Three “Ghost Rider” creators speak at Planet Comicon
From Friday’s The Oklahoman:
By Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor
WORD BALLOONS
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Three creators with close ties to Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider talked about their experiences at Planet Comicon last week.
At a panel focusing on “Ghost Rider,” writers Gary Friedrich and Jason Aaron and artist Javier Saltares discussed the character with moderator Jai Nitz.
Friedrich created the motorcycle-riding Ghost Rider with Mike Ploog and Roy Thomas in “Marvel Spotlight” No. 5 in 1972.
In the comics, stunt rider Johnny Blaze made a deal with the devil to save his adoptive father. Blaze was cursed to become Ghost Rider, the spirit of vengeance.
Friedrich followed his childhood friend Thomas to Marvel Comics.
“Roy and I went to school together in Jackson, Missouri. We’d been comic fans as kids,” Friedrich said. “We discovered the ‘Fantastic Four’ when the first series came out and got really into Marvel Comics.”
Friedrich worked with Thomas on his “Alter Ego” fanzine, then, after Thomas went to work for Marvel, Friedrich joined him in New York in 1964 and began working for Marvel in 1965. Besides “Ghost Rider,” Friedrich is probably best-known for his run on “Sgt. Fury,” which won fan awards as “best war comic” during his run.
Friedrich has been working as a courier in St. Louis for about 14 years, having left comics about 30 years ago. He said he’s now kicking around some ideas for a return to comics.
The first “Ghost Rider” series, which spun out of “Marvel Spotlight,” lasted until 1983. The character would lie dormant for seven years.
In 1990, writer Howard Mackie revamped “Ghost Rider” with artists Saltares and Mark Texiera. This Ghost Rider was Danny Ketch, who became the Ghost Rider when he touched a medallion on a motorcycle he found.
Saltares, who got his start at Marvel as one of John Romita’s art correction assistants, said “Ghost Rider” changed his career.
“(Ghost Rider) was my first big gig,” Saltares said. “I loved that character when I was a kid in the 70s. I loved the whole idea, and I couldn’t believe they were bringing him back, and I really couldn’t believe they were asking me to do it, which was great. That really was a big break for me, made my career, actually.”
The 1990 series of “Ghost Rider” became a best-seller for Marvel. The series ran through 1998.
Johnny Blaze came back as Ghost Rider in 2001 in a series written by Devin Grayson. But it wasn’t until Garth Ennis repopularized the character with a miniseries in 2005, that another ongoing series was green-lit. Writer Daniel Way began Ghost Rider’s third ongoing series in 2006.
Jason Aaron started as the writer with issue No. 20 of the current arc of “Ghost Rider” in February.
“I was very excited, mainly for the chance to try to do something a little different with the book,” Aaron said. “I think it’s going to be a really exciting year to be a ‘Ghost Rider’ fan. There’s a lot of big things coming up in the next few months.”
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