Ghost Rider has been in a very bad way ever since Johnny Blaze woke up from a suburban prison. Now no longer in control, Johnny wakes up in random barns, the side of the road, and truck stop bathrooms. That lifestyle can’t continue, and thanks to Wolverine noticing he’s in a bad way after their motorcycle race in the last issue, it’s time for some surgery. Who better to do that surgery than a man with six sharp blades at his disposal? Yes, I mean Wolverine!
And what better place for surgery (or is it an exorcism?) than in a dive bar with only a lighter and some cheap booze to cauterize wounds? If you’re wondering, it’s as badass as it sounds when it plays out in this issue. Benjamin Percy continues to marinate this series in edgy ideas with plenty of gore and unpleasant demonic elements cementing the fact that Ghost Rider is not any ordinary hero.
It seems fitting Wolverine is there to help Ghost Rider, who takes a significant step forward in helping himself heal. Sure, it might mean Wolverine cutting away at his brain and pulling out the muscular skin-colored thing that keeps poking out of his skull, but that’s the life these heroes live. The fact that Wolverine is cool with it and willing to help his buddy is a nice bro-way for things to go down. It’s also nice to see Wolverine act as a mentor to Ghost Rider when he needs it most.
Don’t mess with Wolverine. Bub.
Credit: Marvel
Brent Peeples draws this issue, and there are some genuinely gross things depicted here. Pair that with a well-rendered Wolverine who’s as tough as nails, and you have a recipe for a badass comic. The gore of this series continues to delight–in one scene the thing moves around Johnny Blaze’s body in a way straight out of a David Cronenberg movie–and Peeples doesn’t disappoint. Backgrounds do end up being blank in many panels, however, which reduces the overall richness of the scenes. Granted, most of these scenes take place in a bar, so it’s not like we’re missing much. At one point, Wolverine gets to use a bit of fire and even throw a fireball, and what we see is fairly easy to follow, but again a little light on detail.
The subplot with Talia Warroad continues to get juicy after she’s kidnapped by a key villain. It’s becoming more clear things will be coming to a head for her and Ghost Rider as their roads will likely cross soon.
Ghost Rider #6 shifts things for Johnny Blaze in a big way and it only took his good friend Wolverine to get there. The series continues to blend intense gore with a darkly twisted series that’s up there with some of Marvel’s best supernatural superhero comics.
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