and binds him in chains forged from the bones of Cyttorak.  Using a shard of the Time Stone, Ghost Rider drags Thanos into space and teleports them to Earth, millions of years in the future.  There, Thanos is brought before the Rider's master, an older version of Thanos himself who tells his younger counterpart that he's "already won".

Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider (2019) # 3

Cover Date: April 2020; On Sale Date: February 2020

Writers: Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum; Artist: Scott Hepburn; Letterer: Travis Lanham; Colorist: Antonio Fabela; Editor: Darren Shaw; Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Scott Hepburn

Cosmic Ghost Rider reminisces about the death of his family in Central Park as he's forced to watch Cammi be sucked into a black hole while he's held at bay by the Cosmic King. Frank attacks Cosmic King while in orbit of the nearby planet of the Jemonites, causing them to crash down like meteors on one of their cities, killing all of the inhabitants. Frank flashes back to when he died and arrived in Hell, where he met Mephisto. The demon lord offered him a deal, to continue punishing the wicked as a Ghost Rider, and Frank accepted.

Frank climbs out of the crater made by their landing on the planet and continues the fight with Cosmic King. The battle rages while the two talk about Frank's life and his relationship with death, finally ending with Frank dragging Cosmic King behind his motorcycle. Realizing he's beaten, the Cosmic King offers Frank another deal: his mortal soul, reclaimed from Mephisto, in exchange for sparing Cosmic King's life. Frank accepts without hesitation, stripping himself of the power of the Ghost Rider, while Cosmic King just laughs and says "pleasure doing business with you".

Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider (2019) # 2

Cover Date: March 2020; On Sale Date: January 2020

Writers: Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum; Artist: Scott Hepburn; Letterer: Travis Lanham; Colorist: Antonio Fabela; Editor: Darren Shaw; Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Scott Hepburn

Following a brief, one-sided fight inside the Hotel Inferno, the Cosmic King takes the soul of Frank Castle away from Mephisto. Cosmic King then teleports back to his headquarters, where he is informed that the Cosmic Ghost Rider is destroying one of his spice fields on the planet Kanda. Cosmic Ghost Rider slaughters the cartel members on the planet but refuses to allow his new companion, Cammi, to help due to her soul being pure. When she protests, Cosmic Ghost Rider chains her to his bike before his next mission underwater in the Trench of Natal Lax.

Later, a space diner, Frank and Cammi are attacked by seven of Cosmic King's assassins, all of whom Castle kills in the span of three minutes, again not allowing Cammi to kill anyone. They travel to the planet of the Jemonites, who refused to allow Cosmic King to pass drugs and supplies through their planet, resulting in him setting up a blockade in orbit, starving the citizens to death. Cosmic Ghost Rider goes off to destroy the blockade, leaving Cammi chained on an asteroid, but she manages to escape and boards one of the blockade ships. Before she can kill the ship's captain Frank destroys the ship, killing everyone on board other than Cammi. Cosmic King arrives and transforms into a monstrous creature, attacking Frank and grabbing Cammi. When Castle tells Cosmic King to let her go, he obliges by flinging her into a wormhole while Frank can do nothing but watch.

Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider (2019) # 1

Cover Date: February 2020; On Sale Date: December 2019

Writers: Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum; Artist: Scott Hepburn; Letterer: Travis Lanham; Colorist: Antonio Fabela; Editor: Darren Shaw; Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Scott Hepburn

Following a murder spree across the galaxy, Frank Castle is locked up inside a Shi'ar Supermax Space Prison. When he's attacked by the inmates he transforms into Cosmic Ghost Rider and begins slaughtering all of them. During the fight the power to the prison is disabled, releasing "the Veil", a creature seemingly made of pure darkness that sucks all of the hellfire out of Cosmic Ghost Rider before the last living guard activates the station's self-destruct protocol, destroying the prison and killing everyone inside.

Months later, a group of alien scavengers sift through the prison's debris and discover Cosmic Ghost Rider's inert skull. One of the crew is a human girl named Cammi, who has a rivalry with one of her mates. Back on their ship, Cosmic Ghost Rider wakes up and begins killing the scavengers, reforming his body as he goes along, until only Cammi remains. When Frank gives Cammi the Penance Stare it reveals that she is actually an innocent girl despite her hard exterior. She explains that the pirates were working for the Cosmic King, the most powerful alien gangster in the galaxy, who is also listening in on their conversation. Cosmic King then opens a portal to the Hotel Inferno for a meeting with Mephisto, where he demands the soul of Frank Castle.

"Semper Fight"

Writers: Donny Cates; Artist: Geoff Shaw; Letterer: Travis Lanham; Colorist: Matt Milla; Editor: Darren Shaw; Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski; Cover Artist: Scott Hepburn

While at the grave of his wife, Maria Castle, old man Frank is attacked by his present-day counterpart, the Punisher. Using consecrated hellfire rounds and grenades, the Punisher attempts to kill Cosmic Ghost Rider. Finally getting fed up with the attack, old man Frank stops the fight and asks why present-day Frank is trying to kill him. The Punisher answers that he knows about Cosmic Ghost Rider's traveling through time and is angry that he didn't save their wife and children. Cosmic Ghost Rider leaves Earth after the Punisher says he will kill him if he returns.

Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 6

Cover Date: October 2019

On Sale Date: August 2019

Writers: Paul Scheer & Nick Giovannetti
Artist: Todd Nauck
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Antonio Fabela & Rachelle Rosenberg
Editor: Darren Shaw
Assistant Editor: Danny Khazem
Senior Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski
Cover Artist: Gerardo Zaffino

Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson are visiting the Raft under the request of Reed Richards to meet a prisoner, but while there the villain Electro institutes a jailbreak of the inmates.  While various heroes attempt to quell the breakout, Nelson and Murdock find the prisoner they've come to see: Frank Castle, the Cosmic Ghost Rider.  Castle is convinced to help the heroes by Nelson and proceeds to drag Carnage into space, ripping him in half.

