u/keelay_twin1

Was finally able to add this crown jewel to my comic collection 😍

Blaze could have been a kickass hellboy/John Constantine figure post Zarathos. Street level, and with holdover powers from his soul remaining tethered to Zarathos (sensing evil, hellfire channeling, etc).

Even as I write this I am conflicted about it but as I revisit the comics of my 90s youth and the original series (1973-1983) I can't help but feel like there was a missed opportunity with Johnny Blaze. I love JB. He is my favorite rider and something about the evergreen stunt cyclist supreme as the Ghost Rider is comforting.

But when I look back and think how cool it might have been to have him continue as a rough-around the edges, occult hunter, aging as a true relic of his time it just feels like Ghost Rider as a BOOK could have been free to give Ketch real stories and arcs and let Robbie have a real crack at the mantle.

Right now it feels like all the books try and split genres, one up each other, or redefine the book, splintering the lore. All while simultaneously preserving the status quo.
But Johnny unlike SO many characters got a real ending in 1983 and as much as I love him as GR, there was a chance to have that mean something long term in the main 616 universe while still giving him a more niche horror-mag book. Cause let's be honest, Ghost Rider isn't the same without the OG.

In issue #20, completing a several issue saga with Daredevil we get one of the first showings of Zarathos revealing himself. While #26 shows Johnny's wrath and vengeance getting fired up beyond his normal character, this panel shows some passing dialogue that strikes the reader as clearly (to my mind) not Johnny. What was once his "spook act" has become a distinct voice that clashes with Johnny's personality (at this time he was in a love triangle with Roxy and Karen Page).

Looking back on the original series, knowing what would become canon about the demon tethered to JB's soul, it is so much fun to spy out the clues that, now in retrospect, point towards the ego of the demon who would be named Zarathos in the years to come.

Writer / Editor: Marv Wolfman

Penciler / Inker: John Byrne and Don Perlin

Cover Artists: Gil Kane and Klaus Janson

At long last I've completed the combo trials and unlocked the Zarathos colors!

A Doom Named Doctor Druid was the first time we got the distinct sense that the Ghost Rider spirit was beginning to change Johnny. It ramped up his rage, his thirst for vengeance, and it is chilling. From the Ghost Writers later in the back of #28:

"This issue gave me chills." "I have read and re read this issue so many times my mag is starting to show wear." "...I have never been so affected by a comic book."

#26 shook the humble nerds of 1977 with one of the most memorable stories of old Bone-Dome yet put to print. Not only did we see The Ghost Rider nearly murder an innocent man (Roger Cross), whose only crime was sweeping Roxy off her feet, but we saw Johnny lose his place, job, and mortal purpose as a stunt man in Hollywood's Delazney studios.

This heartbreaking loss, not the first and certainly not the last, combined with the creeping evil of the SoV sparked in #26 was the first stone in an avalanche that would go on to define the character and makes it a distinct issue in the original run.

Written by Jim Shooter, art by (legendary) Don Perlin & Sam Grainger. Cover art by George Perez.

This is the first time where the Ghost Rider mentions his thirst for vengeance and that word is used specifically as a driving motivator for the demon possessing JB.

In this final page, Ghost Rider has caught up with the millionare, villain-wannabe "Malice" and gives him a taste of his hellfire which burns the soul (another recent feature of his powers). This was the start of the possessing spirit showing more agency and it's power over Blaze's will begins to grow rapidly after this sensational issue.

Written by Jim Shooter, penciled by Don Heck, inked by Tony DeZuniga, and featured a classic cover by Gil Kane and Steve Leialoha.

I absolutely love the wacky middle transformation drawings from the original run 🤣

Howdy fellow flame-heads!

Kevin Feige mentioned that Ryan Gosling approached him with a pitch for Ghost Rider and wanted to adapt a specific book for the film.

While favorite series may vary, and the jury is still out on which version of the character we will see or how it will be interpreted; which book do you hope they use as the framework for the new MCU Ghost Rider's introductory movie?

Personally, I have a soft spot for Daniel Way's run with Mark Texeira's art starting in 2006. If they could find a way to put Johnny's origin taking place in the 70s and have him escape hell into the contemporary MCU to try and hunt down Lucifer (but probably Mephisto) in 666 corporeal forms, it's just such a cool story with so much going for it.

Perhaps the big "you're an angel Johnny" reveal is too much to cram in as well but that series was so impactful to me as a high school comic nerd and remains one of my all-time favorite stories for Blaze.

What do you think? What book or series is your hope to see adapted?