Many are familiar with Ghost Rider from the Nicolas Cage movies, but he made his first appearance in comic books back in 1972. In the comic world, there has been different individuals that have contained the Spirit of Vengeance. In 2014, Robbie Reyes became the latest character except instead of a flaming motorcycle, he drove a Dodge Charger.
During this year's San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Robbie Reyes would be appearing on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. In August, Marvel announced the character would be returning to comics with another solo series. We spoke with Robbie Reyes co-creator Felipe Smith about Ghost Rider's TV appearance and the upcoming comic.
Comic Vine: What can you tell us about the upcoming series?
Felipe Smith: I can tell you I'm very excited about Robbie Reyes' appearance in Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. I don't know what they're doing on the show; I'm in charge of the comic books. We're starting a new Ghost Rider series in November which I'll be writing and artist Danilo Beyruth will be drawing. I can tell you they're really looking at the source material for the ABC show, and they really looked at the designs of car. The '69 Dodge Charger RT is exactly the car I had in mind when I drew it. They made it look exactly like my first illustration of it in my first variant cover for issue 1. The jacket is really on point; I'm really happy about it. A lot of times publishing, TV, and movies are separate even though they're under the same umbrella, Marvel. They can take license to do different things in the comic book world, as the TV or movie, but I feel like they're really paying attention to the source material, looking at what we did.
The first story arc was Tradd Moore on art and I wrote. Second story arc was Damion Scott doing art and me writing. The end of the second arc I actually got to write and draw issue 11. Issue 12 was Kris Anka and me doing that. They're really looking at what we did in the comics. I've seen shots that are pretty much shot for shot from the comic book, for the promotional material. It looks really good. The car just looks amazing. My favorite muscle car is the '69 Dodge Charger--it's different from the '70 and the '68, it's its own thing. It was the General Lee for Dukes of Hazard, which is a show I loved as a kid. Just seeing it on fire with that blower, the wheels, it's great. I'm really happy. I don't know if I gave you any information right now, but I'm just really happy to see it.
They announced it at San Diego, but when did you first find out that Robbie Reyes was going to be on the show, in the car and everything?
I found out only about two weeks before the Hell Charger was unveiled at the Marvel booth. Again, as I said, you create comic books, and then those comic books, if you're lucky, they make it into other mediums, and they have their own divisions that take care of that. So far, I'm really happy that they're very faithful to some of the essential aspects of the comic. Gabriel Luna will be playing Robbie Reyes, and he's read all the comic books. Lorenzo James Henrie from Fear the Walking Dead is playing Robbie's younger brother Gabe, who is also accurate to the comic book version.
I think the most important thing about the characters is not their specific age, because Robbie's 18 in the comics, and Gabe is 13, but it's their relationship. I think Robbie's demeanor and the choices he makes in life, and the kind of person he is, and his relationship with his younger brother Gabe, I think are the essential part of the all-new Ghost Rider series that we created. It's not so much the cool powers, like the engine skull in flames and the Hell Charger. All that stuff is good, it's like the icing on a cake, but the core of the cake is actually Robbie and Gabe's relationship and the kind of guy Robbie is. He's a guy in a really hard place, who doesn't give up, works hard, and is just determined to take care of his brother who he loves. I think as long as they keep that going in the Agents of SHIELD version, people will not only like the character, but hopefully they'll be interested in checking out the comic books too, which I'm hoping will happen.
What can you tell us about the upcoming comic? Where will Robbie be from when we last saw him?
Starting November, issue 1 of Ghost Rider, we're dropping the "All-New" for the new series. It will be a good jumping on point for people who haven't read the series. At the same time, if you have read the first 12 issues of the series, it basically, timeline-wise, starts right after those events. Some of the same cast returns in our new story, and we'll have newcomers. We'll also have Robbie, for the first time, meeting other heroes from the Marvel Universe. In the first issue, we'll have Amadeus Cho, the new Totally Awesome Hulk, appearing. I don't know if they'll get along right away when they meet. They're also young characters, which is cool. I think they're around the same age. They're from different walks of life, and obviously they have different powers. I'm looking forward to seeing what people think when they see these guys meet. Robbie will be meeting other heroes from the Marvel Universe finally.
Ghost Rider #1 is on sale November 30.
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