GHOST RIDER # 35 (volume 1)
SYNOPSIS
As he rides down a Utah highway, the Ghost Rider thinks back to a time when his curse was less consuming; back to a time when Johnny Blaze was a newly-hired stuntman for the Stuntmaster television show...
Johnny rides through the desert, only to find himself transforming into the Ghost Rider. He questions why, since he only transforms when danger is near, but then sees a storm forming rapidly overhead. He then sees a man standing directly in the middle of the road, causing Blaze to brake as hard as he can to keep from running him over. The skull-headed biker in black greets the Ghost Rider, saying that he is the reason he rides that absurd motorcycle, the reason he risks his life in insane stunts...he is Death, who tells him that he has devised an appropriate challenge for the Ghost Rider. The two shall race three times, with three prizes for the winner. Slowly it dawns on Johnny that the creature in front of him truly is the specter of death, and that all of this really is happening.
Death's first challenge is a street race; five miles down the road is a lone cyclist named Richie Petrillo, both the destination and prize. If Blaze reaches him first, he will live...if not, then the innocent man will die. The two inhuman bikers race toward the unsuspecting man, but Death pulls ahead at the last minute to touch Petrillo as he passes. Within moments, the man is dead and Death is the victor. Blaze declares that "Death Ryder" has cheated the man out of his entire life, but Death replies that there is no cheating in their game and that anything goes. Johnny then tries to quit the contest, but Death explains that if he does so then he will forfeit his life.
The second race is a cross-country drive, where Death's extra power will matter little. The goal is a little girl named Anna Devere, four miles north and lost, searching for her parents. The two cyclists start their race, and neither gains an inch on the other as they approach the doomed girl. At the last moment, Johnny tries a daring stunt where he jumps over Death and dives to save the girl, sparing her life but wrecking his bike.
Once his bike is checked out and ready to ride, Death tells him the final race is for Blaze's own life. If he reaches the distant mountain peak first without Death touching him, he will win and live. Blaze decides he's had enough of the game and blasts Death with hellfire, only to find that it didn't affect his foe at all. Blaze takes off with Death close behind, unable to shake his pursuer. Finally, Johnny realizes that Death himself said "anything goes" in the race, and does something he would never do against a human...he cheats and kicks the "Death Ryder's" front tire, causing him to crash all the way down the jagged mountain cliffs. Blaze watches the fire consume his foe, content that the challenge is over...for now. He knows, however, that Death will continue to dog his tracks in one form or another.
ANNOTATIONS
This issue takes place between Ghost Rider # 13 (vol. 1) and Ghost Rider # 14 (vol. 1). At this time, Johnny transformed into the Ghost Rider whenever there was danger to himself or others, and he also retained full control of his demonic form.
Johnny left Delazny Studios and his job as a stuntman in Ghost Rider # 26 (vol. 1).
This issue was reprinted in the Ghost Rider: Highway to Hell special, Ghost Rider Annual # 2 (vol. 2), and Essential Ghost Rider vol. 2.
This issue came in at # 9 on the Top Ten Ghost Rider Comics of All-Time list!
REVIEW
"Deathrace!" is fairly unique amongst the 70's Ghost Rider series, and it all comes down to one man's name in the credits: Jim Starlin. In the 1970s, Starlin was hailed as one of Marvel's best creators, who came on books such as Captain Marvel and Warlock and turned them from mediocre sci-fi books into sweeping cosmic epics that were as intelligent as they were exciting. A truly ground-breaking creator, I can imagine that readers were stunned when he came on board to write and draw what is essentially a fill-in issue of a lower-tiered book like Ghost Rider.
And of such talent is Starlin that he's able to take an arguably cheesy concept like "biker races Death for his life" and transform it into one of the better Ghost Rider stories of this period. Even though the cheese-factor still remains in the "Death Ryder" name that Blaze gives his opponent, the story is as straight-forward and scary as it should be. Johnny is probably the best stunt-cyclist in the world, but what good are his daredevil feats against a being that can't fear death because it IS death?
Of course, Blaze is also pitted against a foe he can't beat no matter how hard he tries...which is why I love this issue's ending as much as I do. There is no conceivable way that Johnny can win the race for his life; he knows it and Death certainly knows it. So he does something that is perfectly in character for him: he CHEATS. Through use of his cycle skill, Johnny has cheated death at every daredevil turn...so it's appropriate that he literally cheats death in this race. Of course, had this been a hero such as Captain America, Death would have won...but Johnny may have a hero's heart, but he certainly doesn't play by hero rules, and thusly saves his own life by playing unfairly.
One part of this story that I'm torn over, however, is the decision to set it several months in the past. While I generally despise "flashback issues" that show "unrevealed adventures of the past", I can understand why Starlin chose to do so. For one, it deprives the Ghost Rider of his hellfire cycle, making it a contest not of supernatural speed but of Blaze's own skill. But more importantly, using the Ghost Rider of the present - the wild, uncontrollable spirit of vengeance - would not have allowed Starlin to utilize Johnny himself in the story. By this point, Blaze and the Ghost Rider were already becoming two separate entities, and by setting the tale in the past Starlin is able to truly make Blaze the central character instead of just an unwilling human host for a demon.
Starlin's artwork also delivers, crafting a menacing atmosphere for the story. The "Death Ryder" is terrifying from his first moment on-panel, and Starlin also changes his style on the Ghost Rider himself when the story changes from the present to the past. Compare the hellish demon on page 1 with the more human-looking Ghost Rider in the subsequent pages, complete with eyeballs a la the character's early appearances.
All in all, "Deathrace!" certainly lives up to its reputation as one of the best stories from the first Ghost Rider series. It might fetch a hefty price tag now, but I recommend that any fan of the series should add it to their collection.
Grade: A+
Ghost Rider # 35 (volume 1)
Published: April 1979
Original Price: $0.35
Cover: Bob Budiansky
Title: "Deathrace!"
Writer: Jim Starlin
Artist: Jim Starlin
Inker: Steve Leialoha
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Petra Goldberg
Editor: Roger Stern
Editor In Chief: Jim Shooter