Arghhhh!!! I am disappointed. I was really, truly hoping to love this series, because I think Sabir Pirzada is a wonderful writer. His work on Ms. Marvel and Cult of Carnage: Misery was awesome, making me excited to pick up this trade. Unfortunately, Spirits of Vengeance: Vengeance Unchained was a convoluted jumble of disparate stories, very well written on a page-by-page basis by Pirzada, but not successful in forming any meaningful connective tissue that made me want more. It was a fun read, and Pirzada nailed the essence of Blaze and Ketch’s character, but it just didn’t live up to the hype.
Sadly, it seems like the public had a similar attitude to mine, seeing as the planned sequel series – Spirits of Violence – has apparently been cancelled, or indefinitely delayed. The first issue of Spirits of Violence was solicited to debut in early March, but Marvel quietly took the series off their debut schedule. There has been no news about a potential release, even though two gorgeous covers were already unveiled (I always hope that artists and writers get paid for unreleased work that Marvel has cancelled… hmm…). Plus, ugh, the new series was meant to be a crossover with Hellverine, which would have been really badass!
Marvel
Spirits of Vengeance follows Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze on a haphazard journey to discover who the murderous “Spirit of Violence” is (Spoiler: it turns out to be Danny’s long-dead sister), while also reintroducing Michael Bandolini and his Vengeance spirit. This series also sees the reintroduction of Robbie Reyes, the Ghost Rider who heroically sacrificed his life in Jason Aaron’s epic Avengers run, and also features the new roller skating Ghost Rider, Fantasma. I was actually most excited about Robbie and Fantasma’s role in the book, but the final issue ended with them both stranded in the God Quarry, and with the sequel series being canceled, who knows when this plot will come back?
When I first picked up Spirits of Vengeance, I assumed it would be a great starting point for someone who has not read much Ghost Rider. Unfortunately, the series requires a lot of background knowledge, lore, and emotional investment to fully get the depth and meaning of many encounters and battles, making this not a great onboarding ramp for a new Ghost Rider fan. What are the stakes? Why are these the key players? Halfway through, I had way more questions than answers. That being said, as someone who does know some random Ghost Rider lore, I did think that the final issue, featuring Linda Littletrees, aka Witch Woman, was incredibly well done. The story was tragic, the emotion was real, and it was a lovely final ending for the tumultuous life of Linda.
Marvel
I personally love when a limited series has a diversity of artists, especially if they are slightly disparate stories that deserve their own vibe. However, I really do not like it when a supposedly ongoing series (while not an ongoing this series was made with the intention of a sequel series) has a different artist every issue. The artists of these comics, Dev Pramanik, Chris Campana, Sean Damien Hill, and Paul Davidson are all incredibly talented, but the art didn’t live up to the explosive, fiery energy the series was supposed to bring. Particularly in the first issue, the use of panelling seems incredibly busy and overwhelming, making the pace feel off and crowded. That being said, I absolutely love Davidson’s art, and the last two issues had my favorite illustrations of the entire series, especially #6 with Linda and Johnny’s Penance Stare “vacation.” I was excited to learn that Spirits of Violence was also illustrated by Davidson, until I discovered the series may be canceled.
To be fair, it was not a miserable time reading Spirits of Vengeance… even though I did not understand a lot of the context, or character interactions, it was an exciting story with nice art, and fun cameos from both Fantasma and Loki. I wish this had been an 8-issue limited series, with one starting issue that really set up the context, and one final issue that got readers pumped for Spirits of Violence, because I would have loved to see what happens next. The final issue was emotional and intense, with gorgeous art from Davidson, and all the covers for the series were stellar. If you are a huge fan of Ghost Rider, definitely pick up this trade, but if you are new to the Ghost Rider mythos, I would highly suggest starting with a different series.
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