Marvel Masterworks 6 : Ghost Rider

Johnny Blaze's ability to control the unrelenting demonic power of the Ghost Rider is starting to fail - and when the Spirit of Vengeance can range free, his wrath will know no limits! Villains from the overly ocular Orb to Azmodeus don't know what's in store for them. What do we have in store for you? Not just another full tank of GHOST RIDER, but the beginning of the creative runs of fan-favorite writers Roger Stern and J.M. DeMatteis, and high-octane artist Bob Budiansky! They rejuvenated the series, bringing higher stakes, even more suspenseful storytelling and classic moments for every horror-hero fan to love: Ghost Rider goes to confession! The Freakmaster! Killer clowns! And a demon biker ready to burn rubber and mete out the vengeance of Hell!

Collecting: GHOST RIDER (1973) #63-73 and AVENGERS (1963) #214.

Written by Michael Fleisher, Roger Stern, Jim Shooter, & J.M. DeMatteis
 
Penciled by Bob Budiansky with Luke McDonnell, Jack Sparling, Tom Sutton, Don Perlin & Bob Hall
 
Introductions by Bob Budiansky & Roger Stern
 
Cover by Bob Budiansky

Michael Fleisher notched an indelible place in comics history in 1974, writing a series of Spectre stories that were some of the most graphically violent tales ever published at the time. During that time, Fleisher also collaborated with Steve Ditko on Shade the Changing Man, an offbeat hero bearing a reality-altering M-Vest.

Roger Stern enjoyed well-regarded runs on Amazing Spider-Man, in which he introduced Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) and the Hobgoblin; Avengers; and Captain America. He launched West Coast Avengers and wrote numerous tie-in miniseries starring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. At DC, he relaunched Atom and co-created Starman (Will Payton) before participating in one of comics’ most shocking events: the 1992 “Death of Superman.” He later returned to Marvel to write Amazing Spider-Man and related titles.

A native New Yorker, writer J.M. DeMatteis has been one of comics’ most respected writers for nearly three decades. Ranging from the introspective psychological drama of Moonshadow to the offbeat comedy of Justice League to the autobiographical Brooklyn Dreams, he’s written from nearly every perspective in graphic storytelling. His long list of credits includes Captain America, Defenders, Justice League International, the groundbreaking Spider-Man storyline “Kraven’s Last Hunt," Spectre and more. His recent work includes the acclaimed children's novel Imaginalis and the popular comics-prose hybrid Abadazad books.

Bob Budiansky began his comics career on Ghost Rider — first as a cover artist, and later as both co-writer and artist. However, he is best known for his work on the Transformers franchise, naming most of the original characters and writing the Tech Specs blurbs for the toys’ packaging. Budiansky soon began writing Marvel’s Transformers comic, which he helmed for nearly 50 issues and several spin-offs. During the 1990s, Budiansky launched Sleepwalker. He also served as a Marvel editor, overseeing the Spider-Man titles.

Luke McDonnell penciled a long stint on Iron Man, encompassing the controversial storyline in which Tony Stark ceded the Iron Man armor to his friend James Rhodes. McDonnell’s work also appeared in Daredevil, Spectacular Spider-Man, What If? and elsewhere. At DC, he penciled most of John Ostrander’s Suicide Squad and its spinoff miniseries Deadshot, as well as a Justice League of America stint during its “Detroit JLA” phase. Eclipso, Green Lantern: Mosaic and Secret Origins are only a few of the other titles benefiting from his work. 

The industry lost an icon with the passing of Tom Sutton (1937-2002), best remembered as the original artist of the cult-classic icon Vampirella. Having begun his career with the comic strip Johnny Craig and contributions to underground comics, Sutton worked in multiple genres at Marvel — including Western (Kid Colt Outlaw, Rawhide Kid), humor (Arrgh, Crazy, Not Brand Ecch), super heroes (Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider), and the licensed Planet of the Apes titles. During a run on Amazing Adventures, he and writer Steve Englehart revamped the X-Men’s Beast into his better-known furry form. Moving to DC Comics, he penciled nearly every issue of the 1984-1988 series Star Trek and, with J.M. DeMatteis, co-created “I, Vampire” for House of Mystery before returning to Marvel to pencil a Man-Thing serial in Marvel Comics Presents. Sutton’s additional body of work includes art for Charlton Comics, Eros Comics, First Comics and Skywald Publications.