GHOST RIDER # 2 (volume 2)
SYNOPSIS
The teenage members of the Cypress Pool Jokers run through a back alley of Brooklyn, but are finally surrounded by several men with guns. The men work for the Kingpin, who is still looking for the missing canisters that were stolen from him by Deathwatch. The thugs demand that the Jokers take them to the canisters, which they had hidden in the cemetery. Suddenly, the Ghost Rider bursts forth from a park across the street and quickly defeats the Kingpin's men. As the last one attempts to run, the demon's chain wraps around his legs, and the mind finds himself being dragged behind the Ghost Rider's mystical motorcycle. Seconds later, GR holds the criminal from the top of a high building, demanding to know what's in the Kingpin's canisters. The thug swears that he doesn't know, and the Ghost Rider gives him the penance stare, which reflects every act of violence he'd ever perpetrated back onto himself, burning him with the mental anguish of his victims. Later that night, in Cypress Hills, the Ghost Rider transforms back into Dan Ketch, who is still terrified by what he's become.
Elsewhere in the city, a cop named Frank Lorretti watches television in his home. Suddenly, the lights and the television blink off, and the detective senses an intruder in the house. The cop is attacked by a large man, who demands information in exchange for the lives of his wife and children. Loretti cooperates, writing down information on the Cypress Pool Jokers, but is then killed by the intruder, who is a vampire. The next night, the killer, whose name is Blackout, holds a meeting with Deathwatch. Blackout possesses light-dampening abilities, forcing Deathwatch into turning on infrared lights in order to see. Deathwatch reads the assassin's mind, and learns that two of the three canisters are in police custody, while the last one is still missing.
At midnight, Ralphie D'Amato plays video games in his house, having been the member of the Jokers that was injured the week before. Suddenly, all the lights in the house flicker off. The teen lights a match, which doesn't light, yet still burns. Ralphie is then attacked by Blackout, who demands to know the location of the third canister. Ralphie manages to break free, but when he runs into his parents' bedroom he finds them both dead. Blackout enters the room, and accidently pushes the young boy out of the second story window. Waiting outside is the Ghost Rider, who catches him before he hits the ground. Blackout then jumps through the window and attacks the Ghost Rider, but quickly finds that the demon is much stronger than him. He tosses the Rider against a wall, and then disappears into the darkness, leaving Ralphie and the Ghost Rider alone in the yard.
ANNOTATIONS
Despite the way he is portrayed, Blackout is not a true vampire. His fangs are mechanical, and his "skin condition" is believed to be a result of some sort of mutant ability. He does, however, become a true vampire in Ghost Rider # 41 (vol. 2), due to his being reborn by the demon mother, Lilith.
This issue was reprinted in the Ghost Rider: Resurrected trade paperback.
REVIEW
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Ghost Rider # 2 (volume 2)
Published: June, 1990
Original Price: $1.50
Cover: Javier Saltares
Title: "Do Be Afraid of the Dark!"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Javier Saltares
Inker: Mark Texeira
Letterer: Michael Heisler
Colorist: Gregory Wright
Editor: Bobbie Chase
Editor In Chief: Tom DeFalco