Ghost Rider #15 // Review
Johnny has rolled into a whole bunch of demonic activity. He’s accompanied by an FBI agent by the name of Talia Warroad. There’s an explosive detonation of spectral force. Naturally, the lights are out. Johnny asks Talia for some light. She casts the spell that allows them to see Danny Ketch. He’s not doing well. Things are about to get worse for everyone in Ghost Rider #15. Writer Benjamin Percy continues the pursuit of evil in an issue that is bound to the page by penciler Cory Smith and inker Oren Junior. Color clings to the page thanks to the efforts of colorist Bryan Valenza.
The magic FBI agent wants to know what’s going on. As it turns out, Danny wanted a way out. Things have been awful for him ever since he was bound to the Spirit of Corruption. He didn’t get what he was looking for. When a spirit comes to inhabit a human host for long enough, the body comes to need it. It’s worse than an addiction. It’s something altogether more ugly. Danny wanted to get out of the mess that he was in, and now things are that much worse for everyone. At least Danny’s among allies now.
Percy has the basic elements of horror action done remarkably well for the issue. The central trio of characters are rolling through some very dangerous spots, existentially speaking. And it's really only a matter of time before things go to hell. The specifics of the magic and demonic activity that are involved are kind of vague. And as a result, the story doesn't come across as being anywhere near as strong as it probably should. The specific elements that constitute this particular evil are not defined well enough to lend the central conflict a whole lot of gravity.
Smith and Junior conjure the story. The details are a little splotchy. The overall execution of the action feels blurry. Valenza does a pretty good job of developing the colors for a tale of darkness. But it's not exactly what it needs to be to drive home the vividness of the kind of darkness that Percy is trying to summon to the page. It's too bad because there is enough here that could be really interesting if it were put together in a way that was a little more defined.
Perhaps the biggest issue is the lack of definition in the entire concept of a Spirit of Corruption. What exactly it is that it's going for is kind of hard to define. And it's just sort of a blanket evil. Might as well be something a lot more abstract than that. Because the concept of corruption kind of messes with the entire idea of the demonic activity that's going on. It just clashes with it in a way that makes it a little bit more murky than it should be. Overall, however, the basic premise of this kind of pursuit of the supernatural is actually really interesting. Given the right momentum, Percy could come up with a better approach.
