Broken Frontier

The terrifying story surrounding Johnny Blaze’s pact with the Devil is retold again in Marvel’s Mythos series.

With a new series now back on the stands and the first ever movie version due out next month, Ghost Rider fans must be praising the folks at the House of Ideas. I know I am one of those fanatics who just go bonkers for the demonic biker and this issue certainly hits the spot. Mythos is a book that strives to celebrate the essence of the Rider by harking back to the hellish grand ole days of the 1970’s.

Much of the story chronicles a time when Johnny Blaze toured across the United States as a world famous stunt rider. It is here that we get a chance to revisit a time when many Americans came out in droves to watch the fearlessness of Blaze jumping over cars and buses on a nightly basis. We also get another glimpse of the beautiful Roxanne Simpson, as she soldiers on during the performance determined to aid Johnny through his death defying feats. Of course, nothing compares to the appearance of the Devil (looking much like Philip Seymour Hoffman here) as he sneers malevolently while waiting in the wings for Johnny to accept his end of the pact. All of this though is just a backdrop really, and once the Ghost Rider is ushered forth from the nether realms all hell breaks loose.

For my tastes, this story works best because it sticks to the basic elements that made this series so memorable back in the day. Writer Paul Jenkins stayed true to the origins for the most part, although he exorcised some of the occult trappings that bogged the book down during the 70’s in favor of a simpler approach. I’ve read several other retellings of Blaze’s origins, and this one was modernized quite vastly from previous attempts. In some ways I can understand the changes since I got the impression this story will probably fall more in line with the upcoming film version. There’s nothing wrong with that, and Jenkins certainly pays homage to the character to satisfy new and old fans.

The painted art of Paolo Rivera resembled a style that reminded me of stuff I have seen on bubble gum trading cards. Perhaps it was the combination of muted tones and the wildly cartoon-like expressions of all the characters involved to allow me to make that sort of comparison. Even so, the comparison is meant as praise because I loved every single panel throughout the issue. I thought it was clever that Paolo used actor Philip Seymour Hoffman as a model to illustrate this version of the Devil, and it surely helped to give the story some spice. His art bristled and fumed with energy and this certainly made for some great moments when Blazed switched to the Rider and stormed the asphalt like a bat out of hell.

I know there seems to be a glut of Ghost Rider material streaming out of the Marvel offices at the moment, and fans of the character should soak this up. This character is shining brightly and I think the upcoming movie is largely the reason for the spotlight. Jenkins and company should also be commended for capturing the essence of what made this character a staple at Marvel during the 70’s, and this book well worth its weight in gold (or is that hellfire instead?).