Editor's Note: Ghost Rider #26 arrives in stores tomorrow, August 20.

"The Former Things, Part One: The Second Coming of Daniel Ketch"

This issue is all about the past coming into conflict with the present. Unfortunately for me, not being a Ghost Rider fan, but a Jason Aaron fan, that means the entire cast of this issue is made up of old villains and other characters who I don't know from Adam.

Here's the rundown (with internet info where pertinent):

• Danny Ketch (the previous Ghost Rider and a fan favorite),


• Blackout (a demonic fella who can suck all the light out of a room - kind of like some ex-girlfriends I can think of),


• Doghead (a poor undead schmuck with a dog head, in case you couldn't guess),


• Death Ninja (another undead fella, this time, obviously, a ninja - awesome!),


• and The Orb (motorcycle rival of Johnny's who wears a large eyeball helmet that can shoot repulsor beams and hypnotize people - and he's from Wheeling, West Virginia, so a big shout out to another West Virginia Boy! Too bad he's kind of lame.)

These five make up the badguys this time around.

On the good side is The Caretaker (old cowboy who knows stuff and is a badass - a version of the character was played by the always awesome Sam Elliot in the godawful Ghost Rider film). Ketch is here on Zadkiel's orders to kill the old man, but has a few things he wants to discuss with him first. After his crew kicks him around a while, of course.

Aaron also introduces a new character (I assume) in the opening and closing pages of the issue: a nun named Sister Sara, who, after having a dream that her grandfather was in danger, hightails it from the convent to Tennessee, even though she's a lifelong orphan and never knew of any family before this dream. And it seems that The Caretaker may be the grandfather she's talking about.

Okay, that's the setup, but what about the execution?

Aaron writes comics as though he were born to it. The pacing is excellent as The Caretaker takes on all the baddies, extending the fight scene throughout nearly the entire issue without ever getting boring. There is a perfect shift from shocking violence to hesitation to more shocking violence to intense moments between combatants.

And I'm not sure what age this book is rated for, and I'm too lazy to look it up, but we get a couple of "balls" references this issue. As in, "You don't have the balls to put me down," and then some carnage related to balls. Being a crass bastard, I laughed, but then felt bad for all the children. Eh, whatever. That's what this book is like, now. If you don't like that sort of thing, then you must never have enjoyed Drive-In biker movies.

My only complaint this issue is with what happens to The Orb, and it's not just because he's from West Virginia. His giant eyeball head is a helmet, not a real eyeball, right? From everything I can find online, there's no mention of his head being turned into a real eyeball. Well, he gets taken out like a punk with a giant exposed eyeball for a head. That could have used some more explanation. There are some electrical-looking bolts coming from his eye-face, but it's not clear if that's the helmet's circuitry exploding or if they are pain animations by Huat.

Speaking of Huat, the art this issue is either much more clear than the previous issues or Marvel's higher quality jpegs (that we advance reviewers get to check out) are just of such higher quality that now the art looks great. No longer do the colors and the pencils muddy each other up. Instead they complement each other, and even though Villarrubia uses a fairly bright palette, it looks good. Especially The Orb, for some reason.

Huat's action is very clearly choreographed, and while the backgrounds are a little simplified, there's a nice use of space that makes each panel seem to open up. If that makes any sense. The panels are big and spacious, without seeming to be artistic shortcuts.

Anyway, this is another kick-ass issue of Ghost Rider that you should all be reading. How long's it gonna take to beat it into you bozos that Jason Aaron is the real deal, and if you like extreme action and breakneck pacing along with a heaping helping of swagger, then this is the book you've been craving. Whether you realized it or not.

And if you needed any more proof, here's what's coming next issue: The Nunchuk Nun Meets the Biker From Hell In: Vampire Terror in the Tennessee Hills!

Yes!

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