Making a Splash: Ghost Rider In the Spotlight

What it is, Groove-ophiles! It's recently been brought to Ol' Groove's attention that the motorcycle riding, most supernatural hero of all, Ghost Rider hasn't gotten much attention here on the Diversions. Well, time to rectify that sitch! In 1972, Marvel was expanding like crazy and needed an idea for a new character. Editor Roy Thomas got together with writer Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog to create a brand new character using the name of an old Western character, Ghost Rider. This new, modern Ghost Rider would combine two very separate but very popular fads of the late 60s/early 70s: the occult and Evel Knievel. Marvel had gods, radioactive people, mutants, and androids, but this was the first time they ever gave us a hero whose creation came via a deal with the devil! Of course this mind-blowing, oh-so-Seventies hero would catch on, running in Marvel Spotlight issues 5-11, then in his own mag for for a staggering (for the 70s) eighty-one issues (plus fifteen issues as a member of the Champions)--that's nearly 11 years of Ghost Rider counting the Spotlight issues! That self-same handful of Spotlight issues was penciled by powerhouses Mike Ploog (sometimes inked by Frank Chiarmonte and Jim Mooney) and Tom Sutton (inked by Chic Stone, Mooney, and Syd Shores), giving us the following supernatural splashes! Dig 'em!