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Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Omnibus
Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Omnibus, Vol. 1
A fan-favorite era for the Spirit of Vengeance! Young Danny Ketch becomes the new Ghost Rider - and rides flaming-head-first into a gang war sparked by the deadly Deathwatch! Danny's baptism of fire continues with terrifying battles against Blackout, Mister Hyde, the Scarecrow, Nightmare, Hobgoblin, Zodiak and more! But when Johnny Blaze, the former Ghost Rider, enters his life, will the embittered ex-hero become a friend - or a deadly foe? Plus: The gritty new Ghost Rider makes his presence felt across the Marvel Universe - sharing adventures with Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Wolverine, Cable, the Punisher and more! Collecting GHOST RIDER (1990) #1-24; SPIDER-MAN (1990) #6-7; MARC SPECTOR: MOON KNIGHT #25; DOCTOR STRANGE, SORCERER SUPREME #28; PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL (1988) #29-30; GHOST RIDER/WOLVERINE/PUNISHER: HEARTS OF DARKNESS; and material from MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL (1991) #1, and MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS (1988) #64-71 and #90-118.
1216 pages, Hardcover
First published September 17, 2024
14 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Howard Mackie
1,025 books33 followersHoward Mackie is an American comic book editor and writer. He has worked almost exclusively for Marvel Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 6, 2024
I see people ask what Ghost Rider they should read, it's this, this is what you should read. They even threw in the Todd McFarlane Spider-Man/Ghost Rider crossover that might be the best Ghost Rider story ever.
From that dubious period of fashionably super-heroics comes this slight, but engagingly fast-paced horror-hero re-imagining courtesy of writer Howard Mackie, and artists Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira. Theirs was a looser than usual artistic arrangement, not so easily breaking down into penciller and inker roles, and they quickly secured the new Ghost Rider status as one of the hottest hits of the period. Set in Howard Mackie’s childhood turf of Brooklyn, the new Ghost Rider was already pulled into a more intimate focus, with hapless teenager Danny Ketch mirroring any adolescent of that city.
So how did Danny Ketch become Ghost Rider? ‘Life’s Blood’ sees young Danny and his photographer sister Barbara looking for Houdini’s tomb in the vast Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn on the eve of Halloween. Unfortunately they stumble into a bloody criminal confrontation between ninjas and gangsters over a mysterious briefcase. Discovered, the siblings flee but Barb is hit by an arrow, whilst the case itself is snatched by a juvenile gang who plague the wooded necropolis. The ninjas and their macabre leader Deathwatch are the victors of the fire-fight and are soon hunting for their hard-won prize and the witnesses.
In an adjacent junkyard Danny is helplessly watching Barb bleed out when his attention is caught by a glowing pair of eyes. Closer inspection reveals them to be an arcane design on the gas-cap of an abandoned motorbike. The ninjas, having caught the girl who stole the briefcase, are closing in on the Ketch kids when Danny, his hands soaked in his sister’s blood, touches the glowing bike symbol. He’s inexplicably transformed into a spectral horror, burning with fury and indignation – a Spirit of Vengeance hungry to assuage the pain of innocent blood spilled with inhuman vitality, toting an infinitely adaptable bike chain. Even deadlier is a mystic “Penance Stare” which subjects the guilty to unimaginable psychic pain and guilt.
Psionic monsters, urban horrors and the Punisher/Wolverine feature in further tales of demonic excess producing a prodigious body count. Despite being markedly short on plot and utterly devoid of humor, this does deliver the maximum amount of uncomplicated thrills, spills and chills for action-starved fight fans.
Criticisms aside, there was still much I loved about this book including; Dan’s reluctance to accept the spirit of vengeance, his constant struggle between his approval of Ghost Rider’s mission to defend or avenge the innocent and disapproval of his methods, and most of all the art which is so very 90s in all the best ways.
