Fans who trade wait can catch up on Ghost Rider this week, with volume 2 now in comic shops. Collecting Ghost Rider #6-10, Johnny Blaze still gets his feet under him when a dark shadow of himself chases him down. Meanwhile, Blackheart seeks to bring Hell to Earth. Sounds like a job for Ghost Rider and his new FBI friend, Talia Warroad.
This collection opens with the story featuring Wolverine, which helps resolve one of Ghost Rider’s biggest problems. He’s got something inside him, and only Wolverine can pull it out. 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.
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 story takes a pit stop from here with the anniversary special Ghost Rider: Vengeance Forever kicking into gear. The main hook of this special focuses on Johnny Blaze getting some tattoos. These aren’t any normal tattoos, but supernatural tattoos that reveal the legacy of the Ghost Rider already there deep in the skin. As the preview shows, Blaze is getting tattoos from an eyeless man named Necro, the Tattooist. These tattoos allow Percy and Ryp to explore multiple iterations of Ghost Rider, from the mammoth-riding Ghost Rider of the year 1,000,000 BCE to a cowboy Ghost Rider and even the purple-headed Vengeance. It’s a smart way to not only feature multiple Ghost Riders but connect Johnny Blaze directly to each one.
What a cool full page splash.
Credit: Marvel
As a celebratory special, the comic works. It’s fun to see different Ghost Riders through history, with each one either taking out an enemy or surviving long enough to live and see another day. The longest stories take up five and eight pages, with the remaining lasting three pages each. Using the tattoos, Johnny gets to see these different Ghost Riders and essentially understand the legacy and how the spirit has lived on and will live on.
Juan José Ryp draws each version of Ghost Rider well with great color work by Bryan Valenza. Fire effects look great, and there are good details in each story, be it the talking tree in the story set in the 1800s or the broken glass shattering around Vengeance as he lunges at Dracula. The visual of the tattoos is also well done, capturing the story within the story on his skin in a believable way. There are also great full-page splashes that’ll have Ghost Rider fans cheering.
From there, the story continues with Talia finding Johnny and probing his mind. They connect on some level, although later in the story arc, when Johnny claims they may be more than friends, it’s a bit much. This last chunk of issues moves a little too quickly, especially when it wraps up Blackheart and the mysterious engine-clad monster.
The lead-up to the final few pages is entertaining, though. We get to see Johnny and Talia escape some skinless animals, Ghost Rider is kickstarted via Talia’s powers, and some truly grotesque monsters are fought in Chicago. Cory Smith and David Cutler bring a high bar with a whole lot of blood and horror visuals. I’d argue it’s a bit too dark, however, as it can look a bit muddy and tricky to parse out what is happening. That said, they remind you this is a Ghost Rider comic with all the flame and demons hanging around.
Ghost Rider Vol. 2: Shadow Country is a good second volume, further progressing Johnny Blaze’s return as he gets control back over the Spirit of Vengeance. Along the way, we get a great 50-year anniversary special celebrating multiple iterations of Ghost Rider while connecting Johnny Blaze to each experience. Aside from an ending that feels rushed, this is top-notch Ghost Rider comics.
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