Written by Rob Williams
Illustrated by Dalibor TalajicThe Ghost Rider comes across a town harboring a deadly secret and must stand judgment of a centuries-old crime. Can a Spirit of Vengeance show mercy or would she burn sons for the sins of their fathers?
Despite actively avoiding this new beginning for a character I had been lukewarm at best on for the first month of its existence, nearly constant prodding (from EiC Matt) lead me to pick up the first three issues of the latest volume of Ghost Rider at once. What I found therein was a smartly written, unique take on the character that had the exact right mixture of mystical allure and horror-based action to pique my interest. In very short order, it became a must read on my monthly pull and just as soon as it reached it’s stride it was announced that the book would be cancelled following its 8th issue. The only question I find appropriate now relates to one of the things that drew me to the book in the first place (a well placed Nirvana reference in the first issue): will Ghost Rider Volume 7 burn out or fade away?
Click on down as I speculate wildly.
I can feel Rob Williams losing steam on this book.
That’s the only thing that keeps coming to my head after reading the latest issue of Ghost Rider. Which is a damn shame, but I guess it’s ultimately appropriate given the book is going bye bye. Still though, it’s sad to see since just two months ago this book was solidly in my top five of the month. The first four (five if you count the Point One, which I guess there’s no reason not to) issues of the book struck the right balance of humor, intrigue, socio-biblical drama and outright action as Johnny Blaze bartered away the Ghost Rider to the mysterious Adam (who, as it turns out, was actually THAT Adam. As in “first man” Adam) who then bonded it to the young, nubile Alejandra.
However, once that initial story was over, we were given issue 5 which was a carnival of mediocrity as Alejandra babbled self righteously to herself before killing her father (or something, I can’t remember, I was bored). However, I gave the book the benefit of the doubt. The first arc was so unbelievably solid, this issue must have been a fluke. Maybe Williams isn’t that good at writing interludes? Who knows. Either way, I approached issue 6 with a bit of trepidation.
As it turns out, that was a wise way to approach things as I got a lot of the same things I got from #5, albiet in a different setting. However the first thing that really stuck out to me is the shift in character for Alejandra. Over the first five issues of the book, she always seemed like a very stoic, very regal character. Very much like a character raised away from society would be. And yet, this issue we see her talking like a valley girl and lamenting her inability to go to the mall like other 17 year-olds. While this would be perfectly normal for any other 17 year-old, I’m not sure where Alejandra would have figured out what a mall was, let alone know that someone her age should be at one. Also, she was swearing, normally an atribute I love to see in my comic characters, but one that just does not fit here. When a writer starts writing the character they created out of character, that is a bad sign.
Another thing that doesn’t seem to fit is the major altercation of the issue. Most notably because the rather cool elements of the issues antagonists are kind of hastily slopped together in such a way that creates a few consecutive vignettes of cool that don’t really amount to much of a story when looked at together. The plot was full of holes and once the major obstacle was vanquished (still not clear on how that one came together or why, other than the fact that the issue needed to end), it seemed to me like the whole point of the story was to throw some random occurrences together with the express purpose of making Alejandra hate herself some more, turning what could be a very strong, young female lead into essentially an emo kid. Again, bad signs.
Continued belowNow, I do have to say that barring a few misshapen faces, Talajic’s art is pretty solid. While certainly not “stand up and take notice” level work, he does manage to portray the dark, slightly left of order ambiance the book needed. One thing the story made abundantly clear was that the locale Alejandra was visiting this issue was meant to be one of the creepiest places on the planet, and Talajic’s subtle and diffused line work made the populace of this town look just odd and sinister enough to make the reader unsettled. In this sense, his art is successful, and in some cases in some comics, solid art is enough to fill gaps in the plot by using clarifying visuals. However, this time it was not enough to really add any cohesiveness to the story.
As much as it pains me to say this, this issue and the one before it do not make as strong of a case for the book to continue publication as the ones before it. Where once I saw the promise the character had and Rob Williams had bringing her to life, now I just mediocrity and a creator going through the motions awaiting the inevitable, which is just damn sad. In all the reviews I’ve written for this site over the last two years, I have to say this has to be the most personally disappointing final verdict I have ever given.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – Browse
