Ghost Rider is back for the second lap, baby! With most of his origins covered in the first issue, Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore let the spirit of vengeance loose on the streets of L.A. and, boy, is it gnarly. Also, other 90s phrases.
Written by Felipe Smith
Illustrated by Tradd Moore
“ENGINES OF VENGEANCE” PART 2
• ROBBIE REYES has been given a new awesome power but can the teen handle it or will it drive him to a path of destruction?
• Who owns the HAUNTED RACE CAR and what will they do to get it back?
• What are the PINK PILLS and who is behind their creation?
The first issue of “All-New Ghost Rider” felt surprisingly both fresh and familiar as Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore gave an old character a fresh coat of paint and put him through a rather traditional origin story. It was new enough to not feel like a retread of old material while also feeling familiar enough to give fans of that old material something to connect to. Here, though? Screw all that. It’s time to blow some shit up.
The crowning glory of “All-New Ghost Rider” is Tradd Moore. This book would not be what it was and that first issue would not have been as successful as it was without him. Moore’s art style defines this book so much and makes it feel so unique not only from all other “Ghost Rider” series that came before, but also from every other book on the market that it’s hard to imagine the book without him. From the moment this issue hits the ground running (driving?), it’s a pure spectacle that showcases just how visceral and fluid the action can be under his pen. Not only have we recently seen the rule of thumb that comics can’t do car chases broken, but Tradd Moore proves that you can also do car fights with this issue. Moore infuses not just the Ghost Rider, but also the car with such a sense of menace that hasn’t been felt since Duel. (Or Christine for anyone who didn’t get that.) This is helped by the fact that during the Ghost Rider scenes, Moore eliminates practically all white space on the page and creates gorgeous pages that feel frantic and claustrophobic as well as unbelievably fast.
This makes a great contrast to when Moore slows things down a bit during the day and allows his style to breathe life into the world of Los Angeles. While we’ve been seeing California in a number of Marvel comics lately (cough “Daredevil” cough), the Los Angeles presented here gives the book an entirely unique feel in both art and writing. Smith and Moore bring us into the seedier side of things with the environment, but instead of objectifying or glorifying any of it they present it in a light that shows that Robbie Reyes faces just as much adversity outside of being Ghost Rider. Between that and the emotional, protective bond between he and his brother, it gives the reader just as much reason to care about Robbie when he’s not all covered in flames and leather.
That’s mostly due to the writing of Felipe Smith who feels right at home in this L.A. Perhaps what makes Smith’s writing feel so at home is how he uses the classic Marvel teen superhero origin in a Peter Parker style, but updates it to a 21st Century L.A. While that has lead to the title perhaps spinning its wheels in terms of story as with this issue we’re only marginally further than we were before in terms of Robbie’s time as the Ghost Rider, it still makes for an enjoyable. What this issue may lack in terms of progression for Robbie, it more than makes up for by forming and fleshing out an antagonist for the first arc. While a conflict between the two feels a ways off as Robbie’s still only just coming to terms with the fact that something might be happening to him, the conflict it does promise is sure to deliver.
Ultimately, while this isn’t the sharp increase in quality from #1 to #2 that other All-New Marvel titles like “Black Widow” had, it’s still on that uphill slope towards greatness. Perhaps it’s because the writing leans a little too heavily on a style of origin story that we’ve seen before that book only really comes to life during the Ghost Rider segments, but there’s enough heart and character in that origin that it deserves better. With the promise of amazing action that will surely lead to the grudge match between the Ghost Rider and the teased villain here (that will hopefully give the Ghost Rider more to do than just look freaking badass), there’s a lot of potential here to be tapped if it can just get past this unfortunately slow start.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – There’s enough to potential here to warrant hanging on another couple of issue just to let it build that momentum.
