There was a time when “What If?” was a popular Marvel ongoing series, but since the second volume ended in 1998, “What If?” has only made sporadic returns. Usually as one-shots or miniseries, none of these “What If?” revivals have had staying power. That’s too bad. As “What If? Ghost Rider” #1 proves, the series is still full of potential. By allowing an issue to be utterly inessential, you give it license to do anything, and “What If? Ghost Rider” decides to have a weird, good time with it.
Written by Sebastian GirnerCover by Aleksi Briclot
Illustrated by Caspar Wijngaard
Lettered by VC’s Joe Sabino
You’ve only heard whispers of this real-world/Marvel Universe crossover until now, when moral decline and budgetary shortfalls have combined to lower our lawyers’ resistance! Sebastian Girner (Shirtless Bear-Fighter, Scales & Scoundrels) and Caspar Wijngaard (Angelic, Limbo, DOCTOR APHRA ANNUAL #2) recklessly bring you the tale of the first and only true Nordic black metal band to visit the Marvel Universe through the INSANITY of likeness release waivers! What role does GHOST RIDER Robbie Reyes play, and will YOUR MIND survive the BRUTALITY?!
The real killer to the concept of “What If?” is how out-there (if you’re feeling generous) or gimmicky (if you’re feeling sick of it) regular Marvel comics have become. Here’s a sample of a few ideas that once were worthy of the “What If?” brand: “What If Spider-Man Joined the Fantastic Four?” “What If Jane Foster Had Found the Hammer of Thor?” “What If Phoenix Had Not Died?” “What If Spider-Man’s clone had lived?” “What If Elektra Had Lived?” Or, controversially: “What If Spider-Man Had Not Married Mary Jane?”
Once-outlandish ideas are now the basic plots of ongoing series. To some, this has diminished the potential of the “What If?” series. To Sebastian Girner and Caspar Wijngaard, this is just an invitation to hold nothing back. That’s what allows us to have this set-up: this is a universe where Robbie Reyes is Ghost Rider, but also an intern at Marvel comics. Okay. Enter Latverian black metal band Hassenwald, who want to bleed into the ink of an upcoming comic Marvel is publishing about them. But things aren’t as they seem, and you better believe that the issue ends in a full-on Ghost Rider vs unspeakable tentacle creatures.
Sooooo . . . on one hand, is this really in the spirit of “What If?” The series is supposed to pose hypothetical questions that change the course of Marvel stories and then follow the butterfly effect as one simple change spirals out of control and alters the course of the entire gigantic Marvel meta-narrative. The question posed here is “What if Marvel Comics went metal?” and is anyone really-
I’m gonna stop myself right there. As I outlined above, the causality of answering hypothetical questions is what regular Marvel books are all about now. If the writer of “Scales & Scoundrels” and “Shirtless Bear-Fighter” wants to bring a heavy metal album cover to life, why question it? It’s like refusing free candy.
Especially because Caspar Wijngaard is having the time of his life. I didn’t recognize Wijngaard’s name at first, but looking into his bibliography I was pleasantly surprised to discover I’d been a lightweight fan of his work all along. I love when that happens! He’s done work for some absolutely brutal “Dark Souls” comics, and also brought his talents to “Star Trek” and “Doctor Aphra.” We at Multiversity liked his work on “Angelic” so much that Wijngaard was one of our artists of 2017. This is a dude who loves blood, spikes, and flaming skulls (hey! Me too!). He’s clearly got a bright (read: dark) future ahead of him. He should obviously draw a “Ghost Rider” ongoing series, and maybe “Hellblazer” too while he’s at it.
If Wijngaard’s art was simply the-side-of-a-van-but-in-a-comic, that would be enough for me. But it goes beyond that. He’s got a wonderful sense of timing. This sometimes manifests itself as comedic timing, as it does when Robbie gives Hassenwald a tour of the offices, or action timing, which makes the final sequence really sing (read: growl). The way he draws Ghost Ride’s boot smashing the pedal to the metal and flames erupting from the back of his Charger, it feels like a dance. It sort of evokes Baby Driver but all of the 70s pop is replaced with Dimmu Borgir, Iced Earth, and Bathory. In other words: my kind of comic.
While the execution of “What If? Ghost Rider” is top notch, it is ultimately a piece of fluff. A piece of brutal fluff, but insubstantial all the way. It’s junk food. It’s cotton candy. It won’t fill you up. In fact, it’ll probably leave you hungry for a real meal, hopefully cooked by these guys. “What If? Ghost Rider” is probably not good for you, but if you saw it on the check-out line at the supermarket, you wouldn’t be able to resist. Maybe though, that’s what we should expect out of our “What If?” comics.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – But two horns way up!
