Issue(s): Ghost Rider #68, Ghost Rider #69
Cover Date: May-Jun 82
Title: "The curse of Jonathan Blaze!" / "Personal demons"
Credits:
Roger Stern - Writer
Bob Budiansky - Penciler
Josef Rubinstein / David Simons - Inker
Tom DeFalco - Editor

Review/plot:
Roger Stern's short run on Ghost Rider is reprinted in a seven part mini-series called The Original Ghost Rider Rides Again.

The plots of these issues are relatively straightforward. The first issue, after a recap of Ghost Rider's origin, shows Ghost Rider stopping a man who murdered a priest and tried to rob a church...

...and the second has has GR dealing with a local rube who causes trouble at the carnival that Johnny Blaze is working at.

But both are well written and dealing with the fact that the Ghost Rider is now a separate entity from Johnny, and is nearly completely out of control and evil.

There's also a sub-plot about the carnival's resident clown getting nervous about the fact that his son is coming for a visit. That's setting up the plot for the next few issues.

Simple but good. Nice art by Bob Budiansky.

I caught one case of some added dialogue in the reprint. Not a big deal; it actually adds a little clarity to the panel. But it makes me nervous when they update reprints; i never know what's been changed and it makes me suspicious of every slight change in the lettering.

Quality Rating: B-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Pushed back in publication time to allow for Null the Living Darkness' appearance in Ghost Rider #71 to take place before Defenders #113

References:

• Much of issue #68 is a recap of Marvel Spotlight #5, although with Satan looking a lot more Mephisto-like.
  

• Flagg Fargo beat Johnny Blaze in a championship title match in Ghost Rider #45-46.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Original Ghost Rider Rides Again! #1

Ah, memories. I remember picking issue #68 up off the spinner rack at a Hallmark store next door to my grandmother's restaurant. It was obviously a good jumping on point with the re-telling of Ghost Rider's origin. The priest-murderer twist blew my young mind. A shame Stern's run was only 5 issues. Between this and his work on Amazing Spider-Man at the time, he quickly became my favorite comics writer back in the day.