Issue(s): Ghost Rider #52
Cover Date: Jan 81
Title: "The sirens of Kronos!"
Credits:
Michael Fleisher - Writer
Don Perlin - Penciler
Don Perlin - Inker
Mark Gruenwald - Assistant Editor
Denny O'Neil - Editor

Review/plot:
Another issue of Ghost Rider, another insane motorcycle stunt.

The laughing gets me every time. Awesome. Ghost Rider may not be in good stories, per se, but he's an awesome character at this point where he's truly a demon while in Ghost Rider form.

Of course, Johnny Blaze doesn't think so. He worries that Ghost Rider is getting more and more reckless.

Right now, though, the important thing is the KRONOS label on that missile. Because in this issue, some construction workers accidentally release some Sirens that were trapped in a cave by Kronos (presumably the mythological father of Zeus, not the god of the Titan-Eternals on Saturn's moon. I'm also assuming these aren't the only Sirens, since we know that the Venus of the Agents of Atlas will be revealed to be a Siren.).

Johnny Blaze has entered a motorcycle race, but the race gets derailed by the Sirens.

And then the Sirens take control of the missile convoy...

...and have the missile taken back to an army base to have it launched, all as a way to get vengeance on the Kronos that imprisoned them.

Of course they have to contend with the Ghost Rider. In addition to their hypnotic powers, they have the ability to turn into bird-things.

But Ghost Rider is able to defeat the Sirens and seal them back in their cave. This also releases the military people from their hypnosis in time to disarm the missile before it detonates.

You never know what kind of nutty things you're going to find in a Ghost Rider comic. They may not be good, but they're weird enough to be interesting and the stories are competently told. The slow, slow tease of Blaze losing control of the Ghost Rider is worth watching, too.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Johnny has entered the race to hone his skills so that he can challenge Flagg Fargo again. Flagg won the championship from him in Ghost Rider #45-46.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Essential Ghost Rider vol. 3