And now, a special guest review from one of my favorite people, Aristides Iliopoulos! Aris is an artist, blogger, ranter, and all around comic book guy whose opinions I’ve valued for years. Hope you enjoy his thoughts, I know I did!
All-New Ghost Rider #1
Written by Felipe Smith
Art by Tradd Moore, Nelson Daniel, and Val Staples
I am going to start by saying I am long time fan of many the various incarnations of the character with a srious soft spot for the the 70’s Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider.So was eagerly awaiting this series since it was announced several months ago.I was even more excited to get my hands on the book when I heard and later saw pages from the artist Trad Moore. I had never heard of the writer Felipe Smith, and I could have sworn I read somewhere that Jason Aaron was going to be the writer…be that as it may, I love the character, loved the art on Luther Strode and was very excited to get my hands on this book.
Having read it I have to say it didn’t quite live up to my expectations…It’s kinda light on umpf and seems to be paced a little too fast as far as origins go these days. The book open on Robbie Reyes, a good big brother struggling in East L.A. to keep his wheelchair bound brother safe and get them out of the hell hole they are in. We don’t get a lot of backstory as to the reasons and whys Robbie and Gabe are where they are, but Smith quickly and cartoonishly gives us a clear vision of how bad they have it (cliche bullying and beat downs, and obligatory gun shots in the streets). Robbie Reyes decides to join a street race borrowing a muscle car from the auto shop he works at for a $50k pay day and the opportunity to get him and Gabe the hell out of there. His plan unravels, interrupted it seems by police copters and squad cars. He realizes he can afford to get caught and runs. The chase ends in a dramatic dead end where he is slain in cold blood by his pursuers, who we find were after the drugs in the trunk of the car. Set ablaze in the streets and left for dead, he is transformed into the new spirit of vengeance and sets off burning rubber into the night.
That’s pretty much all there is to it. Cliche in many ways, but effective and fun. Even if the language and dialogue is a little heavy handed and something you get from someone who may not know the culture and source material. But Like I said earlier, despite being fun..the pacing is waaaay too fast, there seems to be no attempt to really get you emotionally invested, and just seem to be dragged along for the ride. And to be honest I was kind of surprised there were no references to any past incarnations of the Ghost Rider. It would have helped I think, especially for older fans, and nicely tie generations of the character together or at least be some sort of easter egg.
I like the art tremendously. Cartoonish and stylized, but really fun to look at. But it may not be for everybody and I can certainly understand folks expecting to have a more “horror” oriented artist, with a darker tone be disappointed. I was not. Trad does great action and really fun expressions. There are times stylistic visual effects seem pointless, but overall the book is kinetic and internally consistent. The colors on the book are really well handled. I loved them.
A quick review on a light fun read I expected to be a little heavier. But certainly one I will be following. As a fan i need to know if this is the Spirit of Vengeance we have known in other incarnations or something new? What the cost of this curse will be on Robbie? And Who the first major villain will be? I suspect it won’t just be simple drug dealers and gang bangers.
7.5 out of 10