The next day, during a meeting of the Illuminati, Iron Man asks Reed Richards about Cosmic Ghost Rider.  Though their memories have all been tampered with to make them forget Castle, Richards' computer banks reveals his history.  The heroes track Castle down to a cave in Nevada, where he explains his backstory and that the Watcher used the Infinity Gauntlet to keep him from saving his family in the past so that history would not be altered.  The Watcher then removed Castle's memory and placed him in the Raft, tampering with the memories of all the heroes he'd encountered throughout history to make them forget Castle's existence.  Iron Man offers Castle a spot on the New Avengers but he declines, saying he's just going to sit and wait.

Years later, during a confrontation on the moon between Nick Fury and the Watcher, Castle arrives to get his revenge.  Though he tells the Watcher that he understood why he did what he did, Castle still shoots him in the head and leaves him for Fury.  In the present day, Castle is on board the starship Sanctuary II, awaiting the reading of Thanos' will.  He's drinking at a bar with Beta Ray Bill and Corsair, with them being the audience he's been telling his story to.  They doubt that the events happened, and Castle doubles down saying that nothing was exaggerated.

THE ROADMAP

The events in this story are referenced from New Avengers (2005) # 1-9 and Original Sin (2014) # 8.

Cosmic Ghost Rider's appearance at the end is taken directly before the events in Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 1.  He joined with Eros to discover the body of Thanos in Thanos Legacy # 1.

Absolute Carnage's alternate ending!

CHAIN REACTION

The mini-series mercifully comes to an end, raising even more questions than it answers along the way.

I just don't get this series, I really don't.  I've gone on at length about the clash in tone that happens from page to page in this series, sometimes even from panel to panel.  It seemed content with rehashing old Marvel stories with some truly terrible attempts at comedy thrown in liberally, which made those moments of pathos stick out as blindingly out of place.  This issue, though, throws any semblance of comedy out the window in favor of soul crushing sadness and raging against fate.  Honestly, had the whole series been more like this issue, I don't think I would have minded it half as much.

Don't get me wrong, there's still the use of Marvel stories from the past that's central to the series' premise, and here it's even more blatant than it's ever been.  I mean, most of the dialogue from this comic comes from Brian Michael Bendis' first year of New Avengers, so much so that he really should have had a co-writer credit at the start of the issue. As grating an idea as that is, though, it allows Scheer and Giovannetti to do a pretty clever bit of meta deep diving, because they actually just stick Cosmic Ghost Rider into those stories in place of the Sentry.  For those who may not remember, the Sentry was a character implanted into classic Marvel history and then "forgotten" by the heroes, exactly like Cosmic Ghost Rider in this series (just minus the comedy, it was all dreadfully serious).  Taking one continuity implant character and replacing him with another continuity implant character is a fascinating idea that works a lot better than I thought it would.

At the end of the day, though, this is a comic where the Watcher essentially murders Frank Castle's wife and children, erases the memories of the entire Marvel Universe, and sticks Castle in a prison for decades.  That is so fucking dark no light can escape from its mass and it makes the attempts at humor from the previous issues come off as even more tone deaf than before.  Had the scene with the Watcher and Frank's family happened in the first issue and the rest of the series been about his revenge against the Watcher this series could have been dramatic gold.  Instead its shock misery bolted onto an unfunny premise.

The artwork is at least pretty decent, because Todd Nauck is back to finish things up.  There was an ebb and flow to the series with the high points not surprisingly being the issues illustrated by Nauck, he brings just enough dramatic weight to the story while still allowing those rare moments of comedy to come through.  He does a good homage to the New Avengers story this one rips off pays tribute to and I always enjoy his rendition of Cosmic Ghost Rider.  Nauck has easily been the best thing about this series.

I really can't believe that this series made it past the pitch stage, let alone editors giving it the approval for publication.  There were definitely some kernels of potential there, some good ideas that were squandered, and maybe that's due to the writers being relatively new to comics.  Unfortunately, it's a misfire on just about every level.

A scene this series didn't earn.

Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 5

Cover Date: September 2019

On Sale Date: July 2019

Writers: Paul Scheer & Nick Giovannetti
Artist: Nathan Stockman
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Antonio Fabela & Rachelle Rosenberg
Editor: Darren Shaw
Assistant Editor: Danny Khazem
Senior Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Cover Artist: Gerardo Zaffino

Frank Castle, the Cosmic Ghost Rider posing as his own "Uncle Fredo", accompanies his younger self and his family to Central Park for a picnic. He knows that this is the day his family is fated to die at the hands of the mob and plans on changing history yet again to save them. He tells his kids a story of how he helped form the Avengers at a circus. Later, he begins to tell a story of when he was part of a black ops Avengers team that his younger self says is too violent, prompting Frank to change the story to him fighting with candy instead of bullets.

Finally, he leaves his family and goes to the area where the mob are executing someone. He kills two of the mobsters, but before he can kill the third the Watcher appears and gives Frank a dire warning. Due to his meddling with the histories of Earth's heroes the death of his family, which caused him to become the Punisher, is now a focal point in time. If he changes the events of the day he will cause the destruction if the universe. Not dissuaded by the Watcher, Castle prepares to kill the final mobster. A gunshot is heard just as everything goes black...

THE ROADMAP

Cosmic Ghost Rider made his final trip to the past in Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 5.

Frank Castle relates his version of events from Avengers (1963) # 1 and The Ultimates (2001) # 7.

Award winning comedy, everyone!

CHAIN REACTION

Despite landing at least one genuinely clever comedic moment, this series continues to induce just the worst migraines.

