CBR can exclusively reveal cover and solicit information for Ghost Rider #9, which will see Johnny Blaze go up against his new, truly terrifying creature named Exhaust.
Ghost Rider #9 comes from writer Benjamin Percy, artist Cory Smith and cover artist Björn Barends. The synopsis for the issue reads, "THE CREATURE KNOWN AS EXHAUST! Johnny Blaze has finally been exorcized of his demonic tumor, but it lives on as something new and sentient, a dark mirror of both him and his bike...a creature known as EXHAUST. As Johnny and Talia Warroad head toward Chicago — a city known for the blood of its slaughterhouses, a city they believe is central to the Shadow Country conspiracy — they’ll be pursued by Exhaust and the dark forces he manifests."
Exhaust will make his official debut in Ghost Rider #7, as revealed by Bloody Disgusting. The villain -- who looks as if he's come straight out of a David Cronenberg film -- is born out of a demonic parasite that previously lived within Johnny Blaze following the events of Ghost Rider #5 and 6. Releasing Oct. 7, the synopsis for Ghost Rider #7 reads, "SHADOW HUNTERS! There's a new splinter group within the F.B.I. that is charged with quelling the rise in supernatural activity in the country, and it's helmed by Agent Talia Warroad, who aims to enlist the dangerous power of the drifter named Johnny Blaze!"
Ghost Rider is Facing the Marvel Universe's Demons
Johnny Blaze has had to face a number of ungodly, horrific monsters throughout the course of the ongoing Ghost Rider thus far. Ghost Rider #3 paired him off against a Stephen King-like semi with no visible driver. In Ghost Rider #4, Johnny traveled to a circus run by undead, nightmarish creatures, while the series' fifth issue saw him engage in a road race with a number of recognizable Marvel characters. While Johnny was infected by a demonic parasite in Ghost Rider #5, Wolverine removed the entity through the use of his new Hellfire claws in Ghost Rider #6.
In a CBR exclusive interview, Percy spoke on the horror influence he wanted to incorporate into Ghost Rider. "Horror is my favorite genre," he explained. My brain is hard-wired for it. You can see that in my novels and short stories. You can see that in my work at AWA in Year Zero and Devil's Highway. That dark aesthetic and those nasty tendencies tend to creep into my other work at the big two (even on titles like Wolverine or X-Force) like black centipedes. This is the first time I've been assigned an actual horror series by Marvel or DC, so I'm unleashing my beastliness. I keep hearing from fans, writers, and even other editors, 'I can't believe they let you do that,' in response to some savage sequence I planted in a script. My response is monstrous laughter."
Ghost Rider #9 releases Dec. 7 from Marvel.
Source: Marvel