Writer: Felipe Smith
Artist: Danilo S. Beyruth
Color Artists: Val Staples and Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Ghost Rider #1 brings Robbie Reyes back into the fold. The comic features appearances from Amadeus Cho and Laura Kinney. This issue also has a bonus story at the end featuring Pyston Nitro. While these other characters are present, there’s still a good focus on Robbie Reyes himself.
The issue starts off with him and his brother Gabe at the auto shop. Robbie is quizzing him about various parts of the engine. It’s an endearing moment and doesn’t stray from how their relationship is typically portrayed. Felipe Smith is accustomed to writing the character already after doing a run of All-New Ghost Rider. You see similarities since it’s the same character and the same writer, but that run is a good read. It’s also a good reason to check this out. Felipe Smith manages to add in unrelated characters and bring it all together a bit at the end. It grabs your attention and makes you wonder when or if the three characters will meet.
The art on this feels fitting. Daniel S. Beyruth does an excellent job with the skull and the car as they get their flame on. Val Staples and Jesus Aburtov combine forces to color the issue and what really stands out is how well they bring the different scenes to life. You can tell the auto shop is in a rougher neighborhood with some more dim colors while you get some nice, bright sunshine in Santa Monica. This artistic team makes for a nice looking comic.
There’s also a bonus story at the end, which is where Pyston Nitro comes in. Tradd Moore hops on as the artist and VC’s Joe Sabino takes over on letters. Val Staples also handles the coloring on his own for this. Despite these few changes, the story still feels very uniform to the main story. It’s also a nice little addition at the end and looks like a story that will have some more meat to it as the series carries on.
Verdict: Check it out. After enjoying the All-New Ghost Rider, I wanted to read more of the character. With this new series, it’s a good jumping on point and worth checking out. Ghost Rider is getting more attention lately, especially on Agents of SHIELD, so it never hurts to see how they handle a new comic series. It’s a solid read.