From that dubious period of fashionably super-heroics comes this slight, but engagingly fast-paced horror-hero re-imagining courtesy of writer Howard Mackie, and artists Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira. Theirs was a looser than usual artistic arrangement, not so easily breaking down into penciller and inker roles, and they quickly secured the new Ghost Rider status as one of the hottest hits of the period. Set in Howard Mackie’s childhood turf of Brooklyn, the new Ghost Rider was already pulled into a more intimate focus, with hapless teenager Danny Ketch mirroring any adolescent of that city.
So how did Danny Ketch become Ghost Rider? ‘Life’s Blood’ sees young Danny and his photographer sister Barbara looking for Houdini’s tomb in the vast Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn on the eve of Halloween. Unfortunately they stumble into a bloody criminal confrontation between ninjas and gangsters over a mysterious briefcase. Discovered, the siblings flee but Barb is hit by an arrow, whilst the case itself is snatched by a juvenile gang who plague the wooded necropolis. The ninjas and their macabre leader Deathwatch are the victors of the fire-fight and are soon hunting for their hard-won prize and the witnesses.
In an adjacent junkyard Danny is helplessly watching Barb bleed out when his attention is caught by a glowing pair of eyes. Closer inspection reveals them to be an arcane design on the gas-cap of an abandoned motorbike. The ninjas, having caught the girl who stole the briefcase, are closing in on the Ketch kids when Danny, his hands soaked in his sister’s blood, touches the glowing bike symbol. He’s inexplicably transformed into a spectral horror, burning with fury and indignation – a Spirit of Vengeance hungry to assuage the pain of innocent blood spilled with inhuman vitality, toting an infinitely adaptable bike chain. Even deadlier is a mystic “Penance Stare” which subjects the guilty to unimaginable psychic pain and guilt.
Psionic monsters, urban horrors and the Punisher/Wolverine feature in further tales of demonic excess producing a prodigious body count. Despite being markedly short on plot and utterly devoid of humor, this does deliver the maximum amount of uncomplicated thrills, spills and chills for action-starved fight fans.
Criticisms aside, there was still much I loved about this book including; Dan’s reluctance to accept the spirit of vengeance, his constant struggle between his approval of Ghost Rider’s mission to defend or avenge the innocent and disapproval of his methods, and most of all the art which is so very 90s in all the best ways.
October 2, 2025
(Zero spoiler review)
I was seriously worried about this one early doors. There were few books that I could recall where the art was so sublimely perfect, yet the writing was so disappointing, that it made me want to punch a room full of disabled orphans in the face if it got me even a modest increase in the writers competence. Yet after a few issues, I can't say that the writing improved to any great degree, but like sitting for long enough in a really hot bath, you learn to tolerate, and then finally enjoy it. And thus, I ended up having a really good time. Sure, most of it was thanks to Mark Texeira's godly talents on art, but what are you gonna do?
In fact, it's only the near incessant interruptions to the main series which stop this from getting a higher score. The mini's and spin off's are a mixed bag, with the best having already been collected and read in various Wolverine omnibus. The rest would have been better left in the editing room and maybe a few more tree's would still be standing. At least I'll know which issue's to skip on a re-read. Really bloody good. 4/5
OmniBen
I was seriously worried about this one early doors. There were few books that I could recall where the art was so sublimely perfect, yet the writing was so disappointing, that it made me want to punch a room full of disabled orphans in the face if it got me even a modest increase in the writers competence. Yet after a few issues, I can't say that the writing improved to any great degree, but like sitting for long enough in a really hot bath, you learn to tolerate, and then finally enjoy it. And thus, I ended up having a really good time. Sure, most of it was thanks to Mark Texeira's godly talents on art, but what are you gonna do?
In fact, it's only the near incessant interruptions to the main series which stop this from getting a higher score. The mini's and spin off's are a mixed bag, with the best having already been collected and read in various Wolverine omnibus. The rest would have been better left in the editing room and maybe a few more tree's would still be standing. At least I'll know which issue's to skip on a re-read. Really bloody good. 4/5
OmniBen
October 20, 2025
This book is dumb and I enjoyed it.
I’ve always liked Ghost Rider (with a design that good who doesn’t?) but I’d only read a handful of Ghost Rider comics over the years. Having heard positive things about Danny Ketch’s time in the role and that it was a good jumping on point I decided that’s where I would start.
