- Written by: Howard Mackie
- Art by: Daniel Picciotto
- Colors by: GURU-eFX
- Letters by: VC’s Travis Lanham
- Cover art by: Ben Harvey (cover A)
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: May 17, 2023
Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #1 reintroduces readers to Johnny Blaze’s successor as he finds himself confronting miscreants and malcontents suddenly imbued with mystical power.
Is It Good?
Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #1 is not bad. Howard Mackie’s take on the second Ghost Rider covers all the bases to reintroduce readers to Danny’s origin story, the extent of his powers, his relationship with Johnny Blaze, and set up a threatening villain. Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #1 is as solid a start as you could possibly hope for.
Mackie’s script centers on a series of bad guys turned into worse monsters by a malevolent force that wants to use their subsequent destruction and rampages to feed an appetite for mayhem. It isn’t long before Danny Ketch aka Ghost Rider catches wind of the pain and suffering caused by these newly-made monsters and cycles into action.
Mackie’s story is clean, clear, thorough, well-constructed, and entertaining. Sure, that sounds like odd praise, but you’d be surprised how rarely we get comics these days that don’t cover the basics of storytelling.
With the efficiency of a German pocket watch, Mackie sets up the villain and establishes the size of the villain’s threat. You learn how Danny became a Ghost Rider, the nature of his relationships with his friends and family, how his powers work, and how he fits into the villain’s plans.
Likewise, Daniel Picciotto’s art covers all the bases with powerful, imposing villains, exciting Hellfire action, great energy, and excellent coloring by GURU-eFX.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces
Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #1 is a straightforward and super-effective re-introduction to the second Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch. Howard Mackie’s script is on point at every level, and the art is very strong.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 
The 90’s Ketch version of Ghost Rider is still my favourite take on the character, and to this today no good reason has been given as to why Blaze suddenly became a Ghost Rider again. I enjoyed this issue, but I also a stickler for canon, and the ending would appear to blatantly contradict the -1 issue that Ivan Valez wrote about how the bike and medallion were left in the junkyard. Hopefully it will make sense as the miniseries progresses.
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