Robbie has escaped the Killiseum, but his replacement is someone very familiar to him: his little brother. Robbie goes on the offensive to stop Arcade and end the Races once and for all.
GHOST RACERS is a book where the reader can have minimal knowledge of the characters prior to the issue and still end up having a lot of emotional investment in them by the end of the series. This is all thanks to the way writer Felipe Smith puts the book together. I like the concept of Ghost Rider. I wouldn't call myself a huge fan, but the way this story executed just hooks me in. It's incredibly engaging and fun.
There was this moment where I got really bummed out because this is the final issue of this mini-series and I was expecting another issue, but all-in-all, the book wraps everything up very nicely and it ends up beings a pretty wonderful, stand-alone series that plays out in an exciting way.
While it is only 4 issues long, this mini packs a high-octane punch with the finale, pun completely intended. Readers are treated to an exciting final race that will have everyone cheering for Robbie and his brother.
When it's all said and done, is the ending satisfying? Without spoiling anything that happens within the pages, the answer is "heck yeah." While the first half of this issue is suspenseful and a tad depressing, considering the situation Gabe is in, the latter half is full of fist pumps and self-high fives (no one else was close enough to me to high five). It's an issue the reader can stand behind and cheer for. It embraces the idea of loving what you're reading.
There are some small and problematic parts to the book in the art department. Artist Juan Gedeon and colorist Tamra Bonvillain do a phenomenal job on most of the book. There are some points in the issue, where the art becomes a little muddied though. There's a lot of orange being thrown about and the art "looks" shakey. Understandably, Gedeon is trying to pull off the look of the air above something extremely hot. It's wavering on purpose. There are a couple times where the art comes off as a tad hard to read.
Nevertheless, the distinctive look of the issue is something that stands it out from other books, in the best way possible. When the art is a hit, which is the vast majority of the time, it's a home run, mixing contemporary artistic styles with something that is reminiscent of a Saturday morning cartoon (with eye gouging). For some artists, movement can be tough. The concept of showing something in movement, although the picture is stationary, is weird. However, it's not something Gedeon ever struggles with, which is perfect since this whole book is about fire and cars and my inner-child getting extremely giddy. While the story is wonderful, it's the art that is the real shining star in this issue.
Although there's still a few more SECRET WARS tie-in books that are wrapping up, GHOST RACERS is in the top 3, maybe top 5 of the slew of series that came out. It's downright fun and fits into Battleworld without spelling it out for the reader. This final issue is exactly what you'd expect and want from a story like this. Smith, Gedeon, and Bonvillain are one heck of a team and we're all hoping these three will get a Ghost Rider series in the future.