Customer Reviews

Ghost Rider: The Road to Damnation

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the Ghost Rider as he was always meant to be. He is a forlorn tormented soul whose fading humanity, while dimly present, is tarnished by the hate and brutal violence that only hell could provide. The Ghost Rider is finally correctly typecast as hell's bounty hunter. It is the role he was always meant to fill. And the art in this novel is beautiful. If landscapes in hell can be called beautiful....

A brief synopsis: An evil demon named Kazann has escaped Hell and is attempting to unleash Hell on Earth. An angel, Malachi, trying to cover up his mysterious connection to the demon, frees Ghost Rider from Hell to catch and return Kazann to the underworld before bounty hunters from both Heaven and Hell can claim the demon as their own.

The biggest reason to get this book is for the art. Ghost Rider has never looked this good. Also well done is the brief back-story of where Ghost Rider's been as of late. It was better than the typical revamping of the origin story that's used so often when writing a character that's been out-of-action.

But as beautiful as the art is, the story and the characters don't take each other seriously and the entire book suffers because of it. Ghost Rider is very naive and constantly asking questions, making him seem a child-type character and not the Spirit of Vengeance that readers love. The characters seem to make light of the entire situation, which is an interesting and different approach to the theme of the book, but ultimately it doesn't work. Ghost Rider and the subject matter he deals with isn't meant to be light-hearted.

The finale is also very weak. For something as serious as Kazann has planned, the feeling of danger isn't conveyed by the characters. Another thing, it all ends in a nice, neat little package which didn't fit the story. Overall, The Road to Damnation is a disappointing arc simply because of the lack of character in the characters and the light-hearted tone.

Anyone familiar with the tumultuous history of Ghost Rider in comics knows that the character has never been handled particularly well. With the release of the movie starring Nicolas Cage (who I feel is quite miscast; for me, Kurt Russel would have been the best choice to be Johnny Blaze, but I disgress), Marvel is naturally blitzing everything Ghost Rider that they can, beginning with this mini-series released before the current series by Daniel Way. Written by legendary Preacher creator and current Punisher writer Garth Ennis, Ghost Rider: Road to Damnation finds Johnny Blaze trapped in Hell with no chance of escaping. Until he is made an offer by a mysterious angel to return an evil entity called Kazan back to where he came from, and in return, he can be free. So, off he goes, but not before running into a murderous archangel named Ruth, and a demonic, [...] cowboy named Hoss. If you're an Ennis fan, you'll be happy to find his trademark dark humor throughout this TPB, as well as his stabs at religion and violent absurdity. You'll also find Ennis making many stabs at the character of Blaze himself; fully showing off just how gullible he is. The best part of Road to Damnation is undoubtadly the stunning artwork of Clayton Crain; whose bloody CGI-esque renderings are simply mouth watering. Not to mention that for a book not under Marvel's mature themed MAX line (or even the Marvel Knights line), Road to Damnation features a boat load of gore and mature content that came as a surprise to me. If there's any downsides to the TPB, it's that it ends too quickly, and some of the dialogue is far from the best to come from Ennis. That aside, Road to Damnation is probably one of the best takes on Ghost Rider in recent memory, and whether you're a fan of the character or Ennis, you should give this a look.

This was a gift for my husband. I can tell you, unless he is lying, that he is very happy with it, and was surprised that it was so inexpensive. The box came a bit broken up, but the shipper had packed it so well that there wasn't a single scratch. It also arrived much earlier than expected. My husband said this was a perfect gift for a Ghost Rider fan. Sorry I can't be more help. I am not a comic book buff.

It has been said before that Ghost Rider is high on style and weaker in substance. I have to agree. The original early 70s book, while retro-cool today (then it was 'nowtro') is weak in the storyline department, although damn cool looking. I remember the short lived series in the late 80s also having difficulty keeping up with its imagery. Now, this graphic novel is beautifully done, the illustrations are breathtaking and the whole thing has an aura that makes selling your soul seem like a good idea. BUT, the small format of the comic book made it difficult to figure out some of the images. There were plenty of times I was wondering what the hell I was looking at. The artwork also can't decide whether it wants to be realistic or highly stylized, and the lack of direction is off-putting. The story also needs work.
Basically, this is a prestige piece for the obsessive collecter (like me and you, especially you if you're still reading this) or the long-time fan. Not recommended for people new to Mr. Blaze. For those I would recommend the recent Marvel incarnation.

The artwork for this series alone makes it worth reading. Clayton Crain is magnificent in his artistic expression. He should have his own Spawn series, his style would pair exceptionally well with Spawn. Anyways, the writing is not bad. An interesting tale but I was left wondering a few things. First, when did Johnny Blaze go to Hell? Last I remember at the end of the Hammer Lane series he was still on earth. Second, when Johnny was Ghost Rider for Road to Damnation, there seemed to be no Zarathos character involved, it seemed to be Blaze in control of the Ghost Rider body. I found this to be confusing since I am familiar with the older more traditional Blaze Ghost Rider character (i.e. Blaze and flamehead being two different personas).

Johnny Blaze burns up the pavement in this 6 issue collection. Blaze is trapped in Hell at the story's start. An angel offers him an out, only it comes with a price - Blaze has to hunt down a troublesome demon who's about to create a real Hell on Earth. Already on the hunt is Heaven's ice-hearted Archangel Ruth and Hell's fatback tracker Hoss along with his aptly named road buddy Buttview. Other characters are introduced, the body count rises, the race is on. Typical outrageous Garth Ennis action accompanied by the eye-popping digital art of Clayton Crain. Seriously, if there's a negative, it's the comic format is too small to capture Crain's talent. This would make a great motion comic; Crain's that good. Note: this is set outside of continuity so no Dan Ketch, no Spirits of Vengeance convoluted history. If you like Ennis and are an old school Ghost Rider fan, sit back and enjoy the ride. This one's a scorcher.

Has great artwork through out the book. But to some degree, the art work is dodgy. By this I mean the quality goes from really good, to good.

Story is good, but nothing that will blow your mind.

Well worth the money if your a fan of graphic novel art, and just a fan of GhostRider.

Having read "Preacher" and "Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank" I was eager to see how Garth Ennis would approach my favorite character. It's a well-told story, full of Ennis' trademark dark wit and acidic commentary on religion. My only complaint would be that it's entirely a Garth Ennis story, as opposed to a Ghost Rider story: Johnny Blaze almost never appears in human form, and the narrative has almost nothing to do with GR's past. That said, Ennis is a virtuoso, and his fans will be satisfied.

This was the first Ghost Rider comic that I have ever read, and it was fantastic! I'm glad Garth Ennis (Preacher, Punisher MAX) was the writer for this dark, gruesome tale. I felt that the movie shouldn't been made and people at the theater just handed you this instead. The art is amazing! Very much worth the price. Remember when you read this: It is about Hell and Damnation. Don't expect it to be your typical superhero story.