I guess we should get the surface stuff out of the way first and address the two Avengers moments, one of which is actually pretty funny and one that's a colossal failure. The circus bit referencing the founding of the Avengers is everything that's been wrong with this series' attempts at comedy. Castle is once again shat into a classic story to make bad jokes and narrate unreliably, its a storytelling engine that wore out its welcome in the first issue. However, the Ultimates sequence that replaces the violence with candy is really great and elicited some actual laughter from me as I was reading. Fighting with Twizzlers instead of knives is hilarious, I won't even pretend to not give the creators props for that sequence.

However, one winning sequence isn't enough to save this comic, which seems to be a four color representation of bi-polar disorder.  What the hell does this series want to be?  Is it a parody story with Cosmic Ghost Rider making bad jokes while inserted into old comic stories or is it a tragic drama about Frank Castle trying to save his family from their murderous fate?  It wants to be both, to have its cake and eat it too, and it just does not work on any level.  It creates this tonal dissonance that tries to go from jokes about Tony Stark's alcoholism and Hulk as a robot clown to little kids getting shot in the face and a father trying desperately to change their fate.  I wish Scheer and Giovannetti had approached this as a more serious story with the focus being on the fate of the Castle family and the pathos involved with Frank trying to save them, leaving aside the gimmick of the Marvel history insertions.  That's a series that I actually would like to read instead of this poorly executed soup of ideas.

There's also another big glaring problem, but perhaps its more because of my assumptions than what's on the actual page.  According to the Watcher in this issue, all of Frank's stories about meddling with the origin stories of the Marvel heroes actually happened, making him essential to the time stream.  So when I assumed that he was just telling asinine stories to his children to teach them dubious moral lessons I was actually wrong, he really did become the Phoenix and keep the Clone Saga from happening.  It's hard to reconcile that when the timeline of the stories he told doesn't line up at all with where he's actually at in history, he's not skipping around in time he's living it linearly.  Sow can he interfere in events that happened on the timeline way after his family was killed?  It does set up a potentially interesting moral dilemma for the character because of course Frank Castle would choose to kill a mobster even if it meant the destruction of reality.  It's the one moment in this whole series that actually felt like something Frank would actually do.

The comic isn't aided by the artwork either because we're back to Nathan Stockman, who's set up a rotating shift with Todd Nauck.  Stockman's work is goofy to a fault, robbing the final sequence of any dramatic tension.  Sure, it's a comedy series, and he's trying to sell the silly parts, he just goes too far in that direction when the plot veers off into serious territory.  He does do well on the Ultimates sequence, doing a fairly decent job of adapting Bryan Hitch's artwork and filling it full of the candy gags.

All in all, this is a Ghost Rider comic that still barely features Ghost Rider, hangs its hat on really bad retreads of old stories, and can't decide when it should be funny and when it should be serious.  This is flawed from front to back and I cannot wait for this series to be finished.

Facepalm.

Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 4

Cover Date: August 2019

On Sale Date: June 2019

Writers: Paul Scheer & Nick Giovannetti
Artist: Todd Nauck
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Antonio Fabela & Rachelle Rosenberg
Editor: Darren Shaw
Assistant Editor: Danny Khazem
Senior Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Cover Artist: Gerardo Zaffino

Frank Castle, the Cosmic Ghost Rider, has infiltrated his family's home the day before they were murdered by posing as his Uncle Fredo. In the garage he is attacked by his younger counterpart, who knows he's lying about his identity. The brutal fight goes on until the older Frank transforms into Ghost Rider. The fight stops and older Frank produces a photo of him in World War 2 with Captain America and the Howling Commandos.

The story flashes back to Frank fighting in Normandy on D Day at the side of Captain America. This led to Frank being recruited by Nick Fury into the Howling Commandos. Using his terrifying appearance as the Ghost Rider, Frank convinces a captive Nazi officer to give up information on Baron Zemo's capture of Captain America and Bucky, including their location.  The Commandos, including Frank disguised as the Red Skull, infiltrate Zemo's castle until their cover is blown and a battle breaks out.  Captain America and Bucky, escaped from their captivity, aid the assault and then go on to their fateful rocket ride that ends with Captain America frozen in ice.  Frank finishes his story by declaring that he was the person that killed Adolph Hitler with his Penance Stare, and that suicide was the cover story used to conceal the truth. While the younger Frank Castle doesn't quite believe "Fredo's" story, he enjoyed it enough to accept the older Frank and give him a beer.  Meanwhile, in his home on the Moon, the Watcher looks into the future and is shocked to see what is to come, realizing that Castle must be stopped.

THE ROADMAP

Cosmic Ghost Rider made his final trip to the past in Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 5.

Face off!

CHAIN REACTION

This series flashes back to World War 2 and produces its first genuinely decent issue.

I've been pretty down on this series so far, mainly because, well, its been terrible. I was expecting this issue to be more of the same: bad jokes, worse narration, annoying kids, and rehashed scenes from much better comics. This issue thankfully skips all of that and produces an actual story about the two Franks connecting through war and an surprisingly funny parody of Inglorious Basterds. There's nothing truly original about this comic, like its predecessors it trades off fondness for already familiar stories, but this one at least tells a complete story. What made the previous issues so irritating, well one of the reasons anyway, was that the writers believed sticking Frank into famous Marvel stories and framing it with bad jokes was the same as writing a story. It emphatically is not, but this issue at least makes a solid attempt at genuine storytelling. The comedy beats land for the most part, the stand out being the Red Skull disguise sequence.

The real meat of the issue comes at the beginning with the confrontation between the two Frank Castles. Its flagged up in the narration how different old Frank's outlook is from his younger incarnation, but it is really jarring to imagine them as the same man. That's not the fault of Scheer and Giovannetti, those elements of Cosmic Ghost Rider being so removed from the Punisher has been there since the character's introduction, and the way its flagged up is at least attempting to reconcile the differences. Of course, the fact that the Castle family framing sequence for this issue eschews the children in favor of a great fight scene helps a lot as well.

