Essential Ghost Rider, Vol. 3

Essential Ghost Rider #3

by Michael Fleisher, Tom DeFalco, Jim Shooter

The Hellfire Hero ends up fighting super-villains and super-heroes alike! Up from Hades and caught in the middle, even if Ghost Rider defeats Moondark, Water Wizard, and the Orb, there's still the Night Rider, Werewolf by Night, and the Arabian Knight waiting to fall upon him! Goblins, ghosts, gangsters, and more! Guest-starring the Thing, the Angel, and the Avengers! Collects Ghost Rider #51-65, Marvel Two-in-One #80, Marvel Super-Heroes Fall 1992, and Avengers #214.

Genres: Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels

416 pages, Paperback

First published February 10, 1982

About the author

Michael Lawrence Fleisher's comic-book writing career spanned two decades in which he authored approximately 700 stories for DC, Marvel, and other comics publishers. His work on series such as The Spectre and Jonah Hex is still highly regarded, as is his work on the Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes. After a widely reported libel case his comic output declined, with his last published comic assignment appearing in the UK anthology 2000AD in 1995.

Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very annoying that my reviews have been merged without me knowing nor the original issues listed.

Ghost Rider V2 #63
The Orb has new, more advanced weapons to destroy the Ghost Rider...but sends in his minions first? But even when The Orb does enter the fray, his weapons only delay the inevitable and Ghost Rider leaves all the baddies in his dust. Kind of an anti-climactic ending but I suppose you could find some humour in how much boasting was going on...and then what actually happened.

[Woody Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uneven at times, but what monthly comic book series is not going to have that obstacle? This was another great opportunity to catch up on comics that I glossed over as a kid. I owned a few issues, but without any continuity, it was hopeless. I am coming to understand the Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider coexistence as a supernatural Robert Bruce Banner/Hulk dichotomy. Each human struggles with his alternate persona, but here, it is plus motorcycles.

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is mildly better, especially towards the end of the collection, as the Ghost Rider begins to merge back in with the Marvel Universe and we begin to get a direction in the book.

[Professor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've yet to read Volume 2 of the Ghost Riders Essentials, but I found this one disappointing in comparison to Volume 1. Gone is the wilder, more interesting take on Ghost Rider in his early days, and in his place is a more calcified, typical super hero on the Hulk archetype (or should I say Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?) where we get a wandering loner who tries to keep his powerful alter ego bottled in and working on the straight and narrow path, with major difficulty getting the Ghost Rider back in check when he unleashes him. Too many stories feature the dull Water Wizard (and exactly why does a demon who is unaffected by Earthly water constantly tangle with this dullard who can't remotely harm him?), the Orb (a dull revenge bent former stunt rider who for some reason dresses up in an eye helmet and, once again, can't offer even a slight challenge to the Ghost Rider?), and, honestly, rival rider Flagg. I can see how the character ran out of steam and had his book cancelled in the early 1980s.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice 1970s Horror/supernatural comic. Great main character. Recommended