Johnny Blaze is making a comeback (check out this Ghost Rider quiz for a refresher). As revealed by Marvel Comics, Ghost Rider is getting a brand new series, just in time for his 50th anniversary. The ongoing series will be penned by Benjamin Percy, with art from Cory Smith.
The new series will debut in February. Some cover art for the book has been revealed as well, which we’ve included for you to check out below. It features Johnny Blaze front-and-center, looking angry as ever. The news comes not long after it was revealed that Marvel will be holding a year-long celebration for the character in 2022. This will be done to honor his five-decade history in pop culture.
“I’m incredibly excited to be riding shotgun with Ben Percy as we bring Ghost Rider screaming into his 50th anniversary,” Smith said. “As a comic nerd and a horror nerd, Ghost Rider has always been a favorite of mine so this project is a dream come true. Johnny Blaze, the Spirit of Vengeance is BACK. We’re firing on all cylinders and I can’t wait for everyone to see the hellfire we’re bringing! It’s about to get crazy!”
Here is the logline for the new Ghost Rider series.
Johnny Blaze has the perfect life: a wife and two kids, a job at an auto repair shop and a small-town community that supports him… But Johnny isn’t doing well. He has nightmares of monsters when he sleeps. And he sees bloody visions when he’s awake. This life is beginning to feel like a prison. And there’s a spirit in him that’s begging to break out!
“I’m a horror head,” Percy said. “I grew up reading Stephen King, watching John Carpenter, and listening to Black Sabbath, and when it came to comics, I always reached first for the dark and weird which means I read a hell of a lot of Ghost Rider. That flaming skull. That spiked leather jacket. That monstrous bike coughing out clouds of sulfurous exhaust. To this day, the sight of the character blazing along a midnight highway makes my heart rev like a four-stroke engine.
“Ghost Rider is arguably the best designed, but inarguably, the most heavy metal character in all of comics,” Percy adds. “It would be badass to write this series at any point in my life, but launching on the 50th anniversary feels especially (un)holy. Cory Smith is killing it on art, and we’re going to honor the past while burning rubber into a terrifying future packed with mystery, action, and shadow-soaked emotion. Prepare yourself for the ultimate in road horror.”
The character originally debuted in the pages of Marvel Spotlight #5 back in 1972. Created by Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog, he has endured and thrived for much of his history. Johnny Blaze was the first take take the mantle, but others have as well. Robbie Reyes, for example, was the version of the character who appeared on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Ghost Rider #1 hits shelves in February.
What do you think? Are you excited for a new Johnny Blaze book? Do you plan on checking this one out? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!
