GHOST RIDER #1
Written by Felipe Smith
Art by Danilo Beyruth, Tradd Moore, Val Staples, Jesus Aburtov
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: November 30, 2016
Hellfire! Hulk! American Muscle! Ghost Rider’s back, baby!
Felipe Smith writes the heck out of Robbie and Gabe’s relationship, bringing a dynamic to the Rider mythos that adds to it immensely. This Rider isn’t riding solely for vengeance as a single wild biker, Robbie’s got stakes and people to protect. It balances the Hellfire and intense side of the Rider, and Smith gets that completely. There’s no way to describe the brotherly relationship other than “cute” and I found I enjoyed the scenes with the two of them talking just as much as I was entertained by the fire and thunder of the Charger racing toward vengeance. Smith has a good thing going here, taking the best parts of the last run and starting a new volume right with some great guest scenes from Amadeus Cho, the Totally Awesome Hulk.
Danilo Beyruth delivers solid pencil work, both when Robbie and Gabe are chatting and when the Rider comes out to play. He pencils their bond well, Cho’s unique personality well, and the intensity of the Rider well. He also pencils the hell out of the Charger, which is a key piece of this issue and series going forward. It might sound stupid, but it really is a huge component of the visuals for me and Beyruth nailed it. His work in the principal story is rock solid and I look forward to seeing him cut loose in subsequent issues. Val Staples colour work cranks the dial up to 11 and is a great part of the artwork in this first story. The colours leap from the page and add a huge dynamic to the artwork when Robbie is in Ghost Rider form.
Tradd Moore is at home penciling these characters, and his intense style (especially where musculature is concerned) explodes from the page. His story is shorter but packs a huge punch, and is a solid compliment to the main event that moves at a bit slower pace. Ghost Rider should be a high octane title and Smith, Moore and Aburtov bring the intensity with the second story, making it a ton of fun to close out the issue.
Ghost Rider #1 is a solid debut for the latest volume featuring the Spirit of Vengeance. Readers who enjoyed the earlier volume featuring Robbie will feel right at home here, and Smith, Beyruth, Moore, Staples and Aburtov make new readers feel at home here as well. This is going to be a fun, explosive, dynamic series and I look forward to reading more.
The Verdict: 8.5/10