Todd Nauck steps back in as the artist for this issue and his work is definitely welcome after Nathan Stockman last issue. Nauck would seem to be too light an artist for a character like this, but it actually works really well. He sells all of the action sequences, especially the opening one in the garage, and I really enjoy his rendition of the Ghost Rider.

This issue worked by actually being a story about Cosmic Ghost Rider in history. It has its problems and it can't divorce itself from the issues around it, but on its own its not half bad.

Honestly the best bit in the entire series.

Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 3

Cover Date: July 2019

On Sale Date: May 2019

Writers: Paul Scheer & Nick Giovannetti
Artist: Nathan Stockman
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Antonio Fabela & Rachelle Rosenberg
Editor: Darren Shaw
Assistant Editor: Danny Khazem
Senior Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Still posing as his Uncle Fredo, Frank Castle tries to connect with his daughter Lisa by telling her stories about the X-Men.  This includes his time as the host for the Phoenix, the time he found the murderer of Emma Frost, and when he teamed up with Wolverine to fight a gang of evil little people.  When the young Frank Castle enters the room, "Fredo" tells the story of how he traveled back in time to possess the body of Kitty Pryde, saving the life of Senator Robert Kelly to avert the dystopian future.  Young Frank invites his "uncle" to the garage for some beer, but then confronts him with the knowledge that Fredo is dead.  Holding a baseball bat, Frank demands to know who "Fredo" is and what he wants with his family.

THE ROADMAP

Cosmic Ghost Rider made his final trip to the past in Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 5.

Frank Castle relates his version of events from Uncanny X-Men (1963) # 101, 134-137, & 141-142, New X-Men (2001) # 139-141, and Punisher (2001) # 16-17.

CHAIN REACTION

While the second issue showed some mild improvements by paying lip-service to genuine drama, this issue falls back into the depths of unfunny jokes and a continued inability to write believable children.

I'm not going to lie, this is a rough one to get through, and it's difficult to not type "I HATE THIS COMIC" and end the review there.  The format of this series is infuriating, with Castle having conversations with each member of his family in turn that devolve into nothing but unfunny remixes of much better stories.  The second issue was just a Spider-Man greatest hits package with Ghost Rider in the background for a few panels, and that actually made for a better comic than this one, which features Castle as the focal point for a bunch of really stupid X-Men moments.  That Deadpool is trotted out to flag up the way the writers are using Cosmic Ghost Rider as little more than a Deadpool stand-in is appropriate, since this entire series is hinging upon readers' fondness for the Dark Phoenix Saga and other stories as the selling point.

It would help if the comic was funny, which it emphatically isn't, and that the inherent dramatic beats were at least addressed.  This is a comic where Frank Castle has one last day with his family before their brutal execution by the mafia, and it's used as a way to show him crossdressing with the Hellfire Club and tossing around little people.  The implications of that are too dark for a series that refuses to embrace that darkness, desiring instead to dance around it with sex jokes during a conversation with a little girl.  That this comic is that tone deaf is staggering and really difficult for me to wrap my brain around.

The artwork continues to be as inconsistent as the narrative, with this issue's job going to Nathan Stockman.  This comic does no favors to its artists considering its entire point is to recreate stories previously drawn by artists like John Byrne, Phil Jimenez, and Darick Robertson.  Stockman just can't compare to those, even when he's trying to hit comedy beats.  His facial expressions during the conversation scenes, which was part of the saving grace of Todd Nauck's artwork in the previous issue, are exaggerated to such an extreme level that it turns everything into a slapstick farce during the few parts of the comic that are supposed to be taken at face value.

So, yeah, I hate this comic.

Neither character's proudest moment.

Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 2

Cover Date: June 2019

On Sale Date: April 2019

Writers: Paul Scheer & Nick Giovannetti
Artist: Todd Nauck
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Editor: Darren Shaw
Assistant Editor: Danny Khazem
Senior Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Cover Artist: Gerardo Zaffino

Posing as his own Uncle Fredo, the future Frank Castle spends time talking with his wife about all the times he met Spider-Man.  He uses the stories to illustrate how war affected her husband and how two people can come together in love after heartbreak, just as Spider-Man and Mary Jane did.  Maria cries and says she wishes she could be as strong as Mary Jane, then before preparing dinner asks "Fredo" to upstairs and check on her daughter, Lisa.  Meanwhile, the Costa crime family are making plans to carry out their execution in Central Park the next day.

THE ROADMAP

Cosmic Ghost Rider made his final trip to the past in Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 5.

Frank Castle relates his version of events from Amazing Spider-Man (1963) # 347, Amazing Fantasy (1961) # 15, Amazing Spider-Man (1963) # 50, Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) # 107-110, and Amazing Spider-Man (1999) # 50.

CHAIN REACTION

After an appallingly terrible first issue the second Cosmic Ghost Rider mini-series manages to at least be funny and entertaining, though what any of this has to do with Ghost Rider is beyond me.

Seriously, this is a Spider-Man story with Frank Castle making Deadpool-esque commentaries, it is in no way a Ghost Rider comic.  It could be argued that it has importance as Punisher story, because where the comic really does shine is in the serious interactions between Castle and Maria, allowing some of the character's actual personality to come through as he talks about what war can do to a person and what Maria's husband is actually going through.  Why Frank Castle would spend a second chance to have a conversation with his wife by talking about Spider-Man is one of the flimsiest plot justifications I think I've ever encountered in a comic, and it's borderline insensitive to use an impending execution of his wife to tell a comedy story.  I like my shit dark, sure, but not so dark it blots out the sun.

