It’s hard to be an offbeat superhero title nowadays. The marketplace doesn’t encourage superhero books that break from the norm, but Marvel deserves credit for trying some new things in the last year. While All-New Ghost Rider hasn’t gotten the same amount of attention as comics like Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk, writer Felipe Smith, artists Tradd Moore and Damion Scott, and colorist Val Staples have delivered an idiosyncratic superhero story with roots in drag racing and the gang culture of South Central Los Angeles. It’s been quite a thrill ride, and it all reaches the finish line with next month’s issue #12.
For the book’s two-part conclusion, Smith takes over art duties to show what he can do with the world he’s helped build, and this preview of next week’s All-New Ghost Rider #11 maintains the energy and speed that have made this such an engaging title. (For a deeper look into this book’s spectacular fight scenes, check out this Expert Witness with Tradd Moore and Val Staples.) Smith’s art pushes the visuals away from the graffiti-inspired look of Scott’s linework to something with a stronger manga influence, bringing considerably more clarity to the action.
Staples’ colors have helped the book maintain visual consistency across the three artists, and this preview also showcases the intensity that Staples’ burning-hot palette brings to the story. Those bright orange flames make Ghost Rider the focal point of every panel he’s in, and you can almost feel the heat radiating off those last two panels when the hero charges at his prey. All-New Ghost Rider was a fun trip while it lasted, and it will be very interesting to see how Smith wraps it up when he’s in control of both words and pictures.