The Marvel Rundown: Ghost Rider SPIRITS OF VIOLENCE #1 is another bait and switch

Alright, Marvel faithful, it’s another Wednesday which means it’s time for another Marvel Rundown, The Beat’s weekly review column of the latest from the House of Ideas. This week’s spotlight is on the new(ish) Ghost Rider team-up book, Spirits of Violence by Sabir Pirzada and Paul Davidson, but more importantly, we also talk about some strange editorial decisions. And, as always, we’ve got the Rapid Rundown from the rest of the team.

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Cover by kunkka

Spirits of Violence #1
Writer: Sabir Pirzada
Artist: Paul Davidson
Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham

I wanted to come into this review professing my love of Ghost Rider and the absurdity of his look and gimmick. I wanted to be thrilled by this issue and the multi-rider team up. But there is no thrill to be found in Spirits of Violence #1. 

About a year ago I reviewed the start of Sabir Pirzada’s first Ghost Rider volume, Spirits of Vengeance. It was not a bad comic but too insulated in decades of lore to get into. Pirzada’s story wasn’t strong enough on its own without knowing all the references and I lost track of the series after two issues. With a new number one, it seemed like a good chance to check back in, start fresh.

Wrong. Once again, Marvel has fooled readers with a renumbered and retitled series in the middle of an ongoing story. We pick up immediately following events from the last volume (which did not have the same title) and unless you already know who any of these supporting characters are, it is impenetrable. The issue’s biggest revelation is the recap page which announces the villain’s connection to Danny Ketch. A first issue needs a hook to connect with readers, and finding a way to dramatically recap that in the actual text of the book could amp up the melodrama that is sorely lacking in this comic about flaming skeleton people on motorcycles. It’s hard to blame that structural flaw on the writer when this kind of editorial reboot is company policy. This frustrating and constant renumberimg and retitling has done real harm to even Marvel’s best artists. Take, for example, Steve Orlando’s fantastic Scarlet Witch, a book with a consistent creative team that just ended its fourth volume and third title change in three years. I first read that book on the third number one and had the same initial impression I did of this issue of Spirits of Violence: this comic is a poorly structured mess. But after eventually tracking down the first volume (difficult to do) I found out how good the series was. Unfortunately, the constant relaunches and retitles have made it difficult to know whether and when the comics you are enjoying are actually coming out.

Trying to game sales and fool readers into thinking they’re getting an entry point is, if not intentionally misleading, supremely shortsighted. How do you expect people to find and enjoy a new book when every first issue on the shelf is secretly issue 7 or issue 5 and deals with ongoing storylines? How can you retain a book’s readership when they have to proactively go through the trouble of specifically requesting their comic shop pre-order a new book with a different name?

This issue is overstuffed and clunky even without the interference, though, with a host of visually similar characters and not enough done to distinguish one Ghost Rider from another. Scenes shift every two pages, and we are given no opportunity to sit with any of the drama. Perhaps that is for the best, though, as the stilted dialogue is more suited to exposition than emotion. There is lots of discussion of what people have done or are about to do and little about what any of it means.

Artist Paul Davidson packs the page with panels and detail, making for overwhelming and hard to follow layouts. He fails to make the subtle decisions of where to increase the blacks or jettison the backgrounds or place leading lines to focus the eye, making it hard to know where to look. The action is clearly what Davidson thrills in, as his work on those busy pages is meticulous. But emotional and human moments are strange and stilted with expressions and body language at odds with the dialogue. Andrew Dalhouse‘s colors are too vibrant for the character and subject matter, stripping the book of its needed spooky tone and he doesn’t make the choices needed to clear up the over-stuffed linework. 

There are some standout moments. Davidson pulls off a stunning double page spread outlining the history of the various Ghost Riders, and his style is clearly more suited to this kind of pinup, which also shines in some individual panels. Travis Lanham’s lettering is the best thing about the comic. The SFX and word balloon embellishments give the perfect unearthly vibe. But those are not enough to overcome the weight of everything else. 

