All-New Ghost Rider

bralinator

This is a true #1 issue. It boasts an all-new character in Robbie Reyes (no relation to Jaime Reyes, DC's Blue Beetle). He looks cool, his ride is on fire, and he has a jacket - but the similarities to any previous incarnation of Ghost Rider end there. This character is in name and spirit of vengeance only (as far as we know). I like the protagonist enough (even though he reminds me of Hellraiser a bit), but I still don't know how he turned into the Ghost Rider at the end. Other than that, Tradd Moore's art is very stylized, but in a good way. It almost has a manga feel to it. Reminds me a little of Freddie Williams' work mashed up with Speed Racer - possessed. Tradd Moore has got a big future ahead.

As a motorcyclist myself, I was a bit put off at first by the idea of him being in a car. Perhaps Ghost Driver would've been a more appropriate moniker? But this is a totally new take on a similar character, so I'll give that a pass. He's out in LA, so there are no other characters from Marvel U to be tied to, though maybe a run in with Daredevil is in the future. With all of the history of Ghost Rider, I expect we will eventually see Johnny Blaze and/or Danny Ketch show up. But, why not let this take some new directions for a while? For a single issue, this was probably a bust, but for the first chapter in a larger arch, not bad. May be worth getting in trade.

Anyone read this yet?

Brack

Read it. Enjoyed it. Given what post-Stan Lee characters have had legs, they really should have done this pop culture fad chasing more often in the past 30 years. Yes you end up with a Razorback or a Hypno Hustler here and there, but it also got you Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Shang Chi, Blade and the original Ghost Rider.

Having the new Ghost Rider being inspired by the Fast & Furious films might be a little late in the day, but Smith and Moore make it work. And it's not like those films have diminished in popularity, in fact they've grown.

BTW Ghost Riding is a term associated with cars, but if the new Ghost Rider indulged in it, he might seem a lot less threatening.

bralinator

Brack said:

Having the new Ghost Rider being inspired by the Fast & Furious films might be a little late in the day, but Smith and Moore make it work. And it's not like those films have diminished in popularity, in fact they've grown.

BTW Ghost Riding is a term associated with cars, but if the new Ghost Rider indulged in it, he might seem a lot less threatening.

For me the F&F films have diminished in popularity, but I believe you are correct. As for "Ghost Riding" - I'm giving that an "Insightful". And I bet it will happen eventually in the series...

hauberk

First thing I thought of when I saw this was Nick Cage in Drive Angry. After that and his other forays into vehicle based possessed vengeance machine, I couldn't proceed. Also not in love with the art.

tommysheroes

I loved it. Also could you ask for a better story title than "Engine of Vengeance"?

Hex

Pass.
Ghost Rider does not dive a car.
So wrong.

mwhitt80

Ghost Rider has been established as driving a car. Also elephants and planes.

mwhitt80

Now time for my thoughts.

I'm not sure what I think yet. I love the new character, but there wasn't a lot to the issue. I also loved the art; it's nice having a different look.

I think this will be 100x better than the last series. The last GR series started stupid and only got worse.

bralinator

mwhitt80 said:

I think this will be 100x better than the last series. The last GR series started stupid and only got worse.

You're right. The last series did NOT set a high bar. This should EASILY surpass it.

And, this issue should have been double sized. There was WAY too much decompression. First 3 pages were titles and credits. The first story page was showing him being a mechanic. The next full page was showing he had a talent for money. Way too many pages of the car chase... I think they could've managed to trim some back and been more economical and made better use of the real estate. It was a bit too clear they were once again "writing for the trade"...

nweathington

I gave it a shot because Tradd’s doing the art. (Sidenote: If you like his art, you should check out the two Luther Strode miniseries from Image.) I loved the art, of course, but I liked the story too. I'll give it a few issues to see where it goes, but it’s very promising.

mwhitt80

The last series had two things going against it:
1) followed arguably the greatest Ghost Rider run ever (I've read a lot of Ghost Rider so take my word for it the Aaron run is badass, I would like to apologize to Way his first half was much better than I gave it credit it at the time)
2) It was garbage (not unusual for a lot of GR stories but it was in the lower rungs). I would put it below Johnny Blaze being an accountant (Fire and Ice, Marvel I'm waiting on your April Fool's WHAT THE?! call).

@bralinator you put it in better words than I did: the economy was off. I didn't mind having the car chase that long; the chase was interesting. But the issue was like decompressed, decompressed, decompressed, ohh crap we need to show the new Ghost Rider. It just seemed off.

I loved the art though; Tradd Moore is great, I love having a new GR; Robbie reminds me of how cool it was having "my Ghost Rider" Danny Ketch. I love it.

nweathington

bralinator said:

mwhitt80 said:

I think this will be 100x better than the last series. The last GR series started stupid and only got worse.

You're right. The last series did NOT set a high bar. This should EASILY surpass it.

And, this issue should have been double sized. There was WAY too much decompression. First 3 pages were titles and credits. The first story page was showing him being a mechanic. The next full page was showing he had a talent for money. Way too many pages of the car chase... I think they could've managed to trim some back and been more economical and made better use of the real estate. It was a bit too clear they were once again "writing for the trade"...