Unlike the first issue, though, the jokes in this one actually landed fairly well.  The opening bit with Spider-Man and Venom's homoerotic dialogue was genuinely funny, especially since it's dialogue straight from the original story and taken only slightly out of context.  The bit with Castle smothering the fake Aunt May in the hospital to avoid the Clone Saga was clever, too.  At the end of the day, though, this was nothing but a rehash of Spider-Man stories that were better told the first time.  Absolutely nothing was done to enhance or even change the Death of Jean DeWolff or Spider-Man No More storylines, it's just waving a flag and saying "I remember those stories!".

The artwork is a definite improvement as well, with the art chores this issue being handled by Todd Nauck.  He's not an artist normally associated with a character like Ghost Rider, but he definitely fits the Spider-Man material that fills up the majority of the comic.  He also does really well capturing the few sentimental moments between Frank and Maria, with his version of Frank looking less like a hobo and more like an aging musician.

This is still not a good series and I straight-up dread the next four issues, but this was at least better than the last one.  That is, of course, damning it with the faintest of praise.

DOOM THANKS NO ONE!

Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 1

Cover Date: May 2019
On Sale Date: March 2019

Writers: Paul Scheer & Nick Giovannetti
Artist: Gerardo Sandoval
Inker: Victor Nava
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Editor: Darren Shaw
Assistant Editor: Danny Khazem
Senior Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Cover Artist: Gerardo Zaffino

Having been stuck in the past for an indeterminate amount of time, Frank Castle - the Cosmic Ghost Rider - has spent his time on Earth waiting for a certain day.  Specifically, he's been waiting for the day before his family is destined to die in Central Park, and now that day has arrived.  He goes to his family's house and introduces himself to his former wife as her husband's Uncle Fredo.  He interacts with his young son, Frank Junior, and is left to babysit him while Maria goes to fetch her daughter from school.  Castle tells his son that he's a superhero and transforms into his Ghost Rider form, then proceeds to tell the boy fabricated tales of how he had been a member of the Fantastic Four several times throughout the team's history.  When Maria Castle returns home, Frank goes into the bathroom and is confronted by Uatu, the Watcher.

THE ROADMAP

Cosmic Ghost Rider made his final trip to the past in Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 5.

Frank Castle relates his version of events from Fantastic Four (1961) # 1, Fantastic Four (1961) # 50, Fantastic Four (1961) # 262, Fantastic Four (1961) # 347-349, and Fantastic Four (1998) # 509-514.

Step One: Knock on Door.  Step Two: ????

CHAIN REACTION

If this comic is any indication, the bloom has finally come off the rose for Cosmic Ghost Rider.

While he's become fairly popular with casual readers, I've noticed that a lot of Ghost Rider fans don't seem to hold Cosmic Ghost Rider in very high regard.  Maybe it's the ludicrous concept behind the character or just the further dilution of the Ghost Rider brand, who knows?  I can say that, personally, I've thoroughly enjoyed the character as he's been developed by Donny Cates, who continued to utilize him effectively in his Guardians of the Galaxy series.  The problem now, though, is that poor Frank has been farmed out to a relatively inexperienced writing team that simultaneously misses the point of the character and delivers one of the most disjointed and boring comics I've read in recent memory.

I had high hopes for this, I really did.  Paul Scheer is a staple of my Stitcher playlist and seems to be a genuinely funny comedian, so I was hoping that this series would at least be entertaining if not very deep.  That's part of the problem, though, is that while Cosmic Ghost Rider is a character that's been blessed with some deft comedic moments throughout his brief history he's not just played for laughs.  The Frank Castle of the previous CGR mini-series has a profound sadness and depth to him that not only differentiated him from the modern day Punisher but brilliantly showcased his ultimately futile quest to change his nature.  The final two issues of that mini-series were a bit heartbreaking in that respect, giving us a Ghost Rider that was so thoroughly broken by what he'd been forced to become and his desperate fight to be someone better.  This comic throws all of that away to make him an even unfunnier Deadpool.

That's the comic's biggest sin, that it leans so heavily into farce that it thinks is brilliantly funny but is actually the complete opposite.  It's a 22 page fart joke that thinks it's a George Carlin stand-up special, with a delusion of grandeur that made my head spin.  It wants to have that profound sadness that the character is laden with, going so far as to reunite him with his son who is destined to die the next day, and throws all of it away for curse words and a tedious recount of Fantastic Four history.  It's essentially an issue-long montage with the unfunny conceit that Frank Castle is an unreliable narrator whose narration is conflicted by each panel's dialogue.  Does that mean the events in-panel actually happened, or is there two layers of nonsense happening?

I did know going in that I probably wasn't going to enjoy the artwork.  Gerardo Sandoval's drawn other comics that I didn't enjoy, such as the Age of Apocalypse mini-series that spun out of Secret Wars and the New Avengers series by Al Ewing not long after.  I can see the appeal for some fans, sure, he has a highly exaggerated and energetic art style that would have fit right in with early 1990s Image Comics.  I just don't think he's a good storyteller, and while he does okay with what has to work with here, the montage nature of the comic doesn't do him any favors.  I did like a couple of the visual gags, such as CGR cosplaying as Matlock in the trial sequence.

It's hard to describe the utter distaste this comic left me with, it's aggressively bad on a level I hadn't encountered in quite a while.  The fact that there's going to be five more issues of this fills me with dread.  Absolutely avoid.

Sitting this one out is the best decision, Danny.

Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 5

Cover Date: January 2019
On Sale Date: November 2018

Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Editor: Jordan D. White
Assistant Editor: Annalise Bissa
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw

In the reality dominated by a Thanos who was raised to become the Punisher, Frank Castle finds himself again faced with the decision to work as Thanos' herald. Frank chooses to fight and blasts Thanos into the city slum nearby. Frank tells toddler Thanos to remember that he has a choice in how he turns out in life, then jumps down into the city as well. Castle ruthlessly attacks Thanos and then tells him that it's time for "penance". Thanos smirks and reminds him that the Penance Stare does not work on him. Frank burns the flesh from Thanos skull, rips it from his shoulders, and crushes it in his hands. He then says that in this case "penance means punishment". Frank goes back onto the grassy hill and takes toddler Thanos through one of Cable's time portals.

After returning toddler Thanos to his crib on Titan, Frank is confronted by Death, who tells him that she will never let Thanos go. Death also states that she chooses many children, including Castle himself. Frank leaves and flies out into space on his motorcycle, searching for redemption.

THE ROADMAP

Cosmic Ghost Rider makes his next chronological appearance in Cosmic Ghost Rider Destroys Marvel History (2019) # 1, which reveals that instead of traveling forward in time through artificial means he instead lived through the centuries to the dawn of the Heroic Age of the Marvel Universe.

Awfully smug for a guy that just got his ass kicked.

CHAIN REACTION

Cosmic Ghost Rider concludes with more pathos and heart that I think anyone expected, grounding the ridiculousness of the previous issues with a deep dive into the soul of this particular version of Frank Castle.

I don't think it can be argued that this wasn't a highly entertaining and engaging series, even with the abrupt gear change that happened last issue, dragging it from farcical comedy into a heartfelt exploration of redemption and justice. This issue does a lot of heavy lifting to justify that swerve into melodrama, elevating what came last issue in hindsight by treating it as a natural extension of Frank Castle's ongoing trauma. A lot of readers, myself included, went into this series with a nagging criticism that this version of Frank Castle was too out of character for the Punisher, a well-established personality that has existed for decades. By the end, however, the differences between Cosmic Ghost Rider and the Punisher are really brought to the forefront in a serious attempt to differentiate them while still keeping their cores intact as the same person. Cosmic Ghost Rider is a Frank Castle that took all of the self-determination and damn-near unstoppable sense of focus out of the Punisher and replaced it with self-doubt and an inability to make rational decisions. 

I mean, the Punisher as he stands today is a poster-child for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, he's a acting out his trauma by blaming the world around him and clamping down his own emotions. Cosmic Ghost Rider is the other side of expressing that trauma, full of guilt and wearing his emotions on his sleeve. He cries twice in this series, which is something that just doesn't happen with the Punisher. Cosmic Ghost Rider, for all his lunacy and psychosis, is a Frank Castle with humanity injected back into him, in some respects pouring out uncontrollably. His mood swings wildly based on the situation, there is no calmness or attempts to be stoic. He's a mess, just like the Punisher, just one worn down by a million years of having all that empathy crushing down on top of him.

It continually amazes me that Donny Cates was able to take what should have been a joke, one-note interpretation of a character and turn him into such a nuanced portrayal of mental illness. Cosmic Ghost Rider became his own character by this issue, no longer a weird deviation of the Punisher but an intriguing protagonist in his own right. This particular issue is ultimately what sells that, allowing Castle to literally slay his biggest inner demon and take a stand, giving back his independence as a free-thinking and not just a toadying slave of a genocidal godlike being. This one is all about catharsis, and it works well, even with the inevitable affirmation by Death that no matter what happens, Thanos and Castle are both hers forever.

My opinion on Dylan Burnett's artwork has completely turned around as well. With the first issue of this series I could only see the differences in his work from that of Geoff Shaw, the character's artistic creator. Like Frank stepping out of the shadows of both Thanos and the Punisher (I don't think it's a coincidence that Cosmic Ghost Rider not only kills Thanos here but a version of the Punisher as well, all in one stroke), Burnett has fully differentiated himself from Shaw and turned in some definitive work on the character. His facial expressions and portrayal of body language is fantastic, giving each character their own presence on the page. Burnett went on to draw a rather great run on X-Force after this, and I hope he gets another chance with a Ghost Rider related series in the future. 

This issue takes all of the small negative parts of the previous issues and justifies them all. It's a great end to a great series, consider my doubts to have been put at ease. Definitely highly recommended.

A bitter reunion, a fond farewell with Maria Castle.

Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 4

Cover Date: December 2018

On Sale Date: September 2018

Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Editor: Jordan D. White
Assistant Editor: Annalise Bissa
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw

Frank Castle and Baby Thanos are approached by a time travelling adult Thanos, who calls himself the Punisher and addresses Castle as his father. He takes Castle and his child self with him to his present time, which seems to be an idyllic utopia. Thanos shows Frank his grave, after which Castle sees smoke on the horizon. He finds a massive city controlled by Thanos, where all of the "undesirables" have been placed and policed. Castle argues with Thanos that the people in the city need a chance at redemption, which prompts Thanos to show him what he is protecting: a version of Frank and his wife living in the utopia after Thanos stopped the mob from killing Castle's family. Frank transforms into Ghost Rider and decides to kill Baby Thanos, unwilling to accept that he will always be subservient to Thanos even when his life is perfect. Adult Thanos blasts Castle and takes his child self into his arms, then offers Frank a role as his herald.

And just like that...boom. Pathos.

CHAIN REACTION

Cosmic Ghost Rider takes a break from stylish ultra-violence to dig deep into heavier topics, such as the inevitable ascent of evil and the death of self determination.

To say that this comic is a depressing march toward nihilism isn't much of an exaggeration. With the manic pace that this series has shown so far it wouldn't be hard to imagine this slowing down as a grinding tone shift, but it fits rather seamlessly. Frank Castle has always had a backstory predicated on tragedy, and the things added to him when he became Cosmic Ghost Rider just heaped on more and more trauma toppings. So while things have been fairly madcap up to this point, what happens in this issue was just as tragically inevitable as Thanos himself.

