Ghost Rider: Vengeance Unbound

GHOST RIDER # 13 (volume 1)

SYNOPSIS
Following the departure of the Phantom Eagle, the Ghost Rider is left with the mourning grandson of the Eagle's last victim. Joel sees the Ghost Rider's flaming skull, but before he can freak out Blaze transforms back into his normal body. This confuses Johnny, who's used to turning into the Ghost Rider every night, all night. He thinks back to his recent ordeals and believes that he's finally freed himself from Satan's influence and that his curse is over. Realizing that he's broke, Johnny decides to go to Hollywood to take the Stunt-Master up on his job offer.

Two days later, Blaze arrives in the Los Angeles television studio that houses the Stunt-Master TV show. He finds the Stunt-Master, who introduces him to director Coot Collier, stunt-woman Katy Milner, and the show's co-star Karen Page. Blaze is hired on the spot as the new stunt-man, but before any filming could start Karen is grabbed by the Trapster on his flying disc. The Trapster mentions that there's a million dollar bounty on Karen's head, and he means to collect.

Blaze gives chase on his motorcycle, but to his surprise he transforms into the Ghost Rider. He chases the Trapster to a studio back lot filled with prop replicas of famous landmarks, where he forces the villain to crash his flying vehicle. Trapster immediately goes on the attack against the Ghost Rider, throwing every weapon he can against the demon, while Karen recognizes the Ghost Rider as being Johnny. Blaze weathers the assault, but Trapster gets the upper hand with his gravity intensifier weapon. Johnny lets loose one last blast of hellfire, which strikes Trapster's anti-gravity disc on his chest, causing the villain to fly away uncontrollably. Blaze turns back to normal once the Trapster is gone, leading him to believe that he's now turning into Ghost Rider whenever there's danger around. Johnny frees Karen from the paste that's holding her captive, and she gives him a reward kiss for saving her.

ANNOTATIONS
This is the start of Johnny Blaze's Hollywood career, which lasts until Ghost Rider # 26 (vol. 1). Blaze met the Stunt-Master in Ghost Rider # 7 (vol. 1).

The person behind the bounty on Karen Page is revealed in Ghost Rider # 19 (vol. 1).

REVIEW
It's the start of a new status quo as Ghost Rider goes full-on superhero! We've got an established Marvel supervillain, new supporting cast, a new location, and even a change in Ghost Rider himself. In other words, things are going to be really different from here on out.

"You've Got a Second Chance, Johnny Blaze!" is an apt title in more ways than one, because for a lot of readers who preferred superheroics over supernatural horror this IS the title's second chance at finding an audience. It helped the book considerably when Satan was dropped, and this new status quo is necessary for breathing new life into the character. Most importantly, writer Tony Isabella immediately seems more at-home with this direction versus the horror angle. The man can write some good superhero stories, that's for sure. In fact, other than this really weird narrative bit about Efrem Zimbalist Jr., I can't find anything about this issue that I truly dislike.

But does he go too far with this issue? I don't have much of an issue with the Trapster as his choice of villain, but what's the deal with adding Karen Page to the cast? She was a long-standing supporting character over in Daredevil's title, and it seems that she doesn't have much reason for being here. She was on the West Coast, had become an actress, but I'm not sure what kind of relationship she might have had with Stunt-Master in Daredevil (where Stunt-Master first appeared). What's obvious, though, is the intended role that Karen's going to serve in this series: she's the damsel-in-distress, taking the place that Roxanne Simpson had so meekly held in the book so far.

Another big step toward making this more of an action title over a horror one is the change in Ghost Rider's transformation. When the book was steeped in supernatural stuff, the "turning into Ghost Rider every night" bit was appropriate, it helped to show that he was a cursed man instead of a hero. But now that Blaze is a superhero, he needed a way to fight baddies during the day; so now he turns into Ghost Rider whenever he "senses danger", which is fairly nebulous but whatever. Isabella tries to explain this change by invoking "the Friend" and the last few Ghost Rider stories, but it doesn't really work as a logical explanation for me.

On the artistic side of things, the new penciller of this new direction is one of my favorite Bronze Age artists, George Tuska! Unfortunately, his work on this issue is a mixed bag. The man excels at drawing action sequences, but there's something really off about the way he draws Ghost Rider's skull; even stranger, he draws Ghost Rider's flames as if it's hair. My problems with the art could possibly be attributed to inker Vince Colletta, whose finishes seem to bring out the worst in Tuska's pencils. Still, they could have done a lot worse for a new artist for the book's change in status quo.

This really was an example of the oft-reference "things will never be the same!" mantra that comic companies trot out on a regular basis. It's a good start to the new superhero Johnny Blaze, and suddenly there's life in this book once again. Good stuff, for the most part.