I'm not a fan of decompression either, but I don't think it was too bad here. Yeah, the two-page title display was a complete waste of space—and it's not the first Marvel comic I've seen it done in either. But the way I saw it, the first page established the neighborhood and that Reyes loves cars. That's worth a page, I think. The second page established that Reyes can’t trust anyone, not even his employer (read authority figure). They could have done it in a couple of panels, but I liked the pacing of the page. The car chase established that Reyes knows how to drive, but more importantly it set the visual tone for the series. I think they could have cut a page out without losing anything, but like mwhitt80 said, the car chase was the most visually interesting part of the story. It needed to last a while.

It seemed to me as though the writer started with the last two-page reveal of GR, and then divvied up the rest of the story beats in order to get to that point. A pretty typical way to do a first issue origin story these days from what I’ve seen. End with a bit of mystery in hopes of getting the reader to come back for issue #2.

A little padded, yes, but not so much that it bothers me. (Except for the title pages—that does bug me.)

CageNarleigh

"That's a negative Ghost Rider"

^ I say this for two reasons:

1) I wanted to say that phrase.
2) I haven't read a single panel of this comic and I loathe the idea of what they're doing to him. Sorry. It's a completely uninformed opinion, but for some reason this new concept just pushes all the right buttons.

...but mostly the first reason.

Krescan

I like Tradd Moore's art but there's moments when it's very busy

I don't know if I care about a car though

Hex

mwhitt80 said:

Ghost Rider has been established as driving a car. Also elephants and planes.

Only out of necessity.
I will only accept a flaming horse as any other form of Ghost Rider approved transportation of choice.

Also... Ghost Rider has a Flaming SKULL, not some silly stylize helmet. And where are the chains?

I'm not against change. Change can be good... but this is just pandering.

HannibalKing

Loved it. Tradd Moore's art is sneakily detailed.

Brack

Hex said:

I'm not against change. Change can be good... but this is just pandering.

As opposed to a character published to cash in on both a horror fad AND the popularity of Evel Knievel. Pandering is the way of the Ghost Rider.

bralinator

He wouldn't be able to give his handicapped brother a ride on a motorcycle. Where would they put the wheelchair?

Brack said:

Hex said:

I'm not against change. Change can be good... but this is just pandering.

As opposed to a character published to cash in on both a horror fad AND the popularity of Evel Knievel. Pandering is the way of the Ghost Rider.

There are so many cliches in this book, it's cute. Then again, I like cliches. I like the changes too. Besides, at least it isn't another white hero, amiright? :)

mwhitt80

bralinator said:

He wouldn't be able to give his handicapped brother a ride on a motorcycle. Where would they put the wheelchair?

That made me laugh

bralinator said:

There are so many cliches in this book, it's cute. Then again, I like cliches. I like the changes too. Besides, at least it isn't another white hero, amiright? :)

A Mexican Sheriff I was about poke the bear with that stick. you beat me to it.

Seriously though I think Reyes's race/gender/religion hasn't been pushed really at all (unlike other new Marvel characters) . The fact that Reyes is a Ghost Rider that drives a suped up muscle car is the lead story. Thier ads and promotion of this series has been all about the car and his look. I'm pro this approach.

bralinator

mwhitt80 said:

Seriously though I think Reyes's race/gender/religion hasn't been pushed really at all (unlike other new Marvel characters) . The fact that Reyes is a Ghost Rider that drives a suped up muscle car is the lead story. Thier ads and promotion of this series has been all about the car and his look. I'm pro this approach.

Absolutely. I gave you an "Agree" on that one too.

Hex

bralinator said:

Where would they put the wheelchair?

Ghost Rider with a flaming wheelchair would be cool.

bralinator

LOL

EarthGBilly

Hex said:

bralinator said:

Where would they put the wheelchair?

Ghost Rider with a flaming wheelchair would be cool.

Holy. Crap. I'd buy that series and I've never purchased a Ghost Rider comic.

random73

I love me some Ghost Rider but went into this with some serious trepidation. Two issues in and i'm pretty happy with it. I like Robbie Ryes as a character. I like the possessed car idea. i like Robbie being the sole caretaker for his little brother. this is a good kid in a terrible world trying to do right by the people he loves and getting involved in some messed up shit. Tradd Moore's art is unique and i'm not a Huge fan but i'm willing to hang on to this for a while. i'm in for a least the remainder of this arc and one more to see where it goes beyond the origin story. So, 6-8 issues to see what the bigger plan is.

Chuck_Melville

I'm holding out for Ghost Rider Jr, where a ten-year old becomes possessed and rides a flaming skateboard.

Brack

I never read Spirits of Vengeance, but following issue 3 it seems like this Ghost Rider might be possessed by the spirit of this guy.

Which means @Hex and @EarthGBilly might be getting that flaming wheelchair at some point.

bralinator

This title is fresh take on a classic character that also features the origin of a brand new Marvel hero. Do yourself a favor, jump in and buckle up. It's quite a ride.

mwhitt80

I read the second issue and really enjoyed it; this is going to be a great series.

random73

Best iteration of GR in almost a decade