STAFF PICKS :: ALL NEW GHOST RIDER #1 :: MARCH 26, 2014
SETH’S PICK :: ALL NEW GHOST RIDER #1: Admittedly, Ghost Rider has never been a book for those seeking multi-layered depth of character and plot.  It’s always been a fairly straightforward idea.  There have been exceptions to that – notably in the excellent, under-read run of Jason Aaron – but mostly, it follows a reliably simple formula:  a motorcycle rider gets inhabited by a spirit of vengeance and brings holy hell down on evils both supernatural and human.  This week’s All New Ghost Rider looks to build a new layer onto this formula.  No, it’s not just because this incarnation drives a ’69 Dodge Charger instead of the time honored motorcycle.  This Ghost Rider is an 18 year old gear head named Robbie Reyes, who is navigating the violence he’s grown up around.  I applaud Marvel for introducing another minority as a title’s main protagonist, but am also thankful that they brought this particular creative team together.  Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore’s collaborative designs for this character (in and out of the Ghost Rider form) represent a very modern aesthetic, which matches the new energy they seem to be aiming for.  While I’ve long appreciated the art of Tradd Moore, his work here not only looks more kinetic than anything he’s done before (and that’s saying a lot), but it looks like he really enjoys working on this book.  I love comics where the creators’ enthusiasm for the work seems to run off the page.Â