Were you looking for a hell of a good time? Check out what happened when a Ghost Rider became the King of Hell as Ed Brisson took over and relaunched the Ghost Rider title. What was fun about this era was the return of characters from Danny Ketch’s period and the new elements Brisson brought to the characters. Johnny Blaze and Danny got the main spotlight with these stories, but some great background characters make the stories more intimate as you worry about them. The art, by a fantastic legion of Marvel artists, will also take you to a higher level of entertainment. Put on your helmet and get ready to ride!
This trade paperback is made up of material that has been collected before in the Ghost Rider Vol 1: King of Hell, Ghost Rider Vol 2: Hearts of Darkness II, and Ghost Rider: The Return of Blaze, so if you own those trades, then you have this material. Of course, there are pros and cons, but luckily, the collection isn’t too much, so it is an excellent and complete story in one volume. If you want to expand on the story, check out the material that made Johnny Blaze the King of Hell back in Doctor Strange: Damnation the Complete Collection and witness how it affected the other Riders in Avengers Vol 5: Challenge of the Ghost Riders. Those stories will give you a fall and rise of Mephisto with some wild changes and expansion to the Ghost Rider mythology.
I was excited about this series since it felt like Johnny Blaze was going through a Hal Jordan/Parallax phase as this was happening in real time. Stories that can take a hero through a character-changing, challenging journey and help them find themselves or redemption can be defining moments. This epic was going to be very exciting, but sadly, something was not catching with the title then, so you will see some of these stories released as tie-ins to events like Absolute Carnage and King in Black. Luckily for new readers of this trade, you won’t have to wait or wonder where the next chapter would come from; here, you get all the pieces, and Ed Brisson was the glue that held it all together to make it work.
With Brisson being the glue, it did not matter what the title or tie-in was for the release of the comic, but the stories inside continued the journey of the Ghost Riders. The trade paperback does a pretty good job with the order, but they should have put the Marvel Comics Presents and Absolute Carnage issues before the Ghost Rider issues, as that would help with Danny Ketch’s story. As in the trade, you see Danny fight Necrosis and become the Spirit of Corruption, and then the next part shows Danny back as a Ghost Rider. I recommend you skip to those issues first, then go back and read the rest in order. It will help. Plus, that was the original release order of the comics.
The art pieces by Aaron Kuder and Juan Frideri are fantastic at capturing Danny and Johnny’s pain. These two artists have perfect styles for this series as they crafted wild-looking demons and brought Hell to Earth with their landscapes and graphic demons. Kuder’s clean tone is beautiful, eye-catching art, and Frideri complements his fellow artists by bringing in some visuals that enhance the world built before. While we are lucky that the current Ghost Rider series by Benjamin Percy is incredible, with Brisson writing an epic for Johnny and changing Danny, it was superbly illustrated by the art team to make this a significant era for the Ghost Rider mythos. Within this trade, you’ll see a Rider rise to become the King of Hell and witness how power corrupts. Luckily, brotherhood will come to help save the day.
Ghost Rider by Ed Brisson is an excellent adventure that takes the Legacy of the Riders and puts them on a crash course as they elevate their powers. Blaze as the King of Hell and Ketch as the Spirit of Corruption were just some of the new elements Brisson introduced as he heralded the adventures of Ghost Rider. Buckle up as you take this collection for a spin to Hell and back!
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