This would be a disappointing issue on its own, but Marvel’s editorial decisions (outlined in the issue’s letter from the editor) drag even the company’s best books through the mud and make them hard to enjoy. If Marvel has any hope of recouping good will among readers, it has to stop with publishing decisions that actively make it more difficult for people to read their material.

Verdict: SKIP

Rapid Rundown

• Amazing Spider-Man #13
  • Amazing Spider-Man #13 by Joe Kelly, with art by Pepe Larraz, introduces readers to the new Spider-Man cast, which is undoubtedly what everyone wants right now. It’s challenging to approach this issue without a biased perspective. Many readers, including myself, want Peter back on Earth with his human castmates, dealing with human affairs and being part of the neighborhood. But right now, the creators seem more interested in having him out of his element and placing him in space with a bunch of thirsty, revenge-seeking killers like Rocket Raccoon. What are they doing? Well, they’re still heroes, but now Peter is saving alien lifeforms from mysterious big bads and refusing to go home for reasons I won’t spoil in case there’s someone out there actually reading the issues. If you aren’t reading this issue, it’s unlikely to be one that will pull you back in. There’s a lot of moral high ground from Peter as he lectures these aliens into being better, which can be quite annoying, and a lot of new characters that don’t really feel like they’re sticking around. Spider-Man’s cast is already so large that it doesn’t feel like there’s room for these one-off personality aliens to fit into it, and Peter doesn’t have any relationships with them that aren’t “don’t kill people, please.” It’s a boring issue, but at least it’s got some damn good art. – LM
• Venom #250
  • Two of the worst things that ever happened to the Venom character were making him an anti-hero and giving him a mythology. When Eddie Brock first appeared as Venom, he was practically a Ditko co-created villain; a middle aged man who became a villain after unemployment. He became popular in no small part because of the art of Todd MacFarlane and later Erik Larsen, but also he was scary. Venom and Eddie Brock were a mirror to Peter Parker and Spider-Man. What if Parker indulged his worst impulses? Never took responsibility for his mistakes? It made the character a massive villain the Spider-Man books hadn’t seen in years. Alas debuting in the late 80s and early 90s, a time of anti-heroes like Wolverine, Ghost Rider, and The Punisher, meant that Venom’s massive popularity would mean making him one as well. Later came the overly complicated mythology with planets full of symbiotes, Eddie Brock’s complicated personal history, hosts other than Eddie Brock, and eventually Knull. Now we’re at Venom #250 where Spider-Man’s ex-wife ex-girlfriend Mary Jane Watson is now Venom and ugh, Knull is back in the picture. As America collectively mourns the end of MJ’s relationship to the 21st century’s favorite new character Paul, life must go on and MJ goes back to auditioning. Meanwhile a Skrull attempts to make it to Earth to warn Eddie Brock about a new symbiote cult.  And honestly for an anniversary issue, anything directly involving MJ and Venom reads like treading water. There’s kind of a fight with Madame Masque but nothing that feels urgent. For a writer of Al Ewing’s skill and an artist on Terry Dodson’s level, everything comes across as a recap for anyone only picking this up for the Knull appearance. Even that doesn’t read as satisfying. Was anyone clamoring to see Knull return? Are there really more stories to tell with this character post-King in Black? Anyone who answers yes to those questions probably won’t be wowed here. If there is any excitement in this issue it comes in the segments with Skrull secret agent Captain R’gars. Ewing clearly has more fun with the chase through space than MJ’s Earth drama. Drawn by Todd Nauck, there’s a fun swashbuckling and space opera energy to these pages. Ewing gets to connect the massive changes happening in Imperial right now to the chaos about to happen on Earth. Ewing clearly wants to put Venom back in space so here’s hoping he gets too. There’s also a short story by Charles Soule and Carlos Gomez dealing with Eddie Brock and a “lost scene” between issues of the Lethal Protector. It feels superfluous outside of having Eddie Brock in the 250th issue of Venom. That’s what is so frustrating and annoying about this issue. Here is an anniversary issue for an iconic character that is so far removed from its origins and made with so little enthusiasm by these creators. If Venom is gonna last another 250 issues, maybe someone needs to figure out a return to basics for them. – DM