However, even though Donny Cates does a fantastic job making this all weave together into s complex exploration of fate and free will, I think there is one major flaw. I don't think he gets Frank Castle as a character at all, because when all the cosmic supernatural stuff is stripped away this is the fucking Punisher. The Frank Castle that dedicated his existence to the systematic annihilation of crime would not, in my opinion and belief anyway, have much of a problem with what Thanos did in the altered timeline. I recognize that Cates has made his explanations for the differences in the Punisher and Ghost Rider Franks, but I still find this to be a vital misunderstanding of Frank Castle at his core.

What does work alarmingly well is Dylan Burnett's artwork, which just gets better and better with each issue. He's fully grasped these characters and is able to do absolutely tremendous work by way of facial expressions. The way Frank becomes more and more frantically unhinged is played out perfectly, all leading up to Thanos' heel turn, portrayed dramatically with eye lasers. It's really masterful artwork and shows he's just at home with conversations as he was with superhero blood baths.

This is an incredibly well written comic that has a lot to say removed from its farcical elements. I just can't get over the characterization discrepancy. Maybe that's just on me?

He's kinda got you there, Frank.

Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 3

Cover Date: November 2018

On Sale Date: September 2018

Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Editor: Jordan D. White
Assistant Editor: Annalise Bissa
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw

The Watcher narrates about Cosmic Ghost Rider and his decision to raise Thanos as a child, which has resulted in Cable and his Guardians of the Galaxy coming back in time to kill Thanos themselves. Galactus intervenes and kills all of the Guardians but Cable, who escapes into the timestream. He returns with a batch of Pym Particles that he uses to shrink Galactus, then proceeding to shoot him out into space. Cable disappears again, only to return with another group of heroes. Castle gives Baby Thanos to the Watcher and attacks the heroes, killing wave after wave of them as Cable continues to bring them from the future. Eventually Castle is overwhelmed and knocked unconscious.

When he wakes up, he sees Baby Thanos beating Cable to death with his own severed arm, having already killed the rest of the heroes. Castle stops the toddler and talks to Cable, who tries to tell him that the Thanos he raises turns out worse than before. Cable is then shot and killed by a new time traveler: an adult Thanos, wearing a Punisher shirt, who apologies to his "dad" for being late.

Cable, bodysliding since 1990.

THE ROADMAP

Cosmic Ghost Rider's relationship with Galactus was revealed in Thanos (2017) # 16.

CHAIN REACTION

Cosmic Ghost Rider murders the Marvel Universe in an appropriately hilarious and brutal manner as the time travel shenanigans are ramped up to 11.

I can only imagine the manic glee that the creators must have experienced during the making of this comic, because it definitely shows on the page. Wild reimagined characters? Check. The blackest of humor? Check. Artwork that revels in the casual slaughter of beloved icons? Oh yes, double check. This comic throws so much shit against the wall, it's amazing how much of it actually sticks. Howard the Duck as the Juggernaut alone could have filled every page and still be excellent, but he's just the tip of the iceberg.

However, even though the absurdity is at the highest possible level, Cates is still able to ground the characters with unexpected moments of heartfelt pathos. In the middle of his hero massacre Castle laments about his dead wife and the Vietnam War, reminding you that yes, this IS still the Punisher. That was necessary, especially when he's spent the majority of the issue trying to show Thanos a better way than killing.  Not every writer can strike that crucial balance with Cosmic Ghost Rider, as the "Destroys Marvel History" series illustrated horrifically.

Speaking of illustrations with a ham-fisted segue, the artwork by Dylan Burnett is perfect for this story. Not only does he unleash all the variant heroes, he shows them being annihilated in the most hilariously graphic ways. Like Cates, though, Burnett pulls off some stunning expression and detail work amidst the carnage. Cable visibly aging as he escapes each time and the eyes on Baby Thanos as he watches Castle work are small elements that add to the whole.

Each new issue of this mini just makes me more invested in it.

Parental guidance strongly suggested! 

Cosmic Ghost Rider (2018) # 2

Cover Date: October 2018
On Sale Date: August 2018

Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Antonio Fabela
Editor: Jordan D. White
Assistant Editor: Annalise Bissa
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Cover Artist: Geoff Shaw

Frank Castle sits in a bar on an alien planet, trying to decide what to do after kidnapping a 3 year old Thanos from Titan. When a fight breaks out in the bar because of Frank he tells the toddler that the person he's been waiting to meet has just arrived. He goes outside and sees Galactus preparing to devour the planet. He flies his bike up to Galactus and allows the giant to read his thoughts, which tells Galactus all about his partnership with Castle in the far future. Galactus offers to take baby Thanos and kill him but Castle wavers in his decision. The Watcher arrives to witness the decision as Frank declares his intent to raise Thanos himself. This act serves to create an altered future, from which comes Cable and his Guardians of the Galaxy, who have time traveled to the past to kill baby Thanos themselves.

THE ROADMAP

Cosmic Ghost Rider's relationship with Galactus was revealed in Thanos (2017) # 16.

"Be cool, Honey Bunny."

CHAIN REACTION

Cosmic Ghost Rider's adventures in space with Baby Thanos proves to be just as entertaining as that sounds in the second issue of the limited series.

Its almost hard to describe what makes this series so compelling. Donny Cates takes black humor and slapstick routines, wraps then around these surprisingly genuine moments of pathos, and then married the whole thing to the craziest ideas he can imagine. It almost shouldn't work, its too bizarre, and if it were most other writers it definitely wouldn't work at all. Cates pulls off the difficult task of comedy in the midst of horror and there were moments I actually laughed out loud. Sky Baby and toddler Thanos and Frank's general attitude toward the situation all hit every comedic beat, this is a damn funny comic.

