GHOST RIDER SPECIAL EDITION # 2 (MINI-COMIC)
SYNOPSIS
New York City has been crippled by its citizens rioting like maniacs, while the local police try to calm things down. Two uniformed officers have been joined by Lt. Michael Badilino, who are unable to fire at the crowd of people who are obviously not in their right minds. The two uniformed cops are quickly overwhelmed by the insane rioters, and in order to save himself Badilino jumps into a nearby squad car and transforms into the demonic Vengeance!
Vengeance drives away most of the rioters with his blasts of hellfire, but three brave lunatics stand their ground to fight him as commanded by the radio voice that started the riot. Behind them, however, Vengeance's motorcycle surges forward and scatters them like bowling pins. Vengeance is then approached by Ghost Rider and John Blaze, reuniting the Spirits of Vengeance once more. Ghost Rider informs his partners that a radio broadcast is what triggered the riot, and while Vengeance and Blaze help on the streets Ghost Rider himself will try to stop the source of the insanity.
ANNOTATIONS
This mini-comic was the first in a series packaged with Toy Biz's line of Ghost Rider action figures. This issue came with the Vengeance figure.
There's really no place to fit this series into established continuity. It obviously takes place after "Siege of Darkness" and Ghost Rider # 50 (vol. 2), but the relationships between Ghost Rider, Blaze, and Vengeance certainly don't fit the characters at the time.
Vengeance first appeared as an enemy of Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance # 9 but eventually switched sides in Ghost Rider # 43 (vol. 2).
A copy of this comic was donated to Vengeance Unbound by GR_Fan82 from the Superhero Hype forums. Thanks, GR_Fan!
REVIEW
Vengeance is the second character to get a spotlight in this series of mini-comics that were released with the Ghost Rider line of toys in 1995.
So we've been given the thinnest of plots - a supernatural force causing people to riot in Brooklyn - to justify introductions of each member of the Ghost Rider starring cast with each new issue. Not surprisingly, the second issue is given over to Vengeance, who was essentially the "extreme" version of Ghost Rider who wouldn't hesitate to kill his enemies while making a wry comment. Like with Venom a few years before, I understand why Vengeance was popular during this time (though I still say he was far more interesting and successful as a villain than an anti-hero, which only served to make a weak sauce Ghost Rider clone), and I can imagine he would similarly be a popular character in the toy line. For boys who thought Ghost Rider looked cool, and even scarier looking demon biker should have been an easy sell.
Chris Cooper is still the writer as in the first issue, but the art chores have changed to artist Jim Craig, who had previously penciled other giveaway comics a year or so before (the Spider: Trial of Venom and Hulk/Venom one-shots). His work is not dissimilar to last issue's artist, Paris Karounos, so there's a smooth transition from part 1 to part 2. The colorist gets Badilino's hair color wrong, making it light brown instead of black, but there's not much else to complain about in the art.
Unfortunately, this story does little more than show Vengeance off as yet another flaming skeleton on a motorbike. It almost hurts Ghost Rider himself, because the character is no longer unique. But this is an inoffensive comic, it does what it needs to do in its 6 pages.
Grade: C+
Ghost Rider Special Edition # 2
Published: 1995
Original Price: N/A
Cover: Karl Kerschl
Title: "Vengeance"
Writer: Chris Cooper
Artist: Jim Craig
Inker: Randy Emberlin
Letterer: Jimmy Novak
Colorist: Jim Hoston
Editor: Glenn Herdling