• White Tiger Reborn #1
  • Created by Bill Mantlo and legendary Puerto Rican artist George Pérez back in 70s’, the  White Tiger isn’t a character whose name rings out in these nerdy streets like Luke Cage or Black Lightning, and it’s a shame that the people under the mask who have built the White Tiger legacy rarely get shine unless it’s for National Hispanic/Lantine Heritage Month. As part of the Marvel Voices line, I was a bit wary as they can be a bit heavy-handed in messaging, but with streamlining the book to focus on a singular character and recognizing the Tiger’s importance as one of the few Puerto Rican superheroes, more importantly, the first, is a huge deal. The powers of the Tiger have been passed from the first Tiger, Hector Ayala, to his niece Angela Del Toro, to the current holder, Hector’s sister Ava. For the main story “Reborn,” writer Daniel José Older and artist Bruno Abdias do a ton of heavy lifting for the characters’ lore, from clearly establishing who the current Tiger is to her relationship with the Tiger God, and the powers she now gets from it. No stranger to the Tiger mythos, Older bangs out a solid transition piece, with all the spiritual bells and whistles for Ava to become the hero she needs to be. To help flesh out the story, artist Abdias and colorist Marcelo Costa give readers a visual thread that blends superhero aesthetics with a mystic tint. The pages have some great panels that pop with that Marvel energy we come back to time after time. To use a TV term, this is a great backdoor pilot for more Tiger with a new status quo and supporting cast. And if that wasn’t enough, writer Cynthia Pelayo and artist Moisés Hidalgo get up on that superhero soapbox for the backup story “Song Of The Coquí” for some family therapy with Ava and the previous Tiger, Angela, as they come together to fight for Puerto Rico against Roxxon. As a statement for the economic atrocities committed against Puerto Rico by big business, this story still finds a way to remember the characters and their arcs. This story complements the new Tiger status well and shows us what the way forward would look like. Bottom line, this Tiger is ready and perfect for fighting for justice in this current climate of hate, greed, and discrimination. – GC3
• X-Men: Age of Revelation: Overture #1
  • After months of advertising, a shadow dropped #0 issue, and narrative build up, The Age of Revelation is finally here with X-Men: Age of Revelation: Overture #1. I must say this Overture is the best kick off to a X-Men Crossover in the From the Ashes era. The prior crossovers felt premature and intrusive to the actual storytelling of the runs of X-books involved. Meanwhile, Age of Revelation feels like an extension of Jed MacKay’s ongoing plot. The crossover is set X years into the future and revolves around Revelation (aka Doug Ramsay, Heir of Apocalypse) taking control of a huge swath of the United States following the explosion of 3K’s gene bomb. We get to follow a double reverse Days of Future Past style story with Cyclops and Beast’s minds being sent to the future for the resistance’s final plot against Revelation. It is obvious from all the trappings that Age of Revelation is a riff on Age of Apocalypse, as it is the 30th anniversary of the event.  MacKay quickly establishes how different this world is from other dark futures while introducing the cast of characters. It’s a violent opening issue with death littered throughout. At the same time, MacKay lays out the central plot of the crossover, but it isn’t exactly clear. Like AoA and its subsequent thematic follow ups, there are a plethora of satellite tie-ins that appear to help flesh out the world and increase sales …. I mean the gravity of the event. Yet, unlike AoA the direction of these tie-ins aren’t exactly made clear. The fact there are SEVENTEEN tie-ins is absurd. This is typical Tom Breevort’s editorial style of taking a smaller story and blowing it out beyond its means.  The thought of trying to cover them makes me dizzy. Putting aside the ugly world of publishing, I want to give a shout out to the issue’s art. Ryan Stegman does the pencils for this issue and it’s gorgeous. The designs of the characters feel very much like Stegman’s sensibilities, and the world is lush. The amount of dynamic action Stegman puts onto the page never fails to amaze me. I think this is a great start to the crossover, but I do have my reservations about the overall structure of the event. I recommend checking out this issue, but maybe be more selective in the other tie-ins. We here at the Marvel Rundown will do our best to guide you in the right direction.—JJ