Ghost Rider #39 (1993)
"Vengeance is Mine"
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artist: Ron Garney

Ashamed to admit it, but I actually purchased this book at full cover price in the summer of 1993. About a year earlier, I had stopped reading comics when I went off to Fort Collins to attend CSU. While in Fort Collins I had no car and no job. My spending money was tight and the little surplus cash I did have was spent on countless used heavy metal tapes at the music store next to my dorm. I would try to occassionally take the bus down to comic shop at the Foothills Fashion Mall, but that felt incredibly weird.

I finally got a job and a car over the Xmas break, but by that time I missed a good chunk of changes and modifications in the comics world. Superman died, new characters and new titles were being generated like sea monkeys and cover prices were jumping. I tried to make weekly trips to the shop, but all the changes were overwhelming. So I spent the next four or five months trying to sample old favorites and catch up on what I had missed. I was desperately trying to get back into comics...enjoyable comics, that is...and having a tough time finding one.

Around June of 93 my sampling led me to Ghost Rider. I picked this up because the cover featured Ghost Rider facing what looked like an "anti-Ghost Rider". That is, the typical arch enemy with similar powers, who's the complete moral opposite of the hero. Flash and Professor Zoom. Spider-Man and Venom. Iron Man and Crimson Dynamo. I've always been a sucker for that sorta' thing. Last I could recall, Ghost Rider didn't have the moral opposite, so it seemed like a neat idea.

Mephisto and his droopy nips

But this issue became the polar opposite of what I was looking for. The Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch, is hiding out with a buncha' rejects from Johnny Blaze's old circus. Blaze is there, too, with several editorial asterisks telling us to check out his title. Old evil demonic standby villain Mephisto was apparently ticked off at our heroes and sent his new agent, Vengeance, to off them. Vengeance is sorta' like Ghost Rider on steroids. He has bigger spikes, more flames, a sharper skull and presumably a louder motorcycle! This skull's pretty funny, as it resembles a flaming yak head. Sorta' makes him look like Motorhead's mascot. Vengeance also has his ribs sticking outside of his jacket. Not sure how he managed that trick.

Anyways, the story opens with the newly created Vengeance killing some street punks. See, he's EXTREME! Vengeance is then told by Mephisto to track down some bloke named "Care Taker" -- an oldster who attends the cemetery where Danny Ketch received his Ghost Rider powers. I suppose the names "Gravedigger" and "Undertaker" were already in use and "Guy Who Guards The Cemetery" was too long, so they settled on "Caretaker". Caretaker's there, sneaking up on Ketch's mommy, talking about some vague prophecy involving the Ketch siblings and the death of Danny's sister. That's a sign that your sci-fi or comic book story sucks; if it has allusions to a half-assed "prophecy", "chosen one", and "things will all make sense in due time". 95% of the time, "things" don't make sense and it's just a ploy to string readers along for a half-assed "explanation". You can also throw in references to a long-lost or deceased family member.

Right..back to it. Caretaker and Vengeance go a few rounds at the cemetery, while Danny Ketch runs to a groecry store. Yeah....drama; send the hero out for a food run. At the grocery store, Ketch witnesses a robbery and transforms into Ghost Rider...without his motorcycle. I thought that was Ghost Rider's gimmick....he would only turn into GR when "innocent blood was spilled" and then by touching the Magic Gas Cap on his bike. Vengeance soon shows up at the grocery store, dragging Caretaker from his bike. Fisticuffs ensue with lots of streaky artwork. I noticed that Ghost Rider and Venegance both have their own color-coded word ballons with signature flames around the edges. Neato. I had always thought that the Vision was cool with his yellow-tinted robotic word balloons, but he's got nothing on these two dudes.

During the fight, Ghost Rider and Blaze manage to get away after Caretaker sacrifices himself. I'm sure Caretaker came back, though, since he was shown to have all sorts of mystical powers and shit. Blaze shows up, for added effect. More allusions to vague prophecies are made as the story ends. Ghost Rider never got his groceries, though.

I was looking for a good old-fashioned super hero yarn, but walked into a crappy late night B-movie. I could surmise that Mephisto was after Ghost Rider, but couldn't figure out who all the characters were. Blaze and Ghost Rider are hiding about 8 circus rejects, who all look like leftovers from the X-men's Morlocks. One looks like a cuddly combo of Sabretooth and Puck. Another is a blnde chic with no eyes. As the Near Omnipotent Wise Person, Caretaker isn't an interesting character at all. I also wasn't abel to figure out who Vengeance was. I figured he was some street bloke, possessed by Mephisto to be his flunky, but that must have been explained in the previous issues. Mephisto's appearance isn't his traditional Gene Simmons look, either. But he's a freakin' demon..he can do what he wants. He appears like a bloated, pot-bellied two-legged crow...with a loincloth of course. All extra-dimensional demons or monster MUST wear a loincloth or underwear. It's in the rules of comics.

"Steek around, Vengeance"

Another artistic rule exists; as both Ghost Rider and Vengeace can not be shown with their mouths closed. At all times, both must have their jaw hanging open, with lots of flaming saliva spewing! Overall, the art feels likes it has a red "sock" over everything. Pop open Photoshop and make an "Overlay" layer on top of any image. Fill the Overal layer with blood red and you've got the tinted color scheme of Ghost Rider #39!

After reading this issue, I never felt compelled to buy another Ghost Rider comic. It felt like walking into the middle of movie, but this movie didn't look too promising. I don't believe the alledged "Ghost Rider Prophecy" ever made it to any comic fan's list of "must owns". Kinda' sucked when I ended up owning THIS, after a year of nomadic comic reading.

Summary: Ghost Rider goes out for groceries. Fights guy with flaming yak skull.
Cover price: 1.75
Rating: .12

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