Breathing new life into 'Ghost Rider'
By ANDREW A. SMITH
August 29, 2005
With "Ghost Rider" blazing onto screens in 2006 (as played by Nicolas Cage), it was inevitable that Marvel Comics would revive this long-defunct character. The only question remaining is: Which one?
Originally, Ghost Rider was a Western character, a lawman named Rex Fury who pretended to be a ghost with the help of glow-in-the-dark phosphorescence. His costume glowed, his horse glowed and he often went about, ironically, exposing crooks who were also pretending to be supernatural (although he did meet a vampire or two).
Advertisement
He first appeared as a character named The Calico Kid in the back pages of "Tim Holt" No. 5 (March 1949) by Magazine Enterprises, which starred the movie star of the same name. In issue No. 11, however, editor Vin Sullivan (Superman's first editor), writer Ray Krank and artist Dick Ayers abruptly revamped the character as the pseudo-spook, who was a lot more popular than The Calico Kid, and received his own title. But the Comics Code of 1954 put a damper on spooky characters, and "Ghost Rider" was canceled with its 14th issue. GR began appearing less and less, finally disappearing altogether - along with Magazine Enterprises - in 1955.
Until Marvel Comics lifted the character almost wholesale for a short-lived series in 1967. This very familiar Ghost Rider was still drawn by Ayers, but was now secretly schoolteacher Carter Slade. Unfortunately, the Rider's second go-round only lasted seven issues. A brief revival in 1970's "Western Gunfighters" followed (albeit with federal Marshal Lincoln Slade, Carter's brother, as the new civilian identity), before this character slipped into a series of reprints (for various reasons renamed "Night Rider" and then "Phantom Rider"). There is still a glow-in-the-dark Phantom Rider active in the modern West in Marvel Comics (who is a real ghost), but his appearances are infrequent.
Which brings us to the best-known version of the character.
In 1972's "Marvel Spotlight" No. 5, Marvel re-imagined the character as Johnny Blaze, a modern-day motorcycle stunt rider for a circus. Blaze made a deal with the devil to save the life of his employer (and his girlfriend's father) - and you know how those deals usually go. Cursed to host the demon Zarathos, Blaze would periodically turn into a phantom biker who appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a blazing skeleton in cycle leathers.
The story wasn't much, but the visual was striking, and GR had a hot run for a few years. He eventually faded, but the flaming-biker look was just too cool to abandon. Marvel re-launched the character in his own title in 1990, although this time the secret identity was high-school student Danny Ketch.
Ketch was later revealed to be Blaze's long-lost brother, but even the re-introduction of the original stunt rider didn't save the series. Once again, that hot visual gave the character brief sales success, followed by oblivion.
Which brings us to September's "Ghost Rider" No. 1 (of 6, $2.99). Written by superstar Garth Ennis and drawn by Clayton Crain, it would be fair to wonder whether this blazing biker will star Rex Fury, Carter Slade, Lincoln Slade, Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch.
Which actually isn't that much of a mystery. Although Marvel hasn't mentioned a civilian ID for the new book, Sony's movie and a new GR videogame by Climax Entertainment (both due next year) star Johnny Blaze. Plus, Marvel is releasing Blaze's first 29 adventures in "Essential Ghost Rider" Vol. 1 ($16.99) this month. As the most popular of the various Ghost Riders, and as Ketch and both Slades are dead, Blaze is where to place your bet.
Elsewhere in September:
- DC Comics revived Hal Jordan as their flagship Green Lantern a few months ago, which meant his organization couldn't be far behind. Ergo, "Green Lantern Corps: Recharge" No. 1 (of 6, $3.50).
- Comics legend Jack Kirby was renowned for a lot of major titles, but one secret pleasure was his relatively obscure "Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth" for DC in the '70s. Kamandi was a survivor of a great cataclysm (he was named for his bunker, Command D), and when he emerged he was faced with a "Planet of the Apes" scenario, where all animals were sentient and quite chatty. If that sounds like fun, check out "Kamandi Archives" Vol. 1 ($49.99).
- DC's "A History of Violence" will soon be a movie (starring Viggo Mortensen), so naturally it's being re-released ($9.99).
(Contact Andrew Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit
www.captaincomics.us/forums.)
