Last issue was so painful I just had to see what came next.  Does the book get any better?  Or is it on the slow decline?

Ghost Rider needs to meet up with Johnny Blaze to figure out things about being a Ghost Rider.  Her previous mentor, Adam, has resurrected “classic” Ghost Rider villains Steel Wind and Steel Vengeance.  Its unknown whether the create your own GI Joe character Steel Brigade will also get involved.  Hawkeye gets involved with Blaze, then involved in the larger story, and finally shoots new Ghost Rider Alejandra in the chest/heart with a magically enchanted arrow.

What the hell?!

Nothing makes sense in this book!  Neither to the characters or to the “rules” of the Marvel Universe.  I’m going to take far too long explaining this one, so bear with me.

Ghost Rider and her zombie friend watch a movie together.  Another patron complains that they are making too much noise, and then is spooked off upon seeing the two close up.  Close up.  He didn’t realize how strange they looked until he was two feet away.  He didn’t realize that the GIRL’S HEAD IS ON FIRE!!!!  Take something about the size of a human head, but not a human head because that’s illegal and all.  Now put it in a large dark room and walk away.  See how far you can get before you don’t see a flaming substance anymore.  Oh, you always see it don’t you.  Maybe that’s because its on fire.  Hellfire or not those flames would still be visible from anywhere in that theater.

But that’s only one page that doesn’t make sense, and there’s a whole comic book ahead of crazy shit.

Hawkeye finds Blaze and questions him about some event in Central America in which thousands of people were left as mindless zombies.  Turns out our new Ghost Rider is responsible.  So Hawkeye can track Blaze’s movements, find him quickly, and start slinging arrows at a former ally without asking questions.  Someone who was a villain before turning good, has died and come back, has led a team of reformed villains and I’m sure there’s been a mind control adventure or two in there, immediately starts accusing Blaze.  He sends a rope arrow to trip up the former Rider, who then FIRES A GUN in retaliation!  The Midnight Sons must teach shoot first and maybe ask questions later at team meetings.  I’m guessing these meetings are attended by Hawkeye’s Avengers teammate Spider-Man because Johnny Blaze has started making jokes.  Yes, mindless zombies equal American Idol.  Good pop culture joke there Johnny.  Leave it to the comics historians to figure out how this fits into continuity along with the Saturday Night Live Marvel Team-Up and the Avengers on David Letterman.

This is followed up by a Bowie reference.  For all of us older comic book readers.  Ghost Rider and Blaze then get sucked into a portal and end up dropped in front of the Steel Sisters.  Two “classic” bad guys that no one asked to return.  This might be a more entertaining story if I only had to read 5-6 pages of it at a time in Marvel Comics Presents.  The Steel Sisters put up little fight and are used not to grow or learn as characters, but to fill pages before the ending.  Hero and Avenger Hawkeye shoots a woman in the chest!  Sure its the Ghost Rider and maybe the arrow isn’t enough to kill.   But he doesn’t know that.  He fired an arrow into another human in a potentially fatal spot.  Sure, that’s how Avengers act.

I guess the only character that is written true is Ghost Rider, only because she hasn’t been anywhere else and thus there is nothing to compare this character to.

Horrible horrible comic.  But its so bad I will end up buying the next issue just to see what’s next.