Ghost Rider: Vengeance Unbound

GHOST RIDER ANNUAL # 1 (volume 2)

SYNOPSIS
In an anonymous bar, a stranger with red eyes enters and begins to strike up conversation with several of the patrons. When a girl rebukes his advances, he begins to slaughter everyone in the bar. The stranger then reveals his true form, that of one of the many hosts of Lucifer. After he viciously kills everyone in the bar, he approaches the last living person, who he recognizes as Mr. Eleven. Eleven tries to make a deal with Lucifer to meet Johnny Blaze, but Lucifer tells him not to get involved. Lucifer then decapitates Mr. Eleven and leaves the bar. Eleven then possesses the body of the bartender, healing his wounds and taking his body for himself. Mr. Eleven jumps on a motorcycle outside the bar and follows Lucifer's trail, reminiscing on his past as he rides. He was there when Jesus was crucified in Gethsemane, and since then has been an agent for both Heaven and Hell. But now Hell is angry with him and Heaven has gone dangerously silent.

Mr. Eleven arrives at an abandoned county carnival, where he finds Lucifer and the Ghost Rider having a duel on their motorcycles. Lucifer tries to taunt Blaze, but realizes that the Spirit of Vengeance is in the driver's seat for this fight. Mr. Eleven watches as the two continue their vicious brawl. Lucifer picks up a bumper car and animates it, driving its spear-tipped mass at the fallen Rider. Mr. Eleven makes his move, sacrificing himself to save Blaze by jumping in front of the car and getting impaled. Enraged, the Rider destroys the Lucifer host and attends to the dying Mr. Eleven, who tells Blaze that he needed him alive to find out who he really is. The Rider gives Eleven his Penance Stare, which reveals his true face as being both a demon and an angel. Too many years undercover for both sides has confused his true identity. As he dies, Eleven tells Blaze that "heaven deserves your wrath far more than hell." Blaze walks off, mourning the man who sacrificed himself to save him, unaware that Eleven's plan was simply to con Johnny into trusting him. Eleven then jumps into the body of a nearby bird and flies off, promising that Blaze will see him again.

ANNOTATIONS
This story takes place between Ghost Rider # 13 (vol. 5) and Ghost Rider # 14 (vol. 5).

Lucifer's plan to invade Earth by inhabiting the bodies of the recently deceased was revealed in Ghost Rider # 4 (vol. 5).

The explanation for Mr. Eleven's cryptic comments about Heaven deserving Blaze's wrath far more than Hell is given in Ghost Rider # 18 (vol. 5).

This issue was reprinted in the Ghost Rider: Apocalypse Soon trade paperback.

REVIEW
I've been a fan of Stuart Moore since his run on Firestorm from DC Comics a few years ago, and its been my experience that seeing his name attached to a project is a sign that it at least has the potential to be quite good. So, naturally, I was happy to see him as the writer on the new Ghost Rider Annual one-shot, but the result is something of...well, a mixed-bag, I suppose.

While this issue continues the ongoing feud between Blaze and Lucifer that's taken up the majority of the regular Ghost Rider series, the real purpose here is to introduce the mysterious Mr. Eleven as a new villain for the series. That, alone, strikes me as odd; here we have a guest-writer introducing what appears to be a major new antagonist for Ghost Rider when neither former writer Daniel Way or current writer Jason Aaron seem to have any plans for him. Unless Moore himself comes back to write the follow-up (which seems unlikely, since 2008's Ghost Rider Annual is being written by Simon Spurrier), Mr. Eleven will most likely disappear into the limbo of forgotten comic characters. Like I said, that seems odd.

Regardless, on its own merits this issue doesn't quite gel, and the problem is all in the pacing. We're given a decidedly protracted introduction to this issue's Lucifer host that lasts a staggering 13 pages, and it's another 6 pages of Mr. Eleven's background before Ghost Rider himself makes an appearance. Yes, yes, we all know that Lucifer's hosts are evil and mean (though that's a problem in itself that falls on Way's shoulders: Lucifer is evil solely because he does random arbitrary acts of murder with no purpose, something I'll talk about in a later review), but do we really need that many pages to hammer the idea home? I understand that Moore is trying to give his canon-fodder characters a bit of personality before they're killed, and that's commendable, but it just strikes me as wasted space and filler material because the writer had nothing else to justify the extended page count of the special.

Then we have Mr. Eleven himself, a sort of con-artist/double-agent type that's been playing Heaven and Hell off of one another for so many centuries that he doesn't remember who he actually is or where he comes from. I rather like Eleven and the way he looks at situations like a master chess player, setting up his manipulations three steps ahead of everyone else. He doesn't care a whit about saving Blaze's life other than he might need the Ghost Rider on his side in the future. By faking his death at the story's end, he's assured Blaze's loyalty, and it's a brilliant move. I hope my thoughts about him being forgotten are incorrect, because I'd like to see Mr. Eleven re-appear during Jason Aaron's run on the series.

The artwork for this issue comes courtesy of Ben Oliver, who in the past has produced some beautiful work on Authority: Human on the Inside and Vigilante for DC Comics and Ultimate X-Men for Marvel. He's a very talented artist with a very distinct style, clean and smooth. But, therein lies the problem: his work, as gorgeous as it may be, is too clean and smooth for a character like Ghost Rider, who lives and dies by his horrific visuals. His work lacks the grittiness that's necessary for the story, but still turns in a serviceable job. By no means is the artwork bad, just unsuitable.

So, yeah, the Annual seems to be little more than a filler story that promises more than it can honestly fulfill. Thankfully, there's at least some good ideas behind it.

Grade: B-

VENGEANCE UNBOUND
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GHOST RIDER ANNUAL # 1 (volume 2) SYNOPSIS In an anonymous bar, a stranger with red eyes enters and begins to strike up conversation with several of the patrons. When a girl rebukes his advances, he begins to slaughter everyone in the bar. The stranger then reveals his true form, that of one of the many hosts of Lucifer. After he viciously kills everyone in the bar, he approaches the last living person, who he recognizes as Mr. Eleven. Eleven tries to make a deal with Lucifer to meet Johnny Blaze, but Lucifer tells him not to get involved. Lucifer then decapitates Mr. Eleven and leaves the bar. Eleven then possesses the body of the bartender, healing his wounds and taking his body for himself. Mr. Eleven jumps on a motorcycle outside the bar and follows Lucifer's trail, reminiscing on his past as he rides. He was there when Jesus was crucified in Gethsemane, and since then has been an agent for both Heaven and Hell. But now Hell is angry with him and Heaven has gone dangerously silent. Mr. Eleven arrives at an abandoned county carnival, where he finds Lucifer and the Ghost Rider having a duel on their motorcycles. Lucifer tries to taunt Blaze, but realizes that the Spirit of Vengeance is in the driver's seat for this fight. Mr. Eleven watches as the two continue their vicious brawl. Lucifer picks up a bumper car and animates it, driving its spear-tipped mass at the fallen Rider. Mr. Eleven makes his move, sacrificing himself to save Blaze by jumping in front of the car and getting impaled. Enraged, the Rider destroys the Lucifer host and attends to the dying Mr. Eleven, who tells Blaze that he needed him alive to find out who he really is. The Rider gives Eleven his Penance Stare, which reveals his true face as being both a demon and an angel. Too many years undercover for both sides has confused his true identity. As he dies, Eleven tells Blaze that "heaven deserves your wrath far more than hell." Blaze walks off, mourning the man who sacrificed himself to save him, unaware that Eleven's plan was simply to con Johnny into trusting him. Eleven then jumps into the body of a nearby bird and flies off, promising that Blaze will see him again. ANNOTATIONS This story takes place between Ghost Rider # 13 (vol. 5) and Ghost Rider # 14 (vol. 5). Lucifer's plan to invade Earth by inhabiting the bodies of the recently deceased was revealed in Ghost Rider # 4 (vol. 5). The explanation for Mr. Eleven's cryptic comments about Heaven deserving Blaze's wrath far more than Hell is given in Ghost Rider # 18 (vol. 5). This issue was reprinted in the Ghost Rider: Apocalypse Soon trade paperback. REVIEW I've been a fan of Stuart Moore since his run on Firestorm from DC Comics a few years ago, and its been my experience that seeing his name attached to a project is a sign that it at least has the potential to be quite good. So, naturally, I was happy to see him as the writer on the new Ghost Rider Annual one-shot, but the result is something of...well, a mixed-bag, I suppose. While this issue continues the ongoing feud between Blaze and Lucifer that's taken up the majority of the regular Ghost Rider series, the real purpose here is to introduce the mysterious Mr. Eleven as a new villain for the series. That, alone, strikes me as odd; here we have a guest-writer introducing what appears to be a major new antagonist for Ghost Rider when neither former writer Daniel Way or current writer Jason Aaron seem to have any plans for him. Unless Moore himself comes back to write the follow-up (which seems unlikely, since 2008's Ghost Rider Annual is being written by Simon Spurrier), Mr. Eleven will most likely disappear into the limbo of forgotten comic characters. Like I said, that seems odd. Regardless, on its own merits this issue doesn't quite gel, and the problem is all in the pacing. We're given a decidedly protracted introduction to this issue's Lucifer host that lasts a staggering 13 pages, and it's another 6 pages of Mr. Eleven's background before Ghost Rider himself makes an appearance. Yes, yes, we all know that Lucifer's hosts are evil and mean (though that's a problem in itself that falls on Way's shoulders: Lucifer is evil solely because he does random arbitrary acts of murder with no purpose, something I'll talk about in a later review), but do we really need that many pages to hammer the idea home? I understand that Moore is trying to give his canon-fodder characters a bit of personality before they're killed, and that's commendable, but it just strikes me as wasted space and filler material because the writer had nothing else to justify the extended page count of the special. Then we have Mr. Eleven himself, a sort of con-artist/double-agent type that's been playing Heaven and Hell off of one another for so many centuries that he doesn't remember who he actually is or where he comes from. I rather like Eleven and the way he looks at situations like a master chess player, setting up his manipulations three steps ahead of everyone else. He doesn't care a whit about saving Blaze's life other than he might need the Ghost Rider on his side in the future. By faking his death at the story's end, he's assured Blaze's loyalty, and it's a brilliant move. I hope my thoughts about him being forgotten are incorrect, because I'd like to see Mr. Eleven re-appear during Jason Aaron's run on the series. The artwork for this issue comes courtesy of Ben Oliver, who in the past has produced some beautiful work on Authority: Human on the Inside and Vigilante for DC Comics and Ultimate X-Men for Marvel. He's a very talented artist with a very distinct style, clean and smooth. But, therein lies the problem: his work, as gorgeous as it may be, is too clean and smooth for a character like Ghost Rider, who lives and dies by his horrific visuals. His work lacks the grittiness that's necessary for the story, but still turns in a serviceable job. By no means is the artwork bad, just unsuitable. So, yeah, the Annual seems to be little more than a filler story that promises more than it can honestly fulfill. Thankfully, there's at least some good ideas behind it. Grade: B-	Ghost Rider Annual # 1 (volume 2) Published: Jan. 2008 Original Price: $3.99 Cover: Ben Oliver Title: "The Eleventh Hour" Writer: Stuart Moore Artist: Ben Oliver Letterer: Joe Caramagna Colorist: Jose Villarrubia Asst. Editor: Aubrey Sitterson Editor: Axel Alonso Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada