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GHOST RIDER #2
"The Hammer Lane, Part 2: Hard Brake"
Neutral (4/10)
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Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights imprint
Writer: Devin Grayson
Pencils: Trent Kaniuga
Inks: Danny Miki
Colors: Avalon's Dan Kemp
Letters: Comicraft
Editors: Stuart Moore & Nanci Dakesian
Price: $2.99 US/$4.50 CAN |
Given my relative enjoyment of the first issue of this
series, I can hardly believe this is the same creative team. Grayson's
straightforward treatment of Ghost Rider as a spirit of vengeance this issue
becomes ludicrous in the reactions others have to him, and Kaniuga's energetic
layouts and style completely slip free of boundaries to become ugly and often
ridiculous as well. It's odd to see a first and second issue vary this wildly in
quality when they're done by the same creative teams, and I'm hoping that the
third will see it return to form.
Admittedly, there are some interesting
moments in this issue. I continue to enjoy seeing Johnny Blaze dealing with
Ghost Rider as sort of an addiction, and seeing the aftermath as pretty much the
comedown after a hard night of drinking. His admission to his girlfriend that it
was a little like drugs was kind of amusing, and seeing him wake up in a phone
booth with evidence of his nightly deeds before him was an interesting look at
the shared life he doesn't want. In fact, the most interesting thing about this
issue has nothing to do with Ghost Rider, but more with how badly Blaze wants
him out of his life and how far he's willing to go to do it.
However, the issue is marred by some
extremely unclear and rushed storytelling, and some downright bizarre
characterization. The old man mechanic clearly has some sort of connection to
Ghost Rider or is being used for a gag, but seeing a priest react to a man with
blood on his hands claiming that "he kills people" with casual disregard was
pretty ridiculous. At the least, he should have realized that Blaze was in
shock, and in all likelihood, he would have thought him a delusional killer. Of
course, that's nothing compared to the strangeness of a man terrified and
brutalized by Ghost Rider deciding to write him a little note instead of just
blurting out whatever he needed to know.
Of course, a lot of the problems come from
the artwork more than the story. While I enjoy Kaniuga's style in general, with
a sort of blend of the exaggerated styles of Todd McFarlane and Sam Kieth, the
book this issue looked rushed and unfinished, and the layouts often seemed to
have no consideration for perspective or things like gravity and pacing. I'll
grant that Grayson and Kaniuga have maintained a pace that fits a speeding
motorcycle, as the pages turn quickly and the story jumps fast from scene to
scene, but given that they have six issues to tell this story, maybe they could
have slowed it down a bit and given the scenes a bit more room to breathe.
Bottom line, this is sort of like reading the
movie trailer version of Ghost Rider, cut together by MTV editors on speed. To
their credit, Grayson and Kaniuga have set up the central conflict and
antagonists of the issue quickly and well, but now it feels like they're
barreling through rather than fleshing out the basic structure, hoping attitude
and speed will compensate for clarity and characterization.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
