Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #2 // Review
The Power Broker is offering something in the graveyard of Cyprus Hills Cemetery. What he’s offering is...power. Who he’s offering it to? THAT is something that could prove to be a bit of a challenge for The Spirit of Vengeance in Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #2. Industry veteran Howard Mackie continues to revisit a classic Ghost Rider who is conjured to the page by the art team of Daniel Picciotto and Guru-eFX. The central conflict isn’t all that different from those that this particular Ghost Rider has faced on the page in the past. The familiarity is not unwelcome.
The Ghost Rider is scaring the hell out of a couple of people in white hoods. They’ve done something unspeakable to a church. Vengeance must be served, and Ghost Rider is there to do it. There’s something different about the way it’s approaching its duty, though. Concerns regarding this are going to have to wait. Blackout has a bone to pick with Ghost Rider...and he’s been granted a little something extra by the Power Broker. There’s really no telling WHAT might happen in the midst of it all. What does the Power Broker have against Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze?
Once again, it’s really cool to see Mackie getting back in touch with his version of the character. He’d written the exploits of Danny Ketch for over half a decade. That’s a long-running relationship between any writer and character combo. He knows what he’s working with, and he knows how it works. There may not be that much spark of originality for issue #2, but it’s still a lot of fun to see the old dynamics hit the page all these years later. As similar as the series is, things ARE changing for the flaming skull. Mackie seems to want to firmly reconnect with the character before moving him forward.
Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira had a very distinct style and vision in Mackie’s original series with Danny Ketch. There was a deep darkness shrouded in shadows with heavy, scratchy hatching lashing out of the darkness. Picciotto’s style is a similar approach for a more contemporary era. Picciotto makes a definite impact with tendrils of line and form, but makes certain to allow more than enough of a canvas for Guru-eFX to work his magic with the colors. The result might not have quite as much of a unique look as Saltares and Texeira managed in the early 1990s, but it has mood, style, and resonance that is well-suited to the old flaming skull and his adventures.
It’s been nearly 3 decades since the last time Mackie spent time hanging out with the Spirit of Vengeance. A couple of issues into his big reunion, and it’s apparent that there are fresh echoes moving through the night between co-creator and creation. Hopefully, Mackie has the time to explore things with Danny Ketch for a long time to come. Another half-decade would be nice.
