When orphaned stunt-show star Johnny Blaze discovers his adoptive father Crash Simpson is dying of a rare blood disease, he barters his immortal soul for a miracle cure. The trade-off ultimately leaves him bound to the demon Zarathos, and their melding of spirits would manifest itself every night in the form of Ghost Rider, the most supernatural super-hero of all! Collects Marvel Spotlight #5-12, Ghost Rider #1-20 and Daredevil #138.
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT FUN WITH THE ORIGINAL GHOST RIDER!,
This review is from: Essential Ghost Rider, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials) (Paperback)
The Ghost Rider was one of those quasi-horror/superheroes of the 1970's similar to The Son of Satan. The comics code, while still in effect had been relaxed allowing for comics to depict things like demons although I wonder just what type of restrictions they had. The Ghost Rider was Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist for a traveling who sells his soul to Mephisto to save his father's life and is then bound with the demon Zarathos which allowed him to transform into the skull-headed, hellfire wielding avenger who could bring pain to criminals with his penance stare.
He would make his first appearance in Marvel Spotlight #5 and appear there through issue # 11 before getting his own title in 1973. Remarkably, Ghost Rider would actually run for 10 years and 81 issues which is quite an incredible run given that he was a rather minor character, all things considered. Ghost Rider would also for a time be a member of the defunct super team called the Champions in the mid-1970s. This massive essential book reprints those issues of Marvel Spotlight along with the first 20 issues of the Ghost Rider series. The Marvel Spotlight books were all written by Mike Freidrich with art by Mike Ploog and then Tom Sutton, both very good artists. Once the regular series began things got dicey. Part of the series' inconsistency was in the revolving door of writers who worked on the titles including Freidrich, Marv Wolfman, Doug Moench, Tony Isabella, Bill Mantlo, Gerry Conway, and Jim Shooter...all of them within just the first 24 issues of the regular series. I'd love to ask Roy Thomas, who was editor-in-chief at the time, why the book seemed to be passed around like a hot potato. Things were not much better in regards to the artists. Ploog would be replaced by the VERY average Jim Mooney who was one of those long-time staff artists whose style was still early 60'ish. Mooney does most of the issues in this book although Ploog does return for #10 where Ghost Rider battles the Hulk and Sal Buscema does issues #11 which completes the two-part Hulk story. After that, we get the horrible Frank Robbins on most of the next several issues. Robbins was another one of those old Golden Age artists who style never really progressed and doesn't fit this type of book at all. John Byrne does the pencils for issue #20. It is this inconsistency that makes the book somewhat maddening. Some writers such as Freidrich and Isabella concentrate more on the horrorific aspects of the character and his battles against demonic foes while others played the character strictly as a super hero. The review by John Q. Public is completely ridiculous. He claims Ghost Rider's villains are poor takes on DC's Vertigo characters yet these books were written in the mid-1970's, more than 15 years or so before DC even started the Vertigo line of comics. All in all though, it's still fun to read these books again after so many years. Reviewed by Tim Janson
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Satan turns Johnny Blaze into a flaming skeleton on a motorcycle,
By Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (COMMUNITY FORUM 04) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Essential Ghost Rider, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials) (Paperback)
"Ghost Rider" was one of several horror comic books that Marvel put out in the early 1970s where you got hooked on the title because Michael Ploog was drawing the book and then he moved on to something else and it was just not the same with the replacement artist. This happened with "Werewolf By Night," "Monster of Frankenstein," and "Ghost Rider." No wonder the fact that Gene Colan was the artist on "The Tomb of Dracula" from start to finish was one of the reasons that comic book was far and away Marvel's best horror title. Ploog's distinctive style made him ideal for drawing horror titles (only Berni Wrightston was better, but he was working for DC), which is why the four issues of "Marvel Spotlight" that he drew that introduced the character of Ghost Rider are the best in this collection of black & white reprints.
As our saga begins we meet Johnny Blaze, the son of the famous stunt motorcyclist Barton Blaze, who is the headliner at Crash Simpsons' Daredevil Cycle Show. After Barton is killed doing a dangerous stunt, the orphaned Johnny is raised by Crash and his wife Mona. Traumatized by the death of his father it takes Johnny a while to ride one and look death straight in the eye, and when he does at the age of fifteen his motorcycle catches on fire, explodes and kills his foster mother. She makes him promise never to ride in the show. Johnny keeps his promises, but Crash and his daughter Rocky think it is because he is a coward, but Johnny practices on his own (he only promised not to ride in the show, right?). The he learns that Crash Simpson has less than a month to live. So Johnny calls on Satan to spare Crash from the deadly disease that is killing him. The Prince of Darkness agrees and will be back one day soon to collect his fee. Crash decides to go for the world's cycle jump record (22 cars) and is killed (he did not die from the disease did he?). Johnny then performs the jump himself, which does not exactly endear his to the distraught Rocky, and then Satan shows up and intones: "From this day forth...you will walk the earth as my emissary in the dark hours, and in the light, you will join me in Hades!" Rocky intervenes to send Satan back to Hell, but each night Johnny Blaze becomes a burning skeleton. He just usually wears biker leathers so that all you see is his burning skull. Actually it is not Satan but the demon lord Mephisto, but we do not learn that for a while and it really does not matter unless you are trying to reconcile the Marvel Universe with Judeo-Christian traditions. What is important is that while Mephisto was forced to leave without Blaze's soul, he was able to graft the essence of the demon Zarathos to Blaze's body. It takes Johnny a while to learn this and he thinks the Ghost Rider is just his own dark side manifested as a burning skeleton. The early stories keep the focus on what is now Johnny Blaze's Daredevil Cycle Show, and Mephisto brings back Crash Simpson as a slave to sacrifice his daughter to his dark lord. Unfortunately, by the time we get to the end of that storyline Ploog has been replaced by Tom Sutton as artist and it is just not the same. Part of the problem is that coming up with stories that bring together Satan and motorcycle each month becomes a bit difficult, which would explain why the comic featured more multi-issue storylines than most Marvel titles. This is why we get stories like "Death Stalks the Demolition Derby" ("Ghost Rider" #4) and our hero riding against the Stunt-Master (#7). Then there is the powerful stranger with the long hair and bear in "Ghost Rider" #9. Could that be....Him? After that point the Ghost Rider takes on the Hulk (#10-11), the Phantom Eagle (#12), the Trapster (#13), and the Orb (#14), as he ends up in Hollywood as a movie stuntman and gets romantically involved with the actress Karen Page. This explains why Daredevil pops up at the end of this collection. By the time we get to the point where the Ghost Rider is fighting Spider-Man, the Thing, Hercules and a bunch of other superheroes in Hell to try and rescue the mysterious Jesus-like figure and save Karen (#18), "Ghost Rider" has jumped a whole lot more than the shark. Writer Tony Isabella creates one of the most convoluted storylines of all time and when the Son of Satan returns to help our hero (#17) trying to figure out what it all means is just not worth the effort. However, of the artists that replaced Ploog I have to say that Frank Robbins did give the book a unique look and his name should be included on the cover instead of Herb Trimpe (Robbins drew four issues included here and George Tuska three, while Trimpe just did the Son of Satan origin). "Essential Ghost Rider Volume 1" collects together "Marvel Spotlight" #5-12, "Ghost Rider" #1-20, and "Daredevil" #138, which is the penultimate story in the collection because it is a crossover with "Ghost Rider" #20. Also, "Marvel Spotlight" #12 ends up being another crossover because Ghost Rider has his own comic book at that point and the spotlight is now on "The Son of Satan." Chances are that is one Marvel comic book that is not going to get the Essentials treatment, so this may well be the only time you see this "Ominous Origin Issue!" reprinted. In case you were wondering, yes, "Ghost Rider" was better than "The Son of Satan," a note on which I have to end.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great prep for the movie,
By
This review is from: Essential Ghost Rider, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials) (Paperback)
I've been a fan of Ghost Rider only for about five years now, but it only took one issue of the 90's series for him to become my favorite superhero. I ate up the 90's series like an addiction, finding back issues anywhere I could. I quickly sold out every store in town, and with my stash exhausted, I decided to turn to the original.
Ghost Rider is more than just a guy with a flaming skull and a motorcycle that's about a thousand times cooler than the guys at O.C. Choppers could ever deam of. He's also a tragic hero. The first Ghost Rider (to appear in the comic books, anyway) was born when an orphaned stunt cyclist named Johnny Blaze made a deal with the devil to save his guardian and cycling mentor from cancer. The plan went sour, however, when his mentor decide to beat cancer and go out with a bang by attempting an impossible jump, which resulted in his sudden death. Though cheated and overwhelmed with grief, Blaze had no time to mourn, for the devil came to claim his due: Blaze's soul. Blaze's girlfriend, Roxanne Simpson, managed to ward the devil away with a chant from an old spell book of Blaze's, but before he was sent back into the abyss, he fused Blaze's soul with a demon named Zarathos. From then on, Blaze became the Ghost Rider every night, forced to battle the forces of hell, avenge the innocent, and evade Satan until the day would come when the devil would finally take him. Instead of hiding in fear and scorning fate, Blaze uses the Ghost Rider in attempts to do good. He battles the evils of men and monsters, protects the innocent, and when necessary, avenges them. Though despite his righteous efforts, eternal damnation awaits him in the afterlife, and it all came to be out of love for his family. Well, sorry for the backstory tangeant (once I get going on Ghost Rider, it's hard to stop). Returning to this product, anyone who picks it up will quickly notice the black and white, newspaper-like pages. This is a turn off to many, but when you consider that this series came out in the 70's when comics looked like four-colored vomit, the B&W is a definite plus. I've heard many complain about the binding on Essential volumes, but I haven't noticed anything wrong with my copy. Then again, this is a recent release, so maybe Marvel decided to put a little more effort into this one. In short, old fans and newcomers alike should have no trouble enjoying this collection. Even those who aren't particularly into comics can appreciate the dramatic and tragic nature of the chronicles of Johnny Blaze. Pick it up. Read it. If you find I'm wrong, then feel free to give the 90's run a try.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
