Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #3 Review

Written by: Howard Mackie
Art by: Daniel Picciotto
Colors by: GURU-eFX
Letters by: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover art by: Ben Harvey
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: July 26, 2023

Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #3 finds Danny’s link to the Ghost Rider undergoing dangerous reactions when the fear and anger Danny feels begin to manifest through the Rider’s actions. Meanwhile, Blackout and Scarecrow terrorize a town.

Is It Good?

Danny Ketch: Ghost Rider #3 marks the penultimate issue in the limited series by Howard Mackie, and Danny Ketch is in a whole heap of trouble. Mackie’s script moves along at a break-neck pace to pack in a lot of plot movement, but there are plenty of loose threads to wrap up for the finale.

When last we left Danny Ketch, Blackout kidnapped Stacy and Scarecrow kidnapped Roxanne and her two children, all at the behest of the Broker. Now, the Ghost Rider tears through anyone who might have a connection to Blackout to find Stacy, leading to a helping hand from the Caretaker and an armed Johnny Blaze. Meanwhile, Blackout and Scarecrow enjoy some after time by terrorizing Blaze’s town.

Whew! That’s a lot, but thankfully, Mackie makes it work. Technically, this qualifies as a setup issue, so Mackie brings the heroes together, establishes the stakes, and motivates the Ghost Rider by killing innocents. You can practically feel the momentum engine revving up heading into the finale.

What’s not so great about this issue? Mackie packs in so much so fast that you get the vague feeling that some events are rushed. No scene is shortcut or incomplete, but the plot comes at you rapid fire, so the story reads like a detailed summary rather than a drama unfolding.

How’s the art? Picciotto’s pencils/inks, combined with GURU-eFX’s colors, are a winning combination. The Rider action scenes look great. Blackout and Scarecrow’s attack scenes are creepy (as they should be), and the gore is gross (again, as it should be).

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 #3 packs a mountain of a story in a single issue to bring the heroes together, escalate the stakes, deliver supernatural action, and move everyone into position for next month’s finale. The amount of plot movement leads to a rushed feeling, but the plot is solid.