Review by Ian Keogh
While very enjoyable in places, and far more of them are here than were in Book 1, Jason Aaron’s Ghost Rider has been diminished by what have seemed to be moments of plotting convenience. The most obvious of these has been the transformation of Danny Ketch, alternative Ghost Rider, from a hero into a deluded, but dangerous fool not taking on any evidence that his course is wrong. That changed personality makes a whole lot more sense after reading the five chapters of what in self-contained paperback was Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch – Addict.
It’s written by Simon Spurrier, not Aaron, but redefines Danny as the addict of the title, still undergoing painful withdrawal symptoms two years after his alterego was exorcised. What will he do to be Ghost Rider once again? It’s a clever plot with intriguing characters showing what seems to be a fall and rise arc, but actually displays how comprehensively Danny is played. He ends up convincingly the person participating in the main story, and it’s a joy to see Javier Saltares back on the character he introduced in the 1990s (sample spread left). Its absence from the Ghost Rider by Jason Aaron Omnibus weakens that collection.
That’s followed by three solo stories spotlighting Sara, the new Caretaker, Danny and Johnny Blaze, each with a different mood and all of them excellently illustrated by Tony Moore in a more naturalistic style than the collection’s other artists. Things looked bad at the end of Book 1, and Aaron uses three chapters to catch up on what the cast are doing following their acrimonious split. It bolsters both the people and the Ghost Rider mythos in general, enlarging on the idea of alternatives through time as introduced in the previous volume. Sara’s story combines history and tragedy, Danny takes part in a largely visual bike vs. truck contest, and Johnny samples a twisted version of Japanese culture. In slimmer paperback this was Trials and Tribulations.
The main event was originally published in paperback as Heaven on Fire, and it’s not what readers might expect considering what Aaron’s building toward. Instead of six slam-bang chapters of the cast invading heaven and taking on main foe Zadkiel, which Aaron saves for the finale, all sorts of new threats manifest. We’re introduced to the Antichrist, the Son of Satan, his girlfriend and a selection of Ghost Rider’s ridiculous old villains. Aaron can take this diversion because he’s already set up a clever solution to Zadkiel, so returns the tone to the grindhouse horror characterising his opening chapters.
Like them, these are drawn by Roland Boschi is his loose, impressionistic style (sample spread right), and he’s now recalibrated the size of Ghost Rider’s skull, which no longer looks so odd. This section is extremely violent, and Boschi doesn’t hold back the gruesome illustrations.
Online comments indicate Ghost Rider fans are generally keen on Aaron’s interpretation, and this collection provides almost all the best of it.
