Issue(s): Ghost Rider annual #1
Cover Date: 1993
Title: "Taste of power / Lost in the night / The worm turns"
Credits:
Howard Mackie / Joey Cavalieri - Writer
Chris Bachalo / Isaac Cordova / Kirk Van Wormer - Penciler
Mark Buckingham / Bud LaRosa / Brad Vancata - Inker
James Felder - Assistant Editor
Bobbie Chase & Evan Skolnick - Editor

Review/plot:
The new character introduced in this annual is called Night Terror, and it's totally not anyone's fault that the name makes me giggle (basically, this). The actual character is another good guy vampire. His story is that he was a mercenary working for a government agency. Who was turned into a vampire while on assignment. The agency intended to keep using him, but he escaped, although he's amnesiac.

Danny Ketch is riding near Central Park with Seer when she detects a disturbance and sends him in to investigate.

Still as Danny, he's attacked by Night Terror. He transforms, and Night Terror tosses him away, saying that if he's "not food" and doesn't have any info on his identity (Night Terror seems to absorb information from his victims' minds), then he's of no interest. At the same time, Ghost Rider is able to confirm that Night Terror isn't a Lilin. But he still decides to chase Night Terror. Night Terror begins to get his memories back, and heads back to the agency, with Ghost Rider still on his trail.

Ghost Rider stops Night Terror from killing all of the agents and learning about his final mission, and then "kills" Night Terror, even though it's pretty clear that he won't really die.

He then returns to Seer, who tells Ghost Rider to not worry about Night Terror anymore for now.

It's kind of a weird random encounter.

The first back-up shows Night Terror continuing his search for his origins and getting into a fight with a former colleague called the Wanderer...

...seemingly killing him but a final panel shows otherwise (not that he'll appear again).

A second back-up shows Ghost Rider visiting the grave of Danny's sister Barbara. While he's there, he sees a demonic woman named Rigor Mortis chasing some young women. It turns out that they were archaeologists that unearthed her tomb (this is in Brooklyn, mind you). Rigor Mortis has the power to turn people to stone (obviously) and there's also something about demon eggs. Ghost Rider makes sure the eggs don't hatch and he traps Rigor Mortis in her tomb.

Very hard to care about any of this, but Night Terror will appear again in Blade's solo series. Chris Bachalo's art is surprisingly dark and Sienkiewicz-y (and kind of unbearable) for the main story.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - first Night Terror

Chronological Placement Considerations: Ghost Rider and Seer seem to go directly from here to Ghost Rider #41, per the footnote and scene in that issue. But the MCP place Ghost Rider's appearance (with Johnny Blaze) in the Marvel UK series Gun Runner #1-2, and the story in Marvel Comics Presents #137-142, between the annual and issue #41. Issue #41 starts off the Road to Vengeance crossover, and that results in some status quo changes for Ghost Rider and Blaze. Gun Runner #1-2 definitely need to go before Road of Vengeance, because it takes place before Blaze becomes bionic. The Marvel Comics Presents story hinges off of Ghost Rider's relationship to innocent blood, which is called into question in Road to Vengeance. So that story also probably should go before Road to Vengeance. But i don't see a reason why the stories couldn't go prior to this annual, since Ghost Rider #41 shows Danny and Seer continuing directly from here.

Similarly, i'm assuming the second back-up takes place before the main story.

References:

• Danny flashes back to being bitten by Blackout in Ghost Rider #25 when Night Terror bites him.
  
• Barbara Ketch died in Ghost Rider #7.

Crossover: 1993 Annuals

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Howard Mackie
Archaeologists
Brooklyn

If it weren't for Mark Texeira's incredible rendition of Ghost Rider, he'd still be editing the New Universe.

I neglected to include the writing credits for the third story. It's actually by Joey Cavalieri, not Mackie. That said, Mackie provides us with similar tombs under the Cypress Hill cemetary during the Road to Vengeance storyline. So your point still stands. ;-)