I went in expecting a hollow plot, great art and minimal characterisation… And that’s basically what I got! I’m also reading the 90s Green Arrow run by Mike Grell at the moment (they came out around the same time) and the difference between these two series is night and day.
I honestly don’t know much more about Ghost Rider after reading this than when I started. The first issue raises questions about who the Rider is… and after 24 issues I still don’t know! Honestly, it feels like the writer Howard Mackie didn’t know either and was just dragging it out while distracting me with fairly basic villain plots…
And it worked!
The stories are nothing to write home about they’re very simple, as are the characters. Danny Ketch is a very basic protagonist but serviceable (like the writing in general) and is really just there to facilitate the REAL star of the show, the Rider himself.
These stories are just a vessel for showing Ghost Rider doing cool things with great art by Mark Texeria and Javier Saltares, and y’know what? I was completely fine with that. It’s difficult to say, I really just vibed with the book while knowing that the writing itself is nothing groundbreaking.
Honestly, I would be willing to buy the next volume of this. I have heard the quality dips, but as long as that doesn’t apply to the art that’s not a problem for me. Sometimes I just want to enjoy something dumb, and this book provided that.
That being said, I did find the stuff outside of the main series fairly weak, particularly the Marvel Comics Presents issues which I ended up skipping once they started breaking up the flow. It’s nice that all of Danny Ketch’s appearances are being collected, but they’re not the most interesting stories.
So if you’re interested in Ghost Rider and don’t mind some minimal plot and characterisation, 90s edge and wonderful gritty art I’d recommend this book.
In my heart I wanna give it a 5, but it’s definitely a 3.
I’ve always liked Ghost Rider (with a design that good who doesn’t?) but I’d only read a handful of Ghost Rider comics over the years. Having heard positive things about Danny Ketch’s time in the role and that it was a good jumping on point I decided that’s where I would start.
I went in expecting a hollow plot, great art and minimal characterisation… And that’s basically what I got! I’m also reading the 90s Green Arrow run by Mike Grell at the moment (they came out around the same time) and the difference between these two series is night and day.
I honestly don’t know much more about Ghost Rider after reading this than when I started. The first issue raises questions about who the Rider is… and after 24 issues I still don’t know! Honestly, it feels like the writer Howard Mackie didn’t know either and was just dragging it out while distracting me with fairly basic villain plots…
And it worked!
The stories are nothing to write home about they’re very simple, as are the characters. Danny Ketch is a very basic protagonist but serviceable (like the writing in general) and is really just there to facilitate the REAL star of the show, the Rider himself.
These stories are just a vessel for showing Ghost Rider doing cool things with great art by Mark Texeria and Javier Saltares, and y’know what? I was completely fine with that. It’s difficult to say, I really just vibed with the book while knowing that the writing itself is nothing groundbreaking.
Honestly, I would be willing to buy the next volume of this. I have heard the quality dips, but as long as that doesn’t apply to the art that’s not a problem for me. Sometimes I just want to enjoy something dumb, and this book provided that.
That being said, I did find the stuff outside of the main series fairly weak, particularly the Marvel Comics Presents issues which I ended up skipping once they started breaking up the flow. It’s nice that all of Danny Ketch’s appearances are being collected, but they’re not the most interesting stories.
So if you’re interested in Ghost Rider and don’t mind some minimal plot and characterisation, 90s edge and wonderful gritty art I’d recommend this book.
In my heart I wanna give it a 5, but it’s definitely a 3.
