By Jim Beard
Simon Spurrier knows that a Marvel Annual needs to be big on, well,
bigness. Welcome to GHOST RIDER ANNUAL #2: MERCY, haunting shops beginning August 27.
"We've got a direct tie-in to the GHOST RIDER ongoing series, which explores a particular facet of Johnny Blaze's quest," says writer Spurrier of the Annual. "We've got a string of bloody deaths, a truly awesome-looking enemy, and a piece of Heavenly Law being called into question. It doesn't get much bigger."
As the writer notes, the book plays off of story elements rooted in the GHOST RIDER title, in particular the recent intercession of Zadkiel, the renegade angel, yet also offers a fascinating and frightening tale all its own.
"Johnny Blaze rocks-up in a strange little town in the forests of Idaho," notes Spurrier. "He's looking for a way to get to heaven in order to kick some haloed ass, but he can't just kill himself—or even just wait to die—because his soul would go straight to hell; allowing the Spirit of Vengeance inside him to return to heaven. Poor old Johnny's in a bit of a bind."
"But he's heard there's a 'winged creature' haunting the woods near this little town called 'Mercy', and he's got it into his head it might be an angel. He wants to ask it some questions; searching for a way to get to heaven. Of course, it's never as simple as all that."
The town of Mercy serves as something of a character in its own right, thus the Annual's title. Spurrier examines not only the physical reality of the town but its standing in rumor and suspicion.
"Mercy's picked up an odd reputation as somewhere that people go in order to die," he explains. "It's burdened by this long string of suicides: people arrive on the Greyhound [bus] and never go home again. Add to
that all these crazy new rumors about 'winged horrors' in the woods, and it's fair to say that the residents of Mercy are becoming increasingly hostile to strangers: most of whom turn out to either be monster hunters, tabloid journalists, or manic depressives.
"It's not a happy place to be."
Mercy claims a few relations on both the big and little screens but in the end remains a unique vision of the writer's.
"I guess there's a bit of 'X-Files' in there—all that heavily forested spooky-wookiness— and more than a little bit of 'The Mothman Prophecies'," concedes Spurrier. "Mostly it's
a creepy story about faith, hope, and suicide, with a glorious dose of supernatural action. And all rendered in the stunning artwork of Mark Robinson."
Fans of original Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze who've thrilled to his return to the fiery chopper will witness a bumpy ride for their hero in GHOST RIDER ANNUAL #2: MERCY. Spurrier minces no words in describing Johnny's state of mind as the tale begins.
"Venomously angry," says the scribe. "He's been manipulated by forces he doesn't understand, someone's been screwing with his dreams, and he wants nothing more than to cut loose on someone—or something—which can provide a few answers.
"He's not entirely certain, but he
hopes he's going to find an angel [in Mercy]. What he actually
gets is something far stranger, and far more laden with possibilities. It turns out that Mercy
might actually provide him with exactly what he needs: a direct path into Paradise..."
The curious and courageous need only wait until August 27 to join Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider, on his latest big adventure, in the dark and dangerous pages of GHOST RIDER ANNUAL #2: MERCY! And for more Johnny Blaze, check out Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
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