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Ghost Rider 1: Danny Ketch

1 rating: 4.0
Comic Book/Graphic Novel

Ghost Rider (Daniel "Danny" Ketch) is a comic book character, a supernatural superhero in Marvel Comics' main shared universe. He is the third Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom … see full wiki

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Ghost Rider 1: Danny Ketch. - The spirit of vengeance rides again.

  • Jun 19, 2011
Rating:
+4
While hanging out in a cemetery, Danny Ketch along with his sister Barbara stumbles on a transaction between two gangs concerning a briefcase. Chaos ensues and Barbara is hit in the chest with an arrow, which leaves her severely wounded. Running for his life with Barbara in his hands bleeding profusely, Danny comes upon a motorcycle with a glowing emblem. Once he touches it, Danny is transformed into the Spirit of vengeance Ghost Rider.-summary

Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Classic is a trade paperback which reprints the first 10 issues of Ghost Rider Volume 2. The series was written by Howard Mackie, with artwork done by Javier Saltares & Mark Texeira with Jimmy Palmiotti. The series follows Ghost Rider as he avenges the innocents who are lost and defends the weak. Ghost Rider is similar to both Punisher and Wolverine. He's a dark character who will use lethal force on his enemies whenever necessary, but he's not as lethal as the Punisher though.

Ghost Rider has the appearance of a demon, and he's literally hell on wheels. His head is a flaming skull, and he's dressed in modern biker garments. His motorcycle has an advanced technology look with flaming wheels and it's capable of superhuman feet, such as climbing walls, riding on water, and can reach incredible speeds while leaving a flaming trail. He possesses super strength, speed, agility, and a bikers chain with several abilities. However, his most fearsome ability is the "penance stare". Ghost Rider uses this technique by staring in the eyes of his wicked victims, and forcing them to withstand all of the suffering they inflicted on others a thousand fold. In short, he's a badass that means business.

The dark stories compliments Ghost Rider's character, and his rogues gallery is made up of very twisted and merciless individuals. They're murderers who seem to have no boundaries, because killing women and babies are not above them.

The first four stories are made up of a single arc. Ghost Rider thrusts himself in the middle of a gang war that is being fought by the wealthy crimelords, Kingpin and Deathwatch. There is very little info given about Deathwatch, except that he doesn't hesitate to kill anyone including his own men. One of his abilities is to read people's recent memories, by drilling his fingers into their skulls. Another villain by the name of Blackout, who has an ability to shut off any light source when he comes within range, proves himself to be a vicious enemy, thus, becoming Ghost Rider's major enemy rather quickly.

After the arc, the stories for the most part follow a stand alone format, with only one very entertaining two-parter featuring the Punisher. When I first read these stories, I couldn't think of a better alliance, because these two kind of felt like kindred spirits. Ghost Rider also battles against the Scarecrow from the pages of Captain America. He's a villain who appears to suffer from some type of dementia, and he's also a very vicious killer. Unfortunately, the greatness doesn't continue and a few of the later stories come off too bland. The series begins to lose quite a bit of steam heading to the end.

The artwork is average even for that time, especially when compared to X-Men and The Amazing Spider-Man comics. It really doesn't have the same great amount of detail. The outlines appear to be a little too dark. Perhaps, this was meant to mesh with the content. If this is the case, then it does provide a gritty and dark feel, but it's not exactly to my taste. The action panels at times can be very violent, but several murders are left up to the imagination. Even though the kills can be violent, I still think the gore isn't over the top.

The series doesn't pull many punches in the style department that's for sure, but there is a reasonable amount of substance. Danny Ketch is well developed; he retains his memories as Ghost Rider, and he often struggles with himself, by pondering on if that type of power is for him or not. He displays many different sides of his personality, and I think he's a character some will be able to relate to.

In closing, I'm very happy that Ghost Rider is getting the paperback treatment. I remember a vast amount of the stories being very entertaining, and I think they get a lot better after this point. I'll be looking out for future releases, and I highly recommend this to fans of comics. This will also be great for those who hated the live action movie. The book is 246 pages.

Pros:
-Very cool character
-Villains
-Stories and action

Cons:
-Last couple of stories are pretty weak

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June 27, 2011
Never been interested in this one for some reason. Your review makes me want to try it out. Nicely done!
June 28, 2011
I hear you there. Ghost Rider was never really mainstream enough, and only serious Marvel heads were up on him. And Nicholas Cage garbage portrayal of the character didn't really help at all, and I'm so damn steamed he's coming back in the sequel.
June 28, 2011
Yeah, the thought of it was really spoiled by the Cage film...and I didn't even see it! Just the previews alone.. (eye roll)
June 28, 2011
No need to scar yourself with that POS.
June 28, 2011
Thanks for the invaluable advice and warning! Did you ever write a review on it?
June 28, 2011
I actually planned on doing it recently, but decided to watch something much better. I'll get around to it before the sequel drops in 2012.
June 29, 2011
A sequel? Please! LOL! Well, look forward to it when you drop it out.
 
June 25, 2011
Yeah man, I need to reread all my Ghost Rider now.
June 25, 2011
I'll like to see what you have to say about them.
 
June 20, 2011
Love the first two volumes of Ghost Rider. I can't say I've read much since the mid to late '90s, but old flamehead is still my favorite character. Awesome job on this one!
June 21, 2011
Thanks. Can't say he's a top favorite, but he could make my top 25 possibly.
 
June 20, 2011
Dan Ketch as the Ghost Rider became hugely awesome in the Midnight Sons story arcs and the ones with Blackout. Kubert does have a different style all his own. Nice review!
June 21, 2011
Thanks. I loved the battles with Blackout, and Deathwatch also.
 
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