For more than 80 years, Marvel has been welcoming fans to its fantastic multiverse loaded with all kinds of incredible, fantastic and amazing superheroes. But there are also a great deal of characters who do not fit that description and instead give readers a very different kind of story.
“Ghost Rider #1” is a new beginning for one of those very different characters. The Spirit of Vengeance finds himself in a new situation and his enemy is lurking in the shadows. It’s a nightmarish scenario for both Johnny Blaze and, in the best way possible, for the readers.
Johnny Blaze has been in an accident. As he recovers, he is suffering from hallucinations and a painful headache. He can’t sleep unless he drinks himself unconscious and he lashes out at everything and everyone around him. And the worst part is, he has everything he could possibly want to make him happy.
Things aren’t exactly as they seem though. There are a lot of strange characters in Johnny’s life and he can’t possibly know which ones to trust. Especially when a mysterious new man shows up at his home and tells him his whole life is a lie.
So what if he isn’t hallucinating? What if everything he is seeing is real and it’s everyone else who is crazy? What if Johnny Blaze once again allows the Ghost Rider to take control of his life? There are a lot of questions in Johnny Blaze’s life and he needs to start finding answers.
All of those questions add up to a very interesting mystery element that drives this story. From the moment you open up to the first page, you’re not sure as a reader who or what you can trust (much like Johnny). Every page after that keeps you on your toes and really doesn’t allow you to get comfortable.
Another element that plays into that uncomfortable feeling is the horror. Yes, this is far from your typical superhero story and fits much more closely in with the horror genre. It’s nothing that’s going to make you lose sleep at night but it is certainly something that will leave you with some level of creeps.
Stemming off of that presence of horror in this first issue, this is definitely more of an adult comic thant most others. There are elements of gore that go along with that aforementioned horror and there is some adult language. Sure, it’s censored, like in every other comic, but it’s used differently here than in most others and gives it more of an R-rated feel.
All together though, this is a very exciting start to an interesting new series. It’s not going to be for everyone, as the horror genre so often proves, but it’s definitely presenting something different from what we see everywhere else. There’s a mystery at play here for a unique character and that makes for a very original story.
You can check out “Ghost Rider #1” now.