"Motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze made a deal with the devil, cursing him into becoming the Ghost Rider, a spirit of vengeance who hunts down the guilty and dispenses bloody retribution."

This is the recurring line in the latest monthly series starring the famous leather-clad fiery biker.  In this new series, brought to us by the team of writer Daniel Way, penciller Javier Saltares and inker Mark Texeira, the Ghost Rider was stuck in Hell continually running away from the Devil's minions.  He finally escapes, but has a stowaway; the Devil himself.  During their entrance into Earth the Ghost Rider was able to stay in one piece, but the Devil is shattered into, ironically enough, 666 pieces which in turn search out and posses bodies of the dead on earth.  Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider is now exacting his vengeance to return every last one of the Devil's incarnations back to the depths of Hades while each one of them are trying their hardest to cause as much tragedy and mayhem as possible.  To make matters worse, every time the Ghost Rider defeats an avatar each one of the others become that much more powerful.

Fortunately, in this issue Johnny believes he's found the way to return all of the devilish avatars back with a little help from some friends.  Unfortunately Johnny already has two strikes against him.  One, people that sell their souls to the devil are never known for their intelligence and two, one of the avatars just purchased a football team.  Why this is bad is the fact that he's planning a huge celebration and is ready to go out with a big bang!  There are also two angels along for the ride that have been literally born again and are ready to throw their hats into the mix.

This has been a somewhat new arc for the Ghost Rider in comics and film.  He's a contradiction in terms.  He is a spirit of vengeance from Hell fighting against the Devil, where in the previous series he was bringing retribution upon bad people on Earth.  It reminds you of the bible verse, "If Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come."  Of course, in the Rider's world of flames and chains did something like the impossible ever stop him before?

What has made this current series enjoyable is the synergy that this creative team has brought.  The plot that Way has scripted follows well with only a few sidetracks that make you wonder what's coming up next.  This series definitely showcases the, "shoot first and ask questions later" style of Johnny Blaze.  What was he thinking taking on Dr. Strange and then the Hulk?
The art that Saltares and Tex bring is strong, consistent, and has a good chiseled edge for the Rider.

Hopefully this Ghost Rider team will be able to ride hard, fast, and have a long lasting battle against the forces of darkness.

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