Underneath the comedy and violence is something more, though, something touching on a level that's unexpected.  Cosmic Ghost Rider could so easily be written as a clone of Deadpool and Cates is thankfully smarter through to not fall into that trap. In the midst of all the insanity he drops moments where Castle talks to Galactus about how he could work for Thanos or the earnest attempts he makes to guide baby Thanos down a different path. Its just enough sincerity that these moments hit like emotional bombs.

Guiding those brilliant moments is Dylan Burnett, whose extremely exaggerated art style is fitting this series perfectly. Its not the dour grit of Geoff Shaw but Burnett is more than adept at portraying the craziness in this comic. There's a larger than life quality to his art here, especially since this issue seems more tailored to him than the previous issue. He almost reminds me of early Kevin O'Neill or maybe even late 1980s Keith Giffen.

This was a highly entertaining comic book and a great indicator of what this creative team has in store foe the rest of the series.

Sky Baby kinda has a point, Frank.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 4

Cover Art: David Marquez

Published: June 2019
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "The Final Gauntlet, Part 4"
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Geoff Shaw
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Senior Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor: Darren Shaw
Assistant Editor: Danny Khazem
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

SYNOPSIS
The Guardians of the Galaxy arrive on Halfworld to locate Gamora, who attacks them before Groot intervenes.  Groot takes Gamora onto their ship, stating that they will come back to deal with Rocket Raccoon another time.  Star Lord locks Gamora's hands in cuffs, not willing to belief that she's a victim in Thanos' game.  Nova runs into the ship, crashing his way inside to warn them that the Dark Guardians are after Gamora, not realizing that Gamora is already with them.  The Dark Guardians force Star Lord's ship to crash back onto Halfworld, and the two teams engage each other in battle.  Nebula attempts to shoot and kill Gamora, but Star Lord jumps in front of the blast, seemingly killing him as the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy are defeated by the Dark Guardians.

ANNOTATIONS
Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 42 - "Power Vacuum" (Click to Listen)

REVIEW
Cosmic Ghost Rider does some stuff in the background of a few panels in this overcrowded issue.

Right about here is where I've lost patience with and interest in this series. I've said in previous reviews that Cates is not doing his best work by juggling so many characters and that opinion is validated completely with this issue. Characters are still showing up with no introductions, no dialogue, and in the case of some of the Dark Guardians not even names. The creators are really taking advantage of the cosmic sandbox, which is admirable, but by doing so are giving the short shrift to some of their "core" cast. Phylla Vell and Moondragon are still ciphers, while Cosmic Ghost Rider is just there as background noise. Instead of bringing in Nova and Nebula and everyone else, why not make the actual main characters useful and interesting?

Geoff Shaw is still producing quality work, and the man can draw the hell out of a big fight scene, but not even that is enough to maintain my flagging interest. The characters may be emoting like mad visually, but the story isn't engaging enough to justify it. He does draw a mean Beta Ray Bill, though.

By this point I'm only reading this comic because of Cosmic Ghost Rider, and his appearance in this issue is making me question even that decision. Its disappointing considering how excited I was for this series going in.

Grade: C-

Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) # 3

Cover Art: David Marquez

Published: May 2019
Original Price: $3.99

Title: "The Final Gauntlet, Part 3"
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Geoff Shaw
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Senior Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor: Darren Shaw
Assistant Editor: Danny Khazem
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

SYNOPSIS
While Eros and his Dark Guardians hunt for Gamora, Hela and the Black Order arrive in the Negative Zone to confront Annihilus. He shows them the severed head of Thanos, which Hela takes after quickly defeating Annihilus in combat. The Dark Guardians chase a wounded Richard Rider, Nova and former lover of Gamora, to learn from him her location. Nova stands his ground until he is attacked by Wraith, who is ready to kill Rider. Cosmic Ghost Rider intervenes and tries to talk to Nova, attempting to reason with him and convince him to give up Gamora. Nova flies off, but Nebula has already figured out where he is going. Meanwhile, Star Lord finds himself relieved of command if his ship by Groot and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, who intend to save Gamora from Eros. Star Lord protests but eventually gives in, revealing that Gamora has gone to Halfworld to find Rocket Raccoon.

ANNOTATIONS
Podcast Review: Inner Demons Episode 39 - "Cosmic Deadpool Destroys Drunk History"" (Click to Listen)

REVIEW
Cosmic Ghost Rider continues to have a diminishing role in this series despite the cover focus.

I'm going to go ahead and say it, this series has way too many damn characters running around. When the title characters only appear in the last few pages and several of them are still woefully undeveloped as anything other than names and costumes, that's a problem. Its something that Cates has struggled with before when writing an ensemble cast, going back to the Damnation miniseries. Characters get lost in the shuffle, are given no explanation besides the briefest of description, and outside of a few focus characters most are left to languish in the background. Here, any character not named Eros or Star Lord are used almost interchangeably. Wraith gets a solid introduction, but Cates relies a lot on assumptions that everyone knows about Nova and Gladiator.

Cosmic Ghost Rider gets the worst fate of all, as the cover promises a featured role for him that the comic fails to deliver. Castle is a victim of diminishing returns in this series, he's there for what should be a good reason but the amount of characters included are serving to push him further into the background. This isn't a Cosmic Ghost Rider series, of course, but I feel like he's been used as a major selling point for this series and that comes with expectations.

While Cates may be struggling with such a large cast, Geoff Shaw seems to be thriving. He has a serious eye for style and dramatic design that really serves this series well. The splash page reveal of Annihilus is amazing and he does similar striking work during Wraith's attack on Nova. Even Groot, a walking tree, has a wonderfully emotive scowl present on his face. Shaw is definitely the highlight of the issue and the series so far.

This issue is not bad by any means, its just too crowded. It would be nice if the focus and cast got narrowed down.

Grade: B-