October 27, 2025
I’d never read a Ghost Rider book until now. I grabbed this omnibus because, for years, whenever I’ve seen a Reddit thread about the most-wanted collected editions or watched a YouTube video about the most-wanted omnibuses, this run was constantly referenced. Over 1100 pages later, I can tell you for certain that I have no idea what they’re talking about. It’s not the incredible writing. The stories are simple, often just flat boring. The characters are shallow and they repeat themselves over and over again while little else happens. Other characters actually even point this out to both Danny and GR! Consequently, after 1000 pages you’ll have the same questions you started with. Every crossover feels exactly the same They meet, they think Ghost Rider is evil, they reluctantly work together anyway, Ghost Rider bangs on and on about vengeance and innocents, some forgettable villain, who was doing something for some reason, is defeated. At least the art is often very good and appropriately dark, gritty, and creepy. And I think that’s really the problem. This book felt like all style and so little substance that I didn’t even care if what I was looking at was cool. By the end I was just bored and it felt like a real slog. A flaming skull biker man on a hellfire motorcycle is an inherently really cool visual. I just wish the story would’ve made me care more about it. I’m not sure why so many people were clamoring for this. I found it forgettable and I’m glad to be done with it. Maybe it was nostalgia? 2.5/5
August 17, 2024
Gems include GR v. Deathwatch & Blackout, Kingpin becomes aware of GR, GR rams Mr. Hyde, GR v. Punisher, GR & Punisher v. Flag-Smasher, Scarecrow is lifted off his pitchfork, HEART debuts, GR meets the Morlocks, GR v. Zodiak, Nightmare, Dr. Stramge & Rintrah, Snowblind, & Blaze, Blaze shoots Blackount in the face, GR v. Spidey, GR rams Hobgoblin, GR v. Rev. Styge, Blackheart summons the dark trinity, GR v. Suicide, Zodiak unmasks, GR & Cable v. Grateful Undead, GR v. Badilino, GR rams ninjas, GR rescues people, & GR v. Hag, Troll, & Deathwatch
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2024
Video Review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGquM...
Wow this Omnibus BLEW me away. I was not expecting to enjoy this that much.
Danny is just a normal dude trying to live his everyday life. When suddenly him and his sister get attacked and he stumbles onto the Ghost Rider power. From there on we get 24 issues of pure balls to the wall motorcycle, chain, and stares till your scared action. I loved alot of this run. In fact if we're talking about the main run, the 24 issues, I don't think I rated a single issue below a 3 and a lot of 4's and even a few 5's. I just loved Danny's growth here from a scared, kind of loser dude, to doing what he must and becoming a dark, edgier, hero.
Even when we do deter from the main series the two parter Hobgoblin story is fun and the team up with Punisher and Wolverine is beyond fun, it's 90's action superhero galore and man was I smiling the whole time watching these three work together.
I think what also works is the villains here are all really fun. Ranging from psycho powered vampires, to just regular joe smo cops being terrible and abuse of power, to even Johnny Blaze returning to be a foil for Danny only to become a mentor.
So much good is packed here, this is the great 90's run you'd want before the 90's turned into shit. Besides the team up marvel issues that take up the last 100 pages or so, I really loved most of this book. I wish the team up issues were honestly just forgotten about, they're nothing to write home about.
A 4 out of 5.
Wow this Omnibus BLEW me away. I was not expecting to enjoy this that much.
Danny is just a normal dude trying to live his everyday life. When suddenly him and his sister get attacked and he stumbles onto the Ghost Rider power. From there on we get 24 issues of pure balls to the wall motorcycle, chain, and stares till your scared action. I loved alot of this run. In fact if we're talking about the main run, the 24 issues, I don't think I rated a single issue below a 3 and a lot of 4's and even a few 5's. I just loved Danny's growth here from a scared, kind of loser dude, to doing what he must and becoming a dark, edgier, hero.
Even when we do deter from the main series the two parter Hobgoblin story is fun and the team up with Punisher and Wolverine is beyond fun, it's 90's action superhero galore and man was I smiling the whole time watching these three work together.
I think what also works is the villains here are all really fun. Ranging from psycho powered vampires, to just regular joe smo cops being terrible and abuse of power, to even Johnny Blaze returning to be a foil for Danny only to become a mentor.
So much good is packed here, this is the great 90's run you'd want before the 90's turned into shit. Besides the team up marvel issues that take up the last 100 pages or so, I really loved most of this book. I wish the team up issues were honestly just forgotten about, they're nothing to write home about.
A 4 out of 5.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews