Beware the Ghost Rider(s)

[Huntsman Spider]

Marvel is helping my budget get better.
Sadly mind you but this and Black Cat are now gone.

Leaving Morbius and Savage Avengers as the only two other Marvel books left in my floppy buy list. I expect to hear the former is also cancelled.
Savage Avengers is Avengers + Conan so that might survive. Two franchises Marvel is heavily vested in at the moment.

According to Jed MacKay, Black Cat isn't actually canceled and will be resuming after this latest issue and the King in Black event. Small comfort, but still.

[scribbleMind]

King In Black – Ghost Rider #1 was released today. It is barely a King in Black tie-in. It is more surprisingly the epilogue to Brisson's arc that I thought we'd never get. All things considered I really liked it. Given the circumstances, it was probably as good as we could hope to get.

In retrospect, I really like the idea of King Ghost Rider, but it felt pointless. That's not on Brisson either, that's on Marvel. After Mephisto was imprisoned he was still in all these other books. When Ghost Rider had Mephisto chained up and was riding around, Mephisto was still in all these other books. The status quo never actually changed at all. I think outside of Ghost Rider the only time Johnny's promotion mattered was in the Ghost Rider race in Avengers. Mephisto's imprisonment and Johnny being the new devil meant nothing, and they sapped the meaningfulness and impact of it so quickly that I barely have the words. To me it felt less impactful than Nick Fury replacing The Watcher! If Brisson's book had that, if Mephisto was on ice the whole time like he was supposed to be, and then this was the book that brought him back it wouldn't have resulted in a huge boost of sales, but it would have made it a stronger experience in my opinion.

[Huntsman Spider]

King In Black – Ghost Rider #1 was released today. It is barely a King in Black tie-in. It is more surprisingly the epilogue to Brisson's arc that I thought we'd never get. All things considered I really liked it. Given the circumstances, it was probably as good as we could hope to get.

In retrospect, I really like the idea of King Ghost Rider, but it felt pointless. That's not on Brisson either, that's on Marvel. After Mephisto was imprisoned he was still in all these other books. When Ghost Rider had Mephisto chained up and was riding around, Mephisto was still in all these other books. The status quo never actually changed at all. I think outside of Ghost Rider the only time Johnny's promotion mattered was in the Ghost Rider race in Avengers. Mephisto's imprisonment and Johnny being the new devil meant nothing, and they sapped the meaningfulness and impact of it so quickly that I barely have the words. To me it felt less impactful than Nick Fury replacing The Watcher! If Brisson's book had that, if Mephisto was on ice the whole time like he was supposed to be, and then this was the book that brought him back it wouldn't have resulted in a huge boost of sales, but it would have made it a stronger experience in my opinion.

That's a fair assessment. Also, would have been cooler if Danny called himself Pale Rider, since "the rider on a pale horse" is the Horseman of Death according to Revelations in the Bible.

[Tien Long]

King In Black – Ghost Rider #1 was released today. It is barely a King in Black tie-in. It is more surprisingly the epilogue to Brisson's arc that I thought we'd never get. All things considered I really liked it. Given the circumstances, it was probably as good as we could hope to get.

In retrospect, I really like the idea of King Ghost Rider, but it felt pointless. That's not on Brisson either, that's on Marvel. After Mephisto was imprisoned he was still in all these other books. When Ghost Rider had Mephisto chained up and was riding around, Mephisto was still in all these other books. The status quo never actually changed at all. I think outside of Ghost Rider the only time Johnny's promotion mattered was in the Ghost Rider race in Avengers. Mephisto's imprisonment and Johnny being the new devil meant nothing, and they sapped the meaningfulness and impact of it so quickly that I barely have the words. To me it felt less impactful than Nick Fury replacing The Watcher! If Brisson's book had that, if Mephisto was on ice the whole time like he was supposed to be, and then this was the book that brought him back it wouldn't have resulted in a huge boost of sales, but it would have made it a stronger experience in my opinion.

Thanks for the thoughts on the issue and the premise of the King of Hell aspect of Ghost Rider. Regarding the former, I agree that it was an epilogue to Brisson's run. I was really excited with Brisson's original storyline, of various leaders of hell fighting one another for the right to rule, with Johnny and Danny caught in the middle. The series had all of that 90s goodness too, with Danny, Blackheart, Lilith, and the Caretaker (albeit someone different had that mantle). Sadly, we didn't get to see that. As was mentioned, Brisson ended his storylines and plots with this King In Black tie-in. However, as brief as it was, it was pretty good. Nothing felt rushed, things made sense, and everyone was in a good place, storywise. Great to see Johnny, Danny (you know Ed shortened this whole backstory of Necrosis turning into Death Rider), and Sara as a new team. Think we're seeing the beginnings of a new Spirits of Vengeance with them. Brisson even snuck in some past 90s continuity as he talked about Ghost Rider's previous experience with symbiotes. So I'm good.

Could the Ghost Rider/King of Hell thing gone longer and been better? Yes, it could have been. I honestly wished it was acknowledged more since Mephisto seemed to be in all of these titles, like Avengers and Spider-Man. But y'know what, it was a good story and it made sense. Brisson crafted some great stories with Johnny as the King of Hell. Plus, we got Danny back into the fold. Now, there are still some questions out there. I'm still confused if the Ghost Rider is an angel or Zarathos. The Ghost Rider series was supposed to clear that up. But for now, the issue was good.

[nightw1ng]

I was actually surprised we even got a conclusion to the Ghost Rider/Mephisto storyline. I was fully expecting somewhere down the line we'd just suddenly see Mephisto back as the ruler of Hell and they'd mention in passing how Ghost Rider couldn't handle being king and Mephisto had to step in and take over. Having plotlines dropped/forgotten happens a lot in comics, so it's nice to see things get resolved on the page.

[Captain Craig]

Ghost Rider fans be ready to pick up Savage Avengers #21 next month. Johnny will be showing up there.

[postfutureshock]

What are some quintessential Ghost Rider stories? The more horror based the better!

[K7P5V]

What are some quintessential Ghost Rider stories? The more horror based the better!

For Johnny Blaze, my choice would be the Roger Stern run from the late '70s/early '80s (#70; #72; #73 are highly recommended):





For Dan Ketch, I'd recommend the '90s run (especially, when the "Rise of the Midnight